Fuji

Yes, last night I researched the radiators via amazon and found one that garnered good reviews- only $166 and considering (like you said) the age of the car and the fact that this is not that difficult a job, I think it is time to just install a new one plus some new hoses.

I literally cannot catch a break. The Tribeca nearly overheated today. I pulled over and the radiator was literally basically empty, what was weird is that the radiator cap was not hot. I got a towel and removed it, had water in the back and started filling it up. It seemed to be leaking were the bottom drain valve is. I let it cool and hobbled home not allowing it to get hot. Doesn't seem to be leaking from any hoses. Seems to literally pour from that same spot, water running along the bottom frame or leaking from around the drain valve. I just think it is weird that this happened about 10 days after my mechanic removed it to do the timing chain reseal. I cannot tell but wonder if they put it back in without the grommets it is suppose to rest upon. I cannot tell if that is the case. The timing just seems weird. I don't have a pump to pressurize the radiator and check to see where it is leaking from but can order one on amazon for about $65 bucks but it is leaking badly. Luckily, I can replace the radiator if I need to- not a hard job. Been a difficult month for sure, lol.

Did the 2004, 2005 Foresters have any head gasket issues?

Hey, at least it is leaking considerably less! I actually am thinking about purchasing an even older Subaru- but need to do a lot of research. I need something solid but with better mileage. I hear good things about 2005 Foresters with the 2.5 4 liter engines. Again, a lot of research to do but the price is doable for a semi-retired old guy like me. I would only purchase an older car that is Carfaxed, never been in a wreck and shows service records especially showing the timing belt replace at around 125K. They are out there.

They did mention the rear seal and other seals and the oil pump and a list of things and I told them to just seal it up because that list was about $2800 so if I return it I think that conversation will happen. It doesn't pour out like before but does seem to dump oil when it is parked. Before it seemed to dump oil while driving or running. Does that make any sense? I need to drive it around so am back to kind of checking it anytime it is sitting on level ground for at least 10 or 15 minutes. I have a question for you that I can't find on line. It seems like when I check the oil and it is hot even seeing it on the end of the dipstick is probably ok, and indicates that the level when cold and the oil settles is between the hatch marks. Does this seem right to you? The reason I ask is that sometimes if the oils seems to be barely on the stick I panic and put oil in but once it settles down I have actually put a bit too much. I know that too much oil is bad as well.

They told me seals needed to be replaced- and also said the oil pump might be leaking. The car seemed to not leak at first but I drove 71 miles to see my grandkids and noticed coming back that it dumped some oil again. I have been checking since the fix literally everywhere I go and it seemed fine-- so I am pretty bummed that it is leaking once again. I can't tell if it is from the same area but it seems to be. I realize that it could just appear to leak from there and be somewhere else. I don't really know how to proceed. While I trust the mechanic and think they acted in good faith I now wonder if I should of brought it to a Subaru dealer. I am back to driving the car and checking the oil level constantly.

yeah and I thought of a seal conditioner like AT-205 Atp Re-Seal because while the reseal on the timing belt cover has worked exceedingly well, the mechanic told me the seals were leaking as well

Driving through 8 inches of snow and it feels fine- no oil leak that I can see. Yeah, I think they did a good job on it and hopefully it will not leak oil from else where at least for a while. I think I will tackle a transmission fluid and filter change once the snow goes away, that will be the next thing!!

A rebuilt engine would definitely be advantageous if it comes to that

picked up the vehicle today and so far I don't see any leaking and it was pouring out before- I don't know if other issues will flair up, we will see but the vehicle seems to be running fine besides the leak. So smooth that sometimes at idle I think the car is not running. all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and the $375 price tag I can live with.

Thanks for your kind words- The Saturn had side curtain air bags and luckily my wife was not hurt more severely but the accident did result in her having to have plates in her neck and to this day she has to take medication for the nerve pain. I am not sure what happened to the woman who hit her but I do know she was not killed. She spun out and went into a shallow ravine and hit a tree (A Rav 4). My wife spun out into the opposing traffic lane where the car ended up and luckily she was not struck. If she had been it would of been a lot worse. She was removed from the vehicle with the jaws of life. Worse thing that has ever happened to us. On the car- I realize I am taking a gamble doing the minimum but I have never had 1) an oil pressure light come on 2) check engine lights 3) no timing chain shudder or noise etc. I will pick up the car tomorrow and hopefully the major oil slick will be no more!

You've been so helpful that I wanted to sort of update you on this prolonged experience. I got a call from the mechanic and in his opinion (and he mentioned that he consulted with Subaru) the car needs a front seal replacement, a back seal replacement, oil pump is leaking some, the tensioner and chain should be replaced and the water pump and numerous other seals etc to a grand total tune of $2900 - I almost had a feeling that my mechanic while trying to do due diligence went down a rabbit hole of what should be done over what needs to be done. I certainly feel uncomfortable about spending that much when the car is probably only worth 4K. OH and he also cautioned me that there might be something wrong with the transmission because when they started the car on the rack in park one of the tires turned super slowly. I don't know what that is all about but I told him that since they are just at the point of having the cover off that I felt it prudent to just clean up the old seal, re-seal and hopefully that will for the most part stop the dripping oil leak. I don't know, man, I can afford the $350 for resealing the timing chain cover-- so I think that is going to be my best course of action here. I paid cash for the car 4.5 years ago due to replacing a car that was destroyed in a horrible crash in Georgia when an 89 year old woman crossed over the line on a two lane highway and hit my wife. Time to save my pennies and look for a suitable replacement- been eyeing a Crosstek or a Mazda Cx-3. Cheers

