subeman90 Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 I dropped the damn thing like it was a hot potato. Here is a long story condensed to a very short bit#$ fest: I left my home on Friday morning to go to Concord NC (outside of Charlotte). It is about 500 miles. I got just into VA on I-95 and had to stop to take a leak. So did my forester. I noticed my coolant overflow was filled to the top and dripping on the ground. I left anyhow and went on my pi$$ed off way to Concord. I called my local dealer here to find out that he along with my suspicions think it was a blown HG. KEEP IN MIND THIS THING HAS 9800 MILES ON IT. That is right....9800 miles. Soooooooo I decided right then and there I wasn't going to put up with this lack of quality any longer. I have to be at work on Mon. morning and I really didn't think it was going to make it home. So I left the damn thing in NC....and bought a Jeep. That is right I traded my beloved xs forester on a Jeep. I got one heck of a good deal on a 2005 Wrangler X. I'm not going to lie to you all.....i am sick in the stomach about ditching the forester. I busted my a$$ to pay the thing off (2 months ago) and this is the thanks I get. Nope not anymore. Mark my word if my 05 OBS does this to me I am going to raise holy hell with subaru and maybe just stick to older MORE RELIABLE subarus. Its time to wake up Subaru.....can you hear me now????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Sorry to hear you got a heep. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 I dropped the damn thing like it was a hot potato. Here is a long story condensed to a very short bit#$ fest: I left my home on Friday morning to go to Concord NC (outside of Charlotte). It is about 500 miles. I got just into VA on I-95 and had to stop to take a leak. So did my forester. I noticed my coolant overflow was filled to the top and dripping on the ground. I left anyhow and went on my pi$$ed off way to Concord. I called my local dealer here to find out that he along with my suspicions think it was a blown HG. KEEP IN MIND THIS THING HAS 9800 MILES ON IT. That is right....9800 miles. Soooooooo I decided right then and there I wasn't going to put up with this lack of quality any longer. I have to be at work on Mon. morning and I really didn't think it was going to make it home. So I left the damn thing in NC....and bought a Jeep. That is right I traded my beloved xs forester on a Jeep. I got one heck of a good deal on a 2005 Wrangler X. I'm not going to lie to you all.....i am sick in the stomach about ditching the forester. I busted my a$$ to pay the thing off (2 months ago) and this is the thanks I get. Nope not anymore. Mark my word if my 05 OBS does this to me I am going to raise holy hell with subaru and maybe just stick to older MORE RELIABLE subarus. Its time to wake up Subaru.....can you hear me now????? Don't worry, you'll have a whole new level of lack of quality to deal with now! Wanna buy a Legacy GT that only needs its 3rd tranny, a new clutch and throwout bearing, the exhaust is now leaking and the stupid trim piece above the rear cup holder keeps falling off at 12k. It should be a fun dealer trip when she goes in. Sorry to hear about your luck Matt!!! I thought the lack of quality was mostly in the Amercan made models. Have you made it home yet? Can you still hear or should I BE USING CAPS!!! Call me when you get a chance! We have some stuff to discuss! Oh yeah, why were you on 95? I'd never take that to Charlotte! 81 all the way baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 I doubt the HG's would be failed at 9800 miles. Sounds more like your rad cap failed to hold pressure. Still, it does suck that your car had to be kicked out of the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subeman90 Posted June 6, 2005 Author Share Posted June 6, 2005 -we got home at about 4:30 yesterday. - There was traces of combustion in the overflow. It was a HG for sure. - Ben: I'll give a call this week sometime...or you can give me a ring at your convience some evening. Cool score on the rabbit - if you mapquest the trip to Concord I think it is quicker on 95 and 85 that it is on 81 and whatever else you use. (as long as you can get through the DC area ok) - I'm still bumed about the forester.... I could just scream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 -we got home at about 4:30 yesterday. - There was traces of combustion in the overflow. It was a HG for sure. - Ben: I'll give a call this week sometime...or you can give me a ring at your convience some evening. Cool score on the rabbit - if you mapquest the trip to Concord I think it is quicker on 95 and 85 that it is on 81 and whatever else you use. (as long as you can get through the DC area ok) - I'm still bumed about the forester.... I could just scream dumb question, but isn't this covered under the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subeman90 Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 Yes! but....a warranty