2005 Legacy GT: Head Gasket

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funkymonkey1111

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I have an intermittent head gasket failure on a 2005 Legacy GT Wagon. Sometimes it heats up, sometimes it doesn't--it never gets into the red on the temp gauge, but is right under it when it heats up. Shop that I trust was able to replicate the problem (after 3 tries).

128,000 miles. Estimate is $3026, and that's without any machining. If machining is necessary, they said it would be approximately $200.

I really like the car. It's reasonably quick, pulls up the mountains without any hiccups, and had excellent snow performance when equipped with snow tires. Plus, it doesn't have any of the nanny safety [censored] that's on new cars.

Fix or no fix? One hears things--e.g., "once you have a HG fixed, the car is never the same...", etc. Obviously this repair approaches, if not exceeds the value of the car. But, if I can spend $3K and get another 80-100K miles out of it, I'd be happy.

Thoughts? Any experience with 2005 Legacy GT head gasket failures and repair? Shop says the turbo models fail far less frequently than the NA models (estimated 1 in 10).
 
What's the cost of a used engine installed?

You sound like you want to repair it. What's the condition of everything else? Any possibility of this car becoming a money pit shortly after fixing the motor?

Personally I think I'd get rid of the car.
 
are they doing both head gaskets for that price? in the seattle area it about 2k to 2500 for new head gaskets. this also includes new timing belt and water pump and pulleys as they usually want to do it while they are in there.

when my 99 went i did it myself. took me a day (13 hrs) and $200 for the felpro parts parts.

before you do it have them put a emmision sniffer on there and see if there is exhaust gas in the coolant. if not you could just have a bubble sitting where the thermostat is. you will need to burp the system if you do. get one of the vacuum coolant tool or a funnel
 
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Here's a recent UOA for the OP's car.

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

Maybe use some of the GM coolant tabs or some Bars Leak Head Gasket Repair. No way I'd spend $3k on an 05 that may have other issues going on. Like the turbo, clogged oil ports, etc....
 
Are they replacing both head gaskets for that price? I hope so. Me? I would drive it till it dies. Guess how much you'll get if someone smashes into you 5 minutes after you pull out of the shop and your Subaru is totaled?
 
GM tabs and trade it in. Don't put over 3K into a 13 yr old car. It will end up at an auction for short money and someone will swap the engine and flip it.
I was offered an 08 Legacy in mint shape with leather and roof, good tire, brakes, etc with an engine that had been overheated 3 times with coolant in the oil. It needed an engine, no takers it went to the scrap.
 
Go to the Subaru website to get other owners input. I can't believe that head gasket replacement should cost that much. I've replaced both HG on a 2.5 1970 Suby in a day and I'm not a Suby mechanic with special tools. Ed
 
You have to DIY it if you want it fixed, that would be the only cost effective way. You have to pull the motor right?

In this situation Subarus are still quirky to work on. It is only the older ones that have HG issues, yes?
 
I suppose it depends where you live as to the cost, but that seems about 1000 bucks more than I'd expect.

What did the shop do to verify it was the head gasket ?

I don't think stop leak will help if it is leaking from the combustion side into the coolant jacket.
 
Our former 2005 Legacy GT wagon burned a valve at 169k. So it required valve job and in process got a head gasket.

Your price seems a tad steep given no valve job. I did $3100 for valve job with about $450 extra in maintenance and parts accessible which head gasket obviously got changed because of removal. My labor rate though was $65/hr.

Burning valves is more common then head gaskets for Legacy GT. We sold at 230k as wife finally had Last straws and lost confidence.
 
Originally Posted By: nap
Are you sure it's not the thermostat?


Thermostat was replaced when they couldn't replicate the problem with the head gasket.
 
Originally Posted By: JC1
What's the cost of a used engine installed?

You sound like you want to repair it. What's the condition of everything else? Any possibility of this car becoming a money pit shortly after fixing the motor?

Personally I think I'd get rid of the car.


I would prefer to fix it, but obviously this type of major repair at this stage of the vehicle's life is not necessarily something done without some contemplation.

Reman engine would be at least $5K
 
Originally Posted By: WhyMe
are they doing both head gaskets for that price? in the seattle area it about 2k to 2500 for new head gaskets. this also includes new timing belt and water pump and pulleys as they usually want to do it while they are in there.

when my 99 went i did it myself. took me a day (13 hrs) and $200 for the felpro parts parts.

before you do it have them put a emmision sniffer on there and see if there is exhaust gas in the coolant. if not you could just have a bubble sitting where the thermostat is. you will need to burp the system if you do. get one of the vacuum coolant tool or a funnel


Yes, both head gaskets.
 
Personally, I'd trade it in since it's still running fine and put the money towards a new car.

However, if the car is in otherwise good shape and you're confident you'll get another 3 years out of it, a $3k repair makes sense.
 
That seems a little on the high side. Headgaskets for that car book out at 12.4 hr, and I would think Colorado is still in the $125-150/hr range for labor. However, due to the intangibles of major repairs, a lot of shops will bump up the labor times to something that they deem as reasonable to account for issues that sometimes arise. For instance, I know a guy who won't charge anything less than 20 hours for any repair involving heads or engine removal, regardless of what the book time is.
 
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Originally Posted By: funkymonkey1111
I have an intermittent head gasket failure on a 2005 Legacy GT Wagon. Sometimes it heats up, sometimes it doesn't--it never gets into the red on the temp gauge, but is right under it when it heats up. Shop that I trust was able to replicate the problem (after 3 tries).
128,000 miles. Estimate is $3026, and that's without any machining. If machining is necessary, they said it would be approximately $200.
I really like the car. It's reasonably quick, pulls up the mountains without any hiccups, and had excellent snow performance when equipped with snow tires. Plus, it doesn't have any of the nanny safety [censored] that's on new cars.
Fix or no fix? One hears things--e.g., "once you have a HG fixed, the car is never the same...", etc. Obviously this repair approaches, if not exceeds the value of the car. But, if I can spend $3K and get another 80-100K miles out of it, I'd be happy.
Thoughts? Any experience with 2005 Legacy GT head gasket failures and repair? Shop says the turbo models fail far less frequently than the NA models (estimated 1 in 10).


I don't think that a head gasket would be intermittent, more likely a sticky thermostat, about $40 installed, if it is the gasket it should not be above $1,000 taxes included
 
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