September 8, 200619 yr Yep! Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag, blew another. Second set in six months. This one was my fault. Last week-end I drove from Fresno to San Diego to visit me Mum, a 348 mi drive that also includes a trip through the Grapevine, which cuts through the mountains between the San Joaquin Valley (home of Fresno) to LA and contains some long, steep grades to climb. The plan was to drive her back th Fresno so she could see the new house, and spend some time with the mate, the grand-dog and grand-bird. Murph did fine on Friday heading south to SD. Got a little hot, but it was evening at the time I attacked the big 6 mile hill, so it was cool outside. Coming back to Fresno on Monday proved to be a killer! Going up the mountain I noticed the temp was hotter than normal. The grade is not as steep, but the climb is much longer. There were a few places to pull over, and the little voice in my head was screaming to do just that. But of coarse I ignored it. I figured I could get to the top of the hill and coarst down the rest of the way. I got soooo close! The car sputtered about a mile from the top . The tow back was 130ish mile. THANK GOD FOR AAA PLATNUM!!! This allows 100 miles of free towing. Only had to pay $200 for the last 30 miles (Only????:-\). Sooo, here I am with another blown head gasket. I haven't taken the heads off yet so I don't know if there is any other damage. Assuming not, should I have the heads milled again, as they were just done a few months ago? I changed my mind. It wasn't my fault I blew the head gasket. It was the fault of the crappy 3 speed auto tranny, sucking up gas while pulling 4000 rpms @ 70 miles per hour. THATS WHY my car blowed up again!!! It's time for the crappy 3 speed auto tranny to 5 speed D/R swap I've been wanting to do since I got Murph running. (See "Silver Lining" thread for more info) UPDATE - I may hold off on the tranny swap for now, as I may have found a sweet deal on a 94 Legacy 5 spd wagon. Dead, but going for $200.
September 10, 200619 yr nice views for the trip. The 2 core radiator would have been a nice thing to pay 40 bucks more for than a regular hey? (My only non-oem upgrade soon) Even my 2wd shows it on the guage to be getting a bit warm on long grades. At most I turn the heat on defrost high, and crack the windows and its conquered to normal. Hope your repairs go ok.
September 10, 200619 yr Author I only paid twelve buck for rad one I have now. The J-Yard was having a 1/2 off sale, and I couldn't resist. I will get one soon. The 5 speed tranny will help too. As will the soon approaching winter.
September 13, 200619 yr bah, the grapevine... what a wonderful place, especially in the middle of summer in a truck with nonfunctioning AC... Anyways, are you sure you blew a headgasket and not just overheated it to the point of fuel vapor lock? I think the reason why my RX was getting harder to start and didn't run as long was because it was getting to the point of vapor lock, and I'd shut it down before it would blow a headgasket. If she's not smoking, I'd start checking the coolant system for any signs of it blowing one. If not, you might be all right... Next time.. PULL OVER!
September 13, 200619 yr Nope. I couldn't be that lucky It's definitely the head gasket. Are you using OEM Subaru Gaskets? If not, thats the real problem...
September 13, 200619 yr The car sputtered about a mile from the top . The tow back was 130ish mile. THANK GOD FOR AAA PLATNUM!!! This allows 100 miles of free towing. Only had to pay $200 for the last 30 miles (Only????:-\). Not that i would ever say anything to er um, cheat the system but .... a AAA driver told me once when i broke down in PA, to get towed the 100 miles by the first driver, call AAA again and get a second tow, then call them again for a third. This works only when you cross AAA regions or state lines. AAA is not interconnected to other AAA regions/states. Just something to keep in mind, especially when crossing state lines. Being from NY, i've actually traveled that route on a "im running away from it all" trip, and its tough on a car. Some places not to cheap out on, your cooling system and your brakes. Find a 2 core rad nipper
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