ThosL

All of them locally; I guess I need to keep calling.

I tried some of the Blue Devil and "water glass" chemical based products which may be worth researching for mild issues. One of them bought me some time, fall to summer. Keep the receipts and get the refunds, or double refunds in the case of the K and W products.

That ebay one sold for $1500, probably high risk with the 2.5 engine, you never know unless you really check it out, there are too many shady operators out there, a neighbor said he bought an engine for his Forester online which blew the head gasket after a while.

I checked all around for a used 205 70 r15; no one has them, they all want around $100 mounted etc..

Good discussion on this topic. However running the 2.2 without a thermostat I am not getting the overheating or the loss of water which is far more destructive and stressful, it can be a living hell to have to constantly watch the temperature gauge wondering if it is accurate, seeing the needle creep up alarmingly; not knowing what is actually going on and on overheatings, whether I need to let it cool for a half hour and then refill with water. Forget about $13 a gallon antifreeze, I would just be pissing more money away. The only real solution I'm afraid is a good used engine which will run upwards of $1500 all in which I can't afford.

I picked up a replacement switch for my 99 Outback at F and S for around $50-$75, the windows would not close which is a serious issue. I put it in myself, and easy job.

With a fair number of cracked up cars with intact engines and cars in good condition with blown engines, and you have the will to make one out of two. Southend auto in northern Vermont did the 2.2 into my previous 2.5 Outback in a day for around $1500 with engine mileage of 75K.

I went to several used tire places in the area today and none of them had 15" tires, I had a blowout last night. They said that cars these days are not using 15" tires much. If you go to Town Fair and major area retailer in tires, they will not sell you just one tire if you have a blowout, due to the four wheel drive issue. What are reasonable prices these days fo tires either new or used?

I checked with a used Subaru parts supplier in the state on 2.2 replacement engines and they said they are currently getting $750 for 2.2 engines that have been thoroughly checked out with a warranty and around 175K miles; no dice on 2.5 engines of 2000 or so; installation charges varied from $500 to $1000; what are reasonable charges on good engines and installation?

One of the area Subaru specialists installed a really heavy duty looking thermostat in my 2.2 Outback engine when they did the water pump job. I went to an auto parts place recently asking for an OE unit which was considerably less substantial looking, they both functioned. I was wondering if you pull out the thermostat leaving the rubber o ring in against leaking if that has any bad effects?

There are many people who try to flip vehicles through jumping on Bargain News type vehicle ads and, as I encountered on my Outback purchase a few years ago, and took the title from the guy they had bought it at $1200 and resold it to me after correcting an issue for $3000. I don't know how the state keeps track of cash transactions like that for tax purposes. On a side note this marshall who was seizing vehicles for taxes and was finally nailed for fraud escaped arrest for many years: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Cops-Ex-Fairfield-County-high-sheriff-charged-6313743.php

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/09/no_author/how-to-sell-your-car-safely/ I listed a Mazda 626 years ago and got the usual types of people when selling cheaper cars; finally a babysitter came by, said she wanted it, gave me a rubber check and by that time she was long gone with the check and the car and I had no recourse. The cops weren't interested in a case under $1000 and when I contacted the people she had worked for they didn't want to say anything.

Thanks for the analysis. So when I go to a mechanic for diagnosis and he sees bubbles in the radiator overflow tank, and assumes head gasket issue rather than ask more questions do more research.....And once the system starts getting hot you have a chain reaction; water gets pushed out and worse issues follow and it could seem that you have what you don't have. Plus air bubbles in the system can be hard to purge.

No anti-freeze at this point; though I have a gallon in the back seat I may use when the leak or boilover problem is resolved. At $13 a gallon no sense in having it guzzle out in a couple days. As far as I've heard the only problem that develops without antifreeze is rust. Higher boiling points are of little benefit with the problems that can cause, but I know loss of water can follow hot temps..

Congratulations on your success. I thought it might end badly.

It did have the transplant of a 2.2 a few years ago for around $1500 which I highly recommend. And I agree other problems can arise leading to similar symptoms; heck, the head gasket sealant products can wreck the radiator, other leaks than the ones I have known about and fixed myself; thermostat issues, etc.. Unfortunately every mechanic I have spoken to about it assumes head gaskets are the cause. Steam and bubbles could be caused by other things.

I would do the head gasket replacement if I had the experience and the place to work on it which I don't. If you know someone in the NY area who would do the whole thing under $700, including parts I would probably go for it. But sometimes you get what you pay for.....I drove around 100+ miles today and just overheated on the way back but not terrible. The steam bubble in the coolant system develops and putting the heater on to suck heat out does not then work. I'm within striking distance of 300K miles.

Yes; but I did notice a range of compression readings.....Cyl closest to driver was weakest; is that where the head gaskets tend to leak?

I pulled one plug at a time, putting them back in afterwards. I started the engine several times on each cyl. and checked the compression each time.

I had a chance to just check the compression on my four cylinders in my 99 OB with the 2.2. Going passenger side to driver side back, results were around 120 for the first three and 100 for the last. Is that the one usually affected by bad head gaskets? Thanks.

I think those are plastic threads; you can get it out if it is stuck, check with local mechanics.

After it happened to me I was up crap creek without a paddle at Auto Zone and they had nothing that could help me, and I went to other auto parts stores same story. Home Depot had some loose bolts, and I found a match, right thread/fine, but it still leaked a little. Those plastic bleeder screws are specific and seem not to easily let air/steam out. And I was thinking if I could just get the system to belch the steam and not overheat with my blown head gasket it might be more driveable. If you bugger the thread good luck!

Right now my 99 Outback with the EJ22 and nearly 300K miles is manageable for short trips up to 45 minutes without steep hills. I have tried everything except the expensive major mechanical work, changed out the thermostat which looks light duty but OE, compared with the beefy one the Sub. experts put in, on a recommendation; I will probably put the beefy one back in. $2K would be quite a stretch for me. And if I bought one hours away, I would have to take a bus down to it with the paperwork, plates, etc. according to the laws and could have other problems, it is tough to see things getting worse.

Pay someone else? To the tune of $150 or so for a "tune-up" you wonder why--but I had the same problem, driver's side, let alone pulling them from time to time if you want to see if you are getting any fouling, blow by, etc.. As for special tools, that gets to be a problem, why not borrow from the friendly neighborhood mechanic?

How much of a low risk vehicle could you get for around $2K? I was looking around ebay today and this one popped up: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321845948174?forcerRptr=true&item=321845948174&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123 Donor vehicle, seller said he drove it 60 miles, over 200K miles. I have been looking through Bargain News, the CT area rag for private sales vehicles, the really great ones get snapped up cheap and flipped. I'm figuring my 99 Outback with blown head gaskets and around 300K miles is not worth sinking $1000 plus into.