Subaru head gasket issues. (vs. Porsche)

In reply to docwyte :

doc is right.  Porsche has it’s share of problems too, and class action lawsuits too.  One thing they do right is support their old designs with parts by calling then classics.  The 996 is now a Porsche classic and Porsche is making / remanufacturing short and long blocks.  

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Man it’s been a long day!  You’re right of course,  thanks for the correction without poking too much fun at me.

I guess I can mention my 996 has never had a head gasket issue,  and it actually has them,  but it does currently have a blown engine and due to the miles,  230k plus,  just isn’t worth fixing.

Cotton said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Man it’s been a long day!  You’re right of course,  thanks for the correction without poking too much fun at me.

I guess I can mention my 996 has never had a head gasket issue,  and it actually has them,  but it does currently have a blown engine and due to the miles,  230k plus,  just isn’t worth fixing.

So... what are your plans for the carcass? I got... $34 bucks in my wallet.

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

I’m still hoping I’ll stumble across a reasonably priced used engine,  but parting it out is much more likely.

How do the EZ H6s stack up in terms of oil leaks and other problems? One would think that each succeeding generation of a given engine would have fewer issues? 

I've owned 4 subarus, not a fanboy, but they do make a great daily driver with some offroad capability.  2 of those cars were purchased for under $400 with head gasket issues.

The first (EJ25 SOHC) had an external coolant leak. a bottle of coolant conditioner (subaru stop leak) and it was good for 30k miles before I had to do the head gasket job.

The 2nd (EJ25 DOHC) had an internal HG leak, that would overheat the car and spew coolant out the reservoir.  6 hrs and $100 later for a head gasket job and I've got another serviceable car.  

It seems like you could make a really good living solely by flipping Subarus after a simple Head Gasket job.

ProDarwin said:

DirtyBird222 said:

ProDarwin said:

I haven't heard of HG issues on the turbo motors.

Nope they just have ringland failures and oil consumption issues. Don't forget throwout bearings failing at 10k miles on 2015+ WRXs either. Or plastic turbo intake tubes being faulty (recall issued however). 

2.0s don't have any of those issues

Oh they don't? Tell that to the 2016 WRX I owned. 

Cotton said:

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

I’m still hoping I’ll stumble across a reasonably priced used engine,  but parting it out is much more likely.

I've seen some interesting swaps on 996s. LS1s, K20s, the aforementioned Subaru powerplants in this thread. 

I have no Porsche experience but two Subaru data points. 

1992 SVX 3.3l EG33 (DOHC) but with 28k in 1995 lost HG in 2002 with 128k.  I replaced them with OEM gaskets myself then drove the car on and off for the the next 13 years and 25k miles with no further issues.

2007 Legacy GT specB 2.5 turbo. We were first owners and we sold the car in 2015 with 143k.  No HG issues. 

2002maniac said:

It seems like you could make a really good living solely by flipping Subarus after a simple Head Gasket job.

My local Subaguru works for an independent car lot that sells ONLY Subarus. They put HG's on every single car they buy before it gets sold. He probably pulls and installs an engine every day over there.

ETA:  they only sell 2.5 engine cars. No turbos and no new 2.0 oil burners.

gunner said:

ProDarwin said:

I thought it was basically the design of the engine block/case.  The n/a models with the HG issues have an open deck and I thought the block was not rigid enough?

So turbo models like my XT should not have an issue?

Speaking personally, the only Subaru head gaskets that I have seen leak in the mixing oil and coolant way were turbo.

All of the nonturbo engines I've done head gaskets on were leaking oil externally at a high rate.  The whole bottom of the deck is the oil return, and I guess it isn't supported well enough for its thin width and it eventually starts heaving.

If watercooled Porsches are dry sump like the aircooled ones were, they might not even have oil passages in the deck since the dry sump would take care of pressure and return.

In reply to Cotton :

I may have to start looking to see how much these things go for.

 

In reply to Knurled. :

Well that's not reassuring. I have rented the test unit and bought the fluid to test the hg through the coolant. It passed just fine so far, but with only 42000 miles I was expecting so. Ill keep an eye on it though. Thanks for the info. 

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

If they stay reasonable for another couple of years I’m getting one.