idosubaru Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Experience anyone? Friends 240k EJ25 (03 Legacy) has an oil leak at the drivers side headgasket. Do these get worse quickly? I don't think replacing the head gasket is anywhere near an option right now. I offered to do the T-belt for free. He asked me to look into the oil leaks and I assumed it would be a cam seal or oil pump I could do with the t-belt. Can he get another 50k out of this? I feel bad being the bearer of bad news about the head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 It's common, I've seen a few leak there. I have no idea if it will get worse, I've always fixed it. Phase 2 SOHC head gaskets are easy to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 It's common, I've seen a few leak there. I have no idea if it will get worse, I've always fixed it. Phase 2 SOHC head gaskets are easy to do. can you actually do them in the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 can you actually do them in the car? Yeah you can. It's a little tricky, you have to fish the head out with the bolts still in it but loosened. You can take out the motor mount nuts and jack the engine up and shove it all the way to the other side to gain more room. I just pull the engine, it's much easier. It only takes 45 mins to an hour to pull the engine out once you have done a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb21 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Well, nice to have others in that boat with me.... (02 OBW, built 2/02). 114k. Been lightly leaking coolant for about 20-30k probably. In the past 20k i've started leaking oil as well from the HG's. Gotten a bit worse in the last 5k or so, both sides, worse on the passenger side. I can now smell burning oil when I stop. We'll see how much longer I can milk it, have a case in review with SOA as this should not be happening.... Seems like it leaks the worst when I put fresh oil in (using 10w30), and then it eases up a bit. Good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob99 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I've seen oil leaks leak for a long, long time and not get much worse. If its leaking coolant its a different ball game though. I've seen cars leaking coolant progress from a dribble to a mojor leak in a matter of a few thousand miles. Subaru has a coolant conditioner that supposedly helps quell the leak. Its cheap, worth a try if it starts to leak coolant. Just keep an eye on it. I'd let it fly if its only oil untill it starts dripping. If it starts leaking any coolant i'd get on it a lot quicker. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 this is the first i've seen leaking only oil. he says it's never leaked antifreeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Well, nice to have others in that boat with me.... (02 OBW, built 2/02). 114k. Been lightly leaking coolant for about 20-30k probably. In the past 20k i've started leaking oil as well from the HG's. Gotten a bit worse in the last 5k or so, both sides, worse on the passenger side. I can now smell burning oil when I stop. We'll see how much longer I can milk it, have a case in review with SOA as this should not be happening.... Seems like it leaks the worst when I put fresh oil in (using 10w30), and then it eases up a bit. Good luck... And sadly you have missed an opportunity. You may have gotten subaru to replace the HG for free if you addressed it when it first started. Under 100,000 miles it would be fairly easy to get it resolved, over 100K its going to be tough. Good luck. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Experience anyone? Friends 240k EJ25 (03 Legacy) has an oil leak at the drivers side headgasket. Do these get worse quickly? I don't think replacing the head gasket is anywhere near an option right now. I offered to do the T-belt for free. He asked me to look into the oil leaks and I assumed it would be a cam seal or oil pump I could do with the t-belt. Can he get another 50k out of this? I feel bad being the bearer of bad news about the head gasket. 240,000 miles? I have seen high mileage HG weep oil, its not really uncommon nor a reason to go out and replace the engine. This engine has too many miles on it for just a HG and valve job (the rings will not be happy). Have the engine fully cleaned and confirm its a HG and not valve cover gaskets or anything else. If that is 240,000 Kilometers (150,000 miles) or 240,000 miles he is way overdue for a timing belt (105,000 mile intervals). I would do all the seals at the same time, water pump, idlers the usual stuff. Replace the PCV valve now to help the oil leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb21 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 And sadly you have missed an opportunity. You may have gotten subaru to replace the HG for free if you addressed it when it first started. Under 100,000 miles it would be fairly easy to get it resolved, over 100K its going to be tough. Good luck. nipper Unfortunately my VIN was not covered by the WWP-99 'hg' recall.. so an uphill battle either way.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Unfortunately my VIN was not covered by the WWP-99 'hg' recall.. so an uphill battle either way.. I could have talked you through it, i have for other people nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb21 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I could have talked you through it, i have for other people nipper Thanks. Dangit, ah well, live and learn that you can get satisfaction even when things aren't black and white. At this point I may be asking for a few folks help on talking me through the HG work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 Good call - PCV valve. Yes, 240,000 miles. Replacing the engine or gaskets is not going to happen so we'll see how it goes. He said he adds "a little once a month". That doesn't sound bad considering how much he drives, a one hour commute every day. Definitely head gaskets, it's obvious. I'm doing the timing belt for him free of charge, so all that stuff will get taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Good call - PCV valve. Yes, 240,000 miles. Replacing the engine or gaskets is not going to happen so we'll see how it goes. He said he adds "a little once a month". That doesn't sound bad considering how much he drives, a one hour commute every day. Definitely head gaskets, it's obvious. I'm doing the timing belt for him free of charge, so all that stuff will get taken care of. Anything above a quart every 1000 miles is considered normal for an engine this old (and basically any engine, but I consider normal 1 qt between oil changes normal). So its not as bad as you may think. tyhis engine may go for another 100-200K nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmcserve Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Has anyone had any success in getting Subaru to cover the cost of replacing the head gasket when the car is out of warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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