Danimal08

Okay, so I was top off the coolant today to monitor levels and when I popped the lid on the overflow I noticed there’s a black film and little black flecks coating the inside of the tank. I’d imagine that’s confirmation of the head gasket?

The plan for now is to do what idosubaru suggested. I’m driving my backup currently because yesterdays episode has me scared to drive it to work. Trying to minimize any damage to the engine. Is the head gasket a tough job? This is my first Subaru and I’ve only had it a few months. I’ve changed heads on my older vehicles but don’t know what I’m getting into here

I hadn’t noticed it leaking before. The only time I’ve had to replace coolant was the one time it actually got hot and the reservoir started overflowing. I’ve read several boards with similar issues now so I’m counting on changing the head gaskets. What puzzles me is that I can always tell when it’s about to start overheating because my AC starts blowing warm. I’m not sure how it’s related

I’m gonna try to get the air out when I get home today. Although I’m expecting to have to replace the head gasket

I had to add a little to the radiator but mostly just the reservoir

I have a 2010 Legacy 2.5 with 170k miles. I’ve had it for about 3 months and it recently started overheating. But only sometimes and in under different circumstances. The first time it happened I was sitting in a parking lot running the AC. I’d been there for about 20 minutes and the AC started blowing warm and the coolant temp light started flashing. I shut it off for a few minutes and it was fine. I stopped at a drive thru on the way home and ate in the parking lot with the car running and had no issues. A week or two later I was driving home on the highway, 60-70mph, when the AC started blowing warm again and the temp light was flashing. By the time I got pulled over, the light was on and the car was steaming. The reservoir cap had popped off and was spewing coolant. I sat for about 20 minutes and started driving again and it was fine until I got to town. The light started flashing again. I pulled over and waited a few minutes and drove home with no problems. The next morning I topped off the coolant and had no issues for a a few days. It happened a few more times but I’ve always been able to let it cool for a bit and go on. But today it started again and I was only able to drive a few minutes at a time before it started getting hot. I’ve had other vehicles overheat before but I’ve never had it come and go like this. Again, I can drive it for days at a time whether it be highway or stop and go traffic and not have a problem. And then it starts seemingly out of nowhere. Has anyone had similar issues or have any ideas?