February 15, 200719 yr ok o i have a 97 subaru outback. 195000miles. last year had to rebuild the engine do to a timing belt pulley failure. so unfortunatley i used aftermarket parts. all the seals failed and leaked oil except rear main. so i took it to a shop and paid a lot of money to fix seals. cam seals and valve covers (NOT REAR MAIN THOUGH). now i still have oil leaks which is do to my new headgaskets failing. (i put them in and they were aftermarket) THey are leaking a little bit out of the top. i seriously have no money. any ghetto ideas. the car smokes after i drive 10 min and smells and is really annoying. i suppose i could live with it but... can i put that (what do you call it) liquid that turn to kind of a metal stuff on it? any oil leak stuff work. it is those layered metal headgaskets i can't afford to fix it and won't sell it to anyone in that condition. help jake
February 15, 200719 yr As far as HG oil leaks, you're kind of up a creek there. The only thing you can really do besides replacing them is try running thicker oil in hopes that it will slow down the leakage. I generally just use 15w40 diesel engine oil in situations like this.
February 15, 200719 yr stop leak for oil leaks works by swelling cork or rubber to stop leaks. It doesnt work on rotational seals or head gaskets. You can try thicker oil, or an STP additive, but i think your SOL. nipper
February 15, 200719 yr Are you sure the leaks are from the headgaskets and not the valve covers? I don't hear too many complaints about that kind of failure mode. Anyway, you sound like you know your stuff, so assuming it is leaking from the HG... Could you fabricate metal shields to direct the leaking oil away from the exhaust manifolds? Or build up some kind of big ridge (JB Weld?) right next to the HG to encourage the oil to drip at that spot rather than running over and hitting the manifolds? I mean, you're not going to be able to seal the leak, but you could at least stop the smoke and odor if you got lucky. I think you could sell the car as-is...especially to the "right" person. You're not going to get top dollar, but a decent car (is it?) with a rebuilt engine which needs headgaskets for an oil leak sounds like a good project. I paid $3.5K for an exceptionally clean 98 OBW with leaking HG and almost as many miles as your car. Maybe I'm a fool...dunno! Good luck. I hope you get back on your feet financially. Nathan
February 15, 200719 yr Could you possibly pull the heads and apply a coating of High temp RTV to the offending area? Thicken it up a bit. Maybe use some permatex spray-a-gasket on the sealing surfaces before reapplying to get a firm seal. That's my ghetto idea for the day. all i've got.
February 15, 200719 yr Author thanks for the advice so far...its funny i got the car for FREE! and i am $4500 into it! hahhahha oh well i guess its like they say nothing is for free yeah jb weld is what i was thinking of do you think it could seal it on the outside or seal some of it and could it take high temp heat oh yeah anyone know if the headgasket can give completely and let a lot of oil start spraying out? jake
February 16, 200719 yr Could try some Schaeffer's #132 moly E.P., that stuff is thick and good. JBweld could be worthy of a ghetto try; it can take 500 deg. F. If you need a lot you could try to get their large industroweld size. I never could find anywhere that had the large size but there are other products like PC-2 I think it was I got at Ace.
February 17, 200719 yr whats shaffears #132? http://www.schaefferoil.com/specialty/132.html http://www.speedpartz.com/schaeffer_moly_treatment.htm
February 17, 200719 yr thanks for the advice so far...its funny i got the car for FREE! and i am $4500 into it! hahhahha oh well i guess its like they say nothing is for free yeah jb weld is what i was thinking of do you think it could seal it on the outside or seal some of it and could it take high temp heat oh yeah anyone know if the headgasket can give completely and let a lot of oil start spraying out? jake I had a Honda once that started spraying from the oil filter! I had been working on it (crashed piston #2 into the valves when the TB broke) and, it was apart for quite a while. I guess the oil pressure relief valve gummed up and when I started it after re-assembly oil sprayed all over the garage door! Carl
February 17, 200719 yr If oil is leaking on a phase 1 I doubt it is an headgasket. Try emailing Gnuman and see if he is still willing to travel. You need help from somebody who knows what they are doing.
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