412matt

Fyi I think you might have a non-turbo? I don't think our cars came with them, I know my MT didn't. Just making me wonder if they'll bolt right up, probably, but not sure.

 

I’m almost positive 2.5s did, mine has a piece on the left and right side and the main middle piece is missing bc the previous owner took it off. Anyone with one local to western pa?

Does anyone still have the plastic skid plate that came stock on these cars laying around?

Does it make a difference if you use the blue disc on a drill vs just cleaning the surfaces with a gasket scraper? Is one better than the other?

I have a 09 2.5 with an auto. the car has 124k on it. i’m not sure if the fluids ever been changed before. should i change it?

Also I called several subaru service and parts departments and they said that you don’t need to replace the water pump because they hardly ever see them fail. should i replace that and should I also replace the thermostat when I do the head gaskets?

Does anyone know which year sti or wrx gaskets will work on an 09 2.5i? The dealer said there is two different head gaskets for the same year frame sti.

Well ideally you should have the heads machined but tbh when I was a subaru tech we rarely ever did unless the car overheated. You can check it with a straightedge and feeler gauges if you need some reassurance. The service manual explains how. Don't use the copper spray. Use STI gaskets, Felpros or Six Star MLS gaskets.

 

As far as cleaning the surface, use a die grinder with 3M blue pads. You can use a high speed drill if you don't have a die grinder. You need this kind of attachment https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/68135656?fromRR=Y and these pads https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/00222877

 

Get plenty of pads as they clog easily but aren't abrasive enough to cause any damage. You should be able to get them at most auto parts stores. Getting everything very clean is important.

 

Honestly the head gasket job isn't too bad on these. Oh and plan on pulling the motor if you didn't already know. You can do it in-car but it just makes it a lot more difficult.

 

Are the sti gaskets multi layer steel like the six star ones?

Yup definitely the head gaskets. Pressure tested it today and you can see the coolant drip from the back of the heads on the bottom. When I do the gaskets I plan on using copper gasket spray. Anybody have anything bad to say about the stuff? Also on head gasket jobs i’ve done in the past we just cleaned off the mating surfaces the best we could with brake cleaner and a rag and put the heads back on. Is there a better way to do this without getting the heads machined? I’m afraid to nick the block or the surface of the head if I use a razor blade to clean it off.

So I have an 09 2.5 legacy and it has been losing coolant for about a month. The first time I noticed that it was a bit low so I topped it off and it was fine for about a week. Then I topped it off again a week later. Then it got to the point where I had to top it off every couple of days and I noticed a leak behind the oil pan near the crossmember. Now I have to top it off pretty much every time before I drive it. You can see coolant leaking out of the back of the drivers side head. I’m about to pressure test the cooling system after my car cools down to make sure I don’t have a leak somewhere else but my question is if I added some subaru coolant conditioner would it maybe slow down or maybe even stop the leak? I have had no other issues with the car. It never overheated, it doesn’t blow any white smoke, there is no bubbling in the overflow, and there’s no coolant in the oil. Thanks in advance for the responses.

The green and the blue coolant should not be mixed as they are different chemistries and are incompatible. As mentioned a flush after draining as much green out as possible with distilled water is probably enough to get almost all of the green coolant out. Keep in mind that once you drain the distilled water solution there will still be an amount of water in there and if you use a 50/50 pre-mixed blue P-HOAT coolant the end result will be a higher freeze temp due to the water that was still in there. IMO, the color of the P-HOAT fluid does not matter at all. Whatever wally mart has on sale is what I use.

 

Do you think it would raise the freeze temp enough to make a difference even if I got most of the water out?

I looked into this since no one has replied yet. Seems like pulling off the thermostat housing is the best way to drain the engine block. In the attached image, step 4 is just draining the coolant from the radiator, it doesn't say anything else.

 

Spill free funnel is also handy to have for burping the system

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24680-Spill-Free-Funnel/dp/B00A6AS6LY

 

 

Also, I don't use coolant conditioner, I don't think our 09's need it. Our cars leak oil from the head gaskets, never heard of them failing and leaking coolant. Edit: After thinking about it a little more, I wonder if this is why subaru calls for shorter coolant change intervals after the first one, because they don't expect you to get all the old coolant out by draining the radiator.

 

If I didn’t pull off the thermostat do you think it would be fine because I have green coolant in it now and I’m putting in blue coolant? I don’t think it would be enough to make a difference but I have heard of people saying that green and blue coolant can’t be mixed.

So my 09 legacy 2.5 currently has green coolant in it, not sure if it’s subaru coolant or not. I planned on changing it so today I bought blue subaru long life coolant to put in it. I also planned on running distilled water through it to get most of the old stuff out. How could I do this to get most of the old coolant out?

Also, should I use the subaru coolant conditioner? I didn’t buy it because I think it’s a scam. My head gaskets seem to be leaking a little bit and from what I’ve read adding the conditioner won’t help if they already started leaking. Thanks in advance

After reading through some other threads I decided to stick with 5w30 synthetic with my 2009 2.5i and change it about every 4,000 miles based on where I live (PA) and how I drive. I am hard on the car sometimes but I drive normally most of the time. My question is should I maybe go longer between oil changes or should I be fine changing it every 4,000 miles or so with synthetic? I’ve also been on bobistheoilguy and I still can’t make up my mind. How often do the rest of you guys with 2.5is change your oil and what do you use?