leaking head gasket

[Downbound]

With all the talk on here about leaking head gaskets and what to do, does anybody make sure to add the subaru conditioner to the coolant when they replace it? There was a service note from subaru in feb 2004 addressing this issue.. ..it is long but i think it might be of interst.

 

Service Program WWP-99

 

February 2004

 

Dear Subaru Owner:

 

This email is sent to you in the interest of continued customer satisfaction. Subaru of America recently announced a campaign on certain model year vehicles starting in 1999 through 2002. Official Owner Notification Letters will be mailed to all affected customers starting in late February through May of 2004. The timing of the mailings is based on the vehicle model year, starting with oldest affected model year in February through the newest affected model years in May. The following text is similar to that contained in the Official Owner Notification Letter that will be sent to you during the mailing phase affecting your vehicle. Therefore, this email is most likely arriving before most owners will receive their official Owner Notification Letter in the mail. Please do not schedule your vehicle for an appointment for this campaign until after you have received your Official Owner Notification Letter, unless you are experiencing vehicle problems. You can contact your local Subaru dealer for any questions related to this or e-mail us at Subaru.com, contact us.

 

 

CAMPAIGN MESSAGE

As a precautionary measure, SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. is recommending that a special conditioner be added to the engine cooling system of certain 1999 through 2002 model year Subaru vehicles equipped with 2.5 liter engines. This recommendation, which applies to your Subaru vehicle, is made to prevent a possible external coolant leak at your vehicle’s engine cylinder head gaskets.

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Once you receive your official Owner Notification Letter in the mail, you should contact your Subaru Dealer as soon as possible for an appointment to have the Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added at no cost to you. The approximate time to perform this operation is 15 minutes. However, it may be necessary to leave your vehicle the full day of your scheduled appointment to allow your dealer flexibility in scheduling. Please present the official notification letter to your Subaru Dealer at the time this repair procedure is performed.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Your vehicle’s engine cooling system contains liquid coolant/anti-freeze. Over time, it is possible for small external coolant leaks to develop at the engine cylinder head gaskets. This is the result of normal expansion and contraction of engine components caused by the heating and cooling of these parts. To prevent coolant leaks from developing or to correct existing leaks at the head gaskets, a special Subaru Cooling System Conditioner should be added to your vehicle’s cooling system.

 

FUTURE MAINTENANCE

In the future, it will be necessary to add Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner to your vehicle’s cooling system whenever the engine coolant is replaced. The recommended service interval for coolant replacement can be found in your Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading "Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services". As a reminder, with the official owner notification mailing, we will include an update page that should be added to your Owner’s Manual and Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. We ask you to keep in mind that replacement of fluids (including Subaru Cooling System Conditioner) during inspection and maintenance services is not covered under warranty.

 

WARRANTY EXTENSION

Once you receive your notification letter, you should have this Service Program repair performed promptly. If so, Subaru will extend coverage under the Subaru Limited Warranty on your vehicle for cylinder head gasket external coolant leaks to a period of 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was delivered to the first retail purchaser. If the vehicle was used as a demonstrator or company vehicle before being sold at retail, warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was first placed in such service. As a further condition for this extended warranty coverage to apply, you must have Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added to your vehicle at any subsequent cooling system services at the interval specified in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading "Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services". Resulting damage caused by a lack of maintenance or low coolant level will not be covered.

 

CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS OR SOLD YOUR SUBARU?

If you have moved or sold your vehicle, please reply to this message with your Vehicle Identification Number and your updated information.

 

IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR A RELATED REPAIR

In the event that you have already paid an authorized Subaru Dealer for repairs to remedy an external coolant leak in an engine cylinder head gasket at less than 100,000 miles and your Subaru’s cooling system has been properly maintained, you may be entitled to reimbursement forthe head gasket replacement costs. Any reimbursement by Subaru will be based on our suggested retail parts pricing and suggested labor time multiplied by the dealer’s hourly labor rate at the time of repair. Because Subaru Dealers are independently owned and operated, Subaru of America has no control over the actual charges. The actual repair cost may be higher or lower than the rate used by Subaru of America to calculate reimbursement. If lower, reimbursement will be limited to the amount you actually paid. Please send the ORIGINAL service repair order, which has complete information including the name of the repair facility, date of repair, mileage at the time of repair, complete vehicle identification number (17 digits), and your name, with correct mailing address and telephone number to the address listed below.

 

Subaru of America, Inc.

Customer Dealer Service Department

Attention: Service Program WWP-99

P.O. Box 6000

Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000

 

Please send original receipts only and retain a photocopy for your records. Please be assured that we will attempt to process your reimbursement request as quickly as possible, but may take up to 120 days for this process to be completed.

 

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM

Should you have any questions regarding this customer service program, please contact your nearest Subaru Dealer. To locate the nearest Subaru Dealer you can access our Website at

 

and select "Find a Dealer". Or, you may call us at 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) during normal business hours for assistance. Please call us immediately if the dealer fails or is unable to make the necessary repairs free of charge or write to the address listed in this email.

 

Again, this email is possibly being sent before you will receive your official owner notification. Therefore, we would appreciate it if you would wait until that time to have the service campaign completed. Your continued satisfaction with your Subaru is important to us. Please understand that we have taken this action in the interest of your vehicle’s proper operation and we have staged the owner letters in phases so that Subaru dealers can perform this service within a reasonable time frame. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this matter may cause you.

 

Sincerely,

 

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

[tunered]

i bet all this is--STOP LEAK

[nipper]

GM uses a "conditoner" on some of its engines for external leaks also. As long as it comes from OE i would use it. The outback i have now was alwayse serviced by the dealer (by the previous owner) so maybe thats why it has 180K on the original gaskets ...or luck....

 

 

 

nipper