nateb1583 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 (edited) I'm having issues with my 2010 legacy 2.5 limited (275,000 miles) I was hoping for either suggestions or confirmation. To start, I have never replaced the head gaskets and I am sure they have been going bad for several years to some degree. I have taken pretty good care of this vehicle though it has been the victim of a hit and run 2 separate times and the second time it was totaled. Despite the body damage I have happily driven without issue for years since but lately It went from running without any overheating issues to overheating every drive, literally overnight. Unfortunately, since it is totaled I do not intend to put a bunch of money into it so if it ends up being head gaskets I intend to drive it til it stops (hopefully November when I plan to buy a new truck). If something I can do myself I don't mind putting a reasonable amount of work and $ into it. Symptoms/Beginning of this problem, one day it was overheating a little so I decided to refill and burp the system and within 5 minutes of starting the car with funnel attached it backed up enough to overfill the funnel. Ever since that day I can only drive it about 20-25 miles before it backs up all of the coolant into the reservoir and starts puking it out (boiling). Drive any farther and it empty's the whole system out through the reservoir. I expect this is due to the head gaskets being blown but maybe somebody has had a similar issue and was a water pump or thermostat or something? Other things it has been doing much more recently: it has been sputtering almost like a fuel issue right after starting it until I get going. After driving for a minute it will stop and idle as normal. I check and top off coolant daily before I leave work for home. Yesterday after sitting for about 11 hours at work I popped the hood and the top radiator hose was completely collapsed. Soon as I popped the radiator cap off it went back to normal. I still have not found any coolant in my oil. I have replaced the radiator cap and gone back and forth between the OEM and aftermarket a couple times. Again, I am really hoping it is something other than the head gaskets but I don't want to just start throwing money at a totaled car hoping to fix the problem by accident. Also afraid to go through all the work to do the head gaskets only to find out the heads are warped or something requiring even more money and work. Edited August 25, 2022 by nateb1583 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 Also FYI, a few years ago my wife was driving and the top radiator hose blew off. After inspecting, I found it broke off the barb end on the top pipe coming off the radiator. I did end up replacing the radiator a short time later and have run for a couple years since without issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 (edited) 100% head gaskets. You will definitely need to get the heads resurfaced. I would guess about $200/head, but that's just a guess. I had my heads rebuilt for $700 ea on the DOHC. The SOHC will be less. You can do the work yourself if you know your way around a wrench. Either pull the engine or not. It's about 5 days worth of work with a break in after day 2 to take the heads somewhere. About $500 in parts for seals, gaskets, timing belt kit, etc. You might be able to get away with less if you really want to. About $200 in tools as you will find a few things you want to buy. Edited August 25, 2022 by tdelker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 54 minutes ago, tdelker said: 100% head gaskets. You will definitely need to get the heads resurfaced. I would guess about $200/head, but that's just a guess. I had my heads rebuilt for $700 ea on the DOHC. The SOHC will be less. You can do the work yourself if you know your way around a wrench. Either pull the engine or not. It's about 5 days worth of work with a break in after day 2 to take the heads somewhere. About $500 in parts for seals, gaskets, timing belt kit, etc. You might be able to get away with less if you really want to. About $200 in tools as you will find a few things you want to buy. Thank you for the input. Sounds like it's about nuked then. Hopefully it'll hang on a bit longer once the cold weather hits. I just bought a new Crosstrek for the wife in January and was hoping to stretch this til November so I can get a promotional rate on a new truck loan from the Credit Union. Gonna keep my fingers crossed. Any suggestions to stretch the life a little? Maybe some of that radiator additive claiming to "fix" head gaskets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Drive it as little as possible for as short of distances as possible. Top off coolant before starting. Best if you squeeze the top hose to make sure you work out any large air pockets. No additive is going to help. The compression chamber is leaking in to the coolant passages hence the puking of coolant. Nothing will be able to handle plugging that much pressure. