Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Fri 25 Feb 2005 09:46
Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure - Robert B
My 1998 Subaru Legacy (2.5lt quad-cam) has just been diagnosed with head-gasket failure and piston slap after only 60k - has any one else heard of this happening to what is supposed to be a very reliable car?

This is looking to be rather expensive to sort out, and I do see that this is a known problem with this size engine (not sure if it is the same engine) in the US where the warranty for this type of failure has been extended.

My concern is that if this is a design fault - will it happen again?
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Fri 25 Feb 2005 15:14
Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure - Stargazer {P}
Robert,

The 2.5l flat four comes in several different guises depending on the market and age. MY99 models had a single cam per side in Oz which superceded the twincam/side version. Dont assume same age means same engine even with the same capacity when comparing different markets.

Also, I think UK and US subarus are made in the US, Oz cars were made in Japan.

I have read that the engines are known to have issues with oilways sludging up and regular oil changes are mandatory but I have not heard of many early HGF on subarus.

StarGazer
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 14:24
Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure - Robert B
StarGazer,

Many thanks for the input. Working on the basis that this mileage is average and the car has been meticulously serviced, for its year this does seem to be very unusual. I have rung International Motors UK who (not surprisingly) denied any design problems or known issues with the engine. I have subsequently been told I have piston slap - I think it is time to write a letter to International Motors as this does seem to be substandard for a car that is supposed to be at the top of the reliability tables!

Cheers

Robert
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 19:31
Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure - adverse camber
dont expect any joy. The SVX had gearboxes that failed all the time (One dealer told me that they had never come across an svx with >100K miles on an original box, and failures were common from as low as 40K).

admit the problem ? Recall ? No chance. The reason I will never buy another Subaru.
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 20:15
Subaru Legacy 2.5 Head Gasket Failure - Aprilia
I think there is a known problem with piston slap on some Subaru engines of this vintage. It is not 'fatal' though and can probably be left alone.

The HGF is an odd one though - they are not really known for this.
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