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Old 06-02-2013, 02:29 PM   #1
Sellars21
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Default Head gasket leak?? With pics.

Hi guys,

Went under the car today for an oil change and noticed a little discoloration around the head gasket near the oil filter.

I'm pretty sure it's more common for oil to leak from the bottom on the passenger side and coolant on the bottom driver side. Let me know that you think.





And nothing at all on the other side.



Car is MY08 impreza n/a. 102k KM's
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Old 06-02-2013, 02:37 PM   #2
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Do you lose any coolant?
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Old 06-02-2013, 02:41 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HinshawWRX
Do you lose any coolant?
The reserve is low, lower than I remember. But still topped up when checking the rad cap
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Old 06-02-2013, 02:44 PM   #4
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But no sweet smells, smoke or other signs.


About to drain the oil now, any other signs I can look for?
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Old 06-02-2013, 03:52 PM   #5
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That may be the beginning of the HG failure. Mine was like that at 50k miles. It slowly got worse but lasted well past 70k. When I replaced it a few thousand after 70k, oil was seeping but not enough to drip on anything. Never had a coolant problem or any signs of coolant loss. YMMV
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Old 06-02-2013, 03:54 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sellars21 View Post
But no sweet smells, smoke or other signs.

About to drain the oil now, any other signs I can look for?
Sending an oil sample out for analysis can tell you if any coolant is present in the oil and give you piece of mind if you want to stretch a few thousand more miles out of it.
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Old 06-02-2013, 05:15 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RaceFaceXC

Sending an oil sample out for analysis can tell you if any coolant is present in the oil and give you piece of mind if you want to stretch a few thousand more miles out of it.
Well I'll send one out as soon as this new oil is dead. Should only be a couple of months, I drive a lot for work.

I'll post my results when I get them back.

After a drive the overflow was below LOW. Once cooled down it was empty. A technician was the last to add coolant to the car a few months ago, but I can't imagine he didn't put enough. Perhaps its going somewhere
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Old 06-02-2013, 07:05 PM   #8
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I would rule out any other coolant leaks from the radiator or hoses first.

How many miles on your 2008?
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Old 06-02-2013, 07:19 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnM10
I would rule out any other coolant leaks from the radiator or hoses first.

How many miles on your 2008?
No coolant leaks, throughly looked over everything under the car, also never any puddles or smells. Subaru 50/50 is really sweet smelling.

102,xxx kms or 63,xxx miles.
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Old 06-02-2013, 11:29 PM   #10
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Bummer; At 63k miles I would just keep an eye on the head gaskets.
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Old 06-02-2013, 11:42 PM   #11
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Might be a head gasket leak, but the mean failure rate is usually higher than that, perhaps around 100,000 miles.

I would clean it off with some brake cleaner and keep on eye on that area to see if the oil leak returns.
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Old 06-03-2013, 01:30 PM   #12
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I just had the exact same thing. Had it professionally checked, and i was told the the hg naturally start to weep small amounts of oil as they age, and it is nothing to worry about. Now a good test to do though:

Let your car cool off completely (like overnight for example). Pop off your rad cap, start your engine, let it idle until rad fluid reaches the top and watch it for a few minutes. If u see bubbles, ur hg is shot and get a new one asap (or just plan a block swap).

Other then that, full fluid change and update is a good idea for all fluids.
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Old 06-03-2013, 02:31 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spyrule
I just had the exact same thing. Had it professionally checked, and i was told the the hg naturally start to weep small amounts of oil as they age, and it is nothing to worry about. Now a good test to do though:

Let your car cool off completely (like overnight for example). Pop off your rad cap, start your engine, let it idle until rad fluid reaches the top and watch it for a few minutes. If u see bubbles, ur hg is shot and get a new one asap (or just plan a block swap).

Other then that, full fluid change and update is a good idea for all fluids.
Thanks ill try that later. All fluids have been swapped less than 6 months ago.

I'm thinking once I top off the reserve tank I'll keep a close eye on that.
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Old 06-04-2013, 02:02 AM   #14
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good luck
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Old 06-09-2013, 10:53 AM   #15
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Look for white sludge in oil and discoloration of coolant. My '98 2.5 Forester started running hot when the hg's went at 160k. Watch the temperature guage and don't run if too hot.
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Old 06-09-2013, 04:41 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imprezaforest
Look for white sludge in oil and discoloration of coolant. My '98 2.5 Forester started running hot when the hg's went at 160k. Watch the temperature guage and don't run if too hot.
No sludge, or discoloration. And the 08 impreza's don't have a gauge, so stupid I know.

