Hello all and welcome to the Smart Service blog. I’m Mike Corbin, the owner of Smart Service. I’ll be writing this blog to provide you with friendly helpful information about your Subaru as well as other interesting things. Whether it’s the latest about Subaru head gasket solutions or local happenings in the Shoreline and Mukilteo community, check back, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting and enjoyable.
Keep up to date on Subaru related topics by checking back frequently.
Thank you,
Mike Corbin
Mike Klinger
July 21, 2009Hi Mike,
We have for years seen subaru head gaskets fail not unlike you I’m sure. The last 19 that we’ve replaced, had one thing in common. A change was made in the design of the thermostat housing. The waterpumps were also changed. We found in all cases of gasket failure that when combusted gases make it into the coolant, the gases are trapped in the t-stat housing. The waterpump actually pulls coolant away from the thermostat and the temp sender is out of the coolant flow at that time. To remedy the cavitation of t-stat housing we replace the thermostat with one that has a bleeder. If aftermarket t-stats are used, for the most part they have no bleeder. This accounts for the lack of customer complaint of overheating since the sender is telling the gauge that the engine temperature is fine.
thomas ennenga
July 21, 2009IAM AN OLD MECHANIC, OR JUST OLD ALL OF HEAD GSKT HOW TO`S DONT SAY HOW OR IF YOU OIL THE NEW HEAD BOLTS DURING HEAD REINSTALL` WHATS YOUR TAKE ON THIS` I HAVE FEAR OF OIL SQUEEZING OUT NEW HEAD GSKTS BUT DONT WANT TO STRIP THREADS THANKS FOR INPUT
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Subaru recommends oiling the threads on the bolts prior to torquing. We agree with this recommendation. We also encourage you run a tap down in the holes to insure they threads are in as good of shape as possible. Based on our experience at Smart Service, we’ve never had a problem with oil squeezing out onto the head gaskets.
Goos luck,
Mike Corbin
Smart Service
Independent Subaru Expert
Jim Dick
July 21, 2009Mike,
I’ve enjoyed much of your advice on head gasket replacement. Been doing my own work for 35 years on different cars over the years. Not new to subaru engines, for my son had a 1990 1.8 that we did head gaskets on. Now I’m working on a 2001 Outback 2.5L, car has 116K miles on it, no blown head gasket, but with my daughter going off to grad school in Cheney I feel that for preventative maintenance I do the head gaskets. Ya know it’s all about me! If anything were fail on the car, I’ll get the call. I did purchase the new Phase II Six Star gasket for this job a couple weeks ago.
I’ve got the heads off now. But as I was taking the driver side cams off the sprocket spun forward a bit more than 180 degrees. I was following the Haynes procedure which mentioned that was the next step. I should’ve paid attention to some of the practical experiences others have recommended not taking the sprocket and cam rocker arms off.
What do I need to to in this case? Please advise
Jim
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Hi Jim,
It seems now all you need to do is remove the heads and inspect that particular head for any bent valves or valve leakage. It’s probably OK but you’d rather find out about it now than when the heads are off than later when you can’t figure out why it’s running bad.
On a side note, I’ m not sure I’d put my faith in a Haynes book for that extensive a repair on a Subaru. I would recommend obtaining a genuine Subaru manual or purchasing an online Alldata subscription for that vehicle. (they use Subaru manuals for their info). I’ve just seen too many mistakes made from a DIY using Haynes or Chiltons.
Good luck,
Mike Corbin
Independent Subaru Expert
Chuck Thomas
July 21, 2009Hi Mike,
Just replaced the right side head gasket in my 2001 Legacy with a Six-Star which I ordered from your shop. This was after my shop here on the west coast said the problem I had with coolant loss and fluctuating temperature gauge was due to bad gasket. My car had 155,500 miles at the time and that head gasket was original. The left side gasket they replaced at 74,500 miles and they say it’s fine. Problem is, if I drive a number of highway miles at higher speeds, I end up with a reservoir full of coolant, not as much in the radiator, and a temperature gauge which is once again going into the red. If I drive locally (slower speeds), the coolant level remains normal in the radiator. I had my local Subaru dealer remove any air from the cooling system, but that hasn’t helped. Have you ever seen this problem with any cars in your shop?
