My mechanic told me that the burning smell I've been getting in my '02 Forester when I'm idling is a leaking head gasket. It seems to be a slow oil leak. If I keep an eye on my oil level can I continue to drive the car without doing further damage or having to worry about breaking down?
View 4 RepliesI have a 1998 Subaru Forester that is leaking oil through the head gasket. Repairs for the head gasket seem to be in high range, which is at or above the value of the car. Is trying any of the head gasket sealant products such as Blue Devil worth trying? Do they have the potential to do more damage than good? I love the car, but I'm also not sure if it is worth getting if fixed or if I should be looking to sell it for parts and buy a different used car.
View 15 RepliesI got a 98 Subi Forester L, stick, 130k mi.
I've been thinking about what gs ragtop & tester mentioned about the silicate stuff and I'm ready to take the chance, but there's one thing bothering me: If that stuff is supposed to be drawn into the combustion chamber where the silicate comes in contact with the super hot temps that solidify it, thereby sealing the leak, that assumes coolant is going into the combustion chamber, right? Well, I've been driving this car with a blown hg for at least 2yrs maybe 3, (that in itself amazes me), and I've never seen any sign of coolant in the exhaust, no smoke, nor any rough starting issues to speak of.
So, my question is simply, HOW THE HECK DOES THAT HAPPEN!! How in the world can I lift the hood and watch exhaust gases bubbling up in the radiator, yet when I park on a hot, 95 degree August day with a fully pressurized cooling system, the next time it's started there is no sign of coolant. The physics of that defy me! I mean, it says that the head gasket magically blew a "one-way" valve in itself? What do you think? Am I missing something?
I have a 2007 Subaru Forester X Sport Model. I just passed 86,000 miles - much of that open road driving. My head gaskets need to be replaced. This seems somewhat early. I recently switched from using regular motor oil to a synthetic blend that the dealership suggested. Is there any history suggesting that switching lubricants might cause the head gaskets to deteriorate?
View 10 RepliesI have a 2006 Subaru Forester (auto trans) with 97,000 miles on it. It's behaving badly, and here are its symptoms:1. It is getting worse gas mileage now than it has in the past 5 years I've owned it. Up until the last few months, I've been able to get about 26 mpg on average. Since Sept. or Oct., I've only been getting about 21 mpg.2. It shifts rough on a cold start when it shifts into 3rd and/or 4th. No rough shifting is noticed when the car is started on a moderate or warm day (roughly 35 degrees outside or warmer).3. When doing mountain driving (specifically u to a hill at highway speeds that is about 10 miles long and a sustained 7%-10% grade), the engine temp rises to about 2/3 according to the gauge on the dash. (Under normal driving conditions it sits at about 1/3.)
I took the car to my mechanic and here's what they said:
1. The gas mileage on Subaru Foresters frequently isn't much higher than 22 mpg, so for the first 5 years, I owned the car I was just lucky.
2. The fluids need to be flushed and changed: differential, transmission, etc. - approximate cost $400
3. He's almost certain that the cause of the 3rd problem is blown head gaskets, and the cost of that is about $3000.
If the head gaskets are truly the culprit, is it a repair that needs immediate attention or is it something I can delay for a while?
Had the head gasket replaced and metal machined due to HG failure. 2001 Forester, 120K miles. After I got it back, a bad oil smell. Cleaned and sprayed it, still there, though less; seems to be on drivers side. Comes into cabin from the air vents below windshield when stopped.
Could it be the line from manifold vacuum to brake master cylinder ie servo amplifier? Or something else?Should I worry? The car seems to get about 15 mpg, used to get 18 mpg, and the check engine MIL is on.
I bought this Subaru outback with 100,000 miles- clean car fax, etc, did the timing belt, water pump, thermostat at 102,000. Now at 116,000, the head gasket is leaking ($2,200 estimate) so the repair shop is working on that and they called today to say the #2 cylinder is scored and the engine needs to be rebuilt. ($4,000 estimate). I'm not sure if I should have them proceed with he work- that's a bunch of money or look for another engine, or what to do !! Its a great little car- but geez- what to do-
View 5 Replies2000 Subaru Outback. The head gaskets have begun to leak slightly (oil and coolant), even though I brought it in for the recall at 80K and the dealer put in the additive. I recently (111,000 miles) put in another bottle of the additive coolant conditioner and the leak seems to have at least slowed to a trickle. Is it really essential to have the head gaskets replaced? Or could I just keep an eye on the oil and coolant levels and put a bit of kitty litter in my garage? Some of the information I googled indicates that the recall of this car is for an OUT leak and not an INNER leak--which would be worse. Is it true that an OUT leak is not as worrisome?
View 5 RepliesA family member has a 2002 Subaru Outback. Possible blown head gasket per dealership. Should we just get rid of it or fix it? I feel the car had problems when we bought it a couple years ago due to dishonest salesperson. I hate to keep putting money into it. It seems to use a lot of oil also. Fix it then sell? Or just get rid of it?
View 6 RepliesI am working on a friend's 2002 Camry 4-cylinder on which I recently replaced a leaking head gasket. Since that was competed the car runs fine but it has been throwing the P1346 code indicating VVT/Cam position sensor performance problem. I have a code reader and I have cleared the code a couple times and it re-appears each time after driving the car a while.
I also have a 2005 Camry with same engine, so I switched the cam position sensors between the two cars and the code showed up again on the 2002 while the 2005 still is running OK, so apparently the sensor is not the problem. The 2002 had been worked on before (some head bolt holes were stripped and I had to install inserts for all the head bolts - I used NS300L inserts) and whoever did the previous work was very rough with moving around the wire harnesses, etc, so I suspect it is a bad connection causing the error code.
