Head Gasket leaking coolant & Oil

[Colec533]

Checking under the hood of my 2002 Subaru Outback 2.5 i noticed a very small amount of coolant that looks to be dripping from the heads and catching on some sort of dish just above the power steering rack. I also noticed some fluid leaking off of my power steering rack, it looks to be oil and im concerned it is leaking from above onto the rack somewhere close to where the coolant has been leaking.

My power steering fluid resovior is still at the same cold full mark when i purchased the car 3 months ago.  The leak looks very small and i can only really notice it leaking when the engine is running. And after a long drive when opening the hood i can see some sort of fluid dripping onto the exhast and burning off. I only notice the odd drip of coolant not 100% sure if its coming from the heads or something else, but from what i have seen online so far it doesnt look to good and i am fearing for the worst.

I should also add that in the time i have noticed this leak when starting from a cold start it makes a abnormal noise hard to explain. From what i have read online this may be the engine missfiring on startup, due to low compression from the head gasket leak, could this be possible even with the smallest leak in the head gasket? does this sound likely? The sound does not occur when starting the engine once its been warmed up. 

I have included some pictures but it is hard to see the small puddle of coolant.

I have a few questions. 

If i have to go about doing this repair what other things should i fix at the same time to give this car atleast another 100,000kms of life? My coolant is bright green with no signs of any oil and my oil looks great with no signs of coolant. 

Are these the first signs of a failing head gasket?

 how many hours of labour should i expect to be charged if so? 

Car has 173,000km 

 

[forester2002s]

Sound like head-gasket leak.

The most likely place for a leak is on the left-side (looking forward) of the engine. Look under the head, and towards the rear.  You may need a mirror and light to see properly.  The head-gasket typically starts leaking there; you may find oil-drips and/or coolant-drips.

Edited July 2, 2018 by forester2002s

[Mike104]

If you change the head gaskets, do a complete timing belt service while you are there

[el_freddo]

It's a HG leak for sure - only an external one though. You can monitor the leaks and keep up the fluid levels or you can replace the HGs with later model ones - 11044AA770 General Disorder, GLoyale and Mike104 will be able to confirm this.

Do not replace the HGs with factory standard units (like I did) - they will leak again! Like mine have...

Cheers

Bennie

Edited July 3, 2018 by el_freddo
Added in part number ;)

[Mike104]

If I recall the specified head gasket for that MY is a 11044AA633 that is a Non-MLS gasket (bad choice)

Normally aspirated MLS gasket for that MY is 11044AA642

Turbo charged engine MLS Gasket is 11044AA770

Many use the turbo gasket (770) instead of the 642 for normally aspirated (non turbo charged) engines.

[1 Lucky Texan]

if that car has a 7mm oil pump, consider installing a 9mm.

[GeneralDisorder]

2 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

if that car has a 7mm oil pump, consider installing a 9mm.

We just use 10's on everything unless it's a special build or a dual AVCS engine, then we use 11's.

GD

[idosubaru]

On initial coolant leaks of original factory gaskets, Subaru coolant conditioner works nearly 100% of the time. Change the coolant and add a bottle of conditioner. this isn’t a good option If it has unknown or various coolant issues.  It should only be used if everything else in the cooking system is known good.   

Repair is obviously the best option and what purests would recommend.   And I generally aboud additives but this is one case where they work and are a great fit in many instances. 

[rocketman]

If you care about your pets, please stop the leak.