MarkS1

Fairtax & Grossgary- Thanks for the tip about using coolant conditioner. It looks like I'm leaking 100% oil, but I haven't been checking the coolant level. Learned a lot on this forum. Thanks to all.

Thanks for your replies, folks. 987- Helpful and interesting tip about using the STI HG. One of the independent Subie shops here in Denver had never thought of that option. 3Pin- The local dealer where I bought my car new simply blew me off when I asked about some leniency on the repair bill. In fact, the service guy at the dealer said that I can expect a repaired HG to last only about 60K miles. Guess they don't want any return business.

I've skimmed through about 100 posts about Forester head gasket failures and I get the feeling this is a stale, boring topic. My 2006 Forester (only 67,500 miles) is dripping a few drops per day from the passenger-side HG and the driver side shows a stain forming. I'm out in Colorado where labor rates are pretty reasonable. Questions: If I have the head gaskets replaced with "good" quality parts, how many miles can I expect to go before I have leaky gaskets again? Best guess? The leak is minor for now. Does it make any sense to wait for the leak to get worse before servicing? Thanks -- really enjoy this forum. Mark