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blown head gasket
I had my timing belt and water pump and thermostat replaced last July. Months later, I started to hear fluid sloshing. It sounded as if it was just in front of the steering wheel. It was most pronounced in the morning. I finally took my car back to the mechanic who replaced my water pump on the suspicion that it was part of the cooling system which they had worked on last. My coolant level was fine when I got the oil change six weeks prior to bringing it back to the mechanic. They looked at my car as part of the warranty, and claimed that they bled the system to remove the suspected air bubble. Ten days later, my car overheated and blew the head gasket. Now the mechanic said that the head gasket failed on it's own, that it is a common Subaru issue, and that they are not at fault. They want me to pay for a head gasket repair. But I think there was something that they either did or didn't do to the cooling system.
Does it make sense that a head gasket failed catastrophically 10 days after the car was in the shop for a cooling system concern?
If it was failing should it have been noticed at anytime that they had the car either for the timing belt or when I returned it because of the noise?
I had 2 oil changes and a serpentine belt replaced by other shops. No one mentioned any issue with the head gasket.
Does it make sense that a head gasket failed catastrophically 10 days after the car was in the shop for a cooling system concern?
If it was failing should it have been noticed at anytime that they had the car either for the timing belt or when I returned it because of the noise?
I had 2 oil changes and a serpentine belt replaced by other shops. No one mentioned any issue with the head gasket.
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Best Answers
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thecardoc3
Member Posts: 5,747
I have done a lot of those head gaskets. Even had a few cracked cylinder heads.5 -
Mr_Shiftright
Member Posts: 64,481
Well that's certainly the right model and right mileage for a typical Subaru head gasket failure.
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Answers
This is a tricky situation because even though it seems like they had a hand in the cooling system, they can claim that you allowed the car to overheat and assisted in causing the damage. Also the actual repairs (not the bleeding) were done some time ago.
It would be great if you two could work out a mutually beneficial "share" in the repair and resolve the issue that way. A lot of how you go with this depends on how much you have trusted them in the past.
Their claim is that the cooling system had no part in the overheating, and that the head gasket failed on it's own. And that caused the overheating.
I understand that head gaskets can fail, but I wonder if there is any warning sign before that happens.
Also, how likely is that the blown head gasket causes the overheating vs. the overheating causing the blown head gasket.
There is no temperature gauge in my Subaru, just an idiot light. It sucks.
What's the year, model and mileage on this Subaru?
I wonder if it’s a good idea to have a car that needs a head gasket replacement every 100k miles...this will be my last Subaru! 😡
Thanks again for your comments and insights