CrankyAl

Yes, it sure seems that way. The easiest test of all....go for a warmup drive and check the overflow tank with engine still running and watch the bubbles spring forth. The mechanic refused to do that, even suggested that I get a new radiator cap!!!! I just put a new Subaru cap on. So that tells me that they do not want to honor the warranty and do the headgasket work again. Geeze, what a crock of crap!

Ahhhhhh, more to add to the Subie saga! The small car lot where I bought the 98 Legacy said that they would honor the 3 month 3000 mile warrenty. The chief cheese mechanic ran mutiple tests on the engine ( leakdown test, compression test, even the chemical test) and said all is well. I told him the most of the tests don't indicate a blown head gasket. He said I was plenty dumb about cars.( In another life I was a mechanic). I wanted him to go for a ride with me to get the engine to temperature and check the overflow tank after I pulled over by the side of the highway. Said he didn't have time for that. Ughhhhh! I will try to get in touch with Gloyale in Corvalis or General Disorder in the Portland area to see what their time schedual might be to get anothe opinion, if I can drive the car that far. 130 miles to Corvalis and 160 miles to Portland. Thanks to the forum and all the help, you guys are the best. Allan

On the way to work I pulled over several times to check for bubbles. I saw them everytime. I drove back home yesterday and pulled over several times and bubbling away. Got home and bubbling away. When I refilled I did the long slow watch the grass grow way. Coolent refill bottle on top of the strut tower and a 1/4" hose. Nose of car up. With the t-stat gutted the coolant just spews out of the radiator!! when running the engine with cap off.Had to refill and let car sit for awhile then recheck level of coolant. Gauge come up to temp real fast now,but I figured it would without a t-stat. Not real sure what LARGE bubbles are. the ones coming into the overflow tank are about 1/4" in diameter. Less at idle and when I rev engine after a 1 second lagtime a nice stream of the suckers come a-bubbling out.

Fairtax4me, Where are all the bubbles in the overflow tank coming from then? After I gutted the thermostat and got circulation the bubbles appeared in the overflow tank. I rev the engine and a lot more come bubbling up. At idle the bubbling is less. I did not have bubbling before gutting the thermostat.

Well folks, The on going saga of the 2.5L in my 98 Subie. I did gut the thermostat just so I could get to work 35 miles away. Top hose hot, bottom hose hot...finally. Drove to work and gauge seems to stay in normal range. Open hood when I get to work and ta da there be the dreaded bubbles coming into the overflow tank!! Yup, brand new headgasket repair already blown....I don't even have 600 miles on the rig. I took it to the mechanic that supposedly did the work and he said that the heads had been surfaced and that he used a gasket set from the Subaru stealership. He said he did a complete gasket reseal including the rear main. I asked him about the oil separator plate and he looked at me like I was from another planet. These mechanics work on all cars and don't know about Subarus in general. The dealer said that they would honor the repair but I do not have a warm fuzzy fealing about the mechanic or the repair....not from these guys. :-(((

Read my post above about the the supposed work done on the car. The thermostat I removed was clean as well as the radiator cap. The overflow bottle was clean, no oily residue, no bubbles. I did fill from the top hose. Very slowly, then the rest via the radiator. I realise I probably have air issues but I am getting frustrated after so many attemps at filling it properly, if I could just get the POS to Gloyale or GD, folks I would trust, then maybe they could figure it out. I gutted the aftermarket junk thermostat but have not installed it yet. I wanted an answer about other damage it might cause to the engine. I am going to do the REALLY SLOW fill via the small diameter hose while I go and watch paint dry. BTW when the engine heated up I never saw the gauge peg, just start to rise when I would shut the car down.

Thanks 86Bratman, but will running the car without the thermostat cause any damage to the engine such as plugging up the cats? It seems to me the car may run a bit rich or am I erroneous in my thinking?

Crap!! I knew this would take an explanation. Just bought a 1998 Legacy GT Wagon from a local small dealer. They advertised the car as having new head gaskets,timing belt,idlers,cam seals, waterpump......etc. I asked the dealer about paperwork on the work done but really never saw such paperwork, just what they advertised in the paper and craigslist. I test drove the car 3 times during a weeks time. All seemed fine. Bought car, drove to work 35 miles away, and all seemed fine. Car seemed to be a bit hot so I popped the hood. Top hose hot, bottom hose cold. About 1 inch more water in overflow bottle. No over heat showing on gauge. After it cooled the extra water disappeared from the overflow bottle. Drove home, same thing. I read many posts about headgaskets ,thermostats, radiator caps, mucho etc..... I checked the thermostat and yup, aftermarket. Changed to Subaru thermo, Subaru radiator cap also. Refilled slowly with burp screw on top of radiator open. Ran the car to temp and the bottom hose finally got hot. Eureka!!!! Car cooled for a few hours and I went to town for chinese takeout. Got home and top hose hot, bottom hose cold with about 1.5 inches more water in overflow. bottle. Crap!! Fans always came on, no bubbles coming out of coolant. Re-burped engine 2 more times....Back flushed radiator and very good flow. Still no joy. So I just thought maybe gut the aftermarket thermostat and put it in so I at least can drive the damn thing. Maybe drive it to GD in Portland or Gloyale in Corvalis if either of them have time to check it out, I don't have anyone in Bend I would trust and my mechanic skills are going downhill because of lots of pain issues crawling around on the floor to work on cars. The coolant is clean, used the chemical test for hydrocarbons in coolant, negative (for now). Heater blows hot.

Without getting into a long dissertation about my engine.....2.5L 98 Legacy GT wagon..... can I run my car with a gutted thermostat for a month or so. Hot weather now in Oregon, and more to come. I just want to know if it will damage anything. I imagine my mileage will drop because of the sensors wanting the coolant on the hot side, but will anything else be affected? Cat maybe?

I feel like a dunce. First it took me weeks to find the damn adjustment screw and lock nut. When I finally found it I thought that you get to it from the engine bay. DUH....I was under the car today and found out you can access the adjuster from underneath the car! I did manage to get a stubby 17mm on the lock nut but couldn't budge it. No hand strength left in these old hands. Bummer, I will try another day. Thanks to all for your help.

Mighty small working area to get two hands and two wrenches into. With all the hoses and electrical bundles in the way. Removing the starter would make more room. I will figure it out eventually.

I have a slipping 4eat in my 93 Legacy and have been thinking about trying the band adjust. Dumb question. How the heck do you get to the adjustment nut and screw. Only thing I can tell there must be a special very long set of wrenches to get to the thing. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your help. And Gloyale, thanks for your offer. I may have my door here in Bend if the guy will get back with me. He is the one that says all Legacy doors from 90-97 will fit. And when I said I think that 90-94 will fit and not later he stopped e-mailing me. So maybe I may take you up on a door. But I will come to Corvalis to get one if need be. Thanks again everyone.

I have a 93 Legacy and need a drivers side rear door. I have been told that anything from 90-97 will fit. I thought that there had been some changes in the body between the later years. Does anyone know if this is correct? It is a wagon.

Well, reading the forum in the past, I have read many times to look how the old seals were installed and install the new ones the same......so I did. Who ever worked on the engine before installed the seals deep like I did thats why I installed them the same way. Even bottomed out they are only about a 16th of an inch lower than the lip, but I watched a video from Miles Fox that stated if you bottom them out it cuts off an oil hole or something of that nature. They also were coated on the outer edges with permatex, and that I why I posted an earlier question about using some kind of sealant when installing the new seals.