Hi All,
I have recently purchased a Subaru Forester XT 2009. Car has 153xxx Kms
Shortly owning the vehicle, I have diagnosed a few issues.
After a long drive back home from South Coast (3 hour drive) the car started to overheat when I left the highway and started in the traffic.
I immediately pulled over and let the engine cool down.
Once the engine was cool I carefully drove home and let it sit. I then checked the water levels that were low, lost about a litre, then proceeded to fill it back up. When the car is running hot I can see tiny bubbles in the radiator neck and in overflow reservoir. seems to me like leaking head gasket... I am doing a radiator pressure test this afternoon to see if I can spot any leaks in the cooling system. Since the overheat I have driven the car everyday for about a week and checked the water levels after each drive, seems like it is holding the water and no overheating, but again I am going to do a radiator pressure test to see what it comes back with. reason for this is I am not sure if coolant was filled correctly last service, and by driving it I should be able to tell if it overheated due to not enough water in the system.
my question is, what are my options here? A Subaru specialist advised me that once the turbo ej255 engine blows a head gasket, usually it indicates an engine swap. I don't really mind changing the headgasket if it will hold it's value, has anyone here been down the same road as me and changed the headgasket on the turbo ej255?
Is it possible to salvage an STI engine and drop it straight in or would that be more trouble than it's worth? Should I salvage a similar ej255 WRX engine and drop it in?
Just purchased the car for 12k so as you can imagine I'm devastated. Happy to spend 3 - 4k for longevity guarantee of the car. but swapping a wrecked engine looks like it would be a more reliable option - from what I have been told
Any advice on Head Gasket replacement on this model is appreciated.
I have recently purchased a Subaru Forester XT 2009. Car has 153xxx Kms
Shortly owning the vehicle, I have diagnosed a few issues.
After a long drive back home from South Coast (3 hour drive) the car started to overheat when I left the highway and started in the traffic.
I immediately pulled over and let the engine cool down.
Once the engine was cool I carefully drove home and let it sit. I then checked the water levels that were low, lost about a litre, then proceeded to fill it back up. When the car is running hot I can see tiny bubbles in the radiator neck and in overflow reservoir. seems to me like leaking head gasket... I am doing a radiator pressure test this afternoon to see if I can spot any leaks in the cooling system. Since the overheat I have driven the car everyday for about a week and checked the water levels after each drive, seems like it is holding the water and no overheating, but again I am going to do a radiator pressure test to see what it comes back with. reason for this is I am not sure if coolant was filled correctly last service, and by driving it I should be able to tell if it overheated due to not enough water in the system.
my question is, what are my options here? A Subaru specialist advised me that once the turbo ej255 engine blows a head gasket, usually it indicates an engine swap. I don't really mind changing the headgasket if it will hold it's value, has anyone here been down the same road as me and changed the headgasket on the turbo ej255?
Is it possible to salvage an STI engine and drop it straight in or would that be more trouble than it's worth? Should I salvage a similar ej255 WRX engine and drop it in?
Just purchased the car for 12k so as you can imagine I'm devastated. Happy to spend 3 - 4k for longevity guarantee of the car. but swapping a wrecked engine looks like it would be a more reliable option - from what I have been told
Any advice on Head Gasket replacement on this model is appreciated.