tomson1355

Dave, Nipper and Raven give good advice. Typically with these 2.5 DOHC HGs, though, the movement is one-way, combustion gasses into the coolant. You probably don't have to worry about water in the oil, unless you noticed some when you changed it. It probably won't blow smoke, either. There isn't a "hole" in the HG. Combustion gasses seep around it, into the coolant. The BEST thing would be to do as Nipper advises and get it done. But many of these HGs get driven for quite a while before symptoms are noticed, and before overheating gets dramatic. If you keep topping your coolant off, limit your driving, and don't let the engine overheat badly, you can limp along awhile. I've seen it suggested that removing the thermostat helps, too. Keep an eye on your temperature guage. Keep an eye on the coolant level in the reservoir and the radiator. Tom

Yes, Dave, it's the head gaskets. Sorry. You can nurse them along for awhile. I've bought two of them and driven them home a couple hundred miles without difficulty. The coolant gets displaced by the combustion air, but can be replaced when the radiator is cool. On the highway, they were fine, presumably helped along by the 65 MPH breeze. Try to avoid extreme overheating. Don't get talked into replacing parts that don't need replacing. If you can do it yourself, the job can be done for a few hundred dollars. A local mechanic I talked to recently said he has done enough of them to do them in 6 hrs. We laughed about a local dealership that puts a new engine in rather than do the HG job. Limp along until you can afford it. Good luck with the job search.

Be very skeptical, Peter. With the pressures that build in the cooling system I would guess you'd find plenty of coolant in the transmission fluid. I wouldn't think it would be good for the transmission. Many trusted diagnosticians will not believe that the goop in the overflow tanks is coming from a leaky head gasket. Maybe one of the wizards here can tell you the likelihood of a leak between the TF and the coolant and what the symptoms would be. 96 DOHC with 150k and goop in the coolant screams HGs at me. Tom

(1) Has anyone used their original head bolts on a head install. And if so, have you run into any problems from doing this. I have been getting conflicting information regarding head bolts needing to be replaced Yes. Twice. Without ill effects, but only 20,000 miles so far. See this thread http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41751&highlight=head+bolts and many others on the topic. (2) Has anyone used resurfaced heads that were shaved more than .005" ? and if so, have you had any issue's with them Heads were shaved but I don't know how much. (3) Has anyone installed heads without following the torque procedure outlined in the FSM to a tee ? If not, were there any consequences ? I followed the FSM, though I wasn't overly careful about the 90 and 180 degree tightenings. So far, so good. Good luck, Tom

The marks on the belt will line up, but the mark on the crank sprocket will only line up if the # of teeth on the belt is divisible by the # of teeth on the crank sprocket. The cam sprocket marks will line up also only if the crank has made an even number of revolutions. If the # of teeth on the belt is not divisible by the # of teeth on the crank sprocket, say 500 and 22, it will take many more than one turn until everything (timing belt marks and crank/cam marks) lines up again. Eleven turns of the belt in this case. Unless, of course, I'm wrong.

Great pics, and interesting story. Thanks.

This thread is form 2003. I'm not sure why it woke up again and I'm not sure the original poster with the brake problem is around to answer questions.

Melissa, it WILL over heat. You just need a little more air in your cooling system. Really. I swear. I've driven two of these cars with leaky head gaskets a couple hundred miles after I bought them without dramatic overheating. The guage would rise at a stop, but on the highway the air flow would keep the car cool enough. You are a tough customer. As is your mechanic. You have bad head gaskets. Keep us posted. Tom

The coolant reservoir is right behind the radiator (it's actually mounted to the radiator) on the driver's side of the engine compartment and should be about 1/3 full of green fluid. After turning the car off, remove the cap and see if there are bubbles coming up through the fluid. also, check the level of the fluid. If it rises to half full or more and doesn't go back down after the engine cools (an hour or two), then it is just a matter of time before you overheat again. Tom

I'm not sure if I understand what torque-to-yield means. If someone wants to explain it to me, I wouldn't mind. I've twice reused head bolts on the 2.5 without problems as of 10K miles. I didn't see anything in the FSM that said not to reuse them, so I reused them. TOm

