1996 Subaru Outback none from North America - Comments

Head gasket blown at 156K.

I do not work for Subaru or a Subaru dealer or any kind of vehicle retail establishment. I do, however, run an independent Subaru repair shop and would like to share my knowledge with other Subaru owners (I own one myself). The topic in question is the leaking and blowing of head gaskets. First of all, if your Subaru is overheating, 99% of the time, replacing the radiator, thermometer or any other component of the cooling system will not help in the least. Unless a hose has popped off, the only reason Subarus overheat is when their head gasket(s) have blown. It is an extremely common problem in all 2.5 liter engines (it does happen in the 2.2 liters as well, but not as often). It is NOT due to a lack of maintenance (although this can accelerate the problem) and is something that every Subaru owner should be aware of and look for during regular oil changes. Once the car has overheated, not only must the head gaskets and oil seals be replaced, but all the radiator/heater hoses, the water pump and thermostat, the radiator and temperature sensor as well to insure integrity. If all of this is not done, the exact same thing could happen just down the road. When the car overheats, the integrity of these components are compromised and could cause the same issue to happen in a short amount of time. Above all, make sure your mechanic is well knowledgeable about Subarus. They are finicky cars, don't like aftermarket parts and if the work is not done completely, it puts you at risk for even more repairs of the same nature. And FYI, NEVER, EVER have the radiator flushed, boiled or any of that. They are made of plastic and aluminum and this will only destroy them. We have seen many cases where a well-meaning shop that doesn't know Subaru radiators have performed a routine flush, only causing damage to the radiator, thus causing an upstream affect to the head gaskets.

Most of the time, if regular maintenance and oil changes are observed, a knowledgeable technician will be able to recognize the signs of a leaking headgasket. Hydrocarbons in the residue bottle, coolant leaks and oil leaks are all telltale signs. If the problem can be caught before the head gaskets actually blow, you can save yourself a lot of time and headache.

All this being said, in my opinion, Subarus are good cars. They have their problems, like every model does. Their 4WD system is nearly indestructible. You never need to replace struts, shocks, or calipers unless you run into something. Their transmissions are typically bullet proof. We are disappointed in Subaru of America for not stepping up this problem. The older engines don't usually have this issue because they made the head gaskets with asbestos - a wonderful sealer - that is now illegal. The problem arises in that the heads and short block are steel and the gaskets aluminum. Subaru owners, I cannot stress this enough, this can be a regular maintenance issue (like oil changes, major services and timing belt changes) if you know what you're getting and what to watch for.

Question: Would routine torque adjustment of the heads help prevent the blown head gaskets? I remember a mechanic suggesting that this be done routinely on a 1970 VW that I owned.

Thanks, You have about sold me on a Suburu for my next car.

What years did Subaru make the asbestos engines?

I now have a 1995 Outback. I did have a 1996 Outback, but the head gasket blew, which I had repaired, but 12,000 miles later happened again, so I got 200 dollars salvage price for the car. I did get over 200,000 miles, but the last year of life was quite expensive.

My wife has a 2001 Forester which has also had a head gasket repair. It also needs a front strut that will cost over 500 dollars.

I am hoping that the 1995 2.2 engine will hold up better. I do like the FWD in that I have a driveway with a steep hill that ices up easily.