BluetoE

Hmmmm. Well here's an update on where I'm at. I've put almost 3k miles on the 03 since I got it and I've topped off the coolant a couple of times a week and it hasn't run hot. Summer is just around the corner so I'm going to keep an eye on it. I certainly don't want to get stranded. I'm only driving it around town and not letting it idle with the A/C on for any length of time. I figure I'm just getting my money's worth out of this engine before the swap ($0 ). I figure if/when it starts using more coolant, I'll try one of the chemical sealants just to see what happens maybe. I've pretty much ruled out doing the HGs myself unless something crazy happens. I've got an engine fund set aside and there's one available locally for not a lot of money, so that just seems like the easiest way to go. Thanks for the tips on doing the HGs in the car, but that sounds like even more of a pain in the rear end than doing it on the stand. I guess that would save having to disconnect the tranny and risking reseating the torque converter, but with this one running hot before I got it I probably just want to replace it with one that has less mileage. Who knows? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. New question: The rear end squeaks terribly. On both sides. I haven't jacked it up yet to even try to diagnose the issue, but is there a common problem with the 03 rear ends that causes loud squeaking? My 98 is quiet as a mouse. I can hit a speed bump at 40 mph and it doesn't even flinch. This one squeaks at 10 mph on flat pavement. It's weird. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Also the rear end seems to bounce around a little when I hit bumps. Like if I go over train tracks or uneven pavement it doesn't seem to want to track straight. It sucks because the suspension on my 98 is so perfect...

If the gauge is over half, there are bubble. If it's below there aren't. I'll try to see if the fans are doing the hi/Lo thing. I thought they were all or nothing. Anything to help it stay cool is good. Thanks

Yeah. I tested the engine with a NAPA block tester. There are combustion gases in the cooling system. Fans turn on and off fine.

I'm afraid this one is on the tail end of that progression. I've topped the coolant off a few times and it's taken almost a half gallon each time. I haven't noticed any dripping except when I put too much in the overflow and the gas build up pushes a little out of the cap. I have no idea where it's going. I guess it's being vaporized by the hot combustion gases or something? Anyway, I don't think it has much longer before it's going to start using more coolant than it's worth to drive it. I just hope I can get a few weeks out of it while I'm getting my 98 back on the road (duty-c issue -- but I'm thinking about just dropping the drive shaft to see how it runs in FWD mode - fuse doesn't work).

I hate that rust is killing the early 2000 models already, but if that means I can breathe new life into my '03 for cheap I'm happy. It's weird. This one only runs hot if you have the A/C on at idle after driving for 20+ miles. Driving it around town it doesn't miss a beat. The guy I bought it from had no idea it had HG problems at all. He wrote off the weird temp fluctuations as just a car with 200k+ miles on it. ETA: There is a local place in my back yard (less than 20 miles away) with an '04 with 72k miles on it for $1200 but they want my old engine as a core for $200, so $1400ish out the door then $200 back when I bring mine back. That seems like super low mileage for an engine that old, so if the HGs are in good shape, it would be awesome. Is the $200 way too low for the core?

That would be pretty fast. I just found out they were blown on Friday. Would have been great timing. I won't do the Blue Devil just in case you still want it when I can pull it out. So finding a donor motor is that easy? You just have an extra one lying around?

Yeah, but how much would you pay for one that has a blown head gasket but is otherwise perfect? I'll let y'all in on the deal I made. I traded my priest friend a good laptop I had and about 4 hours of my time (I'm an IT consultant) for the car. I literally have $0 invested in it except for the diagnostic stuff and fluids I've put in it since last week. I'm thinking a $1500 donor motor with 100k-ish miles and me doing the swap would be the best course of action. I REALLY don't want to tackle that HG job.

Yeah. I'm sure it's never a great idea. I was just wondering if the pressure was coming from the wrong direction for these kinds of products to even have a chance at working. Like if the coolant was leaking into the exhaust (smoking) then it might have a chance, but since the hot gas is being pushed into the coolant this stuff really won't be able to do much. I wouldn't even try it if I cared about repairing/using this engine. Can the Blue Devil hose up anything else that's super important if I plan on swapping in a donor motor? This is all hypothetical. I don't think I'll even try, but if the engine is a write off, I didn't see the harm with at least giving it a shot... for science.

