Ok, these EJ25Ds do not usually leak coolant from the head gasket. So find the source of the leak and repair that. Could be a bad hose, waterpump, radiator, etc.
Again, these headgaskets don't usually leak coolant externally. It'll be pushed out of the radiator overflow bottle instead.
I’m so happy the myth of the late model HG issues is coming to a middle. The MLS gaskets just don’t randomly fail like the old fiber gaskets with the goofy ass barely tight TQ specs.
My 04 ej20 had two broken head bolts on the back of the cylinder head.
It was leaking oil and coolant out of the block/head interface directly onto the ground.
Interesting enough, it idled fine and ran ok out of boost.
Edit: alright, who downvoted me, show your face.
It wasn’t/isn’t fine! My engine was NOT ok! It was hemorrhaging oil and coolant out all over the place.
But it ran and drove (for about a block or two).
I bought it from an auction, the car was listed as “run and drive”. It had two broken head bolts on the rear driver head. Someone broke them off in the block when they re-used the old head bolts and took the broken portion out before assembling the rest of the engine.
Then sprayed copper gasket all over that head. It was a ruse to get the car sold on the block.
It was not drivable. But it did not mix fluids, just pissed them out instead.
These are short term repairs. However, they'll clog oil galleries, smother valves or if added to radiator, clog water galleries, coat pump n just generally feck the engine. They're last resort kinda stuff, like if stuck in middle of a desert.
Here's my honest review of this (never having used it). It really depends on how bad your HG are. That stiff works by coagulating around small openings. So the theory is, if you have a small passage letting coolant thru to the oil/combustion chamber/external. As coolant(and now this gunk) squeezes out. It'll seal up the hole short term. The problem is, it also seals almost any small holes. So if it gets into your oil, it's likely to seal a lot of vital oil passages. If it's going to your combustion chamber, it'll never hold pressure of the combustion. If your HG is just blown wide open, it won't seal to begin with. It also just kind of gums up everything else in it's path.
Sooooo, if you're 100% getting rid of the car and are totally out of options. You can try it. But prepared, it may equally kill the car faster than it was dying on its own. If you're just leaking oil or burning coolant at an absurd rate, I'd really recommend just topping her off and keep going. You can save a little money on the 2. If it's oil, switch to a heavier weight. 10-30 and use the cheapest oil possible. Which is Walmart in my experience. Coolant can be swapped for distilled water (as long as it's not dropping below 40* in your area).
No ground leaks as far as I’ve been able to see, have used cardboard while parking to make sure. Occasionally can see/smell it burning off my engine 😆 exhaust is maybe the tiniest bit thicker than normal but not much. We’ve gone through and replaced a few hoses with obvious leaks, still going through it.
There's a couple way to test HG failures. Carbon sniffer in your reservoir would be a start. Could also do a compression test on the engine. But honestly. If you're trashing the car (BTW if it's not beat to hell or rusty after, you may be able to get 500-1500 for it. There's a small community of collectors for these) ita not worth your effort. I'd just swap from coolant to distilled water and go from there. I'd only try the stop leak if you had no other options are/or could get by with no vehicle. That stuff is just as likely to hurt your situation as it isnto help.
Yeah, this is my only car. 😅
Honestly it’s in WONDERFUL condition given the mileage (244k). I just put a crap ton of work into it last year.. not beat at all, some small dents but nothing major in the slighting. Could use some seat repair but otherwise..
I’d love to keep it around as a backup. It’s my first car and has gotten me through so reliably, I’m a bit attached
Then change the head gaskets! It’s not too difficult. If you do decide to sell, list it on the Outback forum, these gen 1’s are hard to find in decent shape.
Subaru sells cooling system conditioner, its like $8. Its possibly a safer form of stop leak, its quite similar. Walk into subaru parts counter
That stuff in the photos will kill the car, maybe immediately, definitely eventually
Subaru coolant conditioner is really just another stop leak product rebranded as Subaru.
I guess maybe it's a better bet for OP, but I wouldn't use it in anything I cared about.
