This was the first Blackstone report on the car last month.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4689283/05_Legacy_GT--4800_miles,_Cast#Post4689283

Note that a slight amount of coolant was found in the sample.

I've driven 1200 miles since then. Soon after the oil change i smelled a faint coolant smell. Now, the coolant smell is getting much more pronounced, and the car will be going in to have it checked out. The car has not overheated (though after the a longer ride at highway speeds the temp gauge will rise a hair while sitting at an off-ramp). There is no foam in the oil from visual inspection.

The car has a new radiator within the last 2000 miles.


The question is-is it worth doing a new analysis at 1200 to see if there's any elevated coolant in the oil? Head gaskets were a problem on older subarus, but i don't think it's as much of a problem (if at all across the board) in 2005's and above. Or, just let the shop sort it out?

I did use Rotella T6 5w40 for the first time in this oil change.

Thanks!

Subarus, even 2005+ (while not as big of a problem as earlier) still like to lose head gaskets.

Any EJ25 (na or turbo) is going to have head gasket problems eventually ...

Making the engine work too hard with that 40 grade.

I would use 2 qts of that and then balance of 10w30 QSUD.

Never needed MORE on a N.A. motor.

You may have a weep at a hose junction. os remnats boiling off. Spilled Glycol hangs around forever

Is that GT a turbo? That should be immune as the block deck is different than the NA motors.

Yes, the GT is a turbo.

miles on WP? back then the oem pumps had this uncanny ability to work for consistently 106,000. it was crazy. IDK about now. It could be weeping just a little. Blocks back then also were a little porous and you could smell it through them. Factory fix was a very mild dose of the equivalent to stop leak. I put a partial dose in my '97 for the same reason and never looked back.

That GT is a special car. A bunch of power in an already-torquey motor on a rock-solid chassis.

-M

Can a shop a do a leak-down test or see if exhaust is entering the coolant? Subaru does call for adding their version of Holts RadWeld into the cooling system as a precaution on the EJ engines. The gaskets on those have been revised on the OEM level - Fel-Pro makes a variant of their MLS gasket just for the Subaru Boxers.

I did a timing belt and WP on a 2003 Forester with the EJ253(or 1) and I did see part of the head gasket through one of the cooling passages I think. It looked silverish, maybe OEM replacement.

crawl underneath or have it put on a lift and shine a light on the bottom side of the heads.. easy to tell if you have a head gasket issue.