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happy stories about 2.5L DOHC engines?


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Hello all

My 97 outback is about to hit 70K and has been running perfect. She has never overheated and coolant always looks very clean. I bought it at 57K and according to CARFAX it looks like the owner took good care, but the wife and I want to drive to Alaska this April and put alot of miles on her while up there working. The more i read the more worried i get about the ol' head gasket issue. So if any one can give a guy a little hope and share a few successes from their 2.5DOHC engines or if not just the mileage your HG went out. There has to be a few of you. I was always under the impression that Subaru was the car to get if you wanted years and years out of a car, now i am deciding if i want to trade or if there is hope in another 70K without worry. i did not research the car enough before i dove in. thanks to any replies. J

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as with any manufacturer there are better and worse options. you just happened to end up with one of subaru's worst engines ever, which isn't all that terrible.

 

the fortunate thing is that the head gaskets don't typically "blow" like other cars. they start leaking internally. typically a slow leak. don't let it overheat and keep coolant in it and you should be fine. i believe the dealer has some sort of "conditioner" they add to the phase I 2.5's to help alleviate this problem. i have no experience or recall much solid info about whether it works or not. all that being said, they really can go at any time. there is nothing that seems to set them off, they just start seeping internally.

 

i'd carry extra containers of antifreeze and consider letting the dealer add the coolant conditioner.

 

i'm helping someone local fix a 2.5 with a blown gasket. it's not the original owner so i can't be sure this is the original head gasket, but the car has 147,000 or 157,000 (can't remember) miles on it. he's been driving it awhile like that, just keeps adding coolant.

 

the new headgaskets fix the problem, so repeats are rare.

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good point starkiller.

if you're plugging around here you'll see lots of info about it. that's because the people with problems are seeking out solutions/information. people with perfectly fine running phase 1's aren't on here posting about how their head gaskets "are not" blowing.

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108k on my 97 OBW with the original HG. So far so good! Coolant looks clean and no bubbles in the overflow. I've got money earmarked for this repair if it does go. I love the car too much to give it up.

 

Good luck to you and all the rest of us with original HGs!

 

Reid

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Happy Phase 1 owner here (original owner), will be 10 years old in Feb, recently hit 100k, has been a VERY reliable car. I was a little worried when I recently noticed the coolant level going down, but was just a small leak in the upper hose, no HG or overheating problems here. My GF has had more problems with her 04 Forester in a little over a year of ownership than I have had in 10.

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My 97 2.5 has just hit 105K. Time for a T-belt and seals. The only problems I have had is a alternator failure and oil leak. I think there was a recall on the alternator, not sure. Mine failed without apparent cause, other than the 100 + temp maybe. The oil leak is a pain as the amount of smoke is out of proportion to the small amout that is lost. A long uphill grade with the engine cool seems to trigger it.

Otherwise a wonderful experience with it.

Good luck on your trip to Alaska, sounds like a great adventure.

Mark

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all youngsters.. ,my 97OBW has 182K on orginla drivetrain with no issue. Beofre you go get the cooling system serviced, use subaru antifreeze, and deminerilazed water. i think it may have something to do with lack of maintance and using tapwater in the cooling system, but then again im on heavy pain meds. The cooling system and the auto tranny are the tow of three ignored areas for fluid changes, the others being the differntials, but they sem to survive it.

 

nipper

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190K on Phase 2 2.5L. Just started leaking externally from left HG. The problem with any aluminum engine, is that at some point you might need a HG job. The only Subaru engine that probably had very few HG problems was the EJ22T. And even then, I talked to a tech that had a HG go on one of those.

 

From looking at the sales history of 2.2L HG to 2.5L HG's, we've sold quite a bit more HG for the 2.5L. It's just one of those things. You can go to any message board, for any car company and see tons of problems. Honda's, Toyota's and Nissan included.

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The coolant additive won't do a thing for the typical DOHC HG leaks. It works by filling leaks where the coolant is leaking OUT. The DOHC leaks are gasses from the cylinders into the coolant.

 

HGs done on 98 Forester at 130,000, on 97 Legacy at 170,000. I know the DOHC engines have bad reps from the HGs, but, other than that, they are terrific.

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I have a 98 OBW with 110K miles on it. Just did the HG repair. As you could have probably guessed from my screen name. I most likely drove my car for over a year before I even knew the HGs were bad. Went from Iowa to Wyoming and from Iowa to New Jersey several times. After 100 to 200 HIghway miles coolant would accumulate in the overflow tank and the engine would start to over heat. Let it cool down and top off the coolant in the radiator and it would be good for another couple hundred miles. The point is even if you have the problem you shouldn't be left stranded.

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Wow

I was looking forward to getting off work to see a little positive info.just what i needeed to hear- thanks all

5-10% failure rate is not as bad as one would of thought reading some of the posts on this site. it is nice to hear that if i does go it wont leave you stranded.

 

About the coolant additive? has anybody heard anything negative or is it something that most of you are using? so it sounds like 100k+ is not that uncommon before the HGs give if they do. I Love this 97 Outback its the first car that i have owned that i find myself peeking out the window sometimes to just look at how pretty it is. i definetly like the shape better than many of the newer year outbacks. thanks again

J in Portland

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About the coolant additive? has anybody heard anything negative or is it something that most of you are using? so it sounds like 100k+ is not that uncommon before the HGs give if they do. I Love this 97 Outback its the first car that i have owned that i find myself peeking out the window sometimes to just look at how pretty it is. i definetly like the shape better than many of the newer year outbacks. thanks again

J in Portland

 

hehe i do the saem thing, mine is a real pretty blue. The sealant is stopleak. GM uses it in their hp v-8's too. It does its job well for minor leaks, but when a leak gets big enough, its time to fix it the right way. Only advice i have is to drive properly, ie, scan your dashboard regularly to make sure the temp gauge is where it should be, and youll be fine.

 

nipper

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