Pour House Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I have intermittent overheating on my 98 outback. When it does overheat it forces the coolant into the overflow bottle and out. My guess is a head gasket! I changed the thermostat for kicks and it did not solve anything. In order to pull the heads do you have to pull the motor? Also is there any way to determine which head it is so as not to have to pull both? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. BTW it only has 88k on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 First, the overflow tank aside for now are you able to locate an external leak? If so you may have good results with the Subaru stop leak coolant conditioner. If not you have an internal leak, to verify this I would take some of your existing antifreeze to an engine shop and have them test for hydro-carbins. This will just confirm what we allready know. If you change the head on one side you should go ahead and do the other since you will have so much from the top of the engine allready off. You might want to check with the dealer, you may be covered under the HG extended warrenty sinve you are under 100K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 This is a Phase I 2.5l engine. No warranty extensions. Symptons are classic hg failure. The gaskets can be changed with the engine in the car, but it's a challenge. I'd change both. A couple of members have done full write ups on doing it yourself if interested. Given the mileage, if you like the car and plan to keep it for a while, it would be worth fixing IMO. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Its a headgasket. Time as well as mileage affects parts. Have you talked to the dealer or subaru? I would give them a shot. But i do agree I would fix it and keep the car. Also while your there do the timing belt water pump and all the seals. This way you wont have to touch the car for a long long time. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 EJ25 headgaskets leak? just kidding. replace both. replacing one is a very very bad idea and that's not oppinion speaking, that's experience. you'll be glad you're fixing it and dealing with it, this thing will run forever once you're done if you do it right. can be done with engine in the car. tons of info on this, i'd start reading through all the threads and make your decision based on what others say and your time, tools, personality...etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pour House Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 Thanks for the input! With respect to the conditioner. Would there be a chance for a temporary fix with that so that I could keep the thing running through winter? Or is that a real bad idea? How about taking the thermostat out? Just reaching for a month of use prior to rebuild... Thanks again for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Sorry, no. The coolant conditioner (stop leak) only works for the Phase II failures, which show up as a coolant leak around the outside of the heads (you'd see coolant leaking around the block). The Phase I failure causes hot exhaust gas to be forced into the coolant loop - higher temperature, higher pressure than the Phase II problem, and no amount of any kind of stop leak will help, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Thanks for the input! With respect to the conditioner. Would there be a chance for a temporary fix with that so that I could keep the thing running through winter? Or is that a real bad idea? How about taking the thermostat out? Just reaching for a month of use prior to rebuild... Thanks again for the input. Other may have a different opinion, but I would say fix it ASAP. All aluminum engines tend to take repeated overheatings very badly. You don't need warped or cracked heads in addition to the blown head gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Other may have a different opinion, but I would say fix it ASAP. All aluminum engines tend to take repeated overheatings very badly. You don't need warped or cracked heads in addition to the blown head gaskets. or worse. there have been some piston sleeves that have moved, very very ugly thing Also dont forget an oil change if the engine has gotten hot. It's a little insurance. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 you need to fix this as soon as possible or look for another engine. i have pictures of heads...i lied, i have the heads in my garage, but no pic's..but heads that are run too long while leaking...they show significant..i mean chunks of metal missing at the leakage points and the block didn't look much better. it's not worth the risk considering how long and well this engine will run if fixed properly and timely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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