I was just doing the routine fluid checks, looked in the coolant reservior and thought "anti freeze isn't black"

So my initial idea is head gasket failure but sump oil doesn't appear to have water in it.......yet!

Question for the experts:- is there anything else that can cause oil to appear in the coolant? (please spare me the comedy ideas).


If the head gaskets need replacing can anyone give me a ball park idea of how much that would cost to have done at a reputable garage?

BTW - It is a 2006 2.5 WRX with about 40K on the clock and always serviced at Subaru dealership.

Cheers All,

AJS

 

water in your will emulsify, do you have any creamy gunge round any of the caps, dipstick etc?

 

No evidence of creamy stuff. And the oil in the water doesn't appear to have emulsified yet.

Cheers,

AJS

 

Have a sniffer test and compression test carrried out mate. To get the HG done will set you back £1k+

 

water cooled oil coolers can leack between the two and cause this mate dont know if scoobs are known to do this

 

I Know what's involved with a comp test but what is a sniffer test? Not heard of that.

Also - £1k for HG replacement, I guess the HGs cost about £100 and there are some consumables too. I know it's an engine out job but £900 for labour??


Thanks for that, but I'm pretty sure my scoob doesn't have a watercooled oil cooler, Can anyone confirm that?

Cheers,

AJS

 

Machining costs, water pump, rocker gaskets, headstuds the list goes on if you want to do it properly 1k doesnt go far.....

ant

 

All scoobs have water cooled oil coolers, but never seen/heard of one leaking before.

 

2.5,s are notorious for early head gasket failures.

If your catching it early now and your car doesnt or hasnt had any overheating at all you may get away with machineing costs.

Cosworth 0.78mm gaskets about £130
Cosworth high tensile studs 260,000psi area £340
RockerGasket set Subaru incl washers £65
Thermostat subaru £20
Oil/Filter/Coolant £95
Labour area £700.

That would be average scooby specialist prices.

 

The sniffer test will detect gases in your coolant system and will confirm HG failure, some times they can be difficult to detect when it's only a small leak or if the heads only lift under heavy acceleration, a little spirited drive before testing for gases will combat this

 

The car has been trouble free for 5 years (apart from Brakes & Tyres ) so I have been one of those "my Jap car is SO reliable" dudes.......until now!


Thanks everyone for the tech info, looks like I have a few phonecalls to make tomorrow.

Also - Anyone got any reports about http://www.silverstoneautosport.co.uk/subaru.html ?

They aren't that far from me so possible candidates for fixing it.


Cheers,

AJS

 

yep headgasket failure, I guess is its gone on cylinders 1 & 3 right at the base.

Rough cost if the heads dont need any machining work after they have been cleaned is around £1700

 

Thanks to everyone for their comments. They were much appreciated and helped me make an informed decision about what to do.
I phoned around for some prices to replace the head gaskets (won't bore you with all the details) and ended up having EngineMapper do the work:-

Highest price - Suraru dealer £1600+VAT inc H/Gs, RC/Gs,fluids & filter.

Best Price - http://www.enginemapper.co.uk/ £740 inc:-

Labour
Head Skim
Cosworth H/Gs
RC/Gs
New head bolts
Graham Goode Racing cambelt (would have needed changing this year anyway)
Fluids & oil filter


I also bought these separately and they were fitted at same time:-
Walbro fuel pump & Iridium plugs from JP4mance
K&N panel filter from Deamon Tweeks.

Whilst the engine was out I decided to also have fitted an Exedy Clutch & lightweight flywheel From Aztec

To finish it off the EngineMapper did a remap (£225) and it's now pushing 265bhp but there's more to be had, however, there is a bit of clutch slip so I need to make sure that it is properly bedded in and adjusted before squeezing any more out of it. The only other mod is a Racebox rear box + afterburner middle (with silencer), they were already fitted.


So, Credit to Graham at Engine Mapper for doing the work at a good price and to a very professional standard, highly recommended!!


Cheers All

AJS

 

Get a sniff test and pressure test done, sniff test will show up any combustion gasses in the water.