mattfrombedford

Having a blown head gasket replaced on a Forester. I talked to my mechanic about it and he told me that he is not going to replace the bolts on the heads based on what the Subaru Dealership told him. Is this ok and correct? Also, he used an OEM gasket kit which is what I wanted but is replacing the water pump and timing belt with NAPA parts which I whinced about but it's a bit late now. These parts ok being NAPA? thanks matt

I forgot to mention in the first post that I only seemed to loose a little bit of coolant. maybe less than half a gallon. The overheating was due to no flow as oppose to no coolant. I'll post the final solution so folks can see the complete story. thanks much guys. m

Thanks Dude, I'll talk to the Mechanic about sniffing the coolant. Not understaning the mechanics of the motor itself, why would the flow be restricted in the overall system as a result as a result of the gasket being comprimised? If it is an ignorant question, excuse it in advance :-\ Thanks man

98 Forrester with 149K miles. After sifting through the posts on overheating engines, I have a pretty good idea that my head gaskets may be the problem but there are some confusing symtoms of my problem that perhaps maybe someone out there can shed light on for me. First noticed the problem after a two hour highway drive. Temperature sensor was spiked and coolant spraying out of the engine from unknown source. There were no broken hoses so it was either coming out of the coolant reservoir or the radiator cap. The radiator cap was COLD. The outlet hose was HOT and there was no heat coming out of the car heating system. This sort of indicates no flow right? OK so I took it to the shop(mom & pop place, not a Subaru Dealer), they replaced the thermostat first - still overheating- and then replaced the radiator assuming it was blocked. Mechanic drove it around town for some time no overheating. I got ready to drive it home and five minutes on the expressway, the temperature gage spikes again. This time I am getting heat from the car heater and if fact run it to try to get the heat off the engine as I limp home. Same thing however. Coolant blown inside the engine, COLD radiator cap and Hot exit hose. Belts around the water pump appear to be fine so at first glance, that is not siezed but is it possible that the impeller is somehow busted and the pump still turning freely? Head gasket would not totally restrict the flow would it? I would think that the Cap on the radiator would at least be warm? Also, if the lower intake hose was collapsing, the radiator would have been a little warm as well. I haven't checked the oil or coolant for contamination and will do so shortly so that will help in diagnosis. Anyway, it is back at the shop and I am a little nervous that my mechanic may be a bit out of his element as he has never worked on this type of car. If it does turn out to be head gaskets, is this a job he could handle? He is a good mechanic but not versed in the Subaru engine. I don't know my way around the modern car engines either so I am in an uncomfortable position at this point. Thank you to anyone who takes time to respond to this. I really appreciate your time