If it's a head gasket leak can it be changed without pulling the motor?

Asked by Guru6Y4Y7 Mar 12, 2020 at 10:13 PM about the 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited 30th Anniversary Wagon AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

It overheats after a few minutes of driving. It can
sit and idle seemingly for as long as I want it to
without overheating.  I tried to bleed the air out of
the cooling system because I new that it was
recently serviced.  But the bubbling (more rapid
and larger bubbles than any video I've seen) never
stops. After a short drive a mile or so the top
radiator hose comes off the the radiator.  The top
hose is always hot as it should be and the bottom
is always cold. So I was hoping I just needed a new
thermostat.  Well I replaced that and then k get the
same problem of overheating after a short drive. Is
it definitely a head gasket leak and can the gaskets
be changed without pulling the engine??

3 Answers

Probably can be done with the engine in the car but not a good job.

1 people found this helpful.
101,335

You can confirm it is a head gasket with a BlockTester kit, since it's obviously affecting the coolant. A lot of motors these days are dropped from underneath along with the sub frame, rather than pulled from the top. But to do a big job like this the front of the motor needs to come apart as well as the heads, and to leave motor in your still taking apart practically the entire front clip to get to all that. Talk to a Subaru mechanic or a dedicated Subaru forum and see what's involved. I think most shops would prefer to leave motor in place for just head gaskets. Depends to on how much wear is on engine, piston blow by or worn bearings would necessitate a full rebuild anyhow.

1 people found this helpful.

To properly prep the surfaces you really should pull the engine. You also need to send out the heads to be inspected for crack and warp.

1 people found this helpful.

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