Head gasket replacement on 98 Liberty RX

[Clifford Heath]

Our Liberty RX seems to have blown a head gasket.
Shortly after 130,000Km service we travelled 5 hours,
parked a week in the snow (temps varied above and below
freezing, but not much below), and on descending the
mountain the engine overheated. No coolant, and the
overflow bottle was over-full. I expect that the
gasket had blown out all the coolant, as when I tried
to refill it, it continued slowly bubbling. That might
have just been boiling however. The oil was clean, and
about 1 litre (1cm on the dipstick) overfull.

What's the most likely cause?
* no antifreeze added, so radiator was blocked, excess
heat caused gasket to fail, or
* oil overfull, causing increased pressure on gasket, or
* something else?

Does the head necessarily need work before the gasket is
replaced? The estimated price of $AU2500 seems a bit steep...

Clifford Heath.

 

[Glenn Pure]

See my post a few weeks ago: 1998 Outback 2.5 litre DOHC with similar
symptoms. Mine had done.... guess how many km? 130,000.

Quote I received from Subaru in Canberra was $1,500 to replace gaskets
including machine heads and check radiator. I ended up paying almost
$2,000 as they replace spark plugs also (~$100) and had the valve stem
seals done on the head as they reckoned they were leaking (I had
noticed a bit of oil consumption so this may have been the cause).

If you have an opportunity, get another quote or two.

Cheers
Glenn

Our Liberty RX seems to have blown a head gasket.
Shortly after 130,000Km service we travelled 5 hours,
parked a week in the snow (temps varied above and below
freezing, but not much below), and on descending the
mountain the engine overheated. No coolant, and the
overflow bottle was over-full. I expect that the
gasket had blown out all the coolant, as when I tried
to refill it, it continued slowly bubbling. That might
have just been boiling however. The oil was clean, and
about 1 litre (1cm on the dipstick) overfull.

What's the most likely cause?
* no antifreeze added, so radiator was blocked, excess
heat caused gasket to fail, or
* oil overfull, causing increased pressure on gasket, or
* something else?

Does the head necessarily need work before the gasket is
replaced? The estimated price of $AU2500 seems a bit steep...

Clifford Heath.

Glenn Pure
Canberra, Australia
Web page: http://www.evans-pure.net

 

[Gary Gibson]

The shoulder straps on my legacy have quit moving on their track. Fuses are
ok. Where is the motor that drives the belt along the track? Is there a
relay that could possibly be blown. Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Gary Gibson

 

[Clifford Heath]

If you have an opportunity, get another quote or two.

Thanks Glenn, sounds identical. Difficulty with quotes is that the
car is in Bright, 4.5 hours from here :-(. I wonder what might be
the best way to get it to a cheaper repair shop... gotta be worth
a try to save $1000, even if I have to borrow a car, hire a trailer
and drive 9 hours .

Clifford.

 

[rajp53]

Dear Glenn and all:
Please forgive me if this is a dumb question. I just replaced the
radiator. The car does not overheat when the car just sits and idle
even with the air conditioner on. The overflow tank does bubble over
when driven and the car does overheat. The old girl is a 96 OBW with
178,000 miles (284,800 km, I think). Does that sound like the
heardgaskets or should I look for something else? Clogged thermostat?
Thanks so much.

Ra

 

[Clifford Heath]

I ... had the valve stem
seals done on the head as they reckoned they were leaking (I had
noticed a bit of oil consumption so this may have been the cause).

The info I've gained says this is a good idea, and that it can be
necessary to replace the valve guides also, which wear and contribute
to oil loss.

Subaru Wangaratta reckon (without looking) that $2500 is fair. They're
probably friends with the blokes in Bright though. My repairer locally
says it sounds reasonable, and that $1500 was a very low price even
excluding valve seals.

I think I'll call Subaru Albury before committing however.

Clifford Heath.

 

[bj]

its the head gaskets!!...do a google search on subaru headgasket
failure....96-99 are notorious for internal head gasket failure...it is
due to the engine over heating in spots due to air bubbles caught in
the engine coolant. A good guess is coolant change was not done
properly and air was left in the coolant creatiung hotspots, head
gasket failure and possible engine failure...guys who have used this
engine in aircraft have documented the air problem in engines which
were not properly "burped" and address getting rid of the air
bubbles...