I guess our 2003 Outback is gonna have to go...

[Sarra]

67,000 miles, and both headgaskets are now blown. The driver side headgasket has had an external leak since it was brand new, but it only seeped coolant. Now, it's doing more than just seeping...

The passenger side headgasket just blew externally. It's leaking motor oil. I have a strong feeling that this engine will be a pain in the ass and just blow headgaskets constantly. I've suggested that we sell it and get an H6 Outback instead.

Any opinions?

[Grafton]

if it's a 5mt give me the transmission and rear diff, but your most likely right on the "keep blowing up thing"

[redlegacygt]

when you redid the headgaskets, im assuming the heads were shaved? if so then my vote would be to get rid of it, it will only cause more problems like u said.

[Airgne]

i sat if its a five speed, put the h6 in that.

[Sarra]

when you redid the headgaskets, im assuming the heads were shaved? if so then my vote would be to get rid of it, it will only cause more problems like u said.

It has the factory installed headgaskets on it right now. They started 'seeping' coolant around 10,000 miles.

It has a 4EAT and an open rear diff. Not worth having...

And the H6 swap is a massive bitch. Engine, tranny, ECU, wiring... Yeah, no thanks.

[redlegacygt]

sorry i miss read that.. then i would say if you did the headgaskets, and shaved the heads when you did, i think you'd be fine. there are a few companies that make some good gaskets that will last better then oem ones.

[rougeben83]

I'd check if that thing is still under SOA's warranty for the headgaskets. They extended it to 100,000miles for 00-04 legacy as long as you ran that coolant conditioner thing. Best would be to check with a reputable dealer.

[ouch1011]

I think it may be out of the extended warranty by age, but you should check anyway.

If you don't want the car, then you should get rid of it. The problem is that you are only going to get pennies (basically) for that car with failed head gaskets. If you feel you can replace them yourself, I'd say replace the head gaskets yourself, only a couple hundred bucks for all the parts you'd need, then sell it. Otherwise you will lose a crapload of money in the sale.

[Sarra]

We never ran the coolant crap, because it was just that, crap.

And no, they're taking it to an independent shop to get fixed. I'm telling them this is fail, but my mom really wants this car for another 30,000 miles. So... It' gonna be in some dumb shop for a week. I'm going to wash my hands of this, and tell them to deal with it on their own.

[ouch1011]

My shop has done several head gasket jobs on phase 2 2.5s due to external hg seeps, and we've never had any repeat failures on them. We always have the heads cleaned and decked to ensure they are flat and have the correct surface roughness.

Guess it all depends on how much your mom values the car.

[Legacy GT-B]

Just a question, but why didn't you return the car to the dealership when it started leaking coolant at 10,000 miles? Wouldn't it still be under warranty at that point?

[Sarra]

It wasn't my decision. And at that point, we didn't know it was seeping coolant... I only realized it was now... I have had to constantly add coolant to the car over the years we've had it (rushing water sound when it's cold). Oh well, it's getting fixed now.

What shop you work for in Salem? I may be moving to Eugene and will be looking for work.