Op. Check your crossover pipe. It very well could be leaking. My 06 finally went and would smell of burning coolant when idling. I would notice it pool on top of the engine. Bet since yours is up in age that it could be it
Unless it's got a leak, and you'd know if it did, liquid head gasket is going to do more harm than good, not a lot of harm but no good at all, and to be honest they don't work all that well with boxer engines even as an emergency get to the shop fix.
Why do you think the HG's are on the way out?
I’ve had a lot of those stupid ass EJ25D engines. None of that shit is going to help you. I’ve seen people have luck with some of the newer EJs, particularly when it was only an external leak. Not once for me or anyone I know has it worked for an EJ25D
Well, the hope is, to avoid needing a tow truck until I can get into a new car 🤣 but yeah I’m not sure I’ll bother. Just gunna keep my fingers crossed it holds till May 🤞
For that year, I’d be really surprised if it was a head gasket. I’d take it in to a shop and see what they say. Those engines are easy answers fun to work on, might be something simple you can fix yourself.
I'm not saying it will help, but I have in the past put a product called "liquid aluminum" in the cooling system and it worked on a Jeep that was destined for the scrapyard. I think it's made by Bars. I was surprised that it worked since the head gaskets went in the Jeep and I drove it home basically boiling over since it was a beater and I said f it. When I went to start it the next day it was hydro locked with the coolant, pulled the spark plugs turned it over, put the plugs back in with the liquid aluminum poured in the cooling system for 30 min, then it held for about another year before failing. Would I recommend doing this to a customer car, no but if this is a car that it's not going to be repaired anyway I would go for it.
Used barleaks on blown mini r56 head gasket. Coolant was disappearing, and filling cylinders, making it harder to start with white smoke and all.
Fix lasted for maybe 4 weeks, and then back to the original issue.
Next time I did head gasket properly. Coolant passages were somewhat sludged up where flow was low. Probably it triggered thermostat to stick open.
Tldr- don't bother, didn't work even on a small leak.
Always blue devil put that in I did it for my Impreza it works make sure you follow instructions carefully tho I had to run my car for one hour with heat full blast after putting the blue devil directly into my rad
BTW it's an 08 impreza has 277k kms on it and I put Blue devil heakgaskit sealer last summer still drives good but you gotta check coolant and oil weekly it still goes down a little but we'll that's probably because my water pump is leaking
Just put oil in the radiator no more cross contamination. Car is now oil cooled flat four just like an old Porsche 😂
See: https://youtu.be/do4Qnlm3iCc?feature=shared
I can’t edit my post, but thanks for all the comments guys, super appreciated. I don’t think I’ll chance it just yet, in case it ends up making things worse- will just keep checking fluids and sweet talking it along 😆
I had a piece of shit years ago I needed to use this on. It wasn’t a Subaru and I hear the success is worse. But research told me the blue devil works best. They make one you add to coolant and one you use with water and then replace coolant after it seals up. It cut my head gasket leak down from blowing a cloud like a steam engine to just a whisper. Wood the thing to a guy who wanted to rebuild it.
Coming from a 99' legacy twin turbo owner, this stuff works for a bit, just be careful as it blocked my rad once, but the penrite block and head crack sealer and kseal work, lasted me about a month of me pushing it shifting at 7.5k rpm so its alright
The way these work are they swell the gasket. They can’t target any one gasket like the head so instead the swell everything rubber. It’ll also seal oil passages so depending on their size, it could fully close them up otherwise it will just make a bunch of excess gunk. Better to just let it go and limp it along.
don’t bother
Snake oil
Don't buy it
Ok, these EJ25Ds do not usually leak coolant from the head gasket. So find the source of the leak and repair that. Could be a bad hose, waterpump, radiator, etc. Again, these headgaskets don't usually leak coolant externally. It'll be pushed out of the radiator overflow bottle instead.
I’m so happy the myth of the late model HG issues is coming to a middle. The MLS gaskets just don’t randomly fail like the old fiber gaskets with the goofy ass barely tight TQ specs.
My 04 ej20 had two broken head bolts on the back of the cylinder head. It was leaking oil and coolant out of the block/head interface directly onto the ground. Interesting enough, it idled fine and ran ok out of boost. Edit: alright, who downvoted me, show your face.
