Car: Forester 2001 L, auto.
Bought new in Oregon, 2001. Shortly afterwards I got the letter from Subaru indicating the head gasket issues, and took it in for their miracle treatment. For the next few years the car always had a tendency to run warm on hills, etc, and I suspected their treatment had clogged part of the rad. Replaced the rad in 2006 and it's been running fine since then. It has about 160K on it now. I don't do my own auto work any more.
Just this past week it ran hot suddenly and I found that I was low on coolant. I hadn't been checking inside the rad because the overflow reservoir showed normal levels. My bad I guess. When I topped it with water (no coolant available), it is running fine and no apparent loss of fluid level in ~120 miles.
My local mechanic is convinced that based on the model year and age, the coolant loss is due to a head gasket leak. I should mention that about 4 months ago I replaced the Cat on it, as I got frequent CE 420 codes. So I guess a coolant leak could have fried the Cat, although I wasn't aware of a leak until just now. He is more eager to tackle a HG issue than I am.
So, my Q's.
What kind of test(s) should I insist on before believing I have a HG issue? Is the Bloc-test product (blue fluid turns yellow) dependable and easy enough for a fairly savvy consumer? This is something I may wish to do myself, as a "second opinion".
Is the world of coolant additives still the land of snake-oil and crap that it was many years ago? I see some new products out there that each claim to be the only one that really works to seal coolant leaks. Like Steel Seal - at least it claims to have no precipitates. Any firsthand experiences? Are any of them worth trying unless you have an obvious head crack and billowing white smoke?
In the case that I do need a HG and decide to get it done (50/50 if it comes to that), what is a reasonable price and product to get for a HG kit? I know it varies widely based on how many gaskets are required - does a normal replacement job do them all?
Same question as above, but for time/labor. I think my mechanic is a swell guy, but he also knows I haven't been shopping around, so I want to ensure his rates are still competitive.
Thanks for any help
Bought new in Oregon, 2001. Shortly afterwards I got the letter from Subaru indicating the head gasket issues, and took it in for their miracle treatment. For the next few years the car always had a tendency to run warm on hills, etc, and I suspected their treatment had clogged part of the rad. Replaced the rad in 2006 and it's been running fine since then. It has about 160K on it now. I don't do my own auto work any more.
Just this past week it ran hot suddenly and I found that I was low on coolant. I hadn't been checking inside the rad because the overflow reservoir showed normal levels. My bad I guess. When I topped it with water (no coolant available), it is running fine and no apparent loss of fluid level in ~120 miles.
My local mechanic is convinced that based on the model year and age, the coolant loss is due to a head gasket leak. I should mention that about 4 months ago I replaced the Cat on it, as I got frequent CE 420 codes. So I guess a coolant leak could have fried the Cat, although I wasn't aware of a leak until just now. He is more eager to tackle a HG issue than I am.
So, my Q's.
What kind of test(s) should I insist on before believing I have a HG issue? Is the Bloc-test product (blue fluid turns yellow) dependable and easy enough for a fairly savvy consumer? This is something I may wish to do myself, as a "second opinion".
Is the world of coolant additives still the land of snake-oil and crap that it was many years ago? I see some new products out there that each claim to be the only one that really works to seal coolant leaks. Like Steel Seal - at least it claims to have no precipitates. Any firsthand experiences? Are any of them worth trying unless you have an obvious head crack and billowing white smoke?
In the case that I do need a HG and decide to get it done (50/50 if it comes to that), what is a reasonable price and product to get for a HG kit? I know it varies widely based on how many gaskets are required - does a normal replacement job do them all?
Same question as above, but for time/labor. I think my mechanic is a swell guy, but he also knows I haven't been shopping around, so I want to ensure his rates are still competitive.
Thanks for any help