ktdenali

so phase What? engines did they use in the 2006 and younger models. Are those still prone to HG failure?

I am looking at buying another one (5 speed) which has 90000 miles on it. It is a 2006, the next generation from mine. unfortunately a dealer, but I cannot do much about that. Subarus are hard to find used. Does anyone know if Subaru had fixed their HG idiocy by 2006 or is it still a problem? What are some of the years safe to buy, so the engines last Like the old 2.2's used to? I am not savvy enough to rebuild an engine, and I would hate to put another 1000s of dollars into this one, to get my engine rebuilt.

He said OEM gaskets were use, the same ones he uses on hundreds of Subarus. The heads were resurfaced, but since the leak came back he suspects the block may have been warped from previous overheating (not in my hands) I think this engine is gonna be a throw away, because I already spent $1500 on it. I'd rather find a "new" one, spend a little more and have a better engine. We shall see. Where I live engines seem hard to find these days. I have talked to 3 mechanics already. My lower hose gets just as hot as the upper hose. So I suspect the thermostat still opens and let's the coolant circulate. Thanks

So I drove it to work (160 mile commute per day) the last two weeks. It did not overheat, until today at a rail road crossing. I sped up and in quit, until I got to the next town. Just out of curiosity I opened the hood to see how crazy it was bubbling. It WASN'T!!! I drove home and let it coo just enough to be able to open my radiator cap. The hoses were still very stiff and hot. For some reason the bubbles were not blowing into my overflow this time while driving, but when I twisted the radiator cap just a ted, HOLY COW. It shot into the overflow like crazy. Mostly gas (combustion). I think the reason it over heats now is because my radiator runs low on coolant. Even if I fill it up it blows into the overflow tank and stays there. So my radiator is always low, and tank is always so full. Now I just need to figure out why the bubbles don't go into my overflow anymore. That is probably why I started overheating 'cause the pressure builds up and there is not relief. Subarus are interesting...

Do these still have the head gasket issue of Subaru finally fixed. I suspect the newest ones have been redesigned completely but what about the generation before the newest?

if I start out the day with normal coolant levels (i.e. after I burped the engine) and even leave my overflow tank on the LOW mark, by the end of a longer trip (interstate) the overflow will be full, in fact if will push out some of it. The bubbles keep going for a little while after I shut the engine off. After it cooled down the overflow stays full so it does not get sucked back in the radiator. I think it theoretically should. As far as testing the coolant. Unfortunately I do not have those tools (cost about $50 right?) It kind of smells gasy, not like regular coolant and its color changes over time to something much darker, grayish. I don't know how this car is still running. I would love to use a EJ22, but I am very very sceptical about the Subaru 2.5's anymore. No matter what phase. Which brings me to another question, if anyone knows. Has Subaru fixed the HG problems by the 2005-2009 generation Outbacks??? or those still give out on you at 120k ish?

I just drove it around town in 100 F weather for an hour and no sign of over heating. However, driving it sound like flushing the toilet. You can hear coolant movement (like a sewer pipe) as you accelerate. I have never added the Subaru Coolant additive. Most people I talked to said it seems silly to try to fix a major problem with some cheap liquid. But like you said, this maybe the end of this engine so if it's really only $2.50 I will try it. I bought the car at 126k and HG was done at 136k. The sole reason being bubbles in my coolant. Where I live it's hard to find Subaru engines, especially 2.2's. So I may have to look for a new car.

I used to have a EJ22 in a legacy before. Those are indestructible and hard to find anymore. If I could I would go for one of those for sure. I am gonna try to change to coolant today because it's color has significantly changed since it was put in. I assume it's because it has been constantly blasted with combustion gases. I still wonder why it would not over heat on HWY but as soon as I got to the city it started???

