Blown Head Gasket> ? Heeeelllp!

[al franken]

I live in the Boston area and was planning a trip to Chicago to visit
the inlaws. I wanted my 97 Legacy Outback 2.5 in top running shape
before the trip and with 125 k miles on it I though it was a good idea
to get a timing belt done on it.

I brought it to a local non-dealer shop and he charged me about $700
for the belt, new water Pump, thermostat and labor. I thought this was
pretty fair. My wife took the car and headed out to do some errands.
after about 1/2 hr of driving the car overheated, sputtered, stalled,
and she just made it home.

I got it home and looked at it. I noticed the radiator was blown so I
had it towed back to the shop for a new radiator. After another $300
he had the radiator installed, I went and picked it up. after I drove
for about 20 MInutes I noticed an engine skip and drove it back to
him. He says the car wasn't doing that for him and that a cyllinder on
the right side sounds like it is stickinig.

The car doesn't seem to be running hot but after about 10 minutes
worth of driving it starts skipping and sputtering. Am I Screwed or
can this be fixed?
]

 

[jabario]

Get ready for small claims court!!! Your NON-SUBARU mechanic probably
forgot to bleed the cooling system of trapped air. This is known to
cause hotspots which lead to gasket and other failures. You need to
get to a CERTIFIED subaru mechanic and get the issues documented to
recover damages from your NON -Subaru mechanic. In central NJ the
timing belt water pump etc would cost about the same at a dealership.
You thought you could save a buck by letting a monkey work on your car
and now you are out serious $$$$$. Why are people so stupid?

John

 

[Jeff]

I want to change the coolant in my 02 Outback. I've done this several times
on my 95 and never bleed the system. How do I bleed it so I won't have a
problem in my 02. Thanks Jeff

 

[al franken]

Well as a follow up I took the car for a test run this a.m I marked
where the fluid levels were and I ran it fairly hard for 10-15 min.
I looked at the fluid mark and nothing changed. And the antifreeze did
NOT smell like hydrocarbon SO I am almost certain that that the
skipping is due to a timing belt issue.

I know you only need to be off by a couple of teeth for the engine to
run improperly SO I think the engine skip is due to an improperly
aligned timing belt NOT a head gasket leak. I just hope there is no
valve damage. I'm bringin it to the dealer Monday. Live and learn.

 

[jabario]

Your owner's manual will show you there's a bleed screw at the top of
the radiator. Follow directions in the manual.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I've read that you can hold a strip of paper at the tailpipe while the
engine is idling and the paper will actually suck INTO/TOWARDS the
exhaust pipe if a belt has skipped.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[Onne]

one tooth on one cam is all it took for me to notice a rough idle after
a belt change by a CERTIFIED subaru mechanic.

al franken wrote: