Hello,

 

My 1998 subaru (105,000 miles) recently overheated and stalled due to lack of coolant (due to a broken radiator bleeder cap). The repair shop found hydrocarbons in the exhaust. They did not find coolant in the oil plan or water in the exhaust. Because the car stalled, they believe that the bottom part of the engine is damaged in addition to head gasket issues and they are recommending that I get a new engine at $7000 (yikes!) instead of just fixing the gaskets. The car has been driven about 20miles after the overheat with no overheating occurring again. I'm wondering if I really need a new engine or to do any fixes at all. Any advice anyone can give, would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

That is an INSANE price for an engine. For that much you can get a low mileage 2.2l Subaru that is only a few years older.

 

Sorry if this is no help to you.

try www.soko.com we used to get nissan and toyota motors from them.

 

much better pricing to:

 

last time i checked a VG30ET (with turbo)for a 300zx single turbo was 650 shipped no core

last time i checked a VQ30DE (all aluminum, moly rings and microfished crank and cams form the factory) was 1800. tranny was 800 for SE and 650 for GLE/GXE

 

its been about 2 years since i called them though. there are other companies than can get you similiar though from japan. japanese motors are usually less than 30K miles due to emissions.

 

goodluck

 

Joe

If you just need the engine check out CCRengines.com

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the information so far! I guess that I am kind of wondering if I even need a new engine. Any thoughts based on what happened? I wasn't planning on keeping this car for more than a year or two ... but it's sounding like I won't get more than a week out of it possibly. Thanks again for the info!

Good question. What are the indications for doing all this work? Mechanic's child entering college next fall?

Watch the fluid level very carefully. Test for hydrocarbons in fluid etc. If there are overheating problems and the mechanic actually filled and got the air out of your coolant system then consider the nasty deed.The price is insane. CCR Engines will ship one for about 1/3 what you've been quoted. CCR may even talk you into a 2.2 bulletproof engine instead of the plagued 2.5.

Hello,

 

My 1998 subaru (105,000 miles) recently overheated and stalled due to lack of coolant (due to a broken radiator bleeder cap). The repair shop found hydrocarbons in the exhaust. They did not find coolant in the oil plan or water in the exhaust. Because the car stalled, they believe that the bottom part of the engine is damaged in addition to head gasket issues and they are recommending that I get a new engine at $7000 (yikes!) instead of just fixing the gaskets. The car has been driven about 20miles after the overheat with no overheating occurring again. I'm wondering if I really need a new engine or to do any fixes at all. Any advice anyone can give, would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

I'm just down in San Mateo and if we can work out a time to meet I will help you look at it.

... The repair shop found hydrocarbons in the exhaust...

 

Uh...isn't that where the hydrocarbons are supposed to be found?

I'm just down in San Mateo and if we can work out a time to meet I will help you look at it.

And I'm in Richmond (East Bay), at a shop that has several older engines They are OBD I though), and I'm thier Subaru expert. I could look (and listen to) it and perhaps give you an idea what is needed if anything. PM me for a phone number, to set up a meet.

Off hand, I wouldn't think you have done any serious damage. It all depends on how long the engine was running too hot and the quality of the engine oil that was trying to protect it.

 

The most likely is warped heads, which will need milling anyway if you replace the head gaskets.

 

For sure you want one the two helpful people above to have a look before you commit such a huge amount of money!

I bought a 97 Impreza, 2.2L about 2 years with my son. We knew it had a head gasket leak and planed on replacing the engine. Before the replacement was done, we drove it around for awhile. It would not use any coolant in local driving. It pulled strong and had no indications of a head gasket leak. None of the “tests” said it had a bad head gasket. Out on the highway it sucked coolant like crazy, about ½ gallon every 20 miles or so and it still ran great. Well we replaced it with one from a salvage yard. I also had a head gasket leak in my SVX. That showed up CO in the coolant test. I replaced that engine too. The point I am trying to make is that sometimes the leak is so small it is not detectable. Sometimes these engine will run great with a head gasket leak under certain conditions and then other times no so great.

I bought a 97 Impreza, 2.2L about 2 years with my son. We knew it had a head gasket leak and planed on replacing the engine. Before the replacement was done, we drove it around for awhile. It would not use any coolant in local driving. It pulled strong and had no indications of a head gasket leak. None of the “tests” said it had a bad head gasket. Out on the highway it sucked coolant like crazy, about ½ gallon every 20 miles or so and it still ran great. Well we replaced it with one from a salvage yard. I also had a head gasket leak in my SVX. That showed up CO in the coolant test. I replaced that engine too. The point I am trying to make is that sometimes the leak is so small it is not detectable. Sometimes these engine will run great with a head gasket leak under certain conditions and then other times no so great.

 

If the engine was fine (seems that way if you were driving it around) why not just replace head gaskets instead of the entire engine?

from my experience.. your engine is toast!!! i bought a car made it 118 miles and the thing overheated.. a shop replaced the head gasket and the entire cooling system.. the had the hads milled, cleaned, pressure tested.they told me the engine was in perfect shape and that nothing had been damaged.... problem fixed... NO..

the car had nonstop oil leaks. valve covers had to be replaced... all kinds of things have continued to go wrong... a quart of oil just up and disapears every 1000 miles.. no drips no smoke.. just gone.. I now have two different mechanics telling me the car has piston slap issues..

 

I am getting the warranty to fix this thing and then i am getting rid of it..

Supposedly the 2.2 engine is a lot better..

I would drive it around and see if any problems pop up, if they do then you'll have to decide what to do, if they don't then drive it till it dies. It is after all a SUBARU. Loosing a quart of oil in 1000 miles is not that abnormal.....!?