Ok, well my car should be good but the engine light is still on and the EGR codes come up. OK i know its not that cause i replaced it twice, both brand new. I was reading around and looking at blown head gaskets. The symptoms seem what my car is doing. loss of power and a sweet coolant smell. I have a 97 legacy gt, what would the cost be to fix this, or is it even the head gasket at all? Thanks.

Overheating and bubbling coolant in the reservoir are the common symptoms for failed head gaskets on the phase I 2.5. Maybe do some more reading in the archived files here and you might be able to narrow things down a little more. The coolant smell could be something as simple as a crack in a coolant line leading to coolant burning off on the block or exhaust. If you still think it is a HG failure, prepare to pull the motor and swap out the gaskets with OEM GASKETS ONLY. If you are not able to do this yourself, prepare to open your wallet and cry. The subie dealership near me wanted $1800.00 CDN to do it.

Holy crap i wouldnt think it would be that much, if that is the case i might as well sell it cause its not worth it i dont think. Then i will have to get a new car. Well should i get a compression test done?

Edited October 20, 201015 yr by ncwillus

Yeah - a shop will charge a ton for head gaskets. Just the nature of the job. You could do it yourself (including renting a cherry picker to pull the engine out) for about $500 in parts and machine work (The DOHC heads are expensive to have worked on - runs me $425 to have a set fully rebuilt). Timing belt, water pump, etc should all be replaced at the same time. It's basically one step less than a full engine overhaul on your engine.

 

Compression test won't tell you anything useful. A hydrocarbon test of the coolant will tell you if the head gaskets are leaking into the cooling system.

 

GD

How would i do a hydrocarbon test?

How many miles? and have the headgaskets been done previously? even if the carbon test is ok, and the head gaskets havent been done yet, it will need them no matter what, I have yet to see a 2.5 make it past 200k without a gasket issue, but there are probably some out there.

How would i do a hydrocarbon test?

 

Get a kit like this http://www.etooldirect.com/u-view-gas-and-diesel-combustion-leak-testing-kit.html?source=googleps

 

NAPA has a similar one or you can order online.

 

Essentially you run the engine and draw air from your radiator through the test fluid. If it turns yellow, HGs likely bad.

 

My 2.5L made it to 236k before needed HGs but I think its a rare case. Has rebuilt CCR engine in it now. Hopefully good for another 100k.

 

By engine light I am guessing you mean the Check Engine Light? Bad HGs doesn't usually post an error code. Best bet is to get the fault code (P0XXX) from the auto parts store (the will read the code for free) and come back here with the code number

Get a kit like this http://www.etooldirect.com/u-view-gas-and-diesel-combustion-leak-testing-kit.html?source=googleps

 

My 2.5L made it to 236k before needed HGs but I think its a rare case. Has rebuilt CCR engine in it now. Hopefully good for another 100k.

 

 

What year is your 2.5L?

what year is your 2.5l?

 

1999

Pressure leak down test and HC test are good indicators of HG failure.

Yeah my legacy is about to hit 202k miles. and i doubt it has had gasket re-done. maybe ill check out napa for that kit, thanks

Pressure leak down test and HC test are good indicators of HG failure.

 

typically a pressure test of the cooling system will not reveal a bad head gasket in the 96 - 99 2.5L engine. the gasket leak is from the combustion chamber into the coolant. not the other way around. the combustion chamber is under HIGH pressure.

 

the HC test can be a good indicator, but if the coolant has been flushed, changed, diluted, or added to there is a chance that it will not show a bad gasket when in fact there is one.

 

 

Yeah my legacy is about to hit 202k miles. and i doubt it has had gasket re-done. maybe ill check out napa for that kit, thanks

 

typically, 2.2L legacys do not have bad head gaskets. of course they can, any car can, but it is the 2.5L engines that have a high failure rate.

typically a pressure test of the cooling system will not reveal a bad head gasket in the 96 - 99 2.5L engine. the gasket leak is from the combustion chamber into the coolant. not the other way around. the combustion chamber is under HIGH pressure.

 

the HC test can be a good indicator, but if the coolant has been flushed, changed, diluted, or added to there is a chance that it will not show a bad gasket when in fact there is one.

 

 

 

 

typically, 2.2L legacys do not have bad head gaskets. of course they can, any car can, but it is the 2.5L engines that have a high failure rate.

 

yeah it is the 2.5 gt

Holy crap i wouldnt think it would be that much, if that is the case i might as well sell it cause its not worth it i dont think. Then i will have to get a new car.

