View Full Version : So much for reliability myths...
Our impreza with 76k miles broke down on my gf yesterday - on a wonderful Newark highway. I had to leave work in the city and spent most of the day and the evening getting two tows out of yards and shops I'd rather not be acquainted with. Now it's at THE subaru specialist shop some 65 miles away (where it was serviced just last week). They'll look at it today.
It overheated, all the lights went on and she shut it off. There was coolant everywhere - I'm guessing it's a blown head gasket. Mucho $$$ for a car that's not worth that much. :( :(
What sucks is that we did a major (for a subaru) service last week, including a coolant flush and new plugs, fuel filter. I'm wondering if this somehow triggered it. 35k miles with no trouble and then this within 500 miles of a flush? It also made some screechy noises after the service (which was also done at this reputable place) but before the breakdown. I thought it might be the AC belt and we were about to take it back. Perhaps it is unrelated.
Our impreza with 76k miles broke down on my gf yesterday - on a wonderful Newark highway. I had to leave work in the city and spent most of the day and the evening getting two tows out of yards and shops I'd rather not be acquainted with. Now it's at THE subaru specialist shop some 65 miles away (where it was serviced just last week). They'll look at it today.
It overheated, all the lights went on and she shut it off. There was coolant everywhere - I'm guessing it's a blown head gasket. Mucho $$$ for a car that's not worth that much. :( :(
What sucks is that we did a major (for a subaru) service last week, including a coolant flush and new plugs, fuel filter. I'm wondering if this somehow triggered it. 35k miles with no trouble and then this within 500 miles of a flush? It also made some screechy noises after the service (which was also done at this reputable place) but before the breakdown. I thought it might be the AC belt and we were about to take it back. Perhaps it is unrelated.
Bleech. It didn't die on her while she was on 22, did it?
As a teen, I once stupidly ran out of gas on 22 East, right by the Frelinghuysen Ave. exit. Not an optimal place to have a disabled vehicle.
It died on Rt. 1 & 9 by the airport. A "friendly" guy happened to stop by and offered to tow to his shop nearby. So in the time that I could get out of my downtown office, take the ferry, run to my car and get out there, the car was in some unbelievably bad lot off of, you guessed it, Frelinghuysen Ave & 22. All tractor trailers and no cars, deep deep mud & puddles and yes a shop of sorts - where they didn't even seem to know what was going on (like couldn't guess the head gasket right away). We got off by paying 40$ tow and 40$ unexplained fees - at some point the guy actually said some nonsense about having ordered parts already... Whew, I'm glad nothing happened to her, and next month she's going to get upgraded from AAA to AAA+ (which allows 100 miles of towing).
I went to a white castle about a mile away for the first time while there waiting for the evening tow out. Quite a cultural and digestive experience with bulletproof windows and a curious crowd.
It died on Rt. 1 & 9 by the airport. A "friendly" guy happened to stop by and offered to tow to his shop nearby. So in the time that I could get out of my downtown office, take the ferry, run to my car and get out there, the car was in some unbelievably bad lot off of, you guessed it, Frelinghuysen Ave & 22. All tractor trailers and no cars, deep deep mud & puddles and yes a shop of sorts - where they didn't even seem to know what was going on (like couldn't guess the head gasket right away). We got off by paying 40$ tow and 40$ unexplained fees - at some point the guy actually said some nonsense about having ordered parts already... Whew, I'm glad nothing happened to her, and next month she's going to get upgraded from AAA to AAA+ (which allows 100 miles of towing).
I went to a white castle about a mile away for the first time while there waiting for the evening tow out. Quite a cultural and digestive experience with bulletproof windows and a curious crowd.
Oh, man. That's horrible.
I meant the White Castle... the car stuff's bad too. :lol:
Glad you got through it okay. I bet that lot's the same one the "friendly" guy who took me to get gas was from. :lol:
BahnBaum
06-21-2007, 11:21 AM
It overheated, all the lights went on and she shut it off. There was coolant everywhere - I'm guessing it's a blown head gasket. Mucho $$$ for a car that's not worth that much. :( :(
What sucks is that we did a major (for a subaru) service last week, including a coolant flush and new plugs, fuel filter. I'm wondering if this somehow triggered it. 35k miles with no trouble and then this within 500 miles of a flush? It also made some screechy noises after the service (which was also done at this reputable place) but before the breakdown. I thought it might be the AC belt and we were about to take it back. Perhaps it is unrelated.
