97OBW Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 my question is what really agrivates the head gaskets to go? we have 95k on our 2.5 and im worried their gonna go soon. When they do go, will it start out as a small coolent leak, or will the car be completely undrivable. Im visiting my buddies in NY soon and dont feel like takin my accord up there(bad area). would a head gasket failing completely ruien my vaca?, or could i keep adding coolent and continue on the 500mile trip? THANKS also is coolent leakage the only way to tell if u are starting to have symptoms of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97OBW Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 Use The Search Button Idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seabright_sc Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 I've got 147,XXX on my 2.5 1997 Legacy GT and I have never had any problems and no qualms about taking it on a long trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Come now, we can be a little more civilized than that. The drivability of the car kind of depends on whether the leak is external or internal. An internal leak will cause your engine to ingest coolant and push exhaust and oil into your coolant stream. If the leak is small (and you probably can't see big or small when assembled), then you could drive for quite a while as long as you have enough coolant and the engine does not overheat. I had a lot of steam pushing out my tailpipe along with the usual condemning signs like missing coolant and oily crud in the reservior. An external leak will blow coolant out of the engine - most likely along the bottom or rear edges. This is just plain annoying. Again as long as you keep the engine from overheating and keep the coolant level up, you can go for a while in this state. Just remember that either situation does not improve itself. And in fact it still could get worse (my internal leak eventually also started to push coolant along the gasket edge where you CAN see it). So you need to get this checked out if you detect any of these symptoms. In the meantime, there is not a whole lot of preventative measure you can take other than regular maintenance such as flushing coolant every other year (or more). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxrflyboy Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Come now, we can be a little more civilized than that. He was busting his own @$$. I think he's allowed to do that! HGs on DOHC EJ25s are like anything else automotive. There are millions of Chrysler products with hand grenades disguised as transmissions driving all over the place. I'd be afraid to take one of those out of town, but ignorance is bliss! Ford owners have the same problems, especially Taurus and Windstar owners. But some people never have a problem. You may not either. I would say that The type of driving, climate, etc. etc. are all factors on the life of your head gaskets. Temperature extremes and frequent warming & cooling will shorten their life. The less expansion/contraction cycles they experience and the less extreme they are, the longer the gaskets will last. That said, there are no guarantees if and when they will give up the ghost. The best you can do is thoroughly check for internal and external leaks (internal leaks will be bubbles in the radiator and sludge in the overflow - this may already have been mentioned). If you don't see any problems, go ahead and drive the car. No, there are no guarantees that you won't have any trouble, and yes, a BHG will ruin your vacation. But so will a traffic accident. You can't guarantee you won't be involved in one, but you take all the necessary precautions to avoid it (defensive driving, safety checking the car, avoiding known danger areas, the list goes on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97OBW Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 He was busting his own @$$. I think he's allowed to do that! HGs on DOHC EJ25s are like anything else automotive. There are millions of Chrysler products with hand grenades disguised as transmissions driving all over the place. I'd be afraid to take one of those out of town, but ignorance is bliss! Ford owners have the same problems, especially Taurus and Windstar owners. But some people never have a problem. You may not either. I would say that The type of driving, climate, etc. etc. are all factors on the life of your head gaskets. Temperature extremes and frequent warming & cooling will shorten their life. The less expansion/contraction cycles they experience and the less extreme they are, the longer the gaskets will last. That said, there are no guarantees if and when they will give up the ghost. The best you can do is thoroughly check for internal and external leaks (internal leaks will be bubbles in the radiator and sludge in the overflow - this may already have been mentioned). If you don't see any problems, go ahead and drive the car. No, there are no guarantees that you won't have any trouble, and yes, a BHG will ruin your vacation. But so will a traffic accident. You can't guarantee you won't be involved in one, but you take all the necessary precautions to avoid it (defensive driving, safety checking the car, avoiding known danger areas, the list goes on). i thought u just have to look at the coolent levels to see if u have a leak? wats an overflow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97OBW Posted February 12, 2006 Author Share Posted February 12, 2006 I've got 147,XXX on my 2.5 1997 Legacy GT and I have never had any problems and no qualms about taking it on a long trip. original hg's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
later, Peter Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 there is a substantiated theory that when air enters (or is not expelled properly upon coolant change) the cooling system, that air pocket over heats & breaches the headgasket. This theory is from a pilot that chooses to use these phase I 2.5 engines in his airplane... gotta figure he did some research. so just be careful refilling the cooling system. HOWEVER: what do I know? I have a '99 OBW with ~90k & a '96 OBW with ~165k no problems. Later, Peter:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxrflyboy Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 i thought u just have to look at the coolent levels to see if u have a leak? wats an overflow? The overflow is the white plastic tank next to the radiator that catches coolant pushed out of the radiator under pressure while the engine is running. When the engine cools and draws a vacuum in the system, it sucks the coolant back in from the tank. There are markings molded into the side of the tank - a full mark and an add mark. The level should stay between these two marks unless there is a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97OBW Posted February 14, 2006 Author Share Posted February 14, 2006 thanks guys, anyone out there with original head gasket on a high mileage 2.5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 thanks guys, anyone out there with original head gasket on a high mileage 2.5? 2000 Legacy, 170,000 +, nary a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roamer Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 thanks guys, anyone out there with original head gasket on a high mileage 2.5? I have a 97 OBW and a 96 LSI wagon, I am suspect about the 96 currently I think the heads do have a minor leak but nothing that needs to be canged right away, on my 97 OBW no problems so far. Respectively the 96 has 99K miles and the 97 has 172k miles both with original head gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.