2003 Legacy Wagon Headgaskets

[ricardo381]

During a service visit to the Subaru dealer this weekend, the service
technician indicated that the headgaskets on my 2003 Legacy Wagon w/
82K miles were leaking engine oil and coolant and advised that I
replace the valve cover, intake, and head gaskets. They also
recommended I replace my timing belt, water pump, and seals. Estimate
cost of repairs is about $1200 for the gaskets and $700 for the timing
belt/pump/seals.

I checked the internet and found that there's a service campaign that
covers the headgasket repairs for 8 years/100K miles. However, my 2003
Legacy wagon is not included in the campaign. I crawled underneath my
car and took some photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/7260566@N08/sets/72157605377931701/

There are no leaks showing up on my garage floor, but from what I saw,
it looks like minor seepage. I'm worried that the leaks may develop
into major leaks if I don't take care of it. What do you guys think?
Has anyone tried to get Subaru to repair their headgaskets under the
service campaign? How about for models not listed in the campaign?
Please share your comments and experiences. Thanks!

Another thought: if I chose the do the headgasket work, should the
timing belt/pump/seals job cost me only parts, since labor should
already be included in the headgasket job (they are already taking
apart that part of the engine)?

 

[dan]

During a service visit to the Subaru dealer this weekend, the service
technician indicated that the headgaskets on my 2003 Legacy Wagon w/
82K miles were leaking engine oil and coolant and advised that I
replace the valve cover, intake, and head gaskets. They also
recommended I replace my timing belt, water pump, and seals. Estimate
cost of repairs is about $1200 for the gaskets and $700 for the timing
belt/pump/seals.

I checked the internet and found that there's a service campaign that
covers the headgasket repairs for 8 years/100K miles. However, my 2003
Legacy wagon is not included in the campaign. I crawled underneath my
car and took some photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/7260566@N08/sets/72157605377931701/

There are no leaks showing up on my garage floor, but from what I saw,
it looks like minor seepage. I'm worried that the leaks may develop
into major leaks if I don't take care of it. What do you guys think?
Has anyone tried to get Subaru to repair their headgaskets under the
service campaign? How about for models not listed in the campaign?
Please share your comments and experiences. Thanks!

Another thought: if I chose the do the headgasket work, should the
timing belt/pump/seals job cost me only parts, since labor should
already be included in the headgasket job (they are already taking
apart that part of the engine)?

Almost 2 years ago I bought a 1998 Legacy with a 2.5l engine. It
seemed great when I drove away, but then I would have overheating at
random times and my coolant turned to mud. The dealership I bought
the car from (not a Subaru dealer) offered to fix it, but insisted it
was a radiator issue. When they gave it back 3 times and I would
still have it overheat within days, I searched for the answer myself.
Looking online I found that this engine has a common problem with an
internal head gasket failure, and brought the evidence to the
dealership. When they finally caved in and accepted that it might be
a head gasket problem, they almost ruined the car trying to fix it.
After 4 months of repairs/towing/and giving me loaner cars, they had
gone completely upside down on the car sale and they finally sent it
to a Subaru dealer to fix the head gasket (and the things they had
screwed up along the way) and I finally got a car that has be problem
free ever since then.

I'm not allowed on that car lot any more, but I did learn that the
Subaru 2.5l has this problem... I'm not sure if they fixed it by
2003, but if it's the same issue then you'll have a head gasket leak
'inside' where it won't leave a mess on your garage floor, and may not
even cause any problem you would notice except occasionally when
something heats up at just the right rate and the thermal change
creates the potential leak condition. Watch for discolored coolant!
And if the Subaru dealer says you have a head gasket problem, take it
seriously...

Dan

 

[WayneS]

Hi Ricardo,

I also have a 03 Legacy Wagon that was in the dealer for normal service at
68k and was found to have leaking valve cover gaskets. Leaking oil into the
spark plug wells, not on the floor. Head gasket was OK. Still another
$229.00.

Good luck

 

[ricardo381]

Subaru responded that they will cover the headgasket repair as a
warranty item, so now my Legacy is at the dealer for one week. They
found that the cylinder heads had to be sent to the machine shop.
Hopefully, when I get it back, it will run great for another 100K
miles...I opted to wait another 20K to do the timing belt/water pump/
seals since I was quoted $800 out of my own pocket for that job. I
expected the quote to be lower since they already had the engine apart
for the HG repair, but that wasn't the case. Looks like the t-belt is
rated for 105K, so I have another 20K to go...There's a 1-year/12K
warranty on the HG job, so I want to make sure there are no more leaks
before I put more $$ into an otherwise great driving car.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I'm not allowed on that car lot any more, but I did learn that the
Subaru 2.5l has this problem... I'm not sure if they fixed it by
2003, but if it's the same issue then you'll have a head gasket leak
'inside' where it won't leave a mess on your garage floor, and may not
even cause any problem you would notice except occasionally when
something heats up at just the right rate and the thermal change
creates the potential leak condition. Watch for discolored coolant!
And if the Subaru dealer says you have a head gasket problem, take it
seriously...

I ran into the 2.5L head gasket problem early, while my engine was still
under warranty. I lucked out on that one. I didn't know it was a common
problem until just now. I saw the usual symptoms, the spiking engine
temperatures, etc.

Yousuf Khan