Symptoms of Headgasket Failures

So I'm running at almost 190k kilometres and I feel like my HG's are going to go out soon...

 

What are some common symptoms of the HG going to fail? I heard that the meter for the temperature goes very close to the top "H"

oil in the coolant overflow tank, and low oil level

Loss of heat through the vents. You get heat via hot coolant flowing near the vents. When the headgaskets leak, they can force air into the coolant lines, causing the coolant to spill out of the overflow tank.

no heat, coolant in the oil, coolant dripping onto the ground, overheating, burning of coolant (sweet smelling exhaust)...basically very bad things that shouldn't be happening ever haha. what'r your symptoms?

So far, luckily I still have heat. Sometimes too hot too haha...

 

Haven't been overheating I think, but during an average ride my temperature meter for the car sits just under the middle. My coolant in the resovoir is actually getting low so I should refill soon.

 

My main concern is with a continuous ticking noise I hear in the engine when my brakes are down or when the car is started. It is louder when the car is cold and softer when its warm but it doesn't tick when I accelerate...

If you're capable, and want to for peace of mind and experience, then by all means replace them. If not, just keep an eye out for the aforementioned symptoms. The motor killer will be ignoring these symptoms. If the coolant temp rises abnormally, pull over and shut'er down. Have the car towed to where it can be repaired.

 

The ticking could be an exhaust leak, valve noise or piston slap. I think every car of this vintage I've heard cold has had some form of piston slap.

Our GT Wagon now has 168,000 miles on it and we blew the head gasket a little while ago. I drive mostly short distances (about 10 mi to/from work) but the first symptom of the blown gasket I noticed was the coolant smell and coolant overflow tank being over full. As I investigated further, I noticed there was black residue in the coolant overflow tank. As the problem got worse over then next couple months, I had to move about a pint of coolant from the overflow tank back to the radiator every day or I would see the temp gauge spike and return to normal while I was sitting in traffic. Be careful to fill the radiator SLOWLY and get all the bubbles out since that extra air in the cooling system can also cause overheating. You might try squeezing the upper radiator hose a few times to push the bubbles toward the filler neck. If you drive short distances like I do, a blown gasket is manageable for a while. Sooner or later though, you will have do do something about the gasket. Since our car is in great shape otherwise (we are the original owners), we have decided to replace the engine with a fresh rebuild from CCR. Hopefully the rebuilt engine will arrive in the next week or so and we can keep the Subie on the road for another 12 years.

another sign of a bad head gasket is when you start up in the morning there is a brief cloud of white or grayish white smoke out of the exhaust. Essentially coolant that has made it's way into a cylinder(s) and then got vaporized.

it doesn't sound like a headgasket buddy, my car ticks like a bomb and it's got a 2.2...what I'm thinking is the valve lash is off. this spring I'm going to check it and probably adjust it, because when it's cold it drives me crazy. but like gathermewool said, you don't wanna put something off that could end up ruining your whole motor. if for any reason some of these symptoms appear, take it easy on the car, check with a mechanic, and DON'T GO ON A ROADTRIP! just don't drive a long distance, because if you overheat the car, you run the risk of warping the heads. that's not good

This is a good thread. I'm learning a lot because I'm still waiting for mine to go too. I'm afraid to drive my car very far from home because I don't want them to go when I'm 100 miles from home!

mine went a hundred miles from home. haha. it was a long day to say the least

UPDATE!

 

I took the car to a trusted mechanic whom is very very good with Subarus. He checked and double checked everything and said my engine and gaskets are running strong. The way he checked the gaskets was to look under the car and at the gaskets to see if there are any stains. He apparently said the stains is from it leaking and before your gaskets go it'll always have that.

exactly sounds like yours is gonna be fine for a little while at least. I'm no good with conversions, but I know 5 miles is 8km, so I'll ballpark you're at a little over 100k in miles. I've seen gaskets go anywhere between 110k and 200k (some last longer), and as long as you don't beat your car up you can make them last for a long time.

my friend has an outback that has like 70k (miles on it) and his headgaskets are going already!

I think mine are still good. My car doesn't leak anything at all. Yeah I know some people that had their headgaskets in their Outbacks go at around 50K to 60K. That's insane!

Headgasket on my 97 LGT went at 135 k . My brothers 98 LGT went out at around 90 k. Both of us had temp spikes and that dreaded smell.

exactly sounds like yours is gonna be fine for a little while at least. I'm no good with conversions, but I know 5 miles is 8km, so I'll ballpark you're at a little over 100k in miles. I've seen gaskets go anywhere between 110k and 200k (some last longer), and as long as you don't beat your car up you can make them last for a long time.

 

 

190 000 kilometers = 118 060.527 miles