The HGs were done by a very good reputable mechanic in town here. he said he used OEM (the same he uses on every Subaru he works, and he only works on Subarus) The radiator was burped after replaced, but that was almost 30,000 miles ago. I believe he did both head gaskets. As I said before a few months after I got the HGs done the bubbles came back. I took it back to the mechanic and suspected the block may be warped. We do not know what the previous owner before me did to it the first 130,000 miles. It has never over heated with me until now. The heads was also machined and they have taken some unpronounceable micro mm off of it. So far it has run over 30000 miles since the HGs were replaced, and that is with bubbles like crazy. This time around I drove it to Denver (600 miles) and right as I got to my destination I got a lot of red lights and and it started overheating. I don't understand how it did not do anything non-stop Hwy. I drove it a few miles with my defrost blasting which cooled it down and it was parked for 4-5 days. Also at the time it over heated my hoses were not normal stiff and hard but very easy to squezee. The overflow was full, the radiator low. Today I drove it back from Denver. Same exact thing. no problem for all 600 miles, but I was almost home driving in town it did it again. Except this time the hoses remained hard. I wonder if running it 30,000 miles with bubbles coming through weakened my radiator cap. So i put a new one on. We will see what it'll do. Anyway more ideas other than an obvious HG leak that cannot be fixed (if I have a warmed block possibly????)

I have a 2000 Outback ltd, EJ252. 168000 miles. I had the Head Gaskets replaced at 136000 because I had bubbles in my overflow. Even I had that done, I have been having bubbles and coolant getting pushed out the overflow tank. Anyway. 32000 miles later (today) my car starts to over heat after I drove it 600 miles on the highway and I came into town. There seems to be no coolant loss (none in oil, or through exhaust or anywhere else but maybe the over flow tank.) My radiator is practically new (changed at 142k) When HG were changed they changed most everything else with it (pump, thermostat OEM, the whole shabang) Fans run, but not immediately as I come to a read light off the Highway. It only overheats in town, after a lot of miles of constant running. What the heck is going on, anyone knows? thanks

Does anybody know of a place that sells rebuilt and salvaged Subaru engines. My mechanic wanted me to ask, since he is computer illiterate. Preferable in the NW West, US. Thanks for the tips.

so I am a psychological wreck....... thanks!:-\

thanks Steve! Those are the three options I have been thinking about as well. Selling it would be hard as it is not 100% and I do not want to lie. I have no problem confronting the mechanic, if I have bad test results. Running it to death is also an option but not the best of them. My next question is. If my mechanic offers to do it all over again, whether it's free of charge of costly, will it fix it? What are some thought on that? Thanks

Thanks for all your valuable advice. Even though I have no idea who you are and this is just a virtual conversation what I hear sound right to my ears. You are right my mechanic does not seem to wanna do it over again. I asked him if he used genuine Subaru head gaskets and he said yes, it the same kind he has been using for over 7 years. I know they pulled my engine out of the car, and that is how they did it. The heads went to a machine shop and got resurfaced. So everything sound and seem right, just like what other mechanics would do. One mechanic I talked said they should have used brand new head bolts as well, and I asked bout that. they did not, and did not think that was a good idea. "My" mechanic speculated that just because the head get resurfaced the block itself may not have a perfect surface or it is warped. we do not know that. It has never over heated since I had it, which is 2 years and 25,000 miles. I guess my biggest issue is dishing out another $1100 for an HG job. I thought that was done a year ago. I have a really hard time spending more money on this $5000 car. That is my biggest hurdle to jump. As far as the powder, and the blood on the floor. I don't think we think alike at all.

well it's been several weeks. the bubbles are still persistent. I drove the car over 1000 miles twice on the Beartooth Hwy going from 5000ft to 11000 elevation. the car never over heated but my overflow tank bubbles like crazy.it even pushed out some coolant through the overflow tank. At the end of a day, the overflow tank would be overly full, and the radiator low. In other words it does not suck the coolant back in the radiator like it should after it cooled down. The mechanic who did my Head gaskets just one year ago this month has no idea what is causing it. He sees no sense in replacing the HG again 'cause it was done right in the first place. I left the car with him one over night for him to hear what it sound like on cold start (the gurgling noise). he did not hear it. I think he put some kind of powder in my coolant (I am guessing) - something lie a HG sealer. Now the bottom of my coolant in the overflow tank is full of gunk, murky. I assume it is from the stuff he put in. No I have not done the hydrocarbon testing cause every mechanic i talk to in person don't think very highly of it. It there was combustion gases coming through my coolant my nose would be able to tell, as it would smell like exhaust. It doesn't. I do not know what is wrong. I give up and am tempted to sell this lemon. Any more ideas?