Leaky Gasket?

[bln1dotcom]

Good Morning,

I am new to this forum and have a question which I think I already know the answer to and am looking for confirmation and/or suggestions. I am NOT mechanically inclined and have reviewed lots of posts out here which have lead me to believe I have a leaky head gasket.

2003 Outback, 2.5, 200k miles.

Absolutely the most dependable mode of transportation I have ever owned other than my Harley. Several months ago I noticed a faint oil smell in the passenger compartment. Not a "oily smell", however more like a "burnt oil" smell. Smoky like. Soon after a sweet coolant smell was evident when exiting the vehicle. At stop lights there is an occasional puff of smoke coming from under the hood. Nothing major. Nothing unusual with the exhaust. The car continues to run like a top. No overheat issues, etc.

I started monitoring fluid levels more closely. Every 400 miles of highway driving I need to add 1/2 cup of coolant to the overflow. Engine oil was down 1/2 a quart when I checked at the 400 mile mark as well.

Based on the above, I believe the head gasket is leaking. I had thought about purchasing "Steelseal" or something similar to try and seal the head gasket, however, have read here about conditioner available at the dealer. I would like to try something as I do not want to put $2000+ into a head gasket repair right now if possible.

#1 Is the conditioner designed to seal head gasket leaks....?

#2 If I were to try the conditioner and it doesn't change anything can I continue to drive the car as is provided I monitor the fluids, etc?

Thanks very much in advance. Any comments/suggestions will be appreciated.

[grossgary]

good job researching and keeping track, you have it figured out quite well!

the Subaru Coolant Conditioner is only helpful for sealing the coolant leak, it won't mitigate the oil leak. At this point - add two bottles of it.

in general i would avoid the other additives myself.

yes - as long as you keep these engines from running out of oil/coolant you can continue to drive them like this indefinitely. friend of mine had like 200,000 on his and it was leaking a lot, i told him to keep driving it as it was beat and he wasn't putting any money into it. he made it to 300,000 miles this year and finally got another car. he commutes an insane distance though so that probably made it a little easier.

if you could find a way to keep the oil from dripping right onto the hot exhaust it would be much more bearable, that's annoying when it starts wafting smoke badly.

[bln1dotcom]

Thanks very much for your quick reply. I wanted to do some research before I posted. I am a member of a few biking forums and it can be frustrating to see new members post questions that have been answered many times already.

I will get some of the conditioner today.

I've seen oil additives that claim to stop/slow engine oil leaks. Do you think that would be worth a try for the oil leak...?

Thanks again...

[AWDFTW]

Throw in the Subaru conditioner.

At 200k you aren't far off from the 2nd timing belt job. If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, get the HG done when the engine is apart for the TB and goodies, it'll only add a few hundred to the job at most and pretty much everything that gets replaced at a timing belt service (belt, pulleys, tensioner, water pump) gets removed for a HG job.

If the HG gets repaired, do make sure that the multi-layer steel variety and not the old single layer graphite one gets used.

[bln1dotcom]

Thanks for the info! I drive lots of miles a year and would like to keep the car as long as possible. Sounds like doing the TB and HG at the same time will be the way to go....

[AWDFTW]

Correct. I had a shop quote me $1100-$1300 for the full timing belt job and adding in HG made it $1500-$1800 depending on amount of parts replaced and work done.

The repairs are expensive in any regard, but it is much cheaper to do it all at once.

[bln1dotcom]

Good Morning,

I wanted to report back on my earlier stated Subaru issue.

I purchased two containers of the coolant conditioner just before xmas, followed the directions for use and have seen a noticeable improvement in the coolant odor. If the odor I detected earlier was 100%, the odor now is down to 10%. Same with coolant use. Down significantly. I wish Subaru made a oil "conditioner" for the head gasket oil leak. That is about the same in intensity. More annoying than anything.

Thanks very much for the responses and assisted I received!

[jbwood5]

You may also want to check the passenger side axle inner CV joint boot. When these split open, they spit grease on the exhaust system and create an oil like burning smell and sometimes a little smoke out the back of the car. The boot is very close to the exhaust system and is usually the first to split open on high mileage cars.

[grossgary]

awesome the conditioner worked.

there's nothing you can do about the oil supply. it's a completely different animal, different functions, mechanics, thermodynamics, material properties, etc.

the oil is totally annoying, it leaks and over time builds up underneath the vehicle until it finally starts to drip. the drips hit the exhaust and burn off or blow back onto other components.

keep an eye on oil consumption and keep adding it and it'll be fine if you don't run low.

[number 41]

As for the oil issue you may want to try a high mileage oil that has seal conditioners in it. They don't have stop leak material but there conditioners may help. As a bonus they also have higher detergents, generally needed for older engines. Just try the brand you're used to buying, Valvoline MaxLife, Pennzoil High Mileage, Castrol High Mileage, etc. May help.