Could you just have blown out a hose? If she shut it down immediately upon overheating, maybe you're okay...
The screechy belt noise sounds like it could have been caused by a coolant leak.
Sure sounds to me like they're connected, maybe they didn't reinstall a hose properly. And maybe it's not a head gasket.
Alex
That's kind of what I was thinking, Alex. I wouldn't think that a blown head gasket would result in coolant being all over the pavement. A blown hose would/could.
The coolant blew out of an overflow tube that comes out from the coolant tank. The engine turns but didn't seem to have spark. I don't really have an experience in this - just thought I'd put it out to the 'mudgeon collective wisdom. I still think it has sth to do with the servicing - it's now back in the same place for diagnostics so - as good as the place is - I may never get a straight answer. Perhaps these appliance-mobiles are not to be serviced beyond oil changes.
The coolant blew out of an overflow tube that comes out from the coolant tank. The engine turns but didn't seem to have spark. I don't really have an experience in this - just thought I'd put it out to the 'mudgeon collective wisdom. I still think it has sth to do with the servicing - it's now back in the same place for diagnostics so - as good as the place is - I may never get a straight answer. Perhaps these appliance-mobiles are not to be serviced beyond oil changes.
Could it have just been overfilled? :dunno:
Could it have just been overfilled? :dunno:
Or not bled properly. Or needs a new thermostat. Or the correct one.
That sucks. But yeah, I wouldn't rush to think blown gasket. It may not be so bad.
You know, you should have bought my Saabaru when you had the chance. ;)
Update:
Shop is convinced it is a head gasket. They are going to do a compression test to see which bank of cylinders failed. Most likely some dirt/goo was holding the gasket in place (which had a slow oil leak) and their flush made it likely to fail. They say they will try to be reasonable about the costs.
I even found a similar event - though our failure did not happen immediately.
http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-155321.html
The belt noise is still a mystery.
The blown head gasket could be the result of the car overheating, though. Unless the engine has been beaten to death, I wouldn't expect a blown head gasket this early in its life. Not even close.
The non-trusting side of me says that they could be covering up for something they did wrong during the coolant flush (i.e. didn't bleed the system properly, or fill it completely?), and are now going to try and sock you for the repair costs too. Why else would they offer to be reasonable about the repair costs? :? You just never know.
Apparently subarus (especially some 2.5's) are known for this failure. There was a slow oil leak, so perhaps it was weakened over time. I :dunno:, I give up.
Sharp11
06-21-2007, 09:20 PM
Apparently subarus (especially some 2.5's) are known for this failure. There was a slow oil leak, so perhaps it was weakened over time. I :dunno:, I give up.
Unfortunately, this a a common malady among Subies with the 2.5 flat four, the exact engine in my wife's Outback :(
My buddy had an 03 Outback which blew its top.
Ed
Nick M3
06-22-2007, 06:39 AM
Unfortunately, this a a common malady among Subies with the 2.5 flat four, the exact engine in my wife's Outback :(
My buddy had an 03 Outback which blew its top.
Ed
Subarus have lots of weird fail points. My favorite is the "switch to synthetic and spin a rod bearing in the next 100 miles" failure. I really liked reading that immeidately after I switched the WRX to synthetic.
Right now, I'm sort of casually looking to replace it with an older E46. Probably a 330. If nothing else, it's not like I don't know my way around them. :p
Right now, I'm sort of casually looking to replace it with an older E46. Probably a 330. If nothing else, it's not like I don't know my way around them. :p
My '03 ZHP will be up for sale in a year.
My '03 ZHP will be up for sale in a year.
How much? $$$ :eeps:
How much? $$$ :eeps:
Depends on what the market says it's worth at the time, I suppose.:dunno: What are they going for now, low 20's? Mine should have only 5XK miles. I'm not up to 50K yet.
How much? $$$ :eeps:
:lol:
Third time's a charm?
Third time's a charm?
You never know :) At least if I was to go with a fellow member's car, I'll know that the vehicle isn't problem-prone.
The Lexus will be over two years old by then, which is a lifetime in ff years. It will be up for replacement... something with 3 pedals that doesn't handle like slimy poop. The only unknown, is how well the kids would fit in the backseat. I don't recall the E46 having much for legroom.
