Guest subyluvr2212 Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 I willl be buying a new Subaru sometime within the next year, I hope. Now I know the HG issue is largely a Phase I problem, but I was just curious... How do you people that have blown your headgaskets drive? Hard? Lots of WOT? Sitting in traffic with A/C on full blast in 90-degree weather? I myself am a rather restrained driver. I feel real guilty if I really run my car hard (unless it deserves it :evil: )... I'm not saying that it's your fault because you run your car real hard. I'm just thinking it's a factory defect that is manifested by judicious driving styles... TIA... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 99obw Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 My wife and I both drive very mello, and most of the 120k miles that were on the car before the head gaskets went were highway miles. We virtually never have traffic. I think it is a defect that is manifested by use. I feel fortunate that ours lasted as long as they did. 99obw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest theotherskip Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 I am by and large a mellow driver as well. i do indulge in the ac quite often, but am not one of the little street racer types. i never really rev above 4k unless it is an emergency merge. i bought the car with 60k, and it is now at 72k with a blown head gasket. as for the prior driver, this is total speculation, but it was a female owner, and all of the maintenance was done at the dealer, so i believe that it was not abused. i also agree that it is something that is just going to go, and there is not a damn thing you can do to save your butt. either you have an engine that weak, or you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Commuter Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 97 Outback. HG failure at 160k miles, 5.5 yrs old. Gentle driver. 3 hrs a day of highway commuting. A/C in summer, but we don't get that many hot days. Rarely ever in stop and go driving. I might kick the engine up past 4k rpm a couple of times a month. Another gentleman who posted here only a few times had the same vehicle (fewer miles) and indicated that it was simply a "daily driver". His HG's failed about 6 months before me I believe. Commuter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest remarcable Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 99 OBW, I drive it like I stole it. So far the headgaskets have held up for 55k miles, but I have had a slow coolant leak from behind the timing cover for about a year now. Lots of WOT with the AC on, since it is incredibly hot all the time down here. I'd like to be a bit nicer to the car in terms of acceleration but the damn thing is so slow you have to really rev it up to get the barge moving. Oh, there have been plenty of offroad driving excursions and a few autocrosses. I'm actually surprised to have had no major repairs yet, just accellerated maintanence. You guys will be the first to know when the headgasket blows, if it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest subyluvr2212 Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Marc, your leak is probably a leaky water pump gasket, not a big deal... Okay, then, it's obviously a serious factory defect which affects all you people regardless of your driving style. Don't feel bad though. You could have a Toyota 3.0 V6 that sludges up and then eats your motor, I know, I work there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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