RainyDayRunner

He had warned me before he started that it might need a valve job done too, which would increase the machine shop cost to around $500. Once he had it all apart he let me know that the valve guides were in great shape and did not need additional work. He also mentioned that the valve guide problems were not as common after 2004. We caught this leak pretty early, so no major breach had taken place in the gasket either. He said the cylinders had typical carbon buildup but no evidence of burning oil. It all looked very clean! Wahoo! Now if I can just keep my teenage daughter from wrecking it when she takes it to college.

Update. For anyone who lives in the Seattle area, I found a guy on CL who is a semi-retired Subaru technician working part time from home. I know that can sound sketchy, but I decided to give it a shot. Went to his house and he obviously knew his stuff. Had a nice garage for working on cars and two Subarus in the driveway. Everything checked out. He knew every single quirks you might encounter when doing a job like this. Long story short, I went over today to check on the progress. Engine removed, heads machined, new gaskets in place, main seal replaced, all other gaskets and seals etc., done. Didn't need a new timing belt since that was just done along with the water pump. He's putting it all together now. Total cost out the door: $1,300. That is $2,500 less than what the dealership wanted for the same job. I'm guessing that is more than he made at a dealership for the same job. This time he keeps all the money. Win for him and a win for me! PM me if you live in the area and want his info.

This is interesting. I just called a dealership who had quoted a pretty low number. They said $1,800 for the head gasket job. When I commented that this was about $2,000 less that others, he asked if it was for one or two. When I said I wanted both replaced (why would anyone ever just do one?) he said, "Oh, it's $1,800 for one, $3,800 for two." I asked why it was more than double when the majority of the cost is labor to remove and reinstall the engine? It seems that once they have done all that, it would just be a few hundred for the other side. He said, "That's just the price for both." Looks like I'll be clearing some garage space to do this myself.

That is a great point. I didn't think of it from the perspective of the shop owner. I was thinking of it more from the perspective of the DIYer. Makes perfect sense though that the shop would have a standard of everything they replace on any given job.

My opinion is that the comparison is mandarins to grapefruits only in the work required for the job. My argument against "one time use" is this. Let's say I have the timing belt done. I drive the car once and realize I now need head gaskets. Would you seriously put in a new timing belt after driving it once? If so, please explain why. My brother used this dealership and had his head gaskets done for $1,600. That included any other gaskets that needed replacing. This is a Subaru dealership, so I'm pretty confident that they are doing right by me.

I also felt like the "one time use" comment was odd. I get the point, but I would have figured it was like any other belt. I don't replace a serpentine belt when I change a pulley or replace an alternator. I certainly understand gaskets, filters, o-rings, etc., as being one-time use, but I've never viewed belts that way. Interesting update for me. I called another dealership in a smaller town about 2 hours away and they are quoting $1,800 - $2,100. She said $2,100 would include all seals and machining the heads. Driving 4 hours to save $1,700 is worth it, IMO.

I just called to find out about having the head gaskets done on mine. He said they have to replace the timing belt too since it is a one-time use thing. They replace all other main seals, gaskets, and machine the heads. Total cost is about $3,800. Ugh.