Ok, at 54,000 mi my 02 OBW started smelling like coolant at the stop signs or if it idled in the driveway. Found some loose hose clamps, took care of that issue, but the smell was still there. Suspiciously, I took it in for an oil change at my dealership and asked them to check it out. Sure enough, had the classic external coolant leak on both sides.

 

They immediately ordered new head gaskets and a week later they changed everything out in less than a day. Even gave me a 2005 OBW for a loaner.

 

That '05 was some sweet, I tell ya.

 

But I'm back to my '02 5-speed, and that's just fine. I don't have $26k to play with at the moment.

 

I

Was it under warranty? If not how much did it cost? Did the engine have to be removed?

 

 

Rakesh

Yes, it was under warranty. No cost to me.

 

If you browse around this message board, looks like Subaru will help people out in most circumstances, even if you're over 60,000mi.

 

RTP

It looks as though the engine did not have to be removed. They did it in less than a day at the dealer. They had to take out quite a bit but sounds like it appears there's adequate space once some surrounding devices are removed.

 

 

Anyone else have input on this?

Just had my '03 Legacy sedan's left head gasket replaced at 27K. That problem was supposed to be fixed after '02! You are not alone...

It's really too bad cuz it's such a nice car. Well, now that I've gotten my clutch and head gaskets replaced, that should cover the big fixes.

 

Just today the Subie came thru for us. My wife had no issues getting up out of our snow-covered driveway and passed 5 accidents into work and was able to drive confidently w/o sliding around, etc (point - 4 out of the 5 accidents included a mid or full-sized SUV, driven assumably by someone who was OVER confident).

 

It's an easy reminder of why we bought the car in the first place!

 

RTP