mrfeh Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Looking for opinions from you knowledgable folks... Took my '99 Outback into the shop because it overheated a couple days ago. It has 106K miles on it. As I feared, it needs new head gaskets. It's also due for a new timing belt, and it probably could use a new clutch. I'm probably looking at a couple thousand dollars. I was hoping to drive the car for several more years - it's never been in an accident, and the rest of the car is in good shape. So, the question is - do I invest the money now and hope it's a solid car for at least another 50K miles? Is it still worth an investment of that much money? Thanks! PS - I took it to the local Subaru dealer. Do those repair costs sound reasonable? PPS - I've got the work break-down for replacing the belts and the head gaskets; of the $1900 estimate, $1450 of it is labor. Does that sound right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Looking for opinions from you knowledgable folks... Took my '99 Outback into the shop because it overheated a couple days ago. It has 106K miles on it. As I feared, it needs new head gaskets. It's also due for a new timing belt, and it probably could use a new clutch. I'm probably looking at a couple thousand dollars. I was hoping to drive the car for several more years - it's never been in an accident, and the rest of the car is in good shape. So, the question is - do I invest the money now and hope it's a solid car for at least another 50K miles? Is it still worth an investment of that much money? Thanks! PS - I took it to the local Subaru dealer. Do those repair costs sound reasonable? One factor: how seriously and long was it overheated? If the car is otherwise in good repair, even an engine replacement is worthwhile. New outbacks are $30K. $2k at a dealer sounds a bit low for all that work, unless you are lucky. (ed. your quote sounds in line). Can you check their reputation for repairs any way? Check prices of timing belt kits on ebay. A proper job will replace waterpump all idlers and seals if they show too much leakage. The clutch is fairly cheap, I think. Reface flywheel, new pressureplate and throwout bearing. Since the engine (or tranny) has to come out to do that job, it may save you some labor cost on the HG job, IF your dealer is a good character. MANY thread on HG replacement on DOHC's here. MUCH advice on machine facing the heads and such. There are definite preferences for parts. Some old stock on shelves is suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 That doesn't sound too bad for all that work at a dealer. If you get it done you mightb want to get a water pump, front crank and cam seals, geared/toothed idler near the water pump, check other idlers and tensioner. To do these items when the engine is out is not much extra labor. If this is an auto trans, do you notice much delay when cold engaging from park to drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfeh Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 That doesn't sound too bad for all that work at a dealer. If you get it done you mightb want to get a water pump, front crank and cam seals, geared/toothed idler near the water pump, check other idlers and tensioner. To do these items when the engine is out is not much extra labor. If this is an auto trans, do you notice much delay when cold engaging from park to drive? It's a manual trans. A couple years ago the clutch was slipping when I was pulling a boat out of a lake; under normal driving conditions it's fine, but I'm having it replaced as long as everything is apart. I've given them the go-ahead to do the work. Hopefully they won't find other damage when they get in there. It was overheating for a brief period of time - I was almost home when it happened. Given the symptoms, it sounds like exhaust gas was being forced into the cooling system at the head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 replacing the headgaskets sounds like your best bet. replacing the headgaskets should take you to 200k. assuming it wasn't overheated really bad and driven extensively like that. dealers usually charge $1,200 - $1,500 for headgaskets, that's the going rate. clutch, timing belts, water pump could all be extra. if you're going for this, like the vehicle and want it to last more than 200,000 miles then do these as well: replace water pump, any noisey timing pulleys (at least - probably the cogged pulley will need it), and all the clutch components - pilot bearing, throw out bearing and two clips. all fairly inexpensive and easy to do while the engine is out. if you do that your chances of making 200,000 with this motor are really, really good. you can also swap an EJ22 in it's place but the dealer won't do that. that can be the cheapest option but requires some leg work and finding a shop to do it for you. all the information is here. selling your blown headgasket EJ25 can more than pay for an EJ22 depending on finding a good deal. then you're just paying labor to install. it's a plug and play affair, no wiring or computer issues to deal with if you get the right motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevetone Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 ... I was hoping to drive the car for several more years - it's never been in an accident, and the rest of the car is in good shape. So, the question is - do I invest the money now and hope it's a solid car for at least another 50K miles? Is it still worth an investment of that much money?... You've got an eight year old car. I doubt it will go for another 50,000 miles and not need any other repairs. It's to be expected. But you're asking the wrong question. The question should be "Can I find a replacement vehicle, in a known condition, that will be more reliable than my current car at a reasonable price?" Could you find a used car for under $5,000 that will not need repairs over the next 50,000 miles? How about for $10,000? $15,000? "Investing" $2,000 or even $3,000 seems like a good deal given those alternatives (cars are never an investment, but that's beside the point). In my opinion (others will disagree), unless the car is falling apart and will require major replacement of several systems to become even the least bit reliable, I'd stick with the (cheaper) devil I know than the one I don't. Just my 2 cents... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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