bubbles in colant overflow tank . . .

[1997outback]

i have notice bubbles in my overflow tank. the question i have is? could it just be the coolant going into the over flow? if it is a head gasket issue, whats the price range of the repair. 1997 obw

[idosubaru]

replace your radiator cap first.

 

how many miles and has the water pump/thermostat/coolant ever been replaced?

 

if it is indeed a head gasket you should have seen signs of overheating or wavering of the temp gauge. these things fail in very similar ways usually and the first symptom is overheating or unstable temps. i'd keep an eye on your temp gauge...if it has overheated much you'll want to know as that might make a difference in how you attempt to repair it. significant overheating may make the engine not worth repairing.

 

first note - do not buy a used EJ25 - that is a very bad idea.

 

as for cost if yo'ure paying a mechanic to do it you're looking at $1,000 - $1,500 and up if you get additional work done. the local dealer here charges $1,500 to ONLY replace the head gaskets. anything else is additional (timing belt, clutch, water pump, etc). personally if i was going through all of this i'd look into having the valves adjusted and a new water pump/timing belt/timing components as well. basically a thorough going over. it would suck to spend that much money on something only to have it need something else in a year or two that could be addressed now. but then again i don't have to pay those high repair bills so that's easy for me to say.

 

another option is CCR - THE subaru engine rebuilder. they're great and you get a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty on a brand new engine. no worries about spending $1,000-$2,000 and still having aged parts in there.

 

another option that can be cheaper is to do an EJ22 swap. they don't have the issues the EJ25 does - head gaskets, piston slap (happen but rare in the EJ22), and bearing failure. EJ22's can be had cheap around here (because of how reliable they are demand is low and supplies are high) - $150 with a 6 month warranty and only 100,000 miles. EJ25's blow up enough that the market for selling them is really good - you can get $500 for one with a blown head gasket if you don't cook it. so you can essentially sell the EJ25 for more than or close to the cost of an EJ22. it's a trade off.....you loose 20 horsepower but get a more reliable engine and it's cheap...actually free if you sell the EJ25 to recoupe costs! you'll just need to pay someone to install it. lots of information on the board here about the EJ22 swap.

[1997outback]

the water pump and timing belt and thermostat all have been replaced about 3 weeks about, and i have been over heating ever so often. the raditor cap is new and aftermarket. it would over heat then i would cool it and add some fliud. it doesnt seems to want to recover the the fluid in the over flow. i gonna get the hg tested today. the guage doesnt go up and down, just up and stays. i hae heard that it should go up there go down because the pressure is released. i guess i just need to get it looked out. what yr range are the ej25?

[idosubaru]

what yr range are the ej25?

DOHC (your EJ25) 1996-1999. SOHC are 1999 and up. yes both SOHC and DOHC were available in 1999.

 

what you are describing is typical EJ25 head gasket symptoms. it's good to check out smaller items, but do not replace your radiator if that's the next suggestion you hear. you might want to ask them not to replace it, because often they do thinking it *has* to be that. it's probably not.

 

EJ25's can test fine even with a bad head gasket. most mechanics aren't familiar with that and might inadvertently replace things that are not the cause of the symptoms. that might be why you have new water pump, thermostat, and radiator caps now.

 

the EJ25 may pass typical head gasket tests. the best test is to sniff the coolant for exhaust gasses. that's not fool-proof but is more accurate than the others in this case.

 

a positive is a positive. but a negative might still be a positive. make sense?

[Reveeen]

The "key" phrases:

bubbles in my overflow tank

i have been over heating ever so often

 

Be it a "lowly" Subaru, or a Caterpillar diesel, both of those things, singly, or in combination, speak to: "getting the head(s) off for a look-see".

[1997outback]

the water pump failed fluid gushed out all over the place. it was bad. im gonna take it back my my mechanic next week to have him figure. its its real bad im might just sell/part out.

[idosubaru]

there's an off chance that the system just had air in it....but much more likely it had head gasket issues. so you're looking at head gasket and water pump replacement. odd, i thought it had a new water pump on it?

 

if there's enough coolant left somewhere they should be able to do an exhaust gas test on the coolant. that may verify the headgaskets.

 

yank it and put an EJ22 in it.

[1997outback]

i dont think im gonna need to replace the water pump. it so the repair guy will surely pay for it.

[danz75]

the water pump failed fluid gushed out all over the place. it was bad. im gonna take it back my my mechanic next week to have him figure. its its real bad im might just sell/part out.

 

Wierd that a new water pump would fail so soon. Maybe it wasn't installed right. Did you notice the temp rising? Not sure if improper installation of water pump or bad water pump would introduce air in the system which may have caused the bubbles.