Post head gasket repair anxiety

[denovo]

Hello

I have a 99 DOHC Subaru Outback. It's been a great car for us. It's
got about 120K on it. Not a lick of trouble until about 3 weeks ago.
When it began to overheat. Took it in to the shop. They said it was
low on coolant. Refilled coolant and sent us on our way. About 5 days
later, the symptoms reappeared. I had coolant spilling everywhere.
Brought it in to our regular shop and this time they said it was the
head gasket. The heads were slightly warped too. The repair bill came
to about $1800.

Just got the car back on Friday. About an hour later, the car's heat
gauge started to climb the 3/4 mark, I brought it back into the shop.
This time they figured it was a bad, new thermostat. Some hoses were
hot, the bottom ones I think. Replacing the thermostat, has brought
the Sube back to normal it seems. Except for really loud belt noise in
the morning when we first start the car.

One of the things I had heard was that you had to take the engine out
or remove some panels to replace the head gaskets. My mechanic said he
could just put it on a lift and replace them from below. That and the
post repair overheating makes me wonder if the job was done right.

These guys are great - but I'm wondering if lack of experience with
Subarus here in Nashville maybe a factor. Does anybody know if any of
this sounds strange?

Please don't ask me to take it to the local Subaru dealer - they are
absolutely incompetent - from my previous experience.

How can I ensure that my car is now OK?

I should also add that the car was in a minor front end (mostly
cosmetic) collision last fall. We got it fixed at a premium auto body
collision place with help from our insurance. Could that have started
our woes?

Thanks much.

Charles

 

[Edward Hayes]

What do you mean about "loud belt noise"? I hope you mean assoriey
belts that just need adjusting or replacing. There is some experience
needed to purge the cooling system of air. That and maybe the stat was
causing the overheating after the HG replacement.

 

[Florian Feuser]

Hello

I have a 99 DOHC Subaru Outback. It's been a great car for us. It's
got about 120K on it. Not a lick of trouble until about 3 weeks ago.
When it began to overheat. Took it in to the shop. They said it was
low on coolant. Refilled coolant and sent us on our way. About 5 days
later, the symptoms reappeared. I had coolant spilling everywhere.
Brought it in to our regular shop and this time they said it was the
head gasket. The heads were slightly warped too. The repair bill came
to about $1800.

I guess they had to do work on the mating surfaces. This precludes
doing the job on the lift [proposition below] - even if you could get
to the pats.

Just got the car back on Friday. About an hour later, the car's heat
gauge started to climb the 3/4 mark, I brought it back into the shop.
This time they figured it was a bad, new thermostat. Some hoses were
hot, the bottom ones I think. Replacing the thermostat, has brought
the Sube back to normal it seems. Except for really loud belt noise in
the morning when we first start the car.

If the problem goes away after replacing the thermostat, that may have
been it. They _could_ have replaced the part when they had it apart,
but there is also some logic to leaving known-good parts alone.

If the problem comes back yet again, check the recent archives for my
own troubles (and make sure the radiator fans are working....).

That really doesnt have anything to do with the gaskets, but could be
the result of a belt pulley being hit (bent) as the engine was pulled
out.

 

[denovo]

What do you mean about "loud belt noise"? I hope you mean assoriey
belts that just need adjusting or replacing. There is some experience
needed to purge the cooling system of air. That and maybe the stat was
causing the overheating after the HG replacement.

Sounds like the fan belt - though I can't be sure....Could be humidity
I suppose - but that sucker is loud...

Thanks

Charles

 

[denovo]

Hello

I have a 99 DOHC Subaru Outback. It's been a great car for us. It's
got about 120K on it. Not a lick of trouble until about 3 weeks ago.
When it began to overheat. Took it in to the shop. They said it was
low on coolant. Refilled coolant and sent us on our way. About 5 days
later, the symptoms reappeared. I had coolant spilling everywhere.
Brought it in to our regular shop and this time they said it was the
head gasket. The heads were slightly warped too. The repair bill came
to about $1800.

I guess they had to do work on the mating surfaces. This precludes
doing the job on the lift [proposition below] - even if you could get
to the pats.

Hmm...I'm not really sure what this means. Does this mean that if they
had to have the heads resurfaced, they couldn't have done it without
taking the engine out?

If the problem goes away after replacing the thermostat, that may have
been it. They _could_ have replaced the part when they had it apart,
but there is also some logic to leaving known-good parts alone.

As far as I know, they replaced the thermostat at time of repair. Just
a bum stat...

If the problem comes back yet again, check the recent archives for my
own troubles (and make sure the radiator fans are working....).

That's really interesting - I know when they had the car back together,
they couldn't get it to start cause a sensor or connector wasn't
plugged back in.

That really doesnt have anything to do with the gaskets, but could be
the result of a belt pulley being hit (bent) as the engine was pulled
out.

Thanks for all the insight...This is really very helpful...

Charles

 

[Florian Feuser]

Hmm...I'm not really sure what this means. Does this mean that if they
had to have the heads resurfaced, they couldn't have done it without
taking the engine out?

No idea if they could have done it. Resurfacing the heads is one thing,
resurfacing/prepping the mating surfaces on the block is another. Doing
that with the engine in place sounds like a job for a dentist - not a
mechanic.

As far as I know, they replaced the thermostat at time of repair. Just
a bum stat...

That's really interesting - I know when they had the car back together,
they couldn't get it to start cause a sensor or connector wasn't
plugged back in.

I don't think the fans are belt driven in your Outback. Besides the
timing belt, there is another that drives the alternator and one for
the AC compressor.
You should be able to see if the pulleys are turning okay at idle speed.

florian

 

[denovo]

No idea if they could have done it. Resurfacing the heads is one thing,
resurfacing/prepping the mating surfaces on the block is another. Doing
that with the engine in place sounds like a job for a dentist - not a
mechanic.


I don't think the fans are belt driven in your Outback. Besides the
timing belt, there is another that drives the alternator and one for
the AC compressor.
You should be able to see if the pulleys are turning okay at idle speed.

florian

Ah, got it - will look...

Thanks

Charles