![]() There are two very distinctive issues that happen with this type of failure. This head gasket has had a breach in between the cooling system and the combustion chamber allowing both pressure and temperature from the combustion chamber into the cooling system. Internal Failure of Aftermarket Subaru Head Gasket When a head gasket fails like this one below the situation can be much more dire. ![]() If you really think it through to conclusion its not too often that you actually are awarded the opportunity to make a big decision over time, many times an expensive repair like this happens as quickly such as a transmission failure or broken timing belt giving you no notice and even less time to budget for the repair. Why I really like this way of dealing with the external fluid leaks is it gives the driver a bit of time to either budget for the repairs, if the car still suits their needs, or come up with a plan to move on if the Subaru no longer fits the family. I will tell you that for some customers we have been monitoring oil leaks for 5 years or longer and others have had the repairs done a few oil changes after first being informed about the situation. Generally speaking it is an acceptable practice of our shop to monitor minor oil leaks for our customers and advise them as they become worse or begin to leak coolant. ![]() Gaskets that have had this much head gasket material deteriorate away most likely leaked fluid for a while before finally being replaced which is fairly typical. Phase 2 Subaru 2.5l SOHC Head Gasket Subaru 2.5l Phase Two Head Gasket You may have already seen some pictures like the ones below highlighting where the gasket material has been eaten away. The third and final type of a head gasket leak on a phase two 2.5l is an internal failure of the gasket resulting in a breach between the combustion chamber and the cooling system which will ultimately cause the vehicle to overheat and is often misdiagnosed by many at the early stages which can increase the likelihood of future problems such as high oil consumption after repairs. The pad also does an incredible job of soaking up oil and coolant. Subaru models have a splash pan with a fibrous pad (that I call a diaper), this must be removed to inspect for leaks. I want to stress that just because you have not yet seen fluid in your driveway does not mean you do not have a fluid leak from a head gasket. This is found while performing a visual inspection of the bottom side of the engine for fluid leaks, which should be done every oil change by a qualified Technician who still does not work at a lube center. The second type of leak is an external oil leak and while it’s true that any car can and will develop an external oil leak from the head gasket, the design of the horizontal engine platform lends itself to a situation where the smallest of oil leaks is immediately apparent in the form of a drip. This is found doing a visual inspection of the bottom side of the engine for fluid leaks, which should be done every oil change by a qualified Technician who does not work at a lube center. ![]() The first is an external coolant leak typically from the driver’s or left side head gasket, this affected the pre 2003 models specifically and ultimately led to the WWP-99 campaign where Subaru added a “coolant conditioner” otherwise known as stop leak and extended the warranty period to 8 years or 100k for external coolant leaks only. Head gaskets in a phase two 2.5l can leak in three very different ways. If you are taking the time to read this then you most likely are doing a little research before you buy a used Subaru or you already own a Subaru of this era and have either recently been told you have a head gasket leak or are just taking the time to learn a little about the car you own. If you have not yet had a chance to read the first article and the over 1000 posts for Subaru Owners around the Globe you can do so here I had thought about breaking it up into two smaller articles but realized that the one read without the other would leave to many questions unanswered so please take the time to read the article in its entirety and hopefully you will have learned a little more about your Subaru. This article is going to be fairly long as there really is a lot of information that I want to share. In this article I am going to cover the current trends with the Subaru Head gasket problem focusing only on the phase 2 2.5l SOHC from 1999 to 2011 in the Forester and 2000 to 2009 in the Legacy, Outback and Impreza with an emphasis on the 2005 and newer models. ![]()
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