Melissa, After your mechanic installs the new radiator he will want to remove it again so he can replace the head gaskets. Tom

I agree, Cookie. These head gaskets aren't "blown" in the sense of having a hole. They are actually intact, and the combustion gasses are leaking between the gasket and the block or the head in the area of the exhaust valves. A tiny puff of fuel mix gets pushed out on the compression stroke and into the coolant. It's not enough loss to get picked up on a compression test. The tiny puffs build up in the coolant and displace it to the reservoir. Skip's page on HG replacement documents his compression of 200-210 PSI in all four cylinders but he had an obvious Phase I Hg failure. http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/ Tom

q240z, I'm with you. But look at the great deal you got on the OBW because some "certified" mechanic has a hard time with diagnosis. Way to go! Tom

Melissa, replacing the radiator won't solve the problem. Benefit, as I did, from the experience of the countless people with the same engine who went through the same things, and replaced several hundred dollars worth of parts that didn't need replacing. You need head gaskets, and a new mechanic. Tom And the weird stuff in the coolant does look like dirt, or grime, around the sides of the reservoir. It came from your cylinders.

Melissa, If your coolant had weird stuff floating in it, your mechanic is not going to fix the problem by replacing your water pump. Tom

Is the coolant level in your overflow tank normal or is it overfull?

The head gaskets make it appear as if it's a circulation problem because the gasses displace the coolant. Water pumps and radiators have been replaced galore on these cars when what they needed was head gaskets. The gas test does not always pick it up. Does your overflow tank get over full and spit out coolant? Does the coolant not return to the system as the car cools down? If yes, bet them a water pump job that it's head gaskets. Tom

BY the time they replace the water pump they are halfway (well, almost) there to replacing head gaskets. If your car is overheating, the overflow tank fills up and vomits, the coolant looks discolored at best, bubbles come up through the coolant in the overflow tank, and the coolant in the overflow tank doesn't return to a normal level when the car cools, you almost certainly have bad head gaskets. It's classic in these engines, and if your shop can't figure it out without replacing the water pump unnecessarily, I'd take it elsewhere. Tom

On a DOHC 2.5, I wouldn't bother with a compression test or oil check to confirm a seeping head gasket. The leak is quite small and may not show on a compression test, and since combustion gasses are leaking into the coolant, there is no contamination of the oil. Asssuming there has been some overheating and filling of the burp tank, the bubbles are pretty conclusive. Tom

Melissa, A "new" engine would be several thousand dollars more. The price quoted is for a used engine, which might or might not have had its head gaskets replaced, and might or might not have been well maintained. If your engine runs well, doesn't burn oil, and has seen regular oil changes, then the cheapest and easiest thing for you to do is to have the head gaskets replaced. The $1500 price tag is typical of a Subaru dealer. You may be able to have it done for less at an independent shop that caters to Subarus. Good luck. Tom

In my very humble and possibly erroneous opinion, I think you are better off with a wrench on the flats of the cam than you are with any kind of sprocket wrench arrangement. I'd worry about breaking a sprocket, and think it would be very hard to break or bend a cam. The flats of the cam have protrusions on two faces so avoid those faces. I used a fairly short wrench on the flats and rested it against the sidewall of the engine compartment. I've used a 1/2" drive 17mm(?) socket and adapted out to a 3/4" drive breaker bar. I remember it as being tough, but certainly doable. Maybe somebody used some red loctite.

Others have used a strap wrench to hold the sprocket. Or you can take the valve covers off and put a wrench on the flats of the cams.

What ~Outback~01 said. Also, check the level of coolant in the overflow tank. Is it near the top? Does it not go down as the car cools? Is it not a nice clear green color? Yes indicates leaky HG, which is the default diagnosis for your engine. I don't think you need to worry about antifreeze in the oil, and don't get sucked into replacing every cooling system part before the HGs are finally done. It just adds to the misery. Good luck.

Leaking or overheating?

Difficulty removing the bolts or removing the sprocket once the bolts are out?