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Hi Chuck,
I have seen this problem and unfortunately it appears the Subaru wasn’t properly repaired or something was overlooked somewhere along the way. I bet you will find hydrocarbons in the radiator if you were to have it tested.
My theory is that you have exhaust pushing into the cooling system from the combustion chambers. A helpful test may be to remove all the spark plugs, apply a pressure testor to the radiator then after a few minutes of having the (topped off) cooling system under pressure, crank over the engine. If it’s a big leak you’ll have coolant shoot out of one of the plug holes. The reverse method of this is to pull the plugs, bring each cylinder up to TDC and apply air pressure with a leakdown tester to that particular cylinder. If you see bubbles coming out of the radiator then you’ve narrowed it down to that cylinder.
Now, the question is why did this happen. Was the head gasket that was replaced at 74k bad also? Was there a crack in the head or block that went un-noticed? Was there imperfections in the head or block that prevented proper sealing?
There’s a myriad of reasons it may have happened but without seeing the car it’s difficult to tell.
Good luck,
Mike Corbin
Seattle Subaru Expert
Chuck Thomas
July 21, 2009Thanks Mike. Looks like a tough thing to diagnose. Also, meant to say I am on the east coast, not west, or else I would bring my car to you. Do you know of any good Subaru mechanics near Philly?
Chuck
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Sorry Chuck,
I don’t have any referrals for Philly. Just do your research on the different review sites.
Take care,
Mike
Chuck Thomas
July 21, 2009Hi Mike,
It’s that time again when I need to replace my automatic transmission fluid. My ’01 Legacy has 168,000 miles so I’m wondering what type of ATF you recommend? I’ve always used the Subaru ATF, but I know there’s a Mobil 1 synthetic and Castrol makes a high mileage ATF.
Thanks,
Chuck
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Hi Chuck,
Any of those fluids you mentioned will work great in your transmission. If you’ve been using the Subaru ATF I would continue with it. Just stick to changing it every 15k (drain and refill). I don’t the added expense of synthetic is justified unless the car is abused or used for towing.
Cheers,
Mike Corbin
Independent Subaru Expert
Shoreline, WA
Jennifer
July 21, 2009Hi Mike,
First of all, thank you for answering all of our questions and keeping us Subaru owners informed. I am not certain of where to post this, or ask this, so here goes. My 2002 Forester recently started hesitating when I step on the gas. Almost like I am not pushing on the gas and then all of a sudden it will take off. It tends to do it at red lights and stop signs most, but also if I am coasting along and then give it some gas. Not a terrible learch forward but just a small thing like the gas just came through. Otherwise, all is ok except I still am burning oil some and just add in between my oil changes. It currently has 110,000 miles on it. Any ideas what could be causing this? Most of the time it is ok, but sometimes it does it for a few minutes, multiple times and then seems to be ok. Head gaskets were replaced 2 years ago now. The check engine light came on for one day, then went off and hasn’t come back on since. Hope you may have some ideas for me. Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Jen
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Hi Jen,
I’d check deeper into the check engine light. If it’s a missfire code it may be a plug, wires or coil starting to break down. We’ve also seen where the front AF Sensor (air fuel ratio sensor) can intermittently act up and confuse the computer into giving the engine the wrong amount of fuel.
Take care,
Mike Corbin
Independent Subaru Care in Seattle
Dana
July 21, 2009Hello,
I am the owner of a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i limited. 41,000 miles. I love this car. I’ve had it for a year and a half and it has been for its regularly scheduled maintenance. Last week the car stalled at a red light. No warning, no lights, no smells, totally unexpected. When the car shut off all the lights came on (on the dashboard). I got the car started again (after a couple cranks of the engine) and got it to the dealership. They can’t diagnose it and they have run many tests and haven’t found anything. I’m scared to drive it without knowing what the problem is. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Mike Corbin
July 21, 2009Hi Dana,
Sometimes weird unexplained glitches can occur with a car that relies so much on electronics. One thing you may suggest is that the technician assigned to the car drives it home and back for a week. We do that from time to time for our customers when there are intermittent problems. If it doesn’t occur in a week of driving it may never occur again and may have been a glitch. On the other hand, if it does die, the technician can have a chance to evaluate/diagnose it right then and there.
Good luck,
Mike Corbin
Smart Service
Independent Subaru Expert
Seattle, Wa
https://www.smart-service.com