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 A stuck thermostat will do exactly what you're describing. I'm not discounting that it could be head gaskets, but... try replacing the thermostat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 59 minutes ago, silverton said: A stuck thermostat will do exactly what you're describing. I'm not discounting that it could be head gaskets, but... try replacing the thermostat. Cost free solution to check this is to remove the thermostat all together and see how it does. You can just catch the coolant and put it right back in (try to keep it clean). I've never actually had a stuck thermostat but it is possible. So I'll downgrade to 99% sure its head gaskets 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 8 minutes ago, tdelker said: Cost free solution to check this is to remove the thermostat all together and see how it does. You can just catch the coolant and put it right back in (try to keep it clean). I've never actually had a stuck thermostat but it is possible. So I'll downgrade to 99% sure its head gaskets Thank you both. Looks like about $20 for a new thermostat. I will swap it out this weekend and pray for rain. If not guess I'll use it to limp to work and back only and hope it stays alive long enough. I really loved this car and hate to let it die but it's just not worth putting $1k into it at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVAKeith Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 Yeah, sounds like you’ve got it covered for limp mode, make sure you top off the radiator directly each time it cools down. When my HGs started to go it was prolonged highway driving that noticeably pushed the coolant from the radiator to the overflow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 I'm fairly certain the oem thermostat is a failsafe type, so if it sticks it will stick open not closed. But anything is worth a shot when you have nothing to lose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 Replaced the thermostat this weekend and as expected it did not help at all. Sucks but gonna have to retire the old girl soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 (edited) On 9/7/2022 at 8:48 PM, NVAKeith said: Yeah, sounds like you’ve got it covered for limp mode, make sure you top off the radiator directly each time it cools down. When my HGs started to go it was prolonged highway driving that noticeably pushed the coolant from the radiator to the overflow. I can make it 20 miles to work on the highway cruise control and just barely make it before it starts puking coolant. Any stops (gas) and it won't make it. Going 10 miles to the shooting range with two stop signs is a no go though. Pretty much any accelerating at all is too much. At this rate no way it will make it even to work in the upcoming snow. Edited September 14, 2022 by nateb1583 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelker Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 Consider pulling the t-stat all together and see if it limps along a little more. But it's in the last few gasps for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 You could do a compression test see which cylinder is leaking then pull the plug and coil and unhook the injector and see if it runs that way, nothing to lose right, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 30 minutes ago, FLlegacy said: You could do a compression test see which cylinder is leaking then pull the plug and coil and unhook the injector and see if it runs that way, nothing to lose right, lol. For what purpose? Maybe the lack of combustion gases from that cylinder leaking into the coolant system would possibly stop the overheating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 22 hours ago, nateb1583 said: For what purpose? Maybe the lack of combustion gases from that cylinder leaking into the coolant system would possibly stop the overheating? Yep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 If the head gasket is bad it's still going to seep the compressed air from the cylinder in to the cooling system. Just curious, does the heat work? If you have no heat while it's over heating, like it should be cooking you, it could be a plugged heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateb1583 Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, silverton said: If the head gasket is bad it's still going to seep the compressed air from the cylinder in to the cooling system. Just curious, does the heat work? If you have no heat while it's over heating, like it should be cooking you, it could be a plugged heater core. There is definitely heat but it does die down if I'm not on the gas. Especially after I changed the thermostat. Worked for a few minutes then cut out altogether. Works for my drive to work and back though Edited September 16, 2022 by nateb1583 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 That makes sense. the heat going away is letting you know your coolant is low. definitely sounding like head gaskets now, sorry buddy! BUT you should be absolutely proud of yourself and the car for making it to 275k! Head gaskets in my impreza let go around 180, not sure if they were original. and the legacy i have now i know had the head gaskets done just before i bought it at 199k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 32 minutes ago, silverton said: If the head gasket is bad it's still going to seep the compressed air from the cylinder in to the cooling system. Just curious, does the heat work? If you have no heat while it's over heating, like it should be cooking you, it could be a plugged heater core. Without a sparkplug how is air going to get compressed? Lol, it's extreme but if it's just a matter of keeping it going for a little while, and the engine is toast anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 Missed the part about leaving the plug out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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