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uh oh, overheating and now oil leak


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it probably wasn't the head gaskets at first...though they might be hosed now that you've driven it this long like that.

 

there's lots of other possible causes here, have you looked into this at all?

 

thermostat, water pump, hoses, clamps, leaks, bad radiator, fans not coming on.....

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Yes, there are other possibilities, but when 2+2=4, you go with it. Are your fluids cross-contaminated (coolant in your oil, oil in you coolant)? Do you have full compression in all cylinders?

 

My Forester would overheat, then magically the temp would drop to normal. 5 miles later, repeat performance. No cross contamination of fluids. It was the HG. I was at a dealer the other day and he said that Subaru is recommending a silicone sealer instead of a replacement gasket for certain vehicles. Take it fwiw, but it might be worth checking out.

 

For my forester the mechanic had to pull the engine to do the work. Whenever you do the HG, you should check the head for flatness and do a valve job if needed. Even if not needed, it's a good time to tune them up. It cost me $1,800. 2 months later the car was totaled and insurance company gave me a $560 bonus for the work that was done. The machine work and checking tolerances is best performed in a qualified machine shop. You can remove parts and take them in, but in my case it wasn't worth it. I break stuff.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

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My Forester would overheat, then magically the temp would drop to normal. 5 miles later, repeat performance. No cross contamination of fluids. It was the HG
that's what all EJ25 head gasket failures do. it's rare for them to mix fluids and if they do it's because someone beat the snot out of the engine. i've seen failed HG's even pass the sniffer test.

 

I was at a dealer the other day and he said that Subaru is recommending a silicone sealer instead of a replacement gasket for certain vehicles. Take it fwiw, but it might be worth checking out.
that's only for Phase II EJ25's (99+ foresters and 00+ Leg's). that's not for Phase I's, the failure modes of the two engines are completely different. Phase I - internal. Phase II = external.
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