I need opinions

[deadend9009]

I just bought a 99 Legacy Outback, manual, for 3700$. I did not overheat or anything, the engine did not make weird noises so i bought it. I get home and check the coolant level and notice black residue in there. Extremely disapointed, i realize that this car will need new headgaskets in the near future. It has a 2 yr old rebuilt transmission, new clutch and many new suspension parts (ball joints, shocks, alignment etc). The body has some rust here and there, but the car drives good.

 

Should I:

1- Swap for a 2.2l

2- Do the headgaskets myself

3- Sell the car as is

 

I was leaning towards for swaping out the engine for a 2.2l, since they seem to be much more reliable. How much do they go for nowadays?

 

What is everyone's take on this?

 

I feel like a crap and a half...i sold my perfectly good running 2000 Jetta for this and now im disapointed to be honest. Help me make a good decision!

[four-fleet-feet]

Where did you find the residue? In the overflow bottle, or the rad itself? Old fluid in a heavily-used car can get nasty in the bottle.

 

You could always ask the closest dealer if they'd perform a 'safety inspection' for you, since you just bought the car. Mine did it for free, and included diagnosing problems. You don't have to get it fixed there, you know - but then you'll have their expert opinion from a Subie dealer mechanic.

 

Uh, not to throw mud on you, but would you think it good karma to sell a car you 'think' has a serious problem without full disclosure? If you tell the potential buyer about it, you probably won't get back what you paid. If you don't tell, well... you might sell the car, but the next owner might be *really* unhappy with you when they find out the real reason you flipped the car so fast.

 

Get an expert opinion before you do anything. Maybe it's just gunky water! Then again, if it isn't, you know what not to forget to check when you shop for your next Subie. Or go exgine shopping. Or hunt for a mechanic who would do the HG repair.

[deadend9009]

Thanks for the opinion. I was dumb enough to buy this car, someone else might do the same...

 

BUT, it is the HG because it smells of exhaust gases in the overflow.

 

Any one else?

[Rooster2]

Like said by four-fleet-feet, the antifreeze may just be skunky because it has been in the car for a long time, and not an indication that the HG is a problem. Suggest flushing the cooling system, adding new antifreeze, and replacing the radiator cap. Drive the car that way. Keep an eye on the temp guage to see if it ever over heats.

 

It is too soon for you to jump to a conclusion that the HG is bad without ever experiencing over heating. You may be doing a lot of HG worring that is not warranted.

[eagleb]

The mileage of the car would be a major factor in your determination to fix or replace the engine.

[deadend9009]

What has me worried is that there are residues in the overflow above the coolant level, as if it has overheated before. It also has the same smell of used motor oil, but it is not like chocolate milk.

[lostinthe202]

Thanks for the opinion. I was dumb enough to buy this car, someone else might do the same...

 

 

Dang, ... was about to defend you.

 

Should you decide to keep the car, it seems 2.2's can be had pretty cheap and are a pretty straight forward swap. Then you'd have a great car for the foreseeable future.

 

If you should decide to sell, well perhaps the buyer will be lucky enough to check this forum first.

[Gloyale]

Probably you're car is fine. I'll ask again though, how many miles though?

 

 

The combination of an open deck and the early headgasket design makes the gasket material flake off. The engine block side is coated entirely with the surface coating. The coolant swells and bubbles this film and since the whole circle around the cylinder is continuous it eventually starts peeling and bubbling off. This is probably the black gunky pieces you are seeing. Like black floating globs of gunk, like some evil eggdrop soup, right?

 

The new headgaskets only have the surface coating on the areas that contact the block. The area that is adjacent to the *open* spaces of the deck are uncoated, and metallic, hence no flaking.

 

 

What I would do, is keep a close eye on coolant level and temperature for a while. Carry 2 gallons of 50/50 antifreeze in crate in the back. A few progressively longer highway trips should reveal any problems. If nothing abnormal happens then just keep driving. Watch for any bubblinig or changing of fluid level in the overflow for several weeks. There should be neither.