I felt the same thing but it turned out that I should of taken my damn car! My wife and I ended up missing my grandson's 4th birthday party and it really bummed me out badly. Up where I live there are no Lifes or Uber or even many bus routes to get down to the flatland to rent a car. MY RATIONAL mind should of said, to keep the car but I got pulled into the mechanics enthusiasm. I don't fault them, it was my decision in the end, I fault myself. Spoke to them today and they are now telling me that the back seal needs to be done and because of that it is smart to change the timing chain and tensioner because the car has 173K miles-- this is going to end up being an expensive fix considering the age of the car and how much it is worth. That being said, the car was purchased for cash 4 and a half years ago so I suppose I shouldn't complain. Definitely going to keep a look out for an older more fuel efficient second car. This is not a good place to be without wheels.

yeah and I keep a fire extinguisher in the car. I have done this with all cars since I had an engine fire in a 72 PS 1800 Volvo-- UPDATE: my mechanic's boss saw a post on a Facebook page asking for car rentals places and they felt bad (small mountain community) and called me to say that the boss and him were personally diving in to the motor (that was at 9:20am) to try to get it done for me. I was pretty blown away, it has been three hours without a follow up call so I am pretty sure they did not find another issue and I have a feeling I will get the car back today. thanks man

So I brought the car to a local mechanic I trust. I only have the one car so I had to drop it off and walk the 2 miles home. They think it is just the front seal of the timing chain cover and if it is only that and not the rear (which they tell me they will only know once the cover is off) -- just the front fix will be about $350 which seems to be fair to me. They told me they were hoping to possibly have the cover off yesterday. He calls me later in the day to apologize that they could not get to it because the two cars they were working on are taking longer and one mechanic is out sick. He said it looks like they will not get to it until next Tuesday. I get it. I live in a mountain community and all the mechanics are constantly busy. So here is my problem, I have to go to my grandson's 4 year old birthday. Gotta go. Enterprise and Budget are either out of cars in my area or super expensive right now and I would have to drive down the mountain anyway to go rent something. The party is 73 miles away. I don't mind dropping oil in the car to get there (and yes it does bother me that I am littering oil) but do you think this is a possible fire hazard. I wouldn't think so since the drip is literally at the bottom of the motor. The drips can be blown on the exhaust pipes and cats. I thought about even taking hose clamps and attaching a metal funnel (with a rubber hose) to wick or guide the dripping further down to the ground. Thought about mickey mousing a catch cup. Is this crazy??? ha

Well to be fair, they didn't suggest it had a belt. I wouldn't say they are Subaru experts but have certainly worked on a fair share of them because over 50% of the people up here (I live in the California Mountains) seem to have them, probably even closer to 60%. I will certainly be monitoring them and I get a sense that they are good people in terms of not doing more than they have to do. Again, thanks for all your help / suggestions etc.

Yeah the "belt" was an error, I knew it was chain driven. Thanks for the info- I think that the water pump is a smart move considering. What do you think the guy was referring to when he said inner seal??

I tried to clean it as best I could using alcohol and then I layered on 5 coats. Per the instructions, I let the engine warm up a bit. It is still leaking about the same like the sealant didn't do a damn thing. I wouldn't mind trying again. I thought about the thicker oil too but I wonder if that could cause lubrication issues. By the way, I finally went to a good mechanic who I have used in the past and they will be diagnosing the leak on Thursday. He says if it is an just an outer seal leak that the cost would be $550 but if it is an inner seal leak it will be $750. He says that a lot of people would go ahead and order a timing belt kit to replace the tensioner, chain and any internal oil sensors if there are any but that the quality of the chain and tensioner will be inspected at that time. He says doing that might add an additional $400. I don't feel like soaking a lot of money into the Subaru but then again if I get a few more years out of it and have no car payment whatsoever I should be jumping up and down (I suppose) from happiness.

I was going to use Permatex spray seal repair but I think The Right Stuff would be fine as well. I like what you are saying about the bond being tainted by any residual oil possibly dripping down. I am going to saturate the area with rubbing alcohol and fan dry etc. There is like a pocket area where I can also shove a sponge into that should keep debris or oil from running into the bond-- hey I can only try it and hope for the best- thanks for being so helpful

I cleaned the bottom of the engine where the leak is AND I checked the header contact areas on the passenger and drivers side (NOT even a hint of oil on either side). I did find the point were it is leaking along where the timing chain cover marries to the engine and interestingly it is dead nuts by a bolt and it ONLY leaks at that one point (see pic). It will be so expensive to repair that I am thinking of trying to research a resilient silicone or epoxy that might stop the leak from the outside. I know that is a long shot and sort of mickey mouse but it would save me so much money. What do you think? Thanks

I had an interesting conversation with a mechanic this morning-- I told them my situation and that I think the timing chain cover is leaking and wanted a quote- she insisted that it most likely is not that, that it is that the heads have to be resurfaced and that they do tons of those jobs, that it is a common problem for this motor and while that very well maybe true as hard as I tried to get the timing chain cover leak she pretty much insisted that is not the problem (not seeing the car) and quoted me for the head job at $2800

yeah I got one quote for $720 and calling 4 more good mechanics tomorrow- The house I am in now is small with no garage. If I had a big ole garage like I used to have I might take it on myself. Thanks for your informative opinions.

The pic is while the car is not running- it barely drips when not running but when it runs it has a constant drip. It is really hard to shimmy under the car when it is running and see where it drips from but I think if I got a piece of plexiglass I could lay beneath it and maybe help me see it. I installed a new PCV valve and I thought it might cause a decrease in the drip due to less oil pressure but if it is it is not much.

thanks- will let you know!

It seemed to be moving freely but had a lot of black build up- not sure if this video will upload but trying to show the extent of the leak while the car is running. hoping that once I replace the PCV valve that it will not drip like this- that being said I will get a quote to repair oil leak4.mp4