2000 Outback headgasket
My 2000 Outback with a 2.5 has a leaking headgasket again. We got it fixed this March for $1600 and it is dripping anti-freeze on the exhaust manifold again. What does it take to keep this thing from leaking?
proper replacement with a new part and make sure the head studs are properlt torqued also have the head checked for any gouges in it that may be allowing the leak.
Subaru also sells a "cooling system conditioner" for like 2 bucks which has helped a lot with mine. Would be nice if they provided a better gasket rather than selling a product to make it ok but...that buisness. Also, they sell a head gasket repair liquid (BARS LEAKS makes one) which you can run for an hour or so and has kept oil out of my coolant reservoir for a few thousand miles....cheap alternative to replacing the gasket (you get what you pay for)..
it all depends on which of the 2.5 blocks u have. Subaru have what is called an Open deck and Semi open deck. The latter employs a small casting of material between the cylinder walls and the outside of the block. This causes a massive issue when the engine goes a little above standard operating temperature, the cylinder walls expand a little and these litle castings push the black walls outwards and also cause the cylinder to deform in roundness, causing a shift of the cylinder wall surface compared to the cylinder head surface. Dont quote me on this, but if this is the block you have (most liekely) a solution that has been semi succesfull is the removal of this casting, with either a grinder or other dodgy means.
Just for clarification this is my block (open Deck) as you can see there is 2 cylinders and a large void surrounding them, on teh semi open deck there are small joins between where the cylinders come close to the outside of the block.
Replace the original head gaskets with the new multi layered head gaskets, if you can, talk to Subaru.
