darkyuy Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 alright I'm looking at a 98 Subaru legacy gt 2.5 with almost 90k miles on it, alright now here's my issue, she runs and drives fine on the flat areas and will idle for hours without it overheating, but as soon as you get going up a hill, it starts overheating. Now I'm pretty well mechanically inclined, its either the head gasket allowing hot gases to get into the coolant/oil, or there's bubbles trapped somewhere in the cooling system, i thought i would ask here, its my first Subaru I've been looking at, and I've know the owner for years, and she always babied the car, she parked her old Subaru when she bought her 08 legacy, and its sat for a year know, now she's willing to sell it, but she doesn't want to sell it knowing it could be the engine going. So basically I'm stuck between a rock and a hard spot atm.... any advice or knowledge about these cars would be greatly appreciated. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushey45 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 in my experience, I've never seen one get air bound from just sitting but I suppose anything is possible. but whenever I get one that is air bound it will over heat sitting and idling. though around 90,000 is usaully where the factory head gaskets let go from my past experience with my outbacks so that's where I'd put my money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted August 1, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 1, 2011 The EJ25D is notorious for blown head gaskets. They go out at about 100k miles like clockwork. Check your cooling system for hydrocarbons -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 buy it cheap < $1000, especially if it is in good condition. tell her you want the car and want to fix it. you can do the head gaskets or swap in a 2.2L engine, one or two weekends. parts for the head gaskets will cost around $600, or a good 2.2L engine will cost less. do the work. then you will have a car that cost you about $1000 plus your labor and is worth much more, depending where you live. you can keep it and have a nice car for cheap or sell it . the car will run for another 100k miles. BE SURE to read up on the details of the head gasket replacement or the 2.2L swap. there are pitfalls in both that can cause headaches or cost you money. but there is good info for both so you can avoid the pit falls. i prefer the 2.2 L swap. i have done 2 of them, a 97 GT and a 98 outback. and both cars run great. in my opinion, the 2.2L engine is more reliable and more forgiving. the 2.5L maxes out the dsign, i think, and is therefore more vulnerable. a head gasket job at a good subaru shop will run about $1500 - $2000. good used 2.2L engines will cost $300 - $600, more or less. the labor to swap the engine is a day at most. used parts source, put in your zip and sort by distance. www.car-part.com by the way, you nailed the trouble with the over heating right on the head. either an ''air lock'' or head gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 FYI, since nobody here has mentioned it outright, once you replace the head gaskets with the updated design, they will not fail again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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