Head Gasket leak?

[corgimas]

So...my mechanic (sorry i am a marine biologist and not totally mechanically inclined like so many of you - wish i could get dirty) had told me that my valve gasket was leaking. Planned on having that taken care of along with the timing belt while i was on holiday.....
came home last night and saw my guy this morning....he said that it was not the valve gasket like he had said before...but that the head gasket has a small seep....said that it was normal in most subarus and to deal with it should be about 2500$ but that he was suggest letting it stay as it is right now, as it is not badly leaking, and not put out the cash.

Thoughts????
I do have a connection to a local tech college where i could probably have the head gasket done much cheaper...but if it is not dire then should i?

on a side note i saw 4 bajas in Kauai....two clean dark blues (not the atlantic blue, but that real nice midnight blue) and then a yellow and a silver both smattered up with the Kauai red clay....tried to grab pix but was unable to.

[bajaguy]

On a side note I love your apropos usage of the word dire.

[ags0702]

Seeping headgaskets are common on the Baja's. Mine was seeping the same as you described. Not a big deal and you could drive a long time with it leaking. It is an external leak only so not a big deal. I just had my timing belt and headgaskets done at 100k miles. $2,500 is too much. It cost me $1,600 out the door for timing belt and headgaskets and that was at a subaru dealer which you know is using genuine subaru parts. Be sure you take it to a shop that knows what they are doing/has done a subaru headgasket job before and don't use a backyard mechanic.

[BlueRu]

I just got the same news, and the same advice: keep an eye on it, but leave it unless it gets worse.

Is there an oil additive that will minimize the seeping, but not harm the engine?

[Rizzo]

Pennzoil high mileage 5w30

[mikenmel08]

Is it a naturally aspirated engine or turbo? Naturally aspirated you can do the head job without pulling the engine which saves a lot of time...Turbos, the motor has to come out to do it and that adds to the cost of doing the job...Of course the turbos have a redesigned head gasket...they don't tend to give as much trouble....

[Trucklett]

My dad the anal retentive mechanic would say that in his opinion all Subaru head gasket replacements require removal of the motor from the car and the heads should get sent out to a reputable machine shop to make sure that there is no warping.

The turbos do have a heavier duty gasket and tend to go longer before it becomes a problem (thank goodness!). My father periodically tests my Baja Turbo because I'm so paranoid about the head gasket issue (coming from a family of old time 1st generation 2.5 Subie owners). I really appreciate the level of attention that he gives her and she's only got 83K miles!

This is a guy that ordered and installed the special motors for our old Legacy Outbacks with the first generation 2.5 after they each developed the internal leaks. He is meticulous.

If you want to read a great in depth article that goes into the whole mechanics of the head gaskets from hell, check this out: http://www.allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru ... explained/ This guy has some great information and advice.