Blown head gasket, how?

[PCB]

I was driving my 95 Legacy LS wagon w/auto transmission yesterday and
the cooling system exploded. I then drove it under 10mph for about one
mile and found a good place to pull over. After checking under the
hood, I could tell that the fitting on the radiator that the hose
attaches to had broken.

The garage that I had the car taken to says that it has a blown head
gasket. Says that this coolant system failure and a thermastat failure
a couple weeks earlier (which I had fixed) were signs of it. I am just
beside myself. How could it happen on this Subaru? I have checked the
oil regularly.

Some vehicle history: This is a 95 Legacy LS wagon with auto
transmission. It¹s got approx 150k milage. I have checked the oil
regularly since I obtained the car (got it at around 144k). When I
bought it, I had my garage check it out during the 48-hour grace period
to make sure I was not buying a lemon. They found that the engine had
some typical Subaru oil leaks and then fixed them.

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

I was driving my 95 Legacy LS wagon w/auto transmission yesterday and
the cooling system exploded. I then drove it under 10mph for about one
mile and found a good place to pull over. After checking under the
hood, I could tell that the fitting on the radiator that the hose
attaches to had broken.

The garage that I had the car taken to says that it has a blown head
gasket. Says that this coolant system failure and a thermastat failure
a couple weeks earlier (which I had fixed) were signs of it. I am just
beside myself. How could it happen on this Subaru? I have checked the
oil regularly.

Some vehicle history: This is a 95 Legacy LS wagon with auto
transmission. It¹s got approx 150k milage. I have checked the oil
regularly since I obtained the car (got it at around 144k). When I
bought it, I had my garage check it out during the 48-hour grace period
to make sure I was not buying a lemon. They found that the engine had
some typical Subaru oil leaks and then fixed them.

It's a "Subaru"!! read back a ways on this group. You will find that this is
a common problem, among some other goodies.
Just keep telling yourself, this is a RACE/Rally car and these failures are
normal........

Now it's time for a $2500 engine for a $500 car........

 

[George Adams]

From: PCB

I was driving my 95 Legacy LS wagon w/auto transmission yesterday and
the cooling system exploded. I then drove it under 10mph for about one
mile and found a good place to pull over.

After checking under the
hood, I could tell that the fitting on the radiator that the hose
attaches to had broken.

The garage that I had the car taken to says that it has a blown head
gasket. Says that this coolant system failure and a thermastat failure
a couple weeks earlier (which I had fixed) were signs of it. I am just
beside myself. How could it happen on this Subaru? I have checked the
oil regularly.

Nothing lasts forever, and checking the oil has nothing to do with gasket
failure. Have you had the coolant changed every 30K?

Even with regular maintenance parts will eventually fail. The head gaskets on
my 1998 Forester went at 178,000. Fortunately, it wasn't a catastrophic failure
like yours, so I was able to nurse it to my repair shop with no further damage.

Some vehicle history: This is a 95 Legacy LS wagon with auto
transmission. It¹s got approx 150k milage. I have checked the oil
regularly since I obtained the car (got it at around 144k).

These things will happen when you buy cars with that much mileage. Did you get
any kind of a maintenance history with it?

When I
bought it, I had my garage check it out during the 48-hour grace period
to make sure I was not buying a lemon. They found that the engine had
some typical Subaru oil leaks and then fixed them.

I doubt your mechanic could predict gasket failure. I really don't know what
you're asking here. Repairs are part and parcel of buying high mileage used
cars. That's why they are cheap.

George Adams

"All good fishermen stay young until they die, for fishing is the only dream of
youth that doth not grow stale with age."
---- J.W Muller

 

[Dominic Richens]

I was driving my 95 Legacy LS wagon w/auto transmission yesterday and
the cooling system exploded. I then drove it under 10mph for about
one mile and found a good place to pull over. After checking under
the hood, I could tell that the fitting on the radiator that the hose
attaches to had broken.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "exploded" - sounds like the hose clamp
failed - anything else?

The garage that I had the car taken to says that it has a blown head
gasket.

Driving for 1 mile with no coolant in the engine warped the heads which in
turn caused the gasket to fail.

I have checked the oil regularly.

What does this have to do with a coolant failure?

Which engine is this? The 2.2 SOHC or the 2.5 DOHC. The former is pretty
much bullet proof, but the latter had many many head problems because the
design was too weak. Search google groups for many many posts about this
problem.

 

[Nige]

Hey fucker, I see you soon changed your online e-mail address from mine? Get some heat did you?

You silly gobshite.

****

 

[Hallraker]

I was driving my 95 Legacy LS wagon w/auto transmission yesterday and
the cooling system exploded. I then drove it under 10mph for about one
mile and found a good place to pull over. After checking under the
hood, I could tell that the fitting on the radiator that the hose
attaches to had broken.

The garage that I had the car taken to says that it has a blown head
gasket. Says that this coolant system failure and a thermastat failure
a couple weeks earlier (which I had fixed) were signs of it. I am just
beside myself. How could it happen on this Subaru? I have checked the
oil regularly.

Some vehicle history: This is a 95 Legacy LS wagon with auto
transmission. It¹s got approx 150k milage. I have checked the oil
regularly since I obtained the car (got it at around 144k). When I
bought it, I had my garage check it out during the 48-hour grace period
to make sure I was not buying a lemon. They found that the engine had
some typical Subaru oil leaks and then fixed them.

Since you just got it, I'm going to venture a guess that something was wrong
and the previous owner did a decent cover-up. It is quite possible that it
was suffering from problems for a while, and for example, the former owner
used some quick-fix product to hide the evidence.

A blown head gasket can be expensive, but it's not the end of the world.
The engine should still be good, and with some new gaskets, good for at
least another 100k.

-Matt

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

Hey fucker, I see you soon changed your online e-mail address from mine? Get some heat did you?

You silly gobshite.

****

HAHAHA...you silver tongue devil you(asswipe). changed e-mail address from
yours? nope..look again (CLOWN). Get some heat from who?? I didnt get any
heat (you jerk) was I supposed to? Just because I think your a
moron/idiot/imbecile doesnt get me any "heat" from my ISP, they know your a
wanker.
And what the hell is a gobshite? damn limeys......speak a foreign dialect
all their own...like cockney.....
Sounds like YOUR blowing a head gasket there Nige!(short for moron)

 

[GW De Lacey]

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 04:12:21 GMT, Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik wrote:

[...]

Sounds like YOUR blowing a head gasket there Nige!(short for moron)

I thought I had you killfiled!

<PLONK>

This time stay there.

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 04:12:21 GMT, Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik wrote:

[...]

Sounds like YOUR blowing a head gasket there Nige!(short for moron)

I thought I had you killfiled!

<PLONK>

This time stay there.

Oh hurt me baby

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

?

HAHAHA...you silver tongue devil you(asswipe). changed e-mail address from
yours? nope..look again (CLOWN). Get some heat from who?? I didnt get any
heat (you jerk) was I supposed to? Just because I think your a
moron/idiot/imbecile doesnt get me any "heat" from my ISP, they know your a
wanker.
And what the hell is a gobshite? damn limeys......speak a foreign dialect
all their own...like cockney.....
Sounds like YOUR blowing a head gasket there Nige!(short for moron)