Coolant Leak, But Doesn't Overheat

[Thatguy559]

How goes it guys and gals. I have tried searching for this everywhere,(the better part of my day today) but to no avail. Sorry If this has already been addressed or if I am in the wrong Thread.

Ok, So I purchased my 2003 Legacy Wagon about a week ago. when I left the dealer (not a Subie dealer) i was happy with my purchase but something was nagging me about the sweet smell (coolant) i was smelling, but there was no spots or anything to indicate that there was something wrong, other than the smell. well about 2 days ago i started seeing steam come from under the hood. I open it up and i see small amounts of steam come up, but only for a short time. then everything was fine.

So after that i took it to my mechanic yesterday and he tells me it could be a small leak with the water pump, or worst case, the head gaskets need to be changed.

Now with that being said. The car runs like a champ. It doesn't over heat, and rides like a dream. but it does have 202,xxx miles on it.

My questions is, What is a fair price to get this taken care of. i have gotten quotes from reputable places for $2,400 rough estimate, Dealerships that are $120 just to inspect, then they will tell me whats really wrong. or cheap guys for around $900 +parts

or maybe i don't need to do any of that, and you may know how i can take care of it in a diffrent way. prayer or a quigi board. lol

thanks for taking the time to look and for helping a noobie out:D

[harrymaneuvers]

Well you cannot compare prices until you know exactly what is wrong and what it will take to fix it.

I would recommend getting a UV dye kit from you auto parts store. Follow the directions, put some dye in and then look over the car with the UV light.

You will be able to see exactly where it is leaking from.

Can you tell what side of the motor the steam is coming from? Front of motor? Rear of the motor? Water pump is on the drivers side and not really next too the exhaust from what I remember so it is unlikely that is the leak because it needs to be leaking on something hot.

[Thatguy559]

it seems to becoming from above the Oil Filter. because it drips on it first from what the mechanic told me

[harrymaneuvers]

Well that makes things pretty easy.

You should have an oil cooler that your oil filter screws up against like this:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2013/03/imagesqtbnANd9GcTvdiGG6rgSHGg65JdwPh4dXU-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2013/03/photobucket19741343252481091-1.jpg

Each of those outlets connects to a coolant line.

I would check those two small hoses first as they are most likely your culprit.

[elislider]

or it could be coming from the right-side head gasket as an external leak, which is right next to the oil filter.

my 03 Legacy has an external headgasket leak. all it means is that it slowly leaks coolant out of the engine. rarely does it ever contact the exhaust and steam/smoke. usually it just leaks on the ground.
i have to pour in about about 1/2gallon of coolant every month to keep it full. if i leave it too long, it will drop too low and cause it to overheat (because of low coolant, not because of any problem with the engine)

this as opposed to an internal head gasket leak where coolant is getting into the cylinders causing smoke and accelerated burning of coolant, as well as perhaps lower performance or difficulty starting, as well as pressurization of the coolant system, and overheating since the exhaust gases are heating the coolant, making it difficult for the temperatures to be reduced by normal means.

[Thatguy559]

Thanks guys ill take alll this info and see what I cone up with. Ill keep you posted

[Thatguy559]

Ok So the Dealer that i got the car from tells me there is no leak. at all, but i can still smell coolant. my mechanic says their is. im going to see him on monday. and after i told him about the oil cooler he seems to think that is the problem too. but either way i will have this problem taken care of and i can go back to spending my money on whats important. Making my car as JDM as possible :D thanks you guys very much for your help. and ill post tuesday my conclusion of monday. thanks again.

Dan

[Felipe]

Maybe it only drips out when you push the engine thus more pressure causing it to leak, but when driven normal theres not enough flow to make it leak.

Just an idea

[harrymaneuvers]

I would still recommend that you put some UV dye in the coolant and trace it with a light.

[Thatguy559]

just an update. i found something interesting. The Coolant reservoir was empty and the im guessing the coolant was low in the radiator. cuz the leaking stopped. when i filled her back up,nd the reservoir, it started leaking again. mechanic is looking at it tomorrow since i have been out of town since last Friday. i am giving him all info i have been given here. and will definitely be using the UV Dye. thanks again everyone. as soon as i find out something i will post it. :D

[elislider]

oh well you probably just have a leak in the radiator or one of the hoses. shouldnt be hard to find

[Thatguy559]

hey everyone. i know it has been awhile since i have updated this. but i just wanted to let everyone who has been helping me know whats up. firstly, thank you to everyone and their suggestions and thoughts. they were very helpful in my process of elimination. after all was said and done if out a couple of things.
1. i dont have an circular oil cooler around my oil filter. so that wasn't the problem.
2. the lower hose is on its way out but not leaking.
3. the radiator is fine. nothing wrong with it.

here is what was wrong and is currently being fixed.
1. the head gasket was bad, it had a small leak on one side and from behind the other side. oil was starting to come out. all bad.
2. pulled the engine out. found no major problems other than the leaks, and turns out that the Time belt need to be changed and all the pullies as well. i noticed a squeal before but it sounded like an air leak. but turns out the pullies were dry and on their way out.
3. the lower radiator hose needed changing
4. a small amount of valve machining needed.

so here is my total price of my brand new(to me) car i got from this dealer.
$3850 (car)
+$460 (DMV FEES)
+$111 (Fel-Pro Gasket set)
+$250 (Timing belt + Pullies Set)
+$13 (Lower Hose)
+$35 (NGK Iridim Spark Plugs)
+$60 (Wireset)
+$810 (Labor +Machining)
for a grand total of $5589 give or take a hundred for taxes and what not. So what do you guys think? did i get completely hosed on this deal. or i got a steal. personally i love the car and though i had to put alot more than i had wanted to into fixing it. i would buy it again. but the dealer i got it from can go to hell :D

once again thank you for all of your guy's help. i really appreciate it.

[rkrenicki]

Is the head gasket job being done by the dealer? I would think that they should pay for it since you just got the car from them, do you have any sort of warranty from them or any kind of state mandated warranty?

I personally would avoid Felpro for the head gasket, go with OEM only. All other gaskets are fine with Felpro.

[Thatguy559]

actually my buddy is the one doing the work. he has his own shop. the dealer sold it as is, i contacted a lawyer buddy of mine and he said so long as the dealer pays 40% of the labor, thats all he needs to do. dealer is cut me a check today for the labor. so its out of his hands now since i didn't use the dealers mechanic. as for the gasket, i was told by my buddy that metal gaskets were better? and the OEM ones were not that reliable since they were notorious for busting early. well. whats done is done and if i need to, i'll pay for the OEM ones and do the work myself. im only having him do it becuase im swamped at work and don't have the time. but now that tax season is pretty much over, i can do it myself. but thanks for the tip

[rkrenicki]

Subaru has redesigned the gaskets a few times since that car was made. They have dumped millions of dollars of R&D into them, so a headgasket that you buy today would be much better than one made in 2003. Felpro has just copied one of the various designs along the way, and who is to know that it is the newest and currently best design?

If it was already replaced, then it is a moot point. No matter which one was installed, it will be better than what you had. As long as it was installed properly, you should have many years of faithful service out of it.

[Thatguy559]

yeah its already in. im picking it up tomorrow. but at least i know now so in another 200k i will replace it with oem :D and yes i plan on keeping it that long and more. unless i find another wagon that derserves some attention. thanks rkrenicki