Sunday, February 20, 2011

Subaru head gaskets!



One of the most common problems that we encounter are leaky subaru head gaskets. Subaru attributes this problem to oscillation. Due to the engine being a "sideways motor" as the engine revolutions increase the piston creates negative pressure which causes the cylinder head to literally grind the head gasket down. In many cases you can notice a silver residue next to the head gasket. Many experienced technicians also attribute the problem to the torquing sequence of the head bolts as the inner bolts are torqued to 25lbs and the outter 11lbs which causes the head gasket to leak at exactly the outter bolts. Leaking head gasket may cause the vehicle to overheat due to fluid loss and may cause further damage to internal components due to loss of lubrication. Many subaru owners also report a loss of power due to lost compression. The replacement of the head gaskets is not a very complicated repair to an experienced technician however it does require the removal of the whole engine assembly. To save our customers money we tend to always recommend replacement of the timing belt and the water pump as well as the thermostat. Once the engine is removed from the engine bay it reduces the replacement time of those components greatly and saves our customer a large amount of money in the long run. Because we see very many Subarus for this exact repair our technicians are extremely efficient in this repair and can usually have your vehicle back on the road in just a few days.
A leaky head gasket.
A white mark generally indicating that this is the original factory head gasket.

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