2003 Outback Limited Sedan Question

[grossgary]

you didn't damage the cooling system.

Subaru conditioner is available from Subaru. $2.50 a bottle. If you have those issues you might as well put in two bottles.

If it's got bubbles in the radiator due to headgaskets that is not a good sign. It probably suggests the headgaskets have been worked on before or the car may have been severely overheated at some point in the past. Engines that have been overheated tend to have future internal engine failures - bearings. Hopefully it's 100,000 miles from now.

Maybe you'll get lucky and it's something else...but tread carefully. You can get block testing kits which test for hydrocarbons in the coolant, that will tell you if those bubbles are indeed from the combustion/exhaust/blown headgasket, or not.

[1 Lucky Texan]

HGs sound bad and are leaking CC gasses internally into the coolant and the conditioner only helps with external leaks.

You could try the chemical HG test from the auto parts store - but some folks say it is indeterminate. There are youtube videos showing it's use. the bubbles in the coolant will turn the liquid yellow - but really now, where would bubbles in the coolant be coming from?

[PossibleOutbacker]

Well I took the car to a Subaru dealer yesterday and am currently using a loaner to get around. I finally got a call from the Customer Service rep and after waiting four hours to get a reply back from the good people at C.A.R.S., they tell the rep that the repairs are NOT covered by the warranty. Subaru told me it's a leaking compression? I asked how much will it cost and they said around $1500 which I do not have. So I told them I would pick up the car on Monday and I owe them $92 just for them to analyze the issue.

[cardoc]

Originally Posted by PossibleOutbacker

Well I took the car to a Subaru dealer yesterday and am currently using a loaner to get around. I finally got a call from the Customer Service rep and after waiting four hours to get a reply back from the good people at C.A.R.S., they tell the rep that the repairs are NOT covered by the warranty. Subaru told me it's a leaking compression? I asked how much will it cost and they said around $1500 which I do not have. So I told them I would pick up the car on Monday and I owe them $92 just for them to analyze the issue.

Well, if its losing compression, its most likely the head gaskets since the rings are long wearing, you have the "bubbles", and your are losing coolant.

Shop around if you are unable to do the repair yourself. If its done correctly, you won't have to worry about for 100s of thousands of miles.

[PossibleOutbacker]

Last night I met a guy that owns a Car service business and he suggested I try something called K-Seal first? He said if that doesn't fix the problem he would most certainly work on my car and he only charges $60 an hour labor. That was music to my ears.

[PossibleOutbacker]

Autozone didn't have K-Seal so I went with Bar's Leaks Head Gasket Repair fluid and so far so good. I let the car sit 24 hours and then topped off the radiator with 50/50 Antifreeze. Drove it all day today and no overheating at all and the temperature gauge was holding steady right in the middle. Hopefully it will last because this $10 fix just saved me $1500 to fix the issue according to a local Subaru dealer.