982.5GT

So, on eveyone's recommendation, I decided to go with the HG repair at S-Wing Stuff. The total cost was $2,500.00 as some additional work was performed on the car. I chose the HG repair for two reasons: (1) cost and (2) my inexperience as a mechanic. At CCR a refurbished 2.2L engine is $1800; a refurbed 2.5L is $2900. The cost includes a 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty, but it is (reasonably) only on mechanical problems with the engine itself. As to cost, I spoke with a CCR rep on the phone (who was extremely knowledgable and helpful), he said that there is a delivery cost for the engine depending on where you want to have it installed. If I had the work done at S-Wing Stuff there is no delivery cost (also at Strictly, I believe) as CCR delivers there regularly. So there is the labor cost of installation, as well. The CCR rep also said that there is some kind of required conversion kit if I were to put the 2.2L engine in my 2.5L set up and I think he guessed that the kit by itself was about $300. I'm not sure what the conversion kit is, but it seemed reasonable that there would be some problems matching the engine with the rest of the car. These costs, coupled with my general mechanical inexperience led me to hand the car off and get it all fixed up. ******************************** So here is the list of prices and costs from my receipt: The work was done on a 1998 Legacy 2.5GT auto with 130,000 miles named "Earl" who had been intermittedly overheating after an hour (or more) of driving. The work was finished 1/5/07 at S-Wings Stuff off Sante Fe. Parts / Costs: 1 Engine Gasket Set: $260.95 1 Valve Cover Gasket: $150 1 Rod Radiator: $80 1 T/Stat Legacy: $13 1 Gallon of Antifreeze: $10 1 Water Pump Legacy: $97.68 4 Plugs: $75 5 Qts Oil: $14.50 1 Oil Filter: $9.50 1 Axle: $120 1 Tension w/ Pully: $158.02 2 Smooth Idler Pully: $132.86 1 Geared Idler Pully: $91.61 Discount: -$121.29 Total Parts Cost: $1091.83 Total Labor Costs: $1279.05 Supplies: $41.62 Tax: $87.50 Total Cost: $2500.00 Warranty: 1 year or 12,000 miles on all parts and labor. S-Wings took 1.5 days to fix the car. They gave me a 1990 Legacy w/ 185k (Nice!) as a loaner while they worked. Recommendation: I have to say that I am pretty impressed with S-Wing Stuff. The guys were nice and when I picked up the car, the guys hung out until 7:00 pm answering questions, discussing my car, and recommending what I need to do to get another 130,000 miles out of "Earl." They would probably be a good resource for other questions. So there you have it; my pain-in-the-rump roast, uber expensive, HG repair. I hope this is helpful to people. I would love to have a discussion board for prices on work already done. If anyone has any specific questions about the experience ask here or feel free to PM me. Thanks again to everyone for all the help!

Thanks for the quick replies! First, the "head gasket job" from S - Wing Stuff (303.777.8658) includes a CO2 diagnostic, replacement of the head gaskets, new plug wires, water pump, cam seals, "boring" the radiator (I think), the 1 year warranty, and all the labor. Oh yeah, and they offered a loaner car for the time they had the car. Second, I too called Strictly. They quoted me $1500 for the head gasket work only, and an additional $600 for the plug wires, spark plug, and water pump. So they priced out at $2100 too. Third, I called Roos Only and they quoted $1700 for head gasket work, including work on the radiator, and cam seals, but no water pump. Fourth, Comprehensive Car Car (on Evans, near DU) quoted me $1600 only for the head gasket work with no additionals included. I tried to do a thorough search of the main independent Subie shops in the Denver area to price their head gasket costs, but, as I'm sure you can all tell, I didn't get down the full extent of each repair in each case. Sorry about that! Anyway, I think i will bite the bullet and get the work done at S-Wing Stuff. I will report back about what was done and the total cost, . . . maybe someone will find this info helpful. Thanks again for the comments.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to check in and ask whether $2100 for a head gasket job on a 98 Legacy 2.5GT auto w/ 130k in Denver, CO (at S-Wing Stuff) is reasonable. This price includes a 1 year, 12k warranty on the work and a new timing belt, water pump, and I believe new plug wires. To me it seems a bit high, but the shop is reputable and I want the work done right. If anyone is interested I would be happy to report back what work they did and anything else interesting. Thanks for all the previous help -- you guys are the absolute best!

