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whistlingmarmot
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Joined: 21 Jul 2003
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Location: Tacoma, WA
whistlingmarmot
Sustainable Resource
PostSun Mar 08, 2009 3:59 pm 
My 2004 Subaru with 100k miles needs a new head gasket. I've heard good things about Gregs Japanese Auto, and found All Wheel Drive Auto in Kirkland via google. I'm willing to drive up north but can anyone recommend some shops, preferably in Tacoma/Olympia? Dealers are one option, but they're pretty expensive.

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Backpacker Joe
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Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Backpacker Joe
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 4:03 pm 
There are Greggs down your way. I've had really good experiences with them. Outside of the vehicles warranty Id use Greggs.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Smokey
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 5:09 pm 
No personal experience but I've heard and read good things about these guys. No where near Tacoma. smile.gif Smart Service (head gasket talk)

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whistlingmarmot
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Joined: 21 Jul 2003
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Location: Tacoma, WA
whistlingmarmot
Sustainable Resource
PostSun Mar 08, 2009 6:24 pm 
Apparently Subaru's in the '00-'02 vintage have this problem more so than normal. And perhaps Subaru's in general might be more susceptible to this problem than other cars. This was my impression from googling around. If I ever bought another Subaru I'd get the extended 120k warranty, or a different vehicle. Kind of disappointed in the thing at this point.

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camut
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camut
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 8:20 pm 
My friend's Outback had the same problem. The folks at Suburb Service in Marysville told him that Subaru has remedied this problem with the newer Outbacks, so anything less than, say, four or five years old shouldn't be a problem. My brother has a '99 Outback, which fits into the time frame of the ones with the headgasket problem, but he has never had any problems of any kind with it. It has been the most trouble-free car he has ever had.

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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 8:27 pm 
Smokey wrote:
No personal experience but I've heard and read good things about these guys. No where near Tacoma. smile.gif Smart Service (head gasket talk)
Federal Way IS near Tacoma homer. moon.gif

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Smokey
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 8:32 pm 
Backpacker Joe wrote:
Smokey wrote:
No personal experience but I've heard and read good things about these guys. No where near Tacoma. smile.gif Smart Service (head gasket talk)
Federal Way IS near Tacoma homer. moon.gif
? My link is for Smart Service, Shoreline and Everett.

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Magellan
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Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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Magellan
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PostSun Mar 08, 2009 11:02 pm 
BPJ are you high right now? peace.gif

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Brucester
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Joined: 02 Jun 2013
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Brucester
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PostWed Jul 24, 2019 5:45 am 
How about 60,000 needing new head gasket? Total shocker, and it's a Toyota. The irony is or was this issue is why I didn't buy a Subaru. frown.gif Didn't drive it far but it has the light not a gauge.... Instead of a heat icon there should be 4 dollar signs $,$$$!

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olderthanIusedtobe
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostWed Jul 24, 2019 9:42 am 
How does an '04 only have 100K? My '01 non-Outback Subie wagon has well over double that mileage. No head gasket problems so far.

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Randito
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Joined: 27 Jul 2008
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Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
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PostWed Jul 24, 2019 2:53 pm 
My dad had an '86 Subaru, that's why I drive a Honda even though the Subaru AWD system is superior.

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InFlight
coated in DEET



Joined: 20 May 2015
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Location: Seattle area
InFlight
coated in DEET
PostWed Jul 24, 2019 7:01 pm 
I not at all a fan of the boxer engine design Subaru uses. You have the hot parts of the engine low where its more likely to have water splash on it. Certainly not great for any gasket life. It also requires the use of a timing belt design that requires ~80k mile replacement. Finally the stupid spilt case is a not fun to rebuild. A normal 4 cylinder with a timing chain is a far superior engine with a fraction of the maintenance. Compare the common 4 cylinder Honda K24 to a Subaru EJ25 The Honda has 200 HP at 6800, the Subaru has 165 HP at 6000 rpm (with .1 liter greater displacement). The Honda is easily a 200K mile engine.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
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Brian Curtis
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Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Brian Curtis
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PostWed Jul 24, 2019 9:08 pm 
Subaru engines have had timing chains since 2013.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?



Joined: 25 Jul 2008
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
PostWed Jul 24, 2019 11:07 pm 
Plenty of other manufacturers used timing belts on their inline 4 cylinder engines. my current '97 Accord has had it's timing belt replaced. My old '89 Corolla had a timing belt which failed on me at 124K. I never knew it had one that needed replacing until it quit. Timing belts were/are common among many makes and they all need replacing somewhere in that 80K - 100K range. Fortunately the one on that old Corolla was real easy to replace and I did it myself in a day. I would NOT want to replace a Subaru timing belt. My '84 Toyota truck has a timing chain, and it needs to be replaced. The 22R/RE engines are also known for having head gasket issues around the 150K mark. Stuff wears out. Even timing chains don't always last forever. That said, the Subaru 2.5L engine is notorious for head gasket issues. Subaru has been saying the problem is fixed for many years, yet the problem keeps cropping up. There is no way to know whether newer cars will have the problem 'til they get some real mileage on them. Many of the newer subies now use a newer design 2.0L engine. Hopefully it won't have that problem. Older Subies with the 2.2L and 2.0L engines don't have that problem. Complaining about the difficulty of rebuilding a Subaru engine seems strange. You doing it yourself? How many engines have you had to rebuild? On a $ basis, Subaru engines don't seem to be a whole lot more than other makes to replace.

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InFlight
coated in DEET



Joined: 20 May 2015
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Location: Seattle area
InFlight
coated in DEET
PostWed Jul 24, 2019 11:32 pm 
Brian Curtis wrote:
Subaru engines have had timing chains since 2013.
“Most” Subaru Engines since 2013, The top of line 268 HP 2.5L Turbo WRX still has a belt. The much smaller Honda 2.0T delivers 306 HP. Honda is the undisputed leader in variable valve timing with up to 3 levels of levels of variable valve lift as well.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
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