 

Since it is a 2.5, even if it IS fine now, it could blow in the future. So, do the headgasket change yourself when you have time and money, and the weather is warm. But do it preemptively. Have you're heads resurfaced and use Brand new Subaru HGs.

[idosubaru]

Lots of overflow tanks look like rather nasty stuff, so like everyone is saying don't get too worked up just yet. If anything, pull it out and fill it with cleaner and pebbles and shake the snot out of it to clean it out. refill with fresh coolant and keep an eye on things.

 

You have the option of replacing the head gaskets.

 

If it is the head gasket i'd go for a 2.2 swap or a CCR EJ25 - then you have 3 years/36,000 miles of warranty with it. 2.2's are easy to find and cheap down here, not sure what your market is like. You can pick up an EJ22 for less than what you can sell the blown head gasket EJ25 for.

 

just to be sure - this is a DOHC Phase I right? just making sure it's not some cross over mix up job of the SOHC phase II joker.

[eagleb]

My HG went out at 113k.

Nothing in the overflow bottle, just a temperamental temp gage and bubbles in the coolant.

It was actually barely noticeable, but I took it in to be sure.

Hydrocarbons were detected in the coolant, so I had new HGs installed.

If your car has low enough miles, a new head gasket will *most likely* provide you with a solid engine for years and miles to come.

If your car is on the higher mileage side, an engine swap may be the best preventative maintenance.

 

How many miles on the car?

[montana105]

Also, since you haven't stated the mileage might we assume it is rather high. Well if so it might be that the gaskets were already done and someone didn't clean out the residue from the original gasket problem. I think I remember seeing here on the forum that you can tell pretty easily if the gasket has been changed,maybe someone here could verify this.

[deadend9009]

Aright thanks for all the replies! I feel a bit more confident now with all thats been said.

 

However, the coolant is dark, i will most likely do a flush soon, but the SMELL is like used motor oil, and thats what has me worried. I has not overheated

 

 

Car has 229 5xx Km or 142760 miles on it

[nipper]

I just bought a 99 Legacy Outback, manual, for 3700$. I did not overheat or anything, the engine did not make weird noises so i bought it. I get home and check the coolant level and notice black residue in there. Extremely disapointed, i realize that this car will need new headgaskets in the near future. It has a 2 yr old rebuilt transmission, new clutch and many new suspension parts (ball joints, shocks, alignment etc). The body has some rust here and there, but the car drives good.

 

Should I:

1- Swap for a 2.2l

2- Do the headgaskets myself

3- Sell the car as is

 

I was leaning towards for swaping out the engine for a 2.2l, since they seem to be much more reliable. How much do they go for nowadays?

 

What is everyone's take on this?

 

I feel like a crap and a half...i sold my perfectly good running 2000 Jetta for this and now im disapointed to be honest. Help me make a good decision!

 

So it hasnt over heated on you.

It hasnt boiled over.

 

What makes you think its a HG and not dirty radiator fluid.

 

Flush the system, clean the overflow tank, and see what happens.

 

nipper

[nipper]

Aright thanks for all the replies! I feel a bit more confident now with all thats been said.

 

However, the coolant is dark, i will most likely do a flush soon, but the SMELL is like used motor oil, and thats what has me worried. I has not overheated

 

 

Car has 229 5xx Km or 142760 miles on it

 

PS

 

Check your tranny fluid.

 

Also people do dumb things like putting the wrong fluids in the wrong places.

 

Also get a new raditaor cap, your due.

[deadend9009]

PS

 

Check your tranny fluid.

 

Also people do dumb things like putting the wrong fluids in the wrong places.

 

Also get a new raditaor cap, your due.

 

 

Thanks nipper, i will do that. Its the coolant that smells like used motor oil BTW, not the overall car