Oh Great! New style HG problems!

[brus brother]

Found the following in a link on the NASIOC site relating to 05+ and potential fouling of cats:

"Your model year has a problem where it starts to leak very early from the oil return galleries on the bottom of the heads. Make no mistake: it IS a headgasket leak and you DO need to do something about it. You'll get no further warning before it converts to a much more serious oil-to-coolant leak."

BOTH of my 05's have the telltale oil leak at the driver's side! My passenger cat is in P0420 mode off and on.

Anybody tracking these leaks and ultimate failure rates?

[bheinen74]

Got one leaking on my parents 06 outback 2.5i.

The driver side has already been redone headgasket before their purchase and is clean and dry, the head looks newish.

 

Now, at 290k the passenger head has been leaking, and going to replace the Headgasket this coming week.

 

 

 

 

My previous 06 outback that i sold to ShawnW's parents, guess Shawn had to do the headgaskets on it too, at 90k

 

I really like the old ej22's

[GeneralDisorder]

I've done HG's on as new as '06 for external leaking. Before 100k.

 

GD

[Robert Harik]

Found the following in a link on the NASIOC site relating to 05+ and potential fouling of cats:

"Your model year has a problem where it starts to leak very early from the oil return galleries on the bottom of the heads. Make no mistake: it IS a headgasket leak and you DO need to do something about it. You'll get no further warning before it converts to a much more serious oil-to-coolant leak."

BOTH of my 05's have the telltale oil leak at the driver's side! My passenger cat is in P0420 mode off and on.

Anybody tracking these leaks and ultimate failure rates?

 

We just bought an 05(55,000 miles) and it does show signs of oil weeping( pretty dry) under the drivers side head /block parting line, but I knew this before we bought it.

 

We looked at quite a few Foresters and outbacks 2001-2006 and ALL had some signs of head gasket leaks( these were all at dealer, lots Subaru and others). Some were oil leaks and some coolant leaks.

 

I looked at the forums before we shopped, and I knew about the head gasket problems. I brought a mirror and high intensity flash light for inspections.

 

I just think they all leak to some extent, whether the 05 is any worse, I don't know, havn't seen anything about it.

 

I bought the car knowing that I would replace the head gaskets at 100,000miles when the timing belt was needed. The car fax listed the shop that did the maintenance ,so I called them and they said the head gaskets had never been done.

 

Mine does not drip oil and is very clean at the head / block parting line except for the small bit of dry oil/ dirt.

 

If you are not leaking oil and you are not burning oil( your oil level does not drop much between changes) , don't worry about it.

 

As far as oil and coolant mixing on this model , I have only heard of that happening on much earlier models.

 

I will research this more though.

[idosubaru]

Found the following in a link on the NASIOC site relating to 05+ and potential fouling of cats:

right - subaru's have headgasket issues, that's well known and those years are not a surprise to most, did you have a question?

 

that particular comment is truth surrounded by inflammatory rhetoric, it's not necessary to replace them immediately (if you can stand dripping oil and pour oil into the engine) and oil/coolant mixing is rare.

[brus brother]

right - subaru's have headgasket issues, that's well known and those years are not a surprise to most, did you have a question?

 

that particular comment is truth surrounded by inflammatory rhetoric, it's not necessary to replace them immediately (if you can stand dripping oil and pour oil into the engine) and oil/coolant mixing is rare.

Actually, at this point, the oil is settling on the cross member so none is even appearing on my garage floor. The oil mixing with coolant that GG describes as a rarity is somewhat comforting.

So what years did/will SOA HG be considered solid?

My 08 at 60K is dry but as I said, both 05s (105K and 82K) are weeping.

The discussion and link referenced damage to cats (I have an intermittent P0420 on my 105K 05) from oil burning etc. That info is all over the board as well. The post did verify that the cheaters don't work on 05+.

But that's another story.

[bheinen74]

The 05+ headgasket oil leak is at the bottom of the block, in the oil return chamber. It is not a high pressure area, but the oil will drip out.

 

If it is really bad, like the one in my parents 06 outback they recently purchased, you will get lots of smoke under the hood as it burns off, and the cabin will smell like oil burn when you come to stop after drive. Like sitting at a stoplight, etc.

 

My parents purchases the car with thoughts it would need HG's you know the car does have 290k. But they are lucky in the driver side head is shiny clean, as if it has already had a head job. So they are only looking at doing the passenger head, cause in all respect, the oil burning smell and smoke is quite bothersome, even for me. Most my cars have at some point smelled like this, but for my mom, it is not something she is going to want to drive her friends around with the nasty smell.

[Robert Harik]

The 05+ headgasket oil leak is at the bottom of the block, in the oil return chamber. It is not a high pressure area, but the oil will drip out.

