Advice appreciated! Valve Issues?

[thed182]

This is my first post, so please bear with me:

 

To make a long story less long- I bought a '98 OBW 2.5L with 85,000 miles on it from a Subaru dealer in late October '05. Declined a warranty on it. Around Thanksgiving the Check Engine Light comes on. I brought it to my local mechanic who worked on my Volvo for years. He says it reads a cylinder #2 misfire and performs a tune-up and puts in new plugs.

 

Car runs fine until X-mas. Driving home from out of town the Check Engine Light comes on again-- I check the car and notice that the coolant reservoir is full of oil. HEAD GASKET! So at 87,000 miles I bring the car into the dealership I purchased it from-- they replace the head gasket, and I have them do the timing belt, water pump, and clutch while they're at it. They agree to pay for half of the cost, which I was happy to hear. So I figured I had a brand new car after all of that, right?

 

He we are in May and the Check Engine Light is on again (cylinder #2 & #3 misfire)! I thought it had been idling rough, but a few checks on the message board convinced me that it was a typical "Subaru stutter". Anyways, I bring it back to the dealer and after trying to diagnose the problem for a day, they tell me they need to pull the engine to see why the #2 exhaust valve was too tight. They quoted me a price of $1250 for R&R of the engine and a best- case scenario of another $200 to adjust the valves or mucho dinero if any machining had to be done. I declined having it done- I thought I'd wait for the CEL to come on again. It came back on in less than a week (cylinder #2 misfire).

 

Any advice? Did the service department miss anything when they replaced the head gasket? Might the cylinder misfires and the HG problem be related?

I have also noticed that the coolant level is low and it starts up right away the first time I run it, but it takes 5+ seconds to start after that. I am leaning towards ditching this OBW and trading it in, possibly for an '05 XT. Anything I should try before I either pay for the repair or get rid of it?

[a97obw]

Anyways, I bring it back to the dealer and after trying to diagnose the problem for a day, they tell me they need to pull the engine to see why the #2 exhaust valve was too tight. They quoted me a price of $1250 for R&R of the engine and a best- case scenario of another $200 to adjust the valves or mucho dinero if any machining had to be done.

 

Uhhh....the valve clearances are supposed to be checked as a part of the head gasket replacement. Understand that in order to replace the head gasket, the camshafts must be removed to gain access to the bolts that mount the head to the engine case (or "block" in Volvo and Chevy speak). The clearances should have been checked before removing the cams and cylinder head to ensure they were in spec.---of course I have no idea if this is standard procedure with a Subaru dealership. Probably not since it makes sense to do it.

 

The "good news" is that the engine does not have to be removed to check the valve clearances. Only the valve covers...just like your old Volvo. The "bad news" is that, in my opinion, your dealer is attempting to scam you by telling you the engine must be removed.....and trying to get at least another pair of Franklins out of your wallet for a valve adjustment they were supposed to do when they replaced the head gasket the first time!

 

Do you really think they don't remember splitting the cost of the head gasket job? I didn't think so. Find another dealership/Subaru mechanic. And in the mean time, if the "check engine light" re-occurs, go to your local auto parts store and purchase, for about $150, one of the "code readers" that will plug and play with your Subaru. That way you can just read them and clear them. Like I did with my 97 OBW for the past 4 years. As for the low coolant issue...get that resolved by filling and "burping" the system as advised on this message board.