Flat4 Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Sounds like you have a super competent dealer on your hands!!! >:-o They probably thought someone drained the oil, then put 4.5 more quarts in on top of that. Hopefully it blew some stuff so you can get some free stuff (long block) in exchange. Well part of me wanted something to be broken so I could get some free new stuff but I also had enough of not having my only car and having to borrow other peoples car. Took it back to the shop and they are working on it now, will not be charged anything extra. This was the exact situation that led me to replace my head gaskets, oil kept going up by itself, and once it got to about 1qt over full it would cause a big oil leak when parked. Is your coolant low at all? Really? That's strange any idea what caused the oil to go up? no the coolant level did not change. The shop says it's the rear main seal leaking again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 With that much oil in it, I would imagine that front and rear mains would be blown. That's a crap-load of oil overfill. And I'd have them show you the intercooler and the downpipe too, as I'd expect it to be full of oil from oil blow-by. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat4 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 The car doesn't have an intercooler or downpipe. Its not turbocharged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat4 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Should I have them show me the intake and exhast manifolds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 When I saw (Stage-1) I presumed you were FI. Depending how many miles this was driven, I'd still have them show me the exhaust cats, especially if you're getting any blue-ish smoke from the exhaust. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat4 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 it's supposed to be stage negative 1. No I was not getting smoke of any kind but I will ask to see the cats. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmancuso Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 When I drained the oil I didn't see water in it... so I'm not sure why it was going up, I changed the oil twice myself to be sure it wasn't just overfilled by jiffy-lube or wherever it was last done at. It was loosing a little coolant, but not enough to explain the increase in oil...(I think anyway) It used ~1qt in the last 6K since I did the head job, and that it within normal use for this car. And aside from a spring type hose clamp I missed, its not lost any coolant since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gold4dr Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I have a 2001 L wagon that's been leaking fluid since last year. Subaru mechanic friend said the same thing: Oil Pump, Oil Pan, Head Gasket, etc. He recommended an engine swap. Foolish me, I went with a timing belt, oil pump, water pump replacement, and Oil Pan reseal. After the work, now it leaks more than twice that it did. He showed me that the oil is not coming from the front where he worked, but from the side (head gaskets), and back (rear main seals). After about 900 miles, I added 2 quarts of oil!!! He still recommends an engine swap. I want to do a rebuild because I already spent lots of money on the timing belt, pumps, etc. work - $800! He said that to avoid the gasket leak, owners should only use the SUBARU coolant. Some chemicals used in the aftermarket ones are eating up the gasket. Which is probably true because I think I started having this problem when I had the radiator and thermostat replaced by PEPBOYS last year. Of course, they use whatever they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Sounds like you might need to replace the oil separator at the rear of the engine. These were plastic in some older EJ engines and leaked like a sieve. My 99 L had this issue and the metal replacement fixed the issue. If you're leaking from the rear of the engine (and not the the rear of the valve covers, I'd pull the tranny, replace the rear main seal and check/replace the oil separator. GL and keep us posted. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 This is the oil separator location. http://beergarage.com/imgs/Suby/Clutch/07.jpg This is what the replacement part looks like. You need the screws (both packages) and the separator. http://beergarage.com/imgs/Suby/Clutch/08.jpg - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat4 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Good info SBT. Good luck gold4dr, let us know what you find out. I just realized I never posted what happened with my car. The last time the shop worked on my car, they pulled the engine, replaced all major seals except for head gaskets, didn't charge me anything. and that fixed it. The car is now at 144K and no leaks at all. Running like a champ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainobvious Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Well it seems that at 113,000 miles the headgaskets need to be done. Been smelling antifreeze in the car and this morning i was dropping off my daughter and steam was coming out of the intercooler intake on the hood and man it smelled. Checked the antifreeze and drove to work, Been driving very cautiously lately and know i know why. I just did the valve cover gaskets now i have to do the headgasket. Got all the parts at cost from Subaru, now i just need to find someone to do it for me. ANy recommendation in the Westchester NY area that wont charge me through the roof?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 You sure it's HGs and not the fill-tank to turbo coolant line? When mine went, I had coolant vapor coming out of the top like that. Lot easier (and way less $$$) to fix the cooant line... GL with it. