just wondering because there is a really good one for sale for 1000 in my town. it is a 2001 and the guy already replaced the radiator and water pump by a pro. he said it is " probably" a head gasket. wondering why the shop he took it too did not do a test on it. 

Always the best option IMHO as you can see and do it right the first time.

I've heard that head gasket jobs on H6 engines are complicated, have a low rate of success, and are expensive. There's a lot of info on subaruoutback.org about the H6 engine. You may try doing a few searches over there.

find a low-miles engine from a wreck? car-part.com or LKQ

 

do you know it hasn't been severely overheated on multiple occasions? It would be a bummer to install gaskets and have a rod bearing start knocking 5 weeks later.

Edited June 23, 20169 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

wow even the water pump is a beastly job on those, i'm surprised they did that.  i can't believe how many water pumps mechanics throw at Subarus - are they common failure items in other cars, because they really don't ever fail, it's pointless to replace/guess a Subaru water pump failure.   why don't trained mechanics/shops know that?  Because it's common with other cars?

 

yes if you cut the front clip/fener rails off - you can do them in the vehicle.   it would be torture to try and do an EZ30 in the vehicle. 

 

the H6 is a beast of a job to repair - 100 bolts to get the timing chain covers off, it's crazy.  an outer cover, inner cover and all the ancillary stuff too.  and then - you have to wonder how badly was it overheated?  

are you doing a headgasket job on an engine that's going to throw a rod bearing in the short term?

 

try and get a good read on the seller and see if you think they're trust worthy in describing how much/often/badly it's been overheated. 

 

resurface the heads and use Subaru gaskets if you do it. 

i was wondering why the mechanic did not do a head gasket test before replacing the radiator and water pump. i know the shop he took it too and the guy seems pretty good. it's a one man shop and he has been in business over 30 years.

 

i emailed the seller twice a couple days agao with no response so i'm thinking a pass is in order.

 

thanks everyone for advice.