I just bought a 98 2.5GT wgn AT w/ 120k on it. I love it - a little problem with some torque bind, which was cleared up by an AT flush at Grease Monkey. But the car is a thing of beauty - storng engine, dark green paint, tough charcoal leather, moonroof, CD. It is quiet at idle, it zips along the interstate at whatever speed I need it too, and the cruise locks in where I set it. This is the nicest car I have ever owned (better than my old 99 Camry LE V6 even!). I cannot wait for the winter to see what she can really do!!! Question: Gnuman - what were you doing in Mt. Pleasant Iowa??? I grew up there and it is not typically on most people's "to-do" list when driving through SE Iowa???

I drive a 98 2.5 Legacy, w/ AT If I "fixed" my torque bind with an AT flush + conditioner, and continue to maintain the car (keeping tires even, good alignment, and continuing to flush the AT fluid every 30,000 miles), then can I still expect the TCU or the duty c solenoid to go at some point too?

What is a "TCU pinout" and "multimeter"?

Tha't right, the "BG" is the brand of the conditioner that Grease Monkey uses for its limited slip additive. The Grease Monkey guy told me that it is the only kind that Subaru recommends to keep any warranties valid, but that might just be a sales pitch. He also said that the AT fluid flush is recommended by Subaru every 30,000 miles.

Hello! First, I want to thank everyone who has posted about the options for a person experiencing torque bind - your information has been invaluable to my search to fix the problem. I recently purchased a 1998 Legacy 2.5GT wagon w/ 119,000 miles on it. I drove it from Iowa (where I bought it) to Boulder, CO two weeks ago. When I got to Boulder, I began noticing a jumping and pushing from the car when I turned it to the most severe angles (both left and right). I looked up the problem on this website and determied that I probably had the dreaded "torque bind." The first thing that I did was check the tires - all fairly new of the same brand and PSI from 35-36. I did not check the circum. of them, but I felt confident that they were not the current source of the problem. Second, I pulled a spare 15 amp fuse from the fuse box in the front and placed it into the fuse spot to put the car into 2wd only (marked "FWD" under the hood, in front of where the passenger would sit). This completely got rid of the jumping on tight turns. Next I called "Super Rupair" of Boulder for them to take a look at the car and tell me what they thought. They charged me $39.95 for the look, had the car all day, test drove it, and told me that it was their opinion that the transfer clutch was wearing out on the car. They quoted me $800-1200 to fix depending on how much wear there was in the system. Needless to say, this freaked me out and I was not happy that the subaru I had bought for its quality and longevity would cost me another grand 2 weeks after purchase. I had heard that flushing the Automatic Transmission Fluid and adding a conditioner might solve the torque bind problem in some cases. Grease Monkey was recommended to do the job. So I tried the Grease Monkey option as it was probably a good idea to change the AT fluid anyway and it might fix the problem. Grease Monkey charged me $84.99 (plus tax) to take samples of the AT fluid (to see if the flush is needed), to pressure flush the system, to add BG conditioner to the AT fluid and the whole process was finished in about an hour. And the Grease Monkey AT flush worked!!!!!! No more torque bind!!! The car turns fine, no jumping or pulling - it was gone immediately following the flush. So, I wanted to pass this along to all of you Subaru drivers: if you are experiencing torque bind, have excluded the tires as the source and havn't changed the AT fluid or added conditioner, then you might want to try it before you pay big bucks to replace whatever the repair place tells you the problem is. I even asked Super Rupair if flushing the AT fluid might stop the binding after they had it the whole day and they said that it would not help the torque bind, only the shifting of the transmission. I am exceedingly upset with Super Rupair for misleading me in an area where they are the experts and I am totally unknowledgable. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give all the facts of my experience so others going through the same thing might be able to save some money too. Again, thanks for all of your great help here on USMB and I hope this post can give a little back!