would not do you a world of good if you have to be home for work on monday. I most likely could have even got a rental car from them too but....who would want to go back to NC in a week or so just to give back a rental car and drive home another 8 hrs. It isn't a secret that subaru has some HG issues. I just felt that when you spend that much it sould go a little further than 10 k before a major brakedown. I cut my losses and got out early. Oh well...it isn't like I sold them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Damn, I'm almost speechless. I'll assume that Subaru will be issuing a TSB regarding 5th (or 6th?) "version of head gasket" any time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Matt, Did you have any signs before this trip of a HG failure? I'm asking because the GF's 04 Forester X (think close to 9k miles) has started to develope a coolant smell. I can see no leaks, but the smell is there. Coolant looks clean, but it does rise rather high in the overflow, almost to the top, but it does not look like it has ever overflowed. I will check to see if maybe it is overfilled. Also told her to start checking the temp gauge which she never looks at. Looks like she will be taking it in to the dealer to see what they say about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Matt, Did you have any signs before this trip of a HG failure? I'm asking because the GF's 04 Forester X (think close to 9k miles) has started to develope a coolant smell. I can see no leaks, but the smell is there. Coolant looks clean, but it does rise rather high in the overflow, almost to the top, but it does not look like it has ever overflowed. I will check to see if maybe it is overfilled. Also told her to start checking the temp gauge which she never looks at. Looks like she will be taking it in to the dealer to see what they say about it. My 2 cents is DON'T TAKE IT TO THE DEALER!!! What they'll do is put in a "special" additive (Basically Prestone Stop Leak) that is there to fill any tiny holes in the system. This crap works but it also gunks up the tiny little coolant lines in the system eventually causing issues but not until after the warranty is up in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Try fitting a STi high pressure rad cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Try fitting a STi high pressure rad cap. I wouldn't do it. The cooling system was designed to run at a lower pressure. Increasing the pressure well puts more pressure on the system and its components leading to premature failure. Not to mention I'll bet it voids the warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subeman90 Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Matt, Did you have any signs before this trip of a HG failure? I'm asking because the GF's 04 Forester X (think close to 9k miles) has started to develope a coolant smell. I can see no leaks, but the smell is there. Coolant looks clean, but it does rise rather high in the overflow, almost to the top, but it does not look like it has ever overflowed. I will check to see if maybe it is overfilled. Also told her to start checking the temp gauge which she never looks at. Looks like she will be taking it in to the dealer to see what they say about it. I had no prior notice that anything was wrong. I topped the coolant off at about 6k (it was down just a shade) and I did an oil change at 9k (about 2 weeks before the trip) and all was well. I did have some smell of burnt coolant but I never really looked into it. The only reason I opened the hood in VA was because it was coming from somewhere and I was praying it wasn't my car. The gauges always stayed in the right spot (i had the $600 set in the center of the dash too!)(which had an oil temp gauge in it i might add). This car was mostly driven by my wife and had never been on a trip that was anymore than 100 miles from home till this lousy trip. It never really got driven too hard.....my wife works about 3 miles from home and with lousy traffic and hitting all the red lights it is still only about a 12 min drive. As for the additive: Ben is right. It might fix the leak for now but it will come back eventually and most likely it will clog your heater core later on in life. They never issued the recall for my car but maybe they should have.... BTW, this jeep is really cool in its own way....and it has one thing that no newer subaru has or will ever have.....LOW RANGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 BTW, this jeep is really cool in its own way....and it has one thing that no newer subaru has or will ever have.....LOW RANGE! http://www.jeep.com/wrangler/models/rubicon.htmlThat's the Mack Daddy! It'll still have tranny problems and leaks and other Chrysler/AMC typical troubles, but what a machine! Almost as tough as the '91-'97 Landcruiser. I've had to limp home stopping to fill the radiator before. I'm not saying it would've been worth it, but would it even be possible with this failure? Does the combustion