fastwgn286 Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I know that you all are probably tired of hearing about blown head gaskets, but i seem to be in a pickle. my notorious 2.5 DOHC just blew the gaskets maybe a few hundred miles ago (temp gauge hit "H" while coasting down a mountain road, a thick layer of oil in the overflow tank and fans that never seem to stop). Now, i am 320 miles from home at college, with very few tools and in a parking lot to do any work on my car, and school is out on weds. Will i be able to make it home at highway speeds, or should i take the long way home? I have been able to drive it up to 40-50 miles at highway speeds, and have been doing so for the past month. So will it make it that distance non-stop? should i try to dump the oily sludge in the overflow tank (it has a very thick layer, and is much higher than the "Hi" mark on the tank), and if so, how should i do it? (i think i can get a straw, and cheap stuff at walmart) I am also still undecided about doing the head gasket repair by myself. Anyone know of a Subie specialist in Hampton Roads that i can get a quote from? How hard is it to deal with the cam shafts and the valves? and can i get it fixed in a week? (i will have unlimited amounts of time each day to work on it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 you would likely make it....i don't advise it but you could make it. you said you have "unlimited time", in that case if you make sure you don't drive it overheating you'll make it home. might take awhile but if you stop/cool down when it starts to overheat and make sure it's full of coolant you'll make it. i've had to do this before, take a ton of towels/blankets or somethign similar along if you're actually loosing coolant. when you need to add throw the towels and such over the fill cap and remove it. if done right it'll blow like crazy but you contained it with all the towels and crap and then can refill it. otherwise you have to wait for it to cool down to overfill and that takes forever. if you're not loosing coolant then you just have to wait it out. that you're making it 40/50 miles now makes me think you should be fine, just shut down before you overheat. if it's leaking into the block (which sounds like oil/coolant is mixing) at all i don't know that i'd want to do alot of engine work on it, coolant in the oil is horrible on the bearings. i'd want to do the work right and plan on having the car another 100,000 miles. i'm guessing you don't want to dump large sums on a good EJ25, they are expensive and hard to come by. in that case i'd get a used EJ22 for a couple hundred and slap some timing belts on it and install that. then sell your EJ25 with blown gaskets, someone will want it believe me. it'll help pay for much of the EJ22. it'll be done quicker too. head gasket job is big and can run into issues. you'll have to pay for machining of the heads and probably best to have them checked if you've driven that much on them. but that's me, i'm an admitted EJ22 fan. the new gaskets will solve your issues though and there is EXCELLENT information on this board about doing the head gasket job. so if you want to and have time, tear it up. start practicing with the search function and you'll find what you need. good luck, hope you get it going again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastwgn286 Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 should i try to siphon some of the oil out of hte overflow tank? would that help cool it down maybe?. so far the temp gauge has been holding steady at middle of the range (did get a slight bump up the last time i drove it), but i ready dont want to warp the heads, or walk the freaking 320 miles:eek: should i try emptying the overflow and refilling before taking off would be my question, i guess.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 refilling can't hurt...but then you risk getting air bubbles in there too. i don't think draining just the overflow tank will buy you very much. the heads are almost certainly already out of spec, probably salvageable but they should be checked and milled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I would not suggest doing this drive, but...... OK so your going to have to limp home. Highway or backroads wont make that much of a differnce. What you DO need to do is change your oil. Since you over heated the engine once, the oil has been stressed already. If the oil gets overheated too many times, it will break down and you can loose the bottom end of the engine. WIll the drive be hilly or level. Have a fully charged cell phone, and a gallon or two of 50/50 antifreeze in the car. With any luck you have an intermittent problem so you can limp home, its possible that you wont even make it more then 5 miles before you boil over again. I've done a long drive with a sick car, and it is not a pleasant expierience. Last time i droive with a bad HG i loosend the radiator cap one notch. This allowed for the gasses to escape without pushing out the radiator fluid (but that was a ford escort). Take a local test drive and see what happens. good luck nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I'd be tempted to use straight water. It cools better and the heads have to come off anyway. Pulling the thermostat might get you furthur on each leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I'd probably agree with the thermostat idea, maybe having the heater on full bore hotness may help? I've seized a rover K16 engine from a bhg but it took a good few weeks of driving. Good luck! KELTIK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastwgn286 Posted May 9, 2006 Author Share Posted May 9, 2006 i'll have to give it the good ol' college try...i took it for a drive last night and its been reading normal (temp gauge at its happy 8:45 position) but i'll bring extra water, antifreeze, a charged cell, and some reading material if i have to stop for extended periods of time. I'll also pump out some of the excess oil in the overflow tank once it separates a little more (it was quite high when i checked it after the car warmed up and started driving). I'll perform another drive today (as it was freezing last night) and see if anything bad happens. fingers crossed! Buddha is on notice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I drove mine for months with a leaking head gasket. However, mine wasn't as bad as yours - no oil in the coolant (just a little black stuff), and it NEVER overheated. Since I was aware of the HG issue, I checked the coolant religiously at every gas fill up. I started noticing bubbles in the overflow, and especiallay after a highway trip, it wouldn't suck the coolant back in from the overflow on cooldown. So, every day, I checked the level in the overflow. I kept a turkey baster in the car, stashed in front of the battery, near the radiator cap. When the overflow level got high, I transferred coolant back into the radiator. I "burped" the radiator by squeezing the upper coolant hose. Since I inevitably spilled some coolant, I also kept a jug of 50/50 antifreeze/water mix in the car to make up what I lost. I think you'll be able to nurse it along. I would stop every 30-45 minutes or so to check things out. Don't wait for it to overheat. Carry water/antifreeze, a funnel, and a turkey baster. I once drove a VW Golf 150 miles with a leaking head gasket. Coolant kept disappearing, but I didn't know where it was going. It was late at night, and luckily, it first overheated right in front of a 24 hour grocery store. I bought a few gallons of distilled water, and stopped every 20 miles to fill it back up again (used less than 1 gallon to get home). Next morning, I found the crankcase was full of coolant. New head gasket, and I got 2 more years out of the car before selling it cheap to a kid with 195,000 miles on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastwgn286 Posted May 11, 2006 Author Share Posted May 11, 2006 alright, i made it home. it was the worst drive i've had. heat full blast in 75 degree heat. not good. definitely not recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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