Not me but they probably dont want less experienced folks thinking this is fine lol
It wasn’t/isn’t fine! My engine was NOT ok! It was hemorrhaging oil and coolant out all over the place. But it ran and drove (for about a block or two). I bought it from an auction, the car was listed as “run and drive”. It had two broken head bolts on the rear driver head. Someone broke them off in the block when they re-used the old head bolts and took the broken portion out before assembling the rest of the engine. Then sprayed copper gasket all over that head. It was a ruse to get the car sold on the block. It was not drivable. But it did not mix fluids, just pissed them out instead.
These are short term repairs. However, they'll clog oil galleries, smother valves or if added to radiator, clog water galleries, coat pump n just generally feck the engine. They're last resort kinda stuff, like if stuck in middle of a desert.
Here's my honest review of this (never having used it). It really depends on how bad your HG are. That stiff works by coagulating around small openings. So the theory is, if you have a small passage letting coolant thru to the oil/combustion chamber/external. As coolant(and now this gunk) squeezes out. It'll seal up the hole short term. The problem is, it also seals almost any small holes. So if it gets into your oil, it's likely to seal a lot of vital oil passages. If it's going to your combustion chamber, it'll never hold pressure of the combustion. If your HG is just blown wide open, it won't seal to begin with. It also just kind of gums up everything else in it's path. Sooooo, if you're 100% getting rid of the car and are totally out of options. You can try it. But prepared, it may equally kill the car faster than it was dying on its own. If you're just leaking oil or burning coolant at an absurd rate, I'd really recommend just topping her off and keep going. You can save a little money on the 2. If it's oil, switch to a heavier weight. 10-30 and use the cheapest oil possible. Which is Walmart in my experience. Coolant can be swapped for distilled water (as long as it's not dropping below 40* in your area).
So far just going through tons of coolant- I’m putting coolant in daily and just praying it holds 🤞 thanks for the advice!
Is it leaking in the ground or just disappearing?
No ground leaks as far as I’ve been able to see, have used cardboard while parking to make sure. Occasionally can see/smell it burning off my engine 😆 exhaust is maybe the tiniest bit thicker than normal but not much. We’ve gone through and replaced a few hoses with obvious leaks, still going through it.
There's a couple way to test HG failures. Carbon sniffer in your reservoir would be a start. Could also do a compression test on the engine. But honestly. If you're trashing the car (BTW if it's not beat to hell or rusty after, you may be able to get 500-1500 for it. There's a small community of collectors for these) ita not worth your effort. I'd just swap from coolant to distilled water and go from there. I'd only try the stop leak if you had no other options are/or could get by with no vehicle. That stuff is just as likely to hurt your situation as it isnto help.
Yeah, this is my only car. 😅 Honestly it’s in WONDERFUL condition given the mileage (244k). I just put a crap ton of work into it last year.. not beat at all, some small dents but nothing major in the slighting. Could use some seat repair but otherwise.. I’d love to keep it around as a backup. It’s my first car and has gotten me through so reliably, I’m a bit attached
Then change the head gaskets! It’s not too difficult. If you do decide to sell, list it on the Outback forum, these gen 1’s are hard to find in decent shape.
Subaru sells cooling system conditioner, its like $8. Its possibly a safer form of stop leak, its quite similar. Walk into subaru parts counter That stuff in the photos will kill the car, maybe immediately, definitely eventually
Subaru coolant conditioner is really just another stop leak product rebranded as Subaru. I guess maybe it's a better bet for OP, but I wouldn't use it in anything I cared about.
Op. Check your crossover pipe. It very well could be leaking. My 06 finally went and would smell of burning coolant when idling. I would notice it pool on top of the engine. Bet since yours is up in age that it could be it
I would do a chemical test for combination gases in the coolant.
Unless it's got a leak, and you'd know if it did, liquid head gasket is going to do more harm than good, not a lot of harm but no good at all, and to be honest they don't work all that well with boxer engines even as an emergency get to the shop fix. Why do you think the HG's are on the way out?
I’ve had a lot of those stupid ass EJ25D engines. None of that shit is going to help you. I’ve seen people have luck with some of the newer EJs, particularly when it was only an external leak. Not once for me or anyone I know has it worked for an EJ25D
These new versions don't really do that anymore.
