Head Gasket Headache
A tale of Subaru Struggles
Subarus have had a known head gasket failure issue for many years, and despite being the Turbo model, the XT is no exception. I was home working on completing my A&P license and building hours toward my Commercial Pilot license, and the Outback was my daily driver. One day as I was making an approximately two-hour drive, I noticed the coolant temp rising while sitting at a stoplight. While at higher speeds, the temp would remain in normal range, but while stopped or in traffic it would creep back up. I initially thought it was a thermostat issue but of course, being a Subaru, it was a blown head gasket.
And here are the final results. Unfortunately, after re-assembling the car with new head gaskets it started leaking oil and coolant. So something is still wrong and since I have moved out, and this car is low on the triage list. It remains crippled.
In order to correctly recall the location of each bolt, I labeled each one with painter’s tape and photo-documented their locations.
After disassembling the engine, I decided to wire-brush the entire engine and paint it silver. Obviously, I had too much time on my hands. I found the process very enjoyable and am very satisfied with the results.