air force the coolant out so the engine will go dry, overheat, and catastrophic failure? Or is it less dramatic than that? Luckily I have a 2.2l, but a friend has an '03 OBW for his wife, with the leak currently fixed by coolant conditioner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subeman90 Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 they had a used 04 rubicon with 4k on it. It was $25K The sticker on this one was less than that one used. I really didn't want a 4.11 rear diff gear either. This is going to be a 97% street pounder so a rubicon is a little too much in this instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Matt, Thanks for the quick reply, and thanks to all for the suggestions. She will be taking it in to the dealer soon though to look at it, think it is a good idea to have the problem documented, less than one year old and she has an extended warranty. But we will tell them not to use any stop leak and if we have to watch them while inspecting the car, we will. Just like with Matt's car, this one rarely sees trips over 40 miles, daily commute is 20 miles each way. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I was under the impression you had to get the stopleak to keep the warranty?? I'm not sure how that could work, hopefully I'm way off on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Here's the actual text of the document. Note that it specifies EXTERNAL COOLANT LEAK. To date, Subaru hasn't even admitted to the existance of an internal leak problem. -------------------------- "WWP-99 Service Campaign - Cooling System Conditioner " "Subaru has determined that certain 1999 through 2002 model year 2.5L equipped Subaru vehicles may experience an external coolant leak from the cylinder head gaskets. This is the result of normal relative thermal expansion and contraction variations of engine parts. As a precautionary measure, SOA is recommending that a special conditioner be added to the engine cooling system to prevent leaks from occurring or to correct existing leaks." "Only early Phase II 2.5 liter engines are affected by this campaign. Phase I 2.5 liter engines (some 1999 model year and prior years) are not affected. Countermeasures applied to the manufacturing process for those 2002 and later VINS not affected by this campaign have eliminated the need for this campaign to be performed on those vehicles." "In the future, it will be necessary to add Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner to the SUBARU vehicle cooling system whenever the engine coolant is replaced. The updated recommended service procedure as well as intervals for coolant replacement will be added to all applicable service manuals. As a reminder, we will include an update page in the owner notification letters that should be added to the Owner’s Manual and Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. We ask you to keep in mind that replacement of fluids (including Subaru Cooling System Conditioner) during inspection and maintenance services are not covered under warranty." "If the vehicle owner has this Service Program repair performed promptly, Subaru will extend coverage under the Subaru Limited Warranty on the vehicle for cylinder head gasket external coolant leaks to a period of 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was delivered to the first retail purchaser. If the vehicle was used as a demonstrator or company vehicle before being sold at retail, warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was first placed in such service. As a further condition for this extended warranty coverage to apply, the vehicle owner must have Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added to the vehicle at any subsequent cooling system services at the interval specified in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading 'Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services'." "Dealers will automatically be sent an initial quantity of Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner. Dealer bulletins and affected VIN lists will be mailed to dealers in early February 2004. Owner notification letters are scheduled for mailing in stages." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Thanks for the TSB, but her car is an 04 Forester, so it is not covered by this document. We'll see how this goes, I'll keep the thread updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I was under the impression you had to get the stopleak to keep the warranty?? I'm not sure how that could work, hopefully I'm way off on this. Did you get a letter from Subaru directly saying this?- of course you didn't! The stuff isn't the best thing to be putting in there but or course a dealers are in business to make money, nothing else so they'll recommend it if they get $$$ for it. Subaru wants it in there because some bean counter said it'll save X hg failures under warranty and only cost us X in clogged cooling systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.