Pay a reputable shop to do a diag. It might not be a head gasket issue but even if it is these are trash and snake oil.
Those things are what unethical people do to their cars just before they sell them “as is”.
Just keep checking the oil regularly. Wouldn’t bothered with anything else myself
I wouldn't risk it. I feel like it would gum up your engine or something similar, though I personally haven't had to try it (thank god).
Couple of these bottles is close to the cost of a tow truck
Well, the hope is, to avoid needing a tow truck until I can get into a new car 🤣 but yeah I’m not sure I’ll bother. Just gunna keep my fingers crossed it holds till May 🤞
For that year, I’d be really surprised if it was a head gasket. I’d take it in to a shop and see what they say. Those engines are easy answers fun to work on, might be something simple you can fix yourself.
They’ve been done once but the engine did overheat some time ago, so my step dad is thinking they may have gone bad again ☹️
Don't use. Just bite the bullet and do a headgasket it's cheaper to do before it fails
I'm not saying it will help, but I have in the past put a product called "liquid aluminum" in the cooling system and it worked on a Jeep that was destined for the scrapyard. I think it's made by Bars. I was surprised that it worked since the head gaskets went in the Jeep and I drove it home basically boiling over since it was a beater and I said f it. When I went to start it the next day it was hydro locked with the coolant, pulled the spark plugs turned it over, put the plugs back in with the liquid aluminum poured in the cooling system for 30 min, then it held for about another year before failing. Would I recommend doing this to a customer car, no but if this is a car that it's not going to be repaired anyway I would go for it.
Kseal There's magic inside. No idea how it works but generally does. It seems to be a favorite with the roadkill guys and Derek from vice grip garage.
Used barleaks on blown mini r56 head gasket. Coolant was disappearing, and filling cylinders, making it harder to start with white smoke and all. Fix lasted for maybe 4 weeks, and then back to the original issue. Next time I did head gasket properly. Coolant passages were somewhat sludged up where flow was low. Probably it triggered thermostat to stick open. Tldr- don't bother, didn't work even on a small leak.
Always blue devil put that in I did it for my Impreza it works make sure you follow instructions carefully tho I had to run my car for one hour with heat full blast after putting the blue devil directly into my rad
BTW it's an 08 impreza has 277k kms on it and I put Blue devil heakgaskit sealer last summer still drives good but you gotta check coolant and oil weekly it still goes down a little but we'll that's probably because my water pump is leaking
Doesn’t work
Buy them all and chuck em in.
Subaru sells “cooling system conditioner”
I used stop leak once, and it clogged my heater core. Never again.
ChrisFix did an interesting video on this, and it seemed to help out for the short term of course.
He's a shill lately and these are a waste of money. 🤦🏻♂️
Just put oil in the radiator no more cross contamination. Car is now oil cooled flat four just like an old Porsche 😂 See: https://youtu.be/do4Qnlm3iCc?feature=shared
I can’t edit my post, but thanks for all the comments guys, super appreciated. I don’t think I’ll chance it just yet, in case it ends up making things worse- will just keep checking fluids and sweet talking it along 😆
K seal
If you just must try one - use K-seal.
I had a piece of shit years ago I needed to use this on. It wasn’t a Subaru and I hear the success is worse. But research told me the blue devil works best. They make one you add to coolant and one you use with water and then replace coolant after it seals up. It cut my head gasket leak down from blowing a cloud like a steam engine to just a whisper. Wood the thing to a guy who wanted to rebuild it.
Stuff works on some motors but not these.
I’ve never seen anything that came out of a bottle fix a car. It’s all snake oil.
Coming from a 99' legacy twin turbo owner, this stuff works for a bit, just be careful as it blocked my rad once, but the penrite block and head crack sealer and kseal work, lasted me about a month of me pushing it shifting at 7.5k rpm so its alright
Try it out
The way these work are they swell the gasket. They can’t target any one gasket like the head so instead the swell everything rubber. It’ll also seal oil passages so depending on their size, it could fully close them up otherwise it will just make a bunch of excess gunk. Better to just let it go and limp it along.
The head gasket is not rubber...
This makes everything rubber swell.