I know I touched on this same topic a couple of months ago, but purchase time has come to fruition, and now I'm panicked. We are looking at a 2006 Subaru Legacy i Limited wagon. Automatic, ~45,000 miles, one owner, well taken care of. If I don't want to deal with head gasket issues, just as a general question, is this the car for me? In my last post, I got a few people saying they were remedied in this year, a couple others saying they still had issues. I really would like to know which it is, as I don't want to take such a big risk if it's avoidable.

They leak oil - primarily from the drivers side head at the rear but often from both. That wasn't solved till the 2010 model year.

 

You can simply replace then with the STi "642" gasket and you'll never deal with the leaks again. Maintenance has NOTHING to do with this - the coating on the gaskets washes out and a leak is formed. Plain and simple.

 

I guarantee with 100% certainty that at the first timing belt interval you WILL have seepage evident from the back of the drivers side head. You can replace them or live with the burning oil smell - your choice.

 

GD

They leak oil - primarily from the drivers side head at the rear but often from both. That wasn't solved till the 2010 model year.

 

You can simply replace then with the STi "642" gasket and you'll never deal with the leaks again. Maintenance has NOTHING to do with this - the coating on the gaskets washes out and a leak is formed. Plain and simple.

 

I guarantee with 100% certainty that at the first timing belt interval you WILL have seepage evident from the back of the drivers side head. You can replace them or live with the burning oil smell - your choice.

 

GD

 

I can live with oil leaks until I get the timing belt fixed, so long as they don't lead to catastrophic failure. My '96 Legacy GT certainly left me wary of such things. That car was undrivable and I am horrified of repeating that experience.

My '96 Legacy GT

those headgaskets were terrible. as soon as they fail you were essentially stranded due to random overheats. the 05-09's never overheat - you can drive them with leaking headgaskets as long as you keep adding oil. they gradually get worse over a long period of time, you won't be "surprised" one day with an overheat or other random symptom or have to worry about being stranded.

 

if you get one - make sure the heads are bone dry when you purchase it.

My 06 impreza 2.5 NA threw a valve at around 59000 KM.

Both heads were replaced by Subaru with new ones.

 

I recommend that the first maintenance you do would be to have the valve clearance adjusted and or checked. This is a simple procedure.

 

Mine seemed to benefit from new plug wires too.

 

Also check and or replace rad cap. I took mine off:clap: and cleaned the seal.

 

But I'm picky.

 

All in-all I would say it's pretty smooth and quiet engine and has yet to leak a spot of oil.

'96 to '99 phase-I EJ25D's are the engine with the HG's that experience fire ring failure at a high rate - approx. every 100k miles.

 

No other engines before or since have fire-ring failures that result in random overheating. '99 to '05 phase-II EJ251,EJ252, EJ253, and EJ254 have a decreasing rate of coolant and oil leakage from the head gaskets to the exterior of the engine. This is annoying and smelly but as long as fluids are topped off regularly they will not overheat or otherwise experience damage as a result of these leaks. I've OWNED a '99 EJ253 with over 250k miles on the original HG's. Yes they leaked a TON of coolant and oil - the coolant can be mitigated or stopped with the Holts Radweld that Subaru sells for $1.49 for this purpose and the oil leaks are just annoying.

Were the fire ring failures on the 96-99 EJ25D corrected with the revised dealer MLS gaskets or is it still just as bad?

it's still just as bad. the head design coupled with creeping cylinder sleeves leave no choice but to change the gaskets.

It was never corrected. The gaskets are too thick and it is not possible to use thinner gaskets as the pistons need room to crest above the block surface.

 

The "correction" was to reduce the head chamber volume, change the pistons, and use a thinner gasket.

 

GD

What does anyone think of this head gasket?

http://www.smart-service.com/blog/2010/03/which-head-gasket-is-best-for-a-subaru

Outstanding posts, everyone, thank you so much!

Update!

 

We got the car and it's phenomenal!!! I checked the heads very closely before sealing the deal, and they looked spotless. This was a one owner car. It was driven by a middle-aged woman that took meticulous care of it, and it also came with a 36,000 mile/3 year warranty. I am having them flush the coolant with the Subaru stuff previously recommended and the additive.

 

Now my only question is... where can I get my hands on steering wheel mounted audio controls?

Congratulations it sounds like a nice one! Share some pics when you get a chance.

They leak oil - primarily from the drivers side head at the rear but often from both. That wasn't solved till the 2010 model year.

 

You can simply replace then with the STi "642" gasket and you'll never deal with the leaks again. Maintenance has NOTHING to do with this - the coating on the gaskets washes out and a leak is formed. Plain and simple.

 

I guarantee with 100% certainty that at the first timing belt interval you WILL have seepage evident from the back of the drivers side head. You can replace them or live with the burning oil smell - your choice.

 

GD

 

Can you please provide me with the specific model number, please? If you have it that is.

 

Or better yet, maybe you know of the cheapest place to buy one? If so, I'd greatly appreciate it

had some high kms 251s lately one was 33000kms on leaky headgaskets other had 34000 kms and a 96 outback twin cam with 35000kms on origanal engine just started leaking on headgasket it seems the more the car is used the longer the headgaskets hold up i think they get damaged from any kind of sitting around or short triping

The number GD referenced is the last 3 digits of the subaru HG part number. The full number is 11044aa642. I would just buy it from the dealership myself. However here is one of the many internet sites that sell it [not a recomendation].

 

http://streettunedmotorsports.com/parts/subaru_oem_ej25_head_gasket.htm

1stsubaruparts.com

 

it's ran by a dealership

 

they give really good prices too.