bjwirth Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I have a 00 forester w/ 65000 miles which has been diagnosed with the head gasket leak. From what I have read from previous messages, this leak is external and tends to pop up when the weather gets cold. My (stupid) question is this: If I watch the coolant level and wait until the weather warms up again, will the leak go away? Do I risk any further damage by not replacing the gasket. I am strapped for cash right now after the holidays and traveling so my budget will be tight for the next few months. thanks BJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 In my opinion your biggest risk is running the engine low on coolant and overheating and damaging the engine. Keep the radiator bled of air and keep the overflow bottle at the max line. Always keep an extra close eye on the temp gauge and fix it as soon as you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkaru Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I usually try to not be a Sh**house lawyer, but with SO many instances of failed head gaskets (mine among them), I would really see if they'll fix it under warranty. Mine had both gaskets replaced at ~58K miles, and they replaced the waterpump and thermostat at the same time, no cost to me:) Maybe I have an exemplary dealer, but I would think SOA wants to keep you as a customer. I am STILL having second thoughts about another Sube, this is my first and I really enjoy, but new head gaskets seem a bit ridiculous so young, especially when the last generation also has a history of failures. Good Luck whichever way you go! Speed safely, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 if you have to bear the cost yourself watch the water closely until you have the bucks to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarutech Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 I work for a subaru dealership and was told that they just changed the warranty on headgaskets. 99-04 subarus will be covered. None of this under 60K miles. If you have a 00 subaru with 65K miles it is covered under warranty. Trust me I'm doing a ton of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjsemmer Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Originally posted by subarutech I work for a subaru dealership and was told that they just changed the warranty on headgaskets. 99-04 subarus will be covered. None of this under 60K miles. If you have a 00 subaru with 65K miles it is covered under warranty. Trust me I'm doing a ton of them. Is there any official information posted somewhere about this? That is great news if it is fact. It is very admirable of Subaru to acknowledge this and will go a long way in terms of people buying again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAezb Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 So what does this do, if anything, for owners of these model years who had to pay out-of-pocket for repairs because they were well beyond the mileage warranty? Will they be reimbersed I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joybell Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 What about someone, like me, who takes 10 years to do 70K miles? And reading "99-04" tells me that the models now in Subaru showrooms are still prone to headgasket failure? Why did they not put the 2.2L engine in the Foresters and Legacys? And here is a question that has bothered me for a long time. Is the 2.5L engine a true Subaru engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAezb Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 That's a good point. I guess I should ask for those of us with model years 96 - 98 2.5's, which have more reported failures - just from age and mileage. Apparently, if this is true, and Subaru is acknowledging a problem with their HGs, they should cover all the 2.5's back to when it was first introduced (1996). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjwirth Posted January 10, 2004 Author Share Posted January 10, 2004 Originally posted by subarutech I work for a subaru dealership and was told that they just changed the warranty on headgaskets. 99-04 subarus will be covered. None of this under 60K miles. If you have a 00 subaru with 65K miles it is covered under warranty. Trust me I'm doing a ton of them. I called SOA (before I read this post) and they told me that there was a "good will" program in place where cars just out of warranty could get certain repairs done. He didn't promise me anything but led me to beleive there might be a chance to get the repair done for free or a reduced rate. The rep told me this had to be done through the dealer. When I asked the service manager about this, he told me they only did this for "good customers" (I have never been there before nor did I buy my car from them). So am I getting the shaft from SOA (because they did not tell me avout this 100k gasket warrenty) or from my local dealer (because they are being petty)? Any official reference to this 100k warranty would be REALLY appreaciated. Thanks, BJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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