Head Gasket problem

[Dave]

Hello all,

I'd like to get a used Subaru.
Both head gaskets went on my 98 Outback at 185K miles.
Up until them it was a great car.
From poking around the net I've learned that the problem was wide spread in
the DOHC 2.5 engines.
But there seems to be conflicting info out there concerning the SOHC 2.5.
Some sites say that the 2.5 SOHC experiences 'external' head gasket leaks
and that the problem is found from 2000 - 'present'

What do you all recommend? I will probably be looking at a SOHC around
2000 - 2002 with around 125K miles on it. Model doesn't really matter to me
(except non-turbo)

Thanks very much for the info.

Dave K

 

[nobody >]

Hello all,

I'd like to get a used Subaru.
Both head gaskets went on my 98 Outback at 185K miles.
Up until them it was a great car.
From poking around the net I've learned that the problem was wide spread in
the DOHC 2.5 engines.
But there seems to be conflicting info out there concerning the SOHC 2.5.
Some sites say that the 2.5 SOHC experiences 'external' head gasket leaks
and that the problem is found from 2000 - 'present'

What do you all recommend? I will probably be looking at a SOHC around
2000 - 2002 with around 125K miles on it. Model doesn't really matter to me
(except non-turbo)

Thanks very much for the info.

Dave K

The SOHC ("Stage 2") heads on the 2.5L *does* have head gasket issues,
and as you've said, it's "external" (coolant problems). Some of the
other's who've been here longer may have a handle on how the DOHC "Stage
1" engines compare to the SOHC "Stage 2" head gasket failures.

From what I understand from same net-poking is that the HG failures
continued on the 2.5 up till about '05/'06

Mine ('00 Outback Limited) "lost" the pass. side HG at 98K miles. It had
been recalled for the "blue goop treatment" "cure" sometime in it's past
(I bought it at 96K), so Soob paid for everything but the price of the
cam belt. I requested that since it would soon come due for the belt
RnR. The dealer (Carter Subaru, Seattle) won't do "one side" HG
replacements. I guess that was an issue in the past, and a large number
of dealers "ganged up" on Subaru of America over that.

Was the HG failure on your 98 OB "catastrophic"? (and do you still have
it?) If not, and the rest of the car's still decent (seats, body, etc),
I'd fix it and keep driving it. I like my '00 OB Limited but I don't see
any huge improvements over your '98. There weren't many changes on the
Legacy/Outback from '00 to '04...

However, going to an Impreza/OB Sport or a Forester gets you a
"spunkier" car. Less weight makes a difference.

 

[S]

Hi Dave!

Hello all,

I'd like to get a used Subaru.
Both head gaskets went on my 98 Outback at 185K miles.
Up until them it was a great car.
From poking around the net I've learned that the problem was wide spread in
the DOHC 2.5 engines.
But there seems to be conflicting info out there concerning the SOHC 2.5.
Some sites say that the 2.5 SOHC experiences 'external' head gasket leaks
and that the problem is found from 2000 - 'present'

What do you all recommend? I will probably be looking at a SOHC around
2000 - 2002 with around 125K miles on it. Model doesn't really matter to me
(except non-turbo)

The head gasket issues with the early DOHC engines were life
threatening, as coolant was being pulled into the combustion chambers
(internal leak).

I think most issues with the SOHC were external leaks, and those
mostly "weeps"; unsightly, no doubt, but not immediately threatening
(as opposed to say a burst heater hose).

The SOHC 2.5 has proven to be a more robust engine, as opposed to (at
least) the earlier DOHC design. Generally easier to work on as well,
FWIW.

We have two Forries in the family, my '99 with about 120K, and my
wife's '02 with 150K. No coolant issues on either (knock-on-wood ;-)

Much as I love my Forester, I can't see it being as long term
stone-axe reliable as my old '90 Legacy wagon with the 2.2l motor.
That critter had well over 300K when I sold it (to a local high school
kid, no less) a couple years back. I saw it tooling down the highway
just the other day, looked about as ugly as ever, but still goin',
still providing that basic transpo at a cost per mile probably not
much more than the 30MPG gasoline it takes to run it. Hard to top
that.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Hello all,

I'd like to get a used Subaru.
Both head gaskets went on my 98 Outback at 185K miles.
Up until them it was a great car.
From poking around the net I've learned that the problem was wide spread in
the DOHC 2.5 engines.
But there seems to be conflicting info out there concerning the SOHC 2.5.
Some sites say that the 2.5 SOHC experiences 'external' head gasket leaks
and that the problem is found from 2000 - 'present'

What do you all recommend? I will probably be looking at a SOHC around
2000 - 2002 with around 125K miles on it. Model doesn't really matter to me
(except non-turbo)

Well, I can confirm that I've experienced a head gasket problem early on
in the life of my car (2000 OBW, 2.5 SOHC). It happened just before the
100k km mark, so it was covered under my warranty. I'm now nearing 250k
km, and the problem has not reoccurred, fortunately.

Yousuf Khan

 

[weelliott]

I think that the problems were considered to be gone by 2003. I think
that the site that you saw listed the phase 2 engine as being in
certain cars until present, but even though those engines are still
being put in the cars(or were the last time that page was updated)
that doesn't mean that the ones past 2003 are bad. This page has a
pretty good explanation of the issue.

http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html

And this page has some good pictures to explain the issue.

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/

It seems to me that the point of your post was to ask our opinion on
whether or not to consider buying a 2000-2002 2.5 liter engine. I
would say no. I woudl go with the later ones starting in 2003, and
actually just to be safe, I'd go with a 2004. Alternatively, the non-
outback second gen legacies can be had with the 2.2 liter. While it
has less oomph, it is a very solid engine. From 95 through 99 as long
as you didn't get the GT, lsi, or outback, you got a 2.2. That's just
my suggestion. I am sure that others might say to just but whatever
you find, then if you are worried about it, replace the HG before they
blow. But there are different ways to approach it. In my experience I
felt the legacy L from 98 had as much oomph with its 2.2 liter as the
97 outback with it's 2.5 liter and bigger wheels and added weight. All
perception and butt-dyno, plus one car might have been in better
shape.

Good luck in your search,
Bill

 

[Dave]

Thank you all very much for the info. Exactly what I was looking for.

I'll confine the search to 2004 and up when the time comes. Hopefully I'll
get another couple of years out of my 98, 'Itchy' before she goes to the
Happy Hunting Ground. We name our cars in the South, of course.

 

[tim]

A bit of personal experience on the subject. The head gasket problems were not
corrected entirely in the 2003 model year. My '03 OBW had its first failure at
29k miles. The repair was covered under warranty, and the "coolant
conditioner" installed. Recently, at 75k miles, another failure of both
gaskets. Although the car was out of warranty, SOA did cover part of the
repair.