:lol:
Third time's a charm?
Hey, it's great car. To think given the amazing shape it is in, that I will probably get no more than 20K for it next year, it's hard to give up such a great car for so little. I will definitely miss it. The car has basically no rattles and is still on the factory alignment and tracks beautifully on the new PS2's (I can't get over how nice the ride is despite them being such good tires).
As I've said before, if I needed a sedan, IMO no car out there would be worth the premium over the ZHP, and I would unquestionably keep it until it became what the E36 M3 is now - a great car that is just getting too damn old. But there are many years left until that happens to ZHP's.
(we may want to split this thread).
Sharp11
06-22-2007, 10:32 AM
E46's from say, 03 to 05 (and 06 for verts and coupes) are quickly, if not already, becoming the bargain of the century - you get a solidly built, nice looking, relatively lightweight, fun to drive rear driver with a certified warranty (and possibly some free maintenance left on the clock) for Accord money.
And there are tons of mods available for people so inclined.
Ed
(we may want to split this thread).
Until someone's zhp craps out and this diversion/e46 lovefest becomes relevant again.
Nick M3
06-22-2007, 02:01 PM
My '03 ZHP will be up for sale in a year.
My goal is a straight swap. 330i prices have fallen far enough to make that a possibility.
(Obviously, higher mileage with a completely worn out suspension.)
More to the point, I'd be buying it as a daily beater. Sell your car to someone who will be nice to it. :p
My goal is a straight swap. 330i prices have fallen far enough to make that a possibility.
(Obviously, higher mileage with a completely worn out suspension.)
More to the point, I'd be buying it as a daily beater. Sell your car to someone who will be nice to it. :p
LOL.
Update with shop estimate... $1400 :( :( :(
I don't have the breakdown/details yet. It took them nearly a week to produce the estimate.
My gf has been spending some time on nasioc and she's convinced (as I've suspected) that the coolant flush precipitate this. She's so turned off subies right now.
We're tempted to sell it as a parts/donor car but I don't think it would be worth $2000. I'd like to think it's close to $4000 in value if fixed up so we'll have to go through with the repair.
How hard is it to do the head gasket on a subie? Are there 2 of them :dunno: ? I've done a few head gaskets on old inline4 Hondas, and it wasn't anything terribly difficult. Even with all the stinkin' vacuum lines they used in the carbureted days.
If you're handy with a wrench, this'd be a good opportunity to get the hands dirty. :)
What he said. Head gaskets are time-consuming but not all that tricky in most cars.
Pinecone
06-27-2007, 03:48 PM
Can you get Subie heads off without pulling the engine?
Full estimate came in... $1900
This includes a timing belt job with tensioner, water pump, etc. Also needs oil pump (?), coolant and oil again (just 500 miles after the fateful service). Engine will come out for heads to be shipped to a machinist (downside of flat?) and the tech says he'll seal everything anew.
I'm tempted to sell it to one of their mechanics as a project shell - then again fixing and keeping might be good too. Buying sth else in its place will be much more expensive than this repair.
Guys, I live in an urban apartment, have no garage, no tools and have only
1) changed spare tires
2) removed changer, installed ipod
in cars. I seriously don't think this is a DIY for me.
One of the shop guys has had his eye on the cool green wagon for a while. He offered take it unfixed/no engine for $1500 then do his own swap. It's a pretty fair offer actually, but we're hesitating in letting go. I think the fixed car (11 year old impreza with 77,000 miles) is not worth more than $3400, so it's not a bad trade. However, I don't see how I'm going to find a car that could replace its duties for $3400 so I think we're going to keep it. Could it be possible that I'm getting sick of changing cars? :eeps:
One of the shop guys has had his eye on the cool green wagon for a while. He offered take it unfixed/no engine for $1500 then do his own swap. It's a pretty fair offer actually, but we're hesitating in letting go. I think the fixed car (11 year old impreza with 77,000 miles) is not worth more than $3400, so it's not a bad trade. However, I don't see how I'm going to find a car that could replace its duties for $3400 so I think we're going to keep it. Could it be possible that I'm getting sick of changing cars? :eeps:
You know, at 77K miles, despite the years, the body must be in pretty good shape. That car should give you many trouble-free years. I'd say keep it if you (she) are still happy with it.
Continued on new thread:
http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showthread.php?t=10270
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