B
Bradley Walker
Well it looks like it was a good thing I delayed my 90k service by a few
weeks. Last week I noticed that there was a brief 'sweet' smell coming
from the drivers side area under the hood. I noticed it once after driving
the car and then it seemingly went away. Well I got down on my knees and
noticed a few drips of oil and what looked like an oil slick covering my oil
pan. After having driven it a few more days, I noticed a few more drips
before the dripping stopped. In the end my dip stick levels dropped by 1/2.
After I put 1/2 a quart of oil back into it, the engine seemed to run
smoother, heck even my shifting was soft as a cloud.
Two days ago I took it in to the dealership for a regular $15 oil change,
and told them to look it over. They said that I've got a leaky headgasket
on the drivers side. Because of the increasing 'sweet' smell of radiator
fluid I'm assuming, I'm inclinded to believe that they are right about it
being a leaky headgasket. So now I'm glad I delayed the 90k & timing belt
replacement because they'd have to pull the engine out once more. The
quoted cost for the headgasket replacement by itself is $850. The
'standard' 90k service is $740, timing belt is $380, and now this would
bring it close to $2000. Howevre I plan on buying the parts in advance and
either getting a direct quote from them, or shopping 2 local indie mechanics
who are competent. The one lady (YES, lady mechanic) said she's worked on
Subies before, and has chilton reference manuals for anything she may run
into she's not run into before. Neighbors have went to her for lesser stuff
and come away happy. Her rate is only $35/hr.
What is the advice on running the vehicle till I get that taken care of next
week? The heat guage has NOT increased, nor has anything else happened to
indicate this outside of the sweet smell and oil leak. I do NOT plan on
taxing the engine or driving it more than absolutely nessecary. Besides oil
levels, what else should I be checking religiously until this is fixed??
Btw - Recommended headgasket to use? OEM or a higher performance one?
Brad
weeks. Last week I noticed that there was a brief 'sweet' smell coming
from the drivers side area under the hood. I noticed it once after driving
the car and then it seemingly went away. Well I got down on my knees and
noticed a few drips of oil and what looked like an oil slick covering my oil
pan. After having driven it a few more days, I noticed a few more drips
before the dripping stopped. In the end my dip stick levels dropped by 1/2.
After I put 1/2 a quart of oil back into it, the engine seemed to run
smoother, heck even my shifting was soft as a cloud.
Two days ago I took it in to the dealership for a regular $15 oil change,
and told them to look it over. They said that I've got a leaky headgasket
on the drivers side. Because of the increasing 'sweet' smell of radiator
fluid I'm assuming, I'm inclinded to believe that they are right about it
being a leaky headgasket. So now I'm glad I delayed the 90k & timing belt
replacement because they'd have to pull the engine out once more. The
quoted cost for the headgasket replacement by itself is $850. The
'standard' 90k service is $740, timing belt is $380, and now this would
bring it close to $2000. Howevre I plan on buying the parts in advance and
either getting a direct quote from them, or shopping 2 local indie mechanics
who are competent. The one lady (YES, lady mechanic) said she's worked on
Subies before, and has chilton reference manuals for anything she may run
into she's not run into before. Neighbors have went to her for lesser stuff
and come away happy. Her rate is only $35/hr.
What is the advice on running the vehicle till I get that taken care of next
week? The heat guage has NOT increased, nor has anything else happened to
indicate this outside of the sweet smell and oil leak. I do NOT plan on
taxing the engine or driving it more than absolutely nessecary. Besides oil
levels, what else should I be checking religiously until this is fixed??
Btw - Recommended headgasket to use? OEM or a higher performance one?
Brad