My question is: can the car be driven in this condition OK, or is there a potential to damage something if the VVT is not operating? I checked the basic valve/crank timing and it is OK, and the engine feels/sounds like it is running very well. Should I be worried about this, or can I wait for a convenient time to try to find the source of the problem?
My wife has a 2002 F-150 King Ranch 5.4l. Recently I noticed a oil smell and I had the mechanic take a look. He said the head gasket is leaking oil. Not a bad leak but it is leaking. The truck has 160k miles on it. I can't decide what to do...
What generally happens with a head oil leak? Will the engine crater or just keep leaking? My plan was to buy my wife a different truck and I would keep the truck, but I don't wont to keep it if the head leak is terminal for the engine...
My 2002 Subaru Forester is making this weird clicking noise and unlocking as I drive. It seems to get worse at night, and especially when turning left, or braking. My mechanic can't figure it out.
View 10 RepliesI have a 2002 Avalanche 2500 4w drive with the 8.1L engine. The problem is that it is leaking oil, but only after a long drive. Plus the leak happens like a spray after the car has been sitting for more than 20 minutes. The oil is leaking from IN FRONT of the driver's side front tire and I can't see any oil up on the car. The oil leak only leaks for a short time and then stops until the next long drive. The truck has 118,000 miles.
View 3 Replies2003 Subaru Forester automatic non-turbo. Vehicle stalls out at long red lights. No sputter, shudder, or warning. Idle just drops to zero. May happen twice in one day or once in two or three months. No rhyme or reason. Runs great otherwise. No drivability issues until I am stopped. I replaced the idle air control (IAC) solenoid valve last week and thought I cured the problem. But the vehicle cut out on my wife while she was stopped, waiting to yield into traffic this evening.
View 13 RepliesCar: 2010 Forester
Situation: Occasionally (3x a week or so) the car when recently started will, at a long light, start to stall and then catch itself. The last time rpms got so low the dashboard lights lit up for a fraction of a second before the engine caught itself and revved up to a normal 650-750 rpm.
I have taken to the dealer 3 times; one time they kept it for 3 days, they can't reproduce it. Took it home and the next day the gremlin was back.
I've never replaced a car stereo and have no clue what to look for as far as compatibility goes. My '09 Forester has a am/fm/sat. radio hookup/ 6 cd changer. Do I have to look for a specific stereo head other than it being a 2-DIN?
I'd like to be able to continue using the aux port that is in my center console, and I would like a USB port that I can plug a Galaxy S4 into.
I love my 2011 Forester except for one thing. (you all knew this was coming) it seems to take forever to warm up! My Forester has a blue light on the dash (Coolant temperature Light) It turns red if the temperature is too high and it is blue when the car is started and then goes out when the car is warmed up. To me, this seems to take too long. My Forester has 50,000 miles on it. The other day I timed how long it took to warm up. The forester sat at work for 8 hours. When I started it up to go home, (it was 42 degrees), it took almost 4 minutes for the blue light to go off indicating the car was properly warmed up. All my coworkers were long gone. I bought the car new and I intend to drive it for many years so I have been waiting for the blue light to go off. I get a hard time from friends and family telling me to get going...I don't think it takes this long for other cars to warm up.
View 10 RepliesMy Subaru dealer just told me that my 2004 outback with 88k miles has developed a head gasket leak. I haven't noticed any symptoms, and the leak started sometime between now and my last major service 10k miles ago. How serious is this? They want to charge me for it? If so, when? Is disaster imminent?
View 7 RepliesI recently had an issue with my head gasket. It was repaired but then learned the real issue was that I had diesel gas in my engine. (Long story, fuel hauler put wrong gas in tank and service station sold the gas to us unsuspecting drivers.) After head gasket was fixed, tried to leave service shop but car still had issues - turned around and went back. O2 sensor and other fuel trim numbers were off. But couldn't diagnose problem completely so told me to drive home (30 miles) and come back next day.
That's when I found out about the diesel gas issue. My car got drained of bad gas and cleaned. Got car back but now is leaking oil. My husband thinks it is either from the valve covers or from head gasket. Can diesel gas in your engine damage the head gasket? Could I have done more damage by driving the 30 miles home with the bad gas? Or did the shop just do a bad head gasket repair? I only bought this car 6 months ago - used. It now has 88K miles.
I have a 1995 GMC Sonoma pickup truck with supposedly a blown cylinder head gasket. It only has 53K original miles on it. It overheated and I had it towed to a service shop. They put in a new water pump, new coolant, new thermostat, new radiator hose and did an oil & filter change. Well, 100 miles later, I noticed my water coolant was disappearing and the oil pressure was rising. I brought it back to the same shop and after looking at it for five minutes they informed me it was a blown cylinder head gasket. They said they had no way to determine this when they were doing the repairs the first time. So, I ask the following:
1-Was it proper for the shop to do the first repair without checking for a potential head gasket leak?
2-Is there some type of testing that could have been done by the repair shop to check for coolant leaks into the engine oil? 3-Would I have saved money (labor) by having this taken care of at the time of the initial repair?
my friends mechanic is telling him his 2000 outback (2.5 4 cyl) has a blown head gasket. there is NO water leaking/seeping out from anywhere outside the motor AND there is NO water in the crankcase motor oil. the thermostat has been replaced. the cooling fans work. I'm inclined to say it's a plugged radiator. he is considering replacing the head gasket (to the tune of $1500+) on advice of his mechanic. is it possible to have a blown head gasket and not be leaking coolant?
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