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainobvious Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks. Im actually going to go for a second opinion as well but the guy i had look at it was pretty reliable and does work for the City Where i work. I also need to get new brake pads, and the boot for the driveshaft is starting to sling oil and the bushing for the control arms are toasted. All this in one shot! I love cars, but this is too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainobvious Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Well after having person look at it, it was just a coolant line leading up to the turbo, thank god. Getting it replaced today and not bringing my car to the putz that almost cost me a HUGE bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibhknl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 800 is very fair. I just did this myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Well after having person look at it, it was just a coolant line leading up to the turbo, thank god. Getting it replaced today and not bringing my car to the putz that almost cost me a HUGE bill. Really glad to hear this... whew! Now you have some dollars that you can put towards getting the rest fixed. And FWIW - I'd just buy a replacement axle and snap it in instead of trying to replace the torn CV boot. <$90.00 for a quality rebuilt and it has everything you need - ready-for-install. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indytruckboy Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I've done two headgasket jobs in the past 2 months leaking oil off the rear corners of the head. Both were 120K plus cars. Do you pull the engine or do it in the chassis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpooksRex Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Bringing it back from the dead**** I just picked up an 06 Legacy 2.5i limited for my wife in mint condition... but it does have 130K on it. Looks like the HG are leaking, so I was able to walk away from the dealership with it for only 5,600. I already knew that the head gaskets were leaking, but the car ran, shifted, and rode great. I'm already budgeting for a HG replacement, so I'm hoping the get the car all set and done for 6,500. Everything the guy was saying, i kept correcting him thx to my subaru knowledge, so he immediately started referring to me as "subaru guru". lol I'll post pix and info as the car progresses. Man I love this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_point_5_GT Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey guys, so i noticed that I am leaking coolant from the head gaskets, and I was wondering what I should do. Should I keep refilling the coolant reservoir so that I do not run out of coolant? Worse case scenario is my motor blows up, any other problems that I might face? The shop by me said it is an easy 1500$ (including buying the kit). Thanks for the help in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat4 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 When my 06's HG was leaking it was only oil. I would imagine if you're leaking coolant too your HG are really deteriorated. Personally I would suggest you stop driving it and get it fixed ASAP. Any water in the cylinders could potentially weaken your internals and lead to problems later on. Good luck. After my Legacy reached 170k miles, the HG started leaking again so I opted to get rid of it instead of paying for the HG replacement again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JermTheElf Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 My girlfriend's 2005 2.5i with 112k miles on it is leaking coolant / oil pretty bad from passenger side head gasket, driver side not as bad. I discovered it while I was searching for an exhaust rattle. Also there is some steam at night in front of the headlights and a faint smell of coolant burning off, and now it all makes sense. So, I see theres is a common gasket kit that runs about $90 and includes HG's, cam seals, valve cover gaskets etc. etc... My question, is it worth upgrading the headstuds to prevent this from happening again? I've head that some of the issue with this is because the block is open deck the cylinder have some free play to them over time that causes the gaskets to shift or loosen. I see ARP studs run about $200 for this car. Overall with work being done by myself $290 for a HG job isn't so bad... I'd like to get some more opinions on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanHollow Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Based on my personal experience working at a Subaru-only shop, it's a fault with the actual Subaru head gasket itself on the 2.5L SOHC engines. It's a single layer design that doesn't hold up well, especially in colder climates. The first picture shows a gasket that had been absorbing oil/coolant then finally breaking through and leaking. The second picture was a car that had over heated, which caused the head gasket failure due to it leaking coolant for some time (customer was unaware of said leak and brought it in for the over heating problem; radiator was bone dry). I realize no head gasket can withstand an over heating condition but keep in mind we see this failure OFTEN and have actually performed a head gasket repair on a 2009 (yes, 2009) Forester with only 86k miles. Our shop pulls the engine and replaces both head gaskets with a three layer steel gasket and have only had a handful of failures with the aftermarket gaskets. If enough interest is shown, I'll ask if I can give away the name of the company that makes the gasket (although it's not hard to find ) http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q165/avara_alex/Random/block2_zps9564440c.jpg http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q165/avara_alex/Random/head1_zpsfdb87be0.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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