Stev

On carrying out a routine check on the coolant level in the overflow tank of my my94 Impreza turbo tonight I noticed that there was soft brown gunge around the top edges of the bottle. My immediate thought was head gasket failure so I then checked the aluminium radiator tank and the Oil cap/dipstick. Both the tank and the coolant in it seem fine, as does the oil cap and the oil on the dipstick.

The car is running fine and does not have any cooling, or heating
problems at the moment. The coolant level was OK, but I am concerned about the gunge in the overflow tank. It does look like the substance created when oil and water has mixed, but the oil and coolant in the aluminium tank both look ok.

Is this a sure sign of head gasket failure, or is there anything else that could have caused this?

I have had the car for 5 years with few problems, but reckon I could be looking at a big bill in the near future.

RON

I wouldn't start worrying just yet, the brown in the 'level' tank is not a sure sign of anything, just leep an eye on it, but don't get paranoid!!!

Stev

Thanks for the reply Ron. I will keep an eye on it.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

When was the last time you had the coolant flushed?
Its not too expensive and will give you a better sign of whats happening if it is the head gasket, the brown stuff could just be from a build up of sludge in your cooling system

Tony

Leviathan

Agree with Tony
I noticed this on mine,(now sold) its just general $h!t that builds up over time and nothing to worry about.
If it was, you would see more of a mayonase type gunge in the header tank.

Stev

Thanks for the replies guys. My pal who is a mechanic has had a look at it and as the coolant in the header tank looks fine,as
does the oil agrees with you guys.

As for when was the coolant was last changed. The car has always been serviced at the correct intervals by a Subaru dealer. The last service in January was a 30k service. I guess that is no guarantee that the coolant was changed when it should have been though, as my pal who does the MOT's changed the brake discs shortly after the last service and he said the the brake fluid was really low. He was not impressed by this and although I have never had any problems with Subaru dealers he questioned what the dealers are doing for their money.

I will arrange for the coolant to be flushed and will keep an eye on it .

submannz

If you had a gasket problem you would see continuous bubbles in the tank