jhelman

I will.

The mechanic that did my timing belt 3 years ago said that I should address my front discs/rotors. I feel no pulsation in the brakes (like a '90 legacy I had). I'll throw on some pads then. I haven't looked into doing it, but I've got a Haynes manual. Shouldn't be too hard.

Alrighty then. Thank you all for your input. It's been eye-opening to say the least. I’m sure that everyone will be happy to know that I’m going to hold off right now, until I can take it somewhere to test for hydrocarbons in the coolant reservoir. I think that everyone had the same consensus that if this were the case, then the hg was blown. Right? Then if it is blown, I’ll find out if it’s necessary to replace the short block. It sounds like it most likely won’t be necessary. We’ll see… As far as the brakes go, the price for buying pads and putting them on myself isn’t any better then if I take it in. Plus, then they can determine whether the rotors will need turning or not. I’m pretty sure that putting new pads on a rotor that needs turning isn’t a good idea. So I’ll get the brakes done. PCV valve – sure I’ll put a new one on. I’ll see if that has any correlation to my burning oil. If it doesn’t help then I’ll try some heavier weight oil. Radiator? Yeah I’m handy and could probably replace it, but it’s the time that I don’t have. I have a list of projects a mile long as it is. So when I get the hydrocarbons checked, then I’ll have then do whatever checks need to be done on the radiator. Let’s see… what have I left out? Alternator – check, water pump – check, oil pump – check, alarm siren – snipped. Oh yeah, there is something that rattles about 2800 RPM. Is it the heat shield? Any easy was to find it and stop the rattling? – I know I haven’t mentioned this before. For the trip, it looks like we will be taking our 1990 Buick Park Avenue (32,000 miles) that we got from my wife’s grandmother. Not sure where to put the bikes, but the horn is pretty incredible. It will be going in my subie at some point. I’ll fill you in on the details of the car as it happens. Jon

ok, ok, ok I'll get a second opinion from a shop that I've been to before. I didn't mean for this to be a thread to rip on my neighbor, but.... Just to clarify, the HG has not blown. The diagnoses was based on 'experience', and was determined to be closed to failing bases on the symptoms. Thus, the not relying on the car for a 350 mile trip each way with my family. I have no doubt that the brakes would be in need of repair. When I had work done 3 years ago, they said that the front pads/rotors needed work. The brakes, and clutch are original to the car, which in Seattle is quite good (we have many steep hills).

I think that he's basing it on the smell in the resevoir more than the black residue. I've had the car since 33,000 miles, and the head gasket has not blown. But at the same time, I haven't payed any attention to the inside of the resevoir. He would be doing the work at his dealership. This will include using a machine that will turn the rotors on the car for the brake work.

Ok, now I have some specifics. The reason I was told that the short block will probably need replacing is based on the piston knocking, and oil consumption. He is basing this on his experience with the smell in the coolant resevoir. Its my option to replace the short block. He said that if I don't, then there's a good chance that in a couple of years I will have to do the work again. So If I keep the block (which includes pistons, crank,...), I can take off $1500 from the quote. The quote that I have is for about $4000. This includes: Reman DOHC S Gasket Seal Plug Cylinder SB-02-51-02R (gasket kit??) Radial Ball various belts Brake Pads (front and back) Spark plugs/wires/air filter After market radiator Clutch Machine work (if needed) There is a possibility that the machine work will not be needed. This quote includes the $850 in Labor and about $2900 in parts. I will get the parts lower than list price. At this point I'm going to get the work done. Does anyone have suggestions on whether to do the short block or not? Thanks again for all of the responses.

Sorry, I can’t remember what he said needed replacing. Lower block?, Short block? -something like that. As far as the PCV, I probably do need to change that. Isn’t it part of the 50,000 mile service? I changed it around 65,000 miles, when I did the fuel filter, rear differential oil, and transmission oil. There is no excuse for not having changed the PCV. I think that it’s about $5, and easy to replace. I guess I didn’t know exactly what it did. The seals were replaced when the timing belt was done, and it is not overheating or leaking. These things would be proactive, so we won’t be stranded somewhere. Also, the pricing may be way off (and sounds like it is). He was just guessing, and doesn’t deal with the money side of the fixing. I think that he was going to get a quote together for me today. So I’ll have better information tonight. I’ll also find out what the something block was that he was talking about, and why that would also need replacing. Jon

It has not overheated yet. Most of the urgency at this point is that my family was going to take it about 10 hours to a pretty hot area. My neighbor said that he wouldn't risk it based on his experience with the engines. If these are symptoms of a head gasket, then I don't mind putting in the money and getting things replaced. If it gets another 100 thousand miles, then all this is well worth it. I certainly wouldn't mind doing the clutch, since it's bound to go at some point (it's still the original). I just know that the brakes will need to be done also. The mechanic two years ago told me that I should at least replace the front discs/rotars.

I didn't know about any recalls with the alternator. He gave it to me at his cost (~$80) with $25 in labor. It's a new factory alternator.

At this point the car runs great. It burns about 1.5-2 quarts of oil every 3000 miles. The main symptom of that my neighbor was looking at was a black residue in the coolant overflow resevoir that smelled like burnt petrolium. When I had the timing belt/water pump replaced 2 years ago, the mechanic thought that there was a restrictiion in the radiator, and thought that it should be addressed. He said that it could lead to head gasket problems. Needless to say, I didn't address it. I only mentioned the clutch, because it's never been replaced, and it will save labor charges in the future if we replace it now. I think that I forgot to mention the radiator last time, so that was also in the price that he was thinking. My neighbor was thinking that it might be smarter to get a new car because things might start to go wrong more frequently. He would have nothing to gain if I traded it in, or sold it. Thanks for the reply, Jon

I have a '98 Legacy Outback Ltd with 105,000 miles. The alternator just went, and I had my neighbor replace it (he's a Subaru mechanic). He noticed many things that are wrong with it, and said that I will need a new upper block, head gasket, while were in there, clutch, plug wires,... The front and back brakes will also need replacement. He was thinking that he could do it all for around 4 to 5K. My question is, is it worth it to spend this money on a car that has this many miles? The timing belt and water pump have less than 10,000 miles. Other than some cosmetic problems (paint peeling around hood scoop), the car has been awesome. I trust my neighbor completlely, as he would have no reason to lie to me. Should I fix it? or should I look into getting a newer outback with around 30k miles? Will my subie start to become a money pit at this point? Thanks a lot, Jon