 

If it is really bad, like the one in my parents 06 outback they recently purchased, you will get lots of smoke under the hood as it burns off, and the cabin will smell like oil burn when you come to stop after drive. Like sitting at a stoplight, etc.

 

My parents purchases the car with thoughts it would need HG's you know the car does have 290k. But they are lucky in the driver side head is shiny clean, as if it has already had a head job. So they are only looking at doing the passenger head, cause in all respect, the oil burning smell and smoke is quite bothersome, even for me. Most my cars have at some point smelled like this, but for my mom, it is not something she is going to want to drive her friends around with the nasty smell.

 

Oh so your saying its like potpourri, you could actually add scents to the motor oil, like pine, strawberry , mint. Someone should contact SOA they could make a fortune!

[mikec03]

Question:

 

So what years did/will SOA HG be considered solid?

 

According to some internet information, subaru changed HG for the 07 model to the 633 gasket. However, the jury is still out as to whether that change will reduce the failures.

[ivans imports]

we call this a harmonica head gasket the gasket vibrates like a reed on an instrament and vibrates till it leaks ive done five or six thiss year all 07 and up i plane the heads and {and always use avionic form a gasket when reinstalling the heads ] we have determind that thiss provides an insulator to prevent gasket vibrating and keeps the coolant from atacking gasket ive done thiss on every headgasket i do over 100 in last two years no combacks do not put headgaskets on dry they will not last have had to redo many shops headgasket jobs. i can c the damage on heads when i plane them a very low spot on lower part of head where the oil return pasage is its the last place to clean up evry time

[mikec03]

Ivan Imports

 

I have read every post in in four Subaru forums in the past 6-7 years concerning head gaskets, and you are the very first to advocate a "form a gasket" as a head gasket replacement! Congratulations for advancing a new idea.

 

I'm going back my fox hole now before the shooting starts.

[ivans imports]

not as a repacment as a coating on the gasket no bull i do thiss evry day all i do is rebiuld subaru engines

[idosubaru]

Actually, at this point, the oil is settling on the cross member so none is even appearing on my garage floor.

awesome, sounds like it's not too bad? clean it up once a year?

 

So what years did/will SOA HG be considered solid?

My 08 at 60K is dry

there's mention on subaruoutback.org of a headgasket change in 2010 or 2011, the thread was fairly informative and i would find it again if i were currently diving into this question (and maybe now if i wasn't on dial up ). this issue has gone through some revisions over the years (or decades ) and you see where we still are. i've seen a few 08's and an 09, so if there was a change in 07 it seems like it is not a total relief.

 

what is odd is that the turbo motors don't have HG issues, weird considering they have more heat and stress?

 

next time i do a newer engine i might look into the efficacy of using a 2.5 turbo headgasket on a non-turbo block? unless it's head differences causing the issue?

 

The discussion and link referenced damage to cats (I have an intermittent P0420 on my 105K 05) from oil burning etc..

that's news to me and i've never seen it. i wouldn't expect cat issues from externally seeping headgaskets? maybe folks abusing a car that's overheating due to HG failure...thereby leading to overheating that causes other issues that damage the cat? but just from the HG leaking sounds suspect to me.

 

The post did verify that the cheaters don't work on 05+.

that's no good. fooey!!!!

[mikec03]

Here's a post by AWD showing the new head gasket installed in the NA 2010 Subarus. It's a MLS like the turbos.

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-changed-there-head-gasket-for-the-2010-25l/

[idosubaru]

Here's a post by AWD showing the new head gasket installed in the NA 2010 Subarus. It's a MLS like the turbos.

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-changed-there-head-gasket-for-the-2010-25l/

awesome, hopefully that gasket or the turbo can work on previous generations.

[brus brother]

nm

Edited March 27, 2012 by brus brother

[The Dude]

not as a repacment as a coating on the gasket no bull i do thiss evry day all i do is rebiuld subaru engines

 

 

Hi Ivan. I have seem many pictures where a failed Subaru head gasket looks like it has been eaten away by acid. Maybe it's bad coolant or electrolysis, who knows?. Anyway, I would like to know more about your use of avionic form-a-gasket. Do you coat both sides of the gasket? Just a thin coat, or what? Do you coat the the inside of the passageways on the gasket? Do you have any fear that a piece of the avionic form-a-gasket might beak off and plug a oil passage? Thank you. I hope that things are going well for you in Canada. Maybe you have worked on Ladas, too?

[unibrook]

According to ccrinc, who posts here sometimes--they sell Subaru engines, you should use turbo gasket to replace stock hg. Recent post about it here, somewhere.