Maintenance & coolant leaks

10

Asked by Alexander Mar 20, 2018 at 07:10 PM about the 1999 Subaru Legacy 30th Anniversary Sedan AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 1999 legacy gt limited and im having some
real bad coolant leaks on the passenger side of the
car that is over the exhaust and now today it has
been worse then ever. What can it be please help.

7 Answers

360

Leaks on Passenger side? is the coolant/reservoir/watertank. located under the hood on passenger side?

360

sort of like this but not same color https://www.ebay.com/itm/ENGINE-COOLANT-RADIATOR-OVERFLOW-RESERVOIR-TANK-GOLD-IMPREZA-WRX-STI-LEGACY/121125518208?hash=item1c33a4bb80:g:L6YAAOSwh1haD0D6&vxp=mtr

360

also look at the radiator while car is running. look along the side where it looks like metal clamps down on plastic. like a spine on a book. do you see small waters leaking

1 people found this helpful.
10

The reservoir, coolant, and watertank are located on the driver side of the car

1 people found this helpful.
360

im sorry i do not know then. was thinking reservoir had crack under it

1 people found this helpful.
48,040

David, it's nice to see new blood on the forum, but PLEASE leave Subaru issues to the pro wrenches who are on board, so as to reduce noise and errant info. Thanks.

1 people found this helpful.
48,040

Alexander, your GT shares the same fragile first-gen DOHC 2.5i that Subaru used in the 1996-1999 era. These motors' heads are over-drilled and have all suffered catastrophic head gasket breaches. So the odds are overwhelming that you've blown the right side HG. Except: the symptoms of such are almost always overheating, first at speed, and eventually during all running. A simple bleeding head indicates more probably an atmospheric (rather than high pressure percolation) HG leak. Nonetheless, there is NO repair short of replacing both HGs to solve the problem. But DO NOTE that if the block has ever been overheated...either from a Mt Vesuvius-like event or chronic percolation...a pricey head gasket replacement ($1.5k) will NOT be successful longterm, as eventually the great majority of these early DOHC 2.5i then blew rods on the highway. So my suggestion is to back away from spending money on this old fragile motor. You CAN swap in a non-GT old 2.2i, but you'll be annoyed at its lack of power, oil leaks, and having to swap out the SCM and maybe exhaust and harness crap too. She's 19 years old: say goodbye.

Best Answer Mark helpful

Your Answer:

Legacy

Looking for a Used Legacy in your area?

CarGurus has 217 nationwide Legacy listings starting at $3,200.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    2,780
  • #2
    Anthony_60
    Reputation
    1,800
  • #3
    Tom Hawkins
    Reputation
    1,500
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Outback
43 Great Deals out of 1,128 listings starting at $2,995
Used Subaru Impreza
31 Great Deals out of 666 listings starting at $4,299
Used Toyota Camry
44 Great Deals out of 1,134 listings starting at $4,795
Used Honda Accord
57 Great Deals out of 961 listings starting at $2,995
Used Subaru Forester
39 Great Deals out of 1,353 listings starting at $3,995
Used Honda Civic
192 Great Deals out of 4,047 listings starting at $440
Used Subaru WRX
23 Great Deals out of 425 listings starting at $10,995
Used Toyota Corolla
138 Great Deals out of 2,314 listings starting at $103
Used Nissan Altima
25 Great Deals out of 676 listings starting at $3,795
Used Toyota RAV4
127 Great Deals out of 3,065 listings starting at $4,999
Used Toyota 4Runner
23 Great Deals out of 545 listings starting at $12,999

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.