Losing Coolant- I hope not Head Gasket!

[Outback1997]

Thanks twisty, i will try that, its the spark plug side, so i will try and pinch it slightly to make it a better fit.

[Outback1997]

Well the car made it through the test, very much on the limit with emissions, and the brake balancing too just scraped through on the limit after it should have been fixed perfectly.

 

The stop smoke additive seems to have done the trick, i can't see any smoke from the exhaust now, at least while the engine is warm. I still need to start it from cold to check how it on a cold start.

 

That stop smoke additive sure is thick stuff, i guess it has to be to make a big enough difference to 6 litres of oil, or whatever the exact amount of oil is in a 97 outback.

 

O2 sensors will need to be done at some point soon, when the bank balance is looking in better shape i will do it.

I was wondering that maybe it was the smoke through the exhaust that could have prematurely damaged the o2 sensors?

 

Also still perfect with the coolant level, i was thinking that maybe the previous owner had got rid of the car thinking that it was head gasket trouble, when the coolant loss just ended up being one of those difficult to get to little hoses at the back of the engine.

[doublechaz]

Could be with the coolant and the smoke...

 

I don't know if oil smoke kills O2s, but it is bad for CATs. Both of those can lower your margin on smog tests. When you go to replace the O2s, don't get generics, you're much better off with the OE part.