michelle

1 last question before I head out...my ABS light came on 2 days ago. Any thoughts on this? I think it's no big deal and I never liked Anti-Lock Brakes anyway and it's not something that needs to be tended to unless for some reason someone's really set on anti-lock brakes... would anyone agree? -M

Thanks a lot. We'll see how it goes...have a good weekend!...-M

Cool beans. Sort of. Out of curiousity, is the bulk of the cost of replacing head gaskets in the access/labor to them, in which case is the cost won't differ considerable if you have to replace 2 (or 3 or 4) vs. 1? ex-it doesn't cost twice as much to replace 2, I'd imagine! Again, thanks. -M

Thanks for the info. (Michelle again here). I guess this all leaves it all at: Keep an extra supply of coolant (and oil) in the car, and keep your eye on the temp. gauge, especially w/ a lot of weight in the car or going up long steep hills (aka working the engine). There's really no way to confirm if a head gasket(s) need to be replaced b/c the tests aren't all reliable under the conditions in which they test them (w/o working the engine). SO, you just have to do the above and brace yourself for an impending overheating situation and clearer sign of a leaking hg and a bill of $1500-$2000 depending on the shop and # gaskets needing replacement (unless you can do it yourself, which I imagine is far less folks like yourself than more). I've got someone looking at the car tomorrow (who has a wife and kids = safe car). I'm thinking telling him the scoop (above) and reiterating that I'm asking nearly $2000 less than bluebook (asking $3800 and blue book is $5210-$6025 (fair-good) so that leaves some slush room for gasket work...maybe I'll go down to $3K to leave more space for the possible impending gasket repalcement. I'm ready to move on to a new car. Does all this sound reasonable in Subaru world? Thx again for all the input, it's really helpful. -M

Thx. I don't go to the dealer (they rip you off here), but good to know it's a phase 1 engine, so much for black goo. Any ballpark sense on what a head gasket replacement would cost? I'm thinking $1000-$1500 but haven't gotten any official quotes b/c no one can determine that I need one (at this point). My mech. put some coloration in the system yesterday so that IF 1 of the 4 gaskets is leaking, it'd show up in a few days, if that makes sense. Thx, for the help. -M

Hm. Michelle again here...thanks for the tip. Any specifics on that this "little bottle of black goo" may be called? Did you do this yourself or have a mech. do it? I'll stop by my mechanic's today and run the idea by him....

I've read a bit about this...I have a 99 Outback I'm trying to sell (to get a smaller car w/ better mileage). My question is: Has anyone replace a head gasket on their Subaru and what did it cost? I'm thinking $1000-$1500 but want to get an idea. I need to decide what I will disclose to the buyer...no problems as of now, but the car has overheated a couple times. Replaced the thermostat. Only overheated one time since then and in 3 days, the check engine light has NOT come back on and the car has NOT overheated (knock on wood). My mech. has put some coloration in some fluid in there so if it's a head gasket leak, he'd see it and would know if it's just that and which of the 4 it'd be. If it turns out to need a new head gasket, I feel like I should tell the buyer, even though it's driving fine right now. Just wanted to get a sense of cost and how much to drop the price for someone if it looks likely to need a new gasket. It has 152K miles, bluebookes for $5210-$6025 (Kelley: fair/good) and I originally was asking $5800 and now am asking $3800 to get it sold and move on. What are anyone's thoughts? Thx.

I've read a bit about this...I have a 99 Outback I'm trying to sell (to get a smaller car w/ better mileage). My question is: Has anyone replace a head gasket on their Subaru and what did it cost? I'm thinking $1000-$1500 but want to get an idea. I need to decide what I will disclose to the buyer...no problems as of now, but the car has overheated a couple times. Replaced the thermostat. Only overheated one time since then and in 3 days, the check engine light has NOT come back on and the car has NOT overheated (knock on wood). My mech. has put some coloration in some fluid in there so if it's a head gasket leak, he'd see it and would know if it's just that and which of the 4 it'd be. If it turns out to need a new head gasket, I feel like I should tell the buyer, even though it's driving fine right now. Just wanted to get a sense of cost and how much to drop the price for someone if it looks likely to need a new gasket. It has 152K miles, bluebookes for $5210-$6025 (Kelley: fair/good) and I originally was asking $5800 and now am asking $3800 to get it sold and move on. What are anyone's thoughts? Thx.