Might as well necro an old thread instead of starting a new one The 03 LL Bean I got for pretty much nothing has a bad HG. After 20 minutes or so I'm getting bubbles in the overflow and intermittent heat fluctuations. I grabbed a NAPA block test kit and I've got combustion gases in the cooling system, so all hope is now lost. It's 100% a HG leak. I thought about running the $65 Blue Devil stuff through the system to see if it would seal it up temporarily and buy me some time, but after reading this thread it seems that the pressure associated with this leak is coming from the wrong direction. Is this correct? So I would just be wasting money trying the Blue Devil? I'm trying to decide whether or not to do the HGs or just cook the engine and look for a replacement donor engine.

Yeah, a direct EZ30 swap seems pretty straightforward. I'm more interested in the HG job and how many steps/pitfalls are involved. ETA: Found some pics on the outback forum https://www.flickr.com/photos/karlgustav/sets/72157626862885404/

The EZ30 isn't cooked yet. It purrs like a sewing machine. I just have a hard time investing that kind of effort when I can just run it into the ground and save up for a donor with less miles. They are all over ebay for $1000-1500. I'm sure with some effort I can find one for a fraction of that. Is there a good start to finish HG EZ30 guide anywhere? A step by step video would be even better ETA: I wish I could stick these together and make one car!!!!

The hoses are all new. It overheated on him back in June according to the maintenance records and they replaced them. Unfortunately I know why it really overheated or... it got so hot that it cooked the HGs. I went to NAPA today and bought a block tester kit and there are combustion gases in the radiator I'm sad, but considering I have like $100 in the car so far including the $42 test kit, I'm not that pissed off. My friend spend six grand on a Subie for his wife a few years ago only to find out it had blown HGs, so it could be worse. Now I just have to make a decision. The engine has 220k on it, so I'm not going to spend the time/effort/$$ doing the HGs. Right now it doesn't run hot unless I go 80 mph for 20 min on the interstate then pull off and let it idle. Putting around town it doesn't even bubble and never gets hot. I think I'm gonna baby it while I'm getting my 98 up and running and then look for a donor motor. That just seems so much easier. The only other crazy idea would be to pull the EJ22 out of my 98 and all of it's electronics and try to make it fit in the 03. The body/interior/tranny on the 03 are damn near mint and the engine in my 98 is rock solid. It's a shame I can't marry the two somehow. Thoughts?

Well, for now I'm just going to replace the cheap stuff t-stat, rad cap, etc, flush it, and put in the Subaru coolant. Aside from a P0051 CEL for a $110 O2 sensor, I haven't found anything else mechanically wrong with the car. I was taking it up to speed last night to "blow it out" and it runs like a bat out of hell... for a priest's car Much more pick up than my EJ22. I just started cleaning it up and going over it yesterday afternoon and so far I'm pleasantly surprised. Worst case I'm gonna move the tires/rims over to my 98 and park it until I can get the HG squared away. ETA: after topping off the coolant and changing the oil, I noticed that the radiator cap was terrible. Rusty and crusty and couldn't have been making a good seal. Wishful thinking but I'm replacing it now. ETAA: Ok after replacing the radiator cap and running it hard down the interstate for about 10 miles, the temp gauge started fluctuating and the bubbles came back. Apparently it's a small leak that only shows up after it gets pretty hot. 20 miles at sub 55 speeds and no bubbles or fluctuations. Looks like I get to pull an EZ30 and do a HG job. Yay...

Ok. I scored the car for pretty much nothing... but there's a kicker. I just got back from taking it up to speed (80+ mph) on the interstate for about 20 miles each way and when I got back home the overflow was 3/4 full of orangish coolant and was bubbling. It never ran hot and the needle stayed around the middle of the gauge. Is this for sure a HG issue? I'm not mad if it is. I literally have nothing in the car and it has no rust or torque bind and the interior is in good shape. I have all of his maintenance records and it looks like he had to replace a couple of radiator hoses and might have had to get it towed in. So it's run hot at least once, maybe more. He actually got a lot of stuff done to it over the past few years... CVs, brakes/rotors, tires are less than a year old, a nice XM stereo system, etc. Thanks again in advance for any advice.

Heh. Yeah. I wasn't there, but he told me they offered him $300. I think he would have taken $3k in trade. To me (and him) the car is worth $3k if it's mechanically sound and I think it is. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but I hope to by the end of the week. Apparently this is a busy time for priests or something I still can't wait to ask him if the oil has been changed religiously.