2001 Subaru Outback

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

Getting a different vehicle doesn't really make sense at this point, because I had to spend a lot of money on repairs when the oil pump went out...

This sounds like the sunken-cost fallacy. When I looked at my Forester, the salesman showed all of the parts that were "refreshed." With so many new parts, it was sure to be reliable!

It had a history of breaking down.

I spent more in repairs than gas before I replaced the head gasket.

[Taylor95]

Originally Posted by Xist

This sounds like the sunken-cost fallacy. When I looked at my Forester, the salesman showed all of the parts that were "refreshed." With so many new parts, it was sure to be reliable!

It had a history of breaking down.

I spent more in repairs than gas before I replaced the head gasket.

Selling the car and getting another old one is quite the gamble, and I certainly do not feel like selling it after spending almost the value of the car in getting the engine fixed by a shop.

It would just be nice if it was like my jeep; (almost problem free).

About the head gasket: I think the only way I can diagnose it is to drain the coolant again to see if my new coolant got cloudy. There are no leakage spots underneath the engine where the headgasket is. I'm not sure how else to diagnose the problem.

[Xist]

Have you used an exhaust gas tester?

[Piotrsko]

Or a radiator leak pressure tester?

[Taylor95]

So an update on the Outback:
I took it to the shop yesterday. They confirmed for me that there is some leakage from the head gasket. Since the gasket is pretty much new, they put some stuff in my coolant that will hopefully plug the leak over the next few days.
If the Subaru gets fixed then hopefully I will get some work done on it! It has averaged 27 mpg most of the summer. I will be aiming for 30!

[Xist]

Stop leak is extremely controversial. Some people insist that it always works unless you do something wrong. Did you carefully follow directions and it failed? Obviously you did something wrong! Some people insist that one product is the miracle cure and everything else is snake oil, but that probably supplies to every product. Shouty Kilmer has several videos promoting different stop leak products and I remember he poured one product into a cup and showed that it was clear and green, without anything to clog up coolant systems. For a while Subaru ordered all of their dealerships to use a stop-leak product, but I do not know how that worked out.

This is what Eric the Car Guy says about it:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=76GpMD4LIwY

[Taylor95]

After checking the car today, it appears to have done the job! It definitely is not worth paying somebody like $1600 to do the job and I do not have the means to do it myself right now. I'm confident that it will last the life of the head gasket. The car runs perfectly right now which is a good sign.

That video was very informative, and I think I should keep an eye on things to make sure my cooling system stays in working order.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

After checking the car today, it appears to have done the job! .

"Appears"

My experience with those stop leak products is that they fail quickly, if they seem to work at all, leaving you ultimately with a bigger bill to do not only the repair that they were intended to help you avoid, but also whatever they clotted up in the meantime while you were putting that off.

I wanted to like my Forester more than I did but when the EJ head gaskets failed, the replacement is usually an engine-out job. I think you should save up and get the job done right at the soonest opportunity.

[Xist]

Even if a stop-leak product works perfectly, which is a big if, what is to keep it from clogging everything else?

[Taylor95]

Originally Posted by Xist

Even if a stop-leak product works perfectly, which is a big if, what is to keep it from clogging everything else?

Flushing the coolant?

I don't really see the controversy in this. Sure, it is a quick fix, but if it works it works. And time will tell how well it works. And that will be determined if the fix lasts 100k miles, which is probably when I will go in and actually change the head gasket myself (I think I will still want to keep the car by then).