Head/Gasket leak among many other things...

I'm Looking for opinions and best options, for my 2006 Subaru Legacy.

 

My questions are...

 

Am I better off finding a mom and pop shop to have this work done?

 

Is this worth the repair, vs the cost of the car (5500k)?

 

Is this quote reasonable?

 

Complete the work and get another 100k+ out of the car?

 

Subaru Legacy 2006. 122k miles

 

Problems:

 

Perform transmission fluid exchange service (found transmission fluid excessively contaminated/burnt)

Cost: $160.00

 

Replace oil pan gasket (found engine Oil leak)

Cost: $234.88

 

Replace Head Gaskets (Oil leak and coolant seep from head gasket

Cost: $1,900.00

 

Total: $2,294.00

 

Other non crucial right away problems:

 

Replace both fronts struts (found shock strut leaking)

Cost: $670.00

 

Any thoughts/opinions are appreciated!

The pricing doesn't seem out of line to me, but always worth finding a local independent with Subaru experience to quote the jobs.

 

Even at those prices its cheaper than 5 car payments I reckon.

There ok for a shop I guess. Try and find a side job mechanic you trust though. There is much cheaper options out there. $234.88 seems like a lot for re sealing the oil pan when the motor is out of the car for headgaskets.

Strut price quote is outrageous the struts is $63 new OEM/KYB from Amazon time to replace is 1 h per side. HG replacement is within the upper range of other quoted jobs but still high. I would get a second quote and see where you fall price wise. Mind you that heads are done with the engine in the car, however since you have a oil pan gasket leak they may me factoring in taking it out to replace everything.

 

Oil pan is a PITA only b/c the 3 bolts along the back edge that are covered up by the crossmember you need to jack the engine and use a u-joint extension.

that is incorrect. For the the head gaskets to be done properly, the engine should be removed from the car. When the job is done properly, they usually don't need to ever be done again.

 

Subaru dealerships do the head gaskets with the engine in the car, and 40,000 miles later they need to be done again.

 

Considering that a good local repair shop will do the job the right way (pulling the engine), for less than any Subaru dealership that will do the job the wrong way (not pulling the engine), it's a no brainer. Any local repair shop that tells you that it's fine to leave the engine in the car to do the head gaskets, get back in your car and go someplace else.

 

 

Mind you that heads are done with the engine in the car.

Appreciate all the reply's. I'm still searching for a local small shop in the area.

 

I had asked a friend of a friend about these issues, and the mechanic mentioned that if I'm having these kinds of things fixed, that that engine will most likely have some serious problems down the road.

 

To make matters worse, this legacy just got hail damage all over the body of the car, which will result in another $500.00 to repair.

 

At this point I'm considering just getting a new Subaru legacy..

 

Thanks again for the responses.

Appreciate all the reply's. I'm still searching for a local small shop in the area.

 

I had asked a friend of a friend about these issues, and the mechanic mentioned that if I'm having these kinds of things fixed, that that engine will most likely have some serious problems down the road.

To make matters worse, this legacy just got hail damage all over the body of the car, which will result in another $500.00 to repair.

 

At this point I'm considering just getting a new Subaru legacy..

 

Thanks again for the responses.

 

Well, your friend doesn't know that much about Subaru engines. The head gaskets have been a sore spot on the EJ25s since they first launched with the EJ25D. The turbos have mostly missed out on the head gasket issues.

 

Since your car has 122k on it, someone should have done the timing belt about 15-20K ago, so you should check for that service record. If not, you are overdue. Most places will do all those parts on the front of the engine when they do the head gaskets since it all has to come off to get the heads out. Once that is done right, you should be good for another 105k on the timing belt and never need to worry about the head gasket again.

1000's of HG jobs are done on Subarus with the engine in the car. The point of engine removal is to ensure the best environment for inspecting the two critical machined surfaces: the deck and the head. The method used depends on the nature of the failure, if preventative engine stays in if it has overheated constantly and/or pressurized the coolant you probably are going to need some things decked

The fact that some places do the job repeatedly with the engine in the car, doesn't mean that's the right way to do it. The fact that you think doing the job the wrong way "1000's" of times, only proves that you don't know what you're talking about and you're giving bad/ignorant advice.

 

Case in point...

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-repair

 

 

 

1000's of HG jobs are done on Subarus with the engine in the car. The point of engine removal is to ensure the best environment for inspecting the two critical machined surfaces: the deck and the head. The method used depends on the nature of the failure, if preventative engine stays in if it has overheated constantly and/or pressurized the coolant you probably are going to need some things decked

Here I am hoping HG repairs don't number into the thousands for Subarus.

THOUSANDS unfortunately majority being 98-2004 N/A across the board

I take some comfort in mine being a 2008 NA. One of the locals claims to have 800,000km on his NA 5-spd without this issue but I haven't seen the car myself to verify.