 

 

And that new car will cost you how much? Probably alot more than $1800 for something that you can depend on.

 

And still, unless you are getting a brand new car under warranty, you will be faced with something else breaking, and having to spend more money.

 

The "it's not worth it" logic is flawed. The cheapest car is almost always the one you already own.

And that new car will cost you how much? Probably alot more than $1800 for something that you can depend on.

 

And still, unless you are getting a brand new car under warranty, you will be faced with something else breaking, and having to spend more money.

 

The "it's not worth it" logic is flawed. The cheapest car is almost always the one you already own.

 

That's a very good point.

The "it's not worth it" logic is flawed. The cheapest car is almost always the one you already own.

 

true.

 

the "it's not worth it" statement only holds when you pay to fix it and then you sell it for not enough. if you end up with less than the repair cost plus the sale price would have been when broken, then it wasn't worth fixing. but there are lots of folks here who buy, fix and sell because the value is there. of course they are not paying for the repair labor.

 

the only way to get your money back out of a car is to drive it, put miles on it. every mile you put on the car reduces your cost per mile. we all pay to drive, the trick is to pay less per mile. at least that is part of my plan, maybe not every ones.

And that new car will cost you how much? Probably alot more than $1800 for something that you can depend on.

 

And still, unless you are getting a brand new car under warranty, you will be faced with something else breaking, and having to spend more money.

 

The "it's not worth it" logic is flawed. The cheapest car is almost always the one you already own.

 

Oh i understand, but i cant afford it. its cheaper to finance a new car...not "new" but new to me, catch my drift?

Not really. $1800 on a credit card is not any different than paying $350 or more a month in a new car payment, except a new car costs more than 4 payments.

 

So, no. I don't really understand at all, sorry.

unless i missed it you haven't even verified that you have a headgaket issue.

 

"coolant smell and loss of power" are not the most common headgasket signs on this engine.

 

overheating, bubbling in the overflow, dirty black overflow tank...those are headgasket signs, none of which you mentioned.

 

as to $1,800, there are cheaper ways to repair it. a used Ej22....or heck an EJ18 if money is that hard....can be easily dropped in place of the EJ25 - same swap, plugs right in and everything. Ej22 engines can sometimes be bought much cheaper than EJ25's and they're more reliable.....though less power. i yanked the EJ25 out of my Legacy Lsi and dropped in an EJ18 which i bought for $150 with 80,000 miles and a warranty. $150 engine, $80 ebay timing belt kit, $50 water pump, i got a very reliable engine for a long time....it's just gutless that's all, but i don't care.

Edited November 6, 201015 yr by grossgary

Cool, that sounds pretty reasonable, but meh, i dont think its the head gasket either, but the engine does run rough now, and it smokes when i start it up. Acts like it trying really hard to run, but barley. Ive checked all the fluids they are fine. My cel is on and my EGR thing is still on, and it stays on regardless of me replacing it 3 times...idk what its doing. Also my engine shakes a pretty good deal as well. If its a broken mount it recently happened, but still would cause the rough running...or would it?

Not really. $1800 on a credit card is not any different than paying $350 or more a month in a new car payment, except a new car costs more than 4 payments.

 

So, no. I don't really understand at all, sorry.

 

its ok

just fix ur head gasket, lol. if indeed it's blown, that is. hard facts are, i have had 60+ cars maybe 70. this happened because i usually buy a car at the end of it's pratical lifespan, drive to splosion, then dispose of. but the best cars i ever owned weren't the grass is greener cars i bought after a terrible failure, those were usually the worst, no the best ones were the ones i poured a bit o cash into and loved every mile. getting a new car will end worse, more often than not. many times cars on used lots are someone else's problems anyway.

 

if you DO get a new car, get a sub:lol: start saving now and save your car, lol.

my 2 cents

Yeah i think i will keep it and fix it. But mat put another motor in it, and keep it for a looong time haha

Go grab an early 2.2 and drop it in. Practically no head gasket trouble, no rods through the block, and if the timing belt breaks there is no damage to the valves requiring a major tear down to repair. Just slap a new belt on, re-time and go. Plus it's a direct swap for your car.

Go grab an early 2.2 and drop it in. Practically no head gasket trouble, no rods through the block, and if the timing belt breaks there is no damage to the valves requiring a major tear down to repair. Just slap a new belt on, re-time and go. Plus it's a direct swap for your car.

 

Sweet hell yeah bro, that sounds like a decent operation, like what model...early 90's or 80's?