I have a light that switches from blue to red for hot and cold temps.

If the light happen to burn out, I wouldn't even know it. But it hadn't and I have been maintaining good temps across the board.
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Old 06-09-2013, 06:39 PM   #17
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You're fine. Once the oil starts making its way to the subframe it's time to replace them. If I recomended them I'd be looked at as if I were robbing the customer.
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Old 06-09-2013, 07:43 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Supraru
You're fine. Once the oil starts making its way to the subframe it's time to replace them. If I recomended them I'd be looked at as if I were robbing the customer.
Nice, I'll still be holding my breath until I get an oil sample though.
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Old 06-10-2013, 07:03 PM   #19
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Yeah i noticed on my 08 the HG area would look like that at time and other times it would be completely dry. Until you pressurize the coolant or start making an oil milkshake you are fine. and HG job is easily $1500. With $1400 of that in pure labor charges (example).
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Old 06-10-2013, 07:23 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GEE-OTTO
Yeah i noticed on my 08 the HG area would look like that at time and other times it would be completely dry. Until you pressurize the coolant or start making an oil milkshake you are fine. and HG job is easily $1500. With $1400 of that in pure labor charges (example).
Good to know, I've had no reason to believe that I had a HG failure until I saw the stain at the mating point of the head.

Last edited by Sellars21; 06-10-2013 at 07:52 PM.
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Old 06-10-2013, 07:51 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sellars21 View Post
Good to know, I've had no reason to believe that I had a HG failure until I saw the stain at the mailing point of the head.
Aprox. 285 for parts on the high side, $85 for new stretch bolts if used. 12 hours labor at 100 bucks per hour in most dealers. Timing belt and tensioner seperate but generally a good time to do it.
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Old 06-10-2013, 07:57 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Supraru

Aprox. 285 for parts on the high side, $85 for new stretch bolts if used. 12 hours labor at 100 bucks per hour in most dealers. Timing belt and tensioner seperate but generally a good time to do it.
I hope to reuse the bolts, the car is not that old. It should last a bit on its own. By then I'll be pulling the block semi on my own and look to complete the belt, tensioner, pulleys. A subaru master mechanic told me that the water pumps never need replacing?
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Old 06-10-2013, 08:10 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Sellars21 View Post
I hope to reuse the bolts, the car is not that old. It should last a bit on its own. By then I'll be pulling the block semi on my own and look to complete the belt, tensioner, pulleys. A subaru master mechanic told me that the water pumps never need replacing?
We never replaced bolts and were fine. Then we started getting customers years down the road leaking again and guys were reusing them. Started noticing some coming back leaking coolant out of the block. From then on out the service manager demanded new bolts every hg job.

I guess there is a reason he's not a Sr. Master. Lol. Water pumps go. They are like every other part in a car. It's just not a common issue. I have though replaced more after market pumps that have gone bad then factory pumps.
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Old 06-10-2013, 09:16 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Supraru

We never replaced bolts and were fine. Then we started getting customers years down the road leaking again and guys were reusing them. Started noticing some coming back leaking coolant out of the block. From then on out the service manager demanded new bolts every hg job.

I guess there is a reason he's not a Sr. Master. Lol. Water pumps go. They are like every other part in a car. It's just not a common issue. I have though replaced more after market pumps that have gone bad then factory pumps.
Good to know, he said that in his many years of timing belt replacement he has seldom needed to replace the water pump. What makes up the difference between master and Sr. Master?

I take it your a tec for subaru then, I might have to send you a pm if I have any wacky questions.
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Old 06-11-2013, 07:28 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sellars21 View Post
Good to know, he said that in his many years of timing belt replacement he has seldom needed to replace the water pump. What makes up the difference between master and Sr. Master?

I take it your a tec for subaru then, I might have to send you a pm if I have any wacky questions.
Only difference is I believe you need to pass 4 ase classes. Both go through all the Subaru classes and have to stay up to date or they lose it.
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