Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

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Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:18 pm

Hi guys I'm so pissed off at the moment got my car out of the mechanic today after paying $2200 for new head gaskets and timing kit and the car is still over heating I took it for a drive when I got it out about 17kms and it started to over heat I stopped and checked the radiator and there was no coolant (I noticed the overflow container was full to the top I mean full) I filled it back up with a new bottle of coolant I bought from the servo I let it cool down for about 5 mins before driving again I even cranked the heater all the way up for 5 mins I thought maybe a air lock or some shit
But it still drains all the coolant within 5 mins of driving
I will be definitely taking it back to the dodgy F**K head of a mechanic or hitting fair trading up!!!! But if anyone can give me some sort of idea would be much appreciated I no it's not the thermostat I only just put a brand new one in I was thinking maybe the radiator is no good PS I only just bought it maddddd
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby Stifull » Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:49 pm

Are you taking it to a Subaru specialist (not subaru themselves) of just to your "local guy" ?????
Who diagnosed it had blown head gasket ????
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby subyroo » Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:13 pm

Just a couple of stabs in the dark. :oops:

Have you had the radiator cap pressure tested?
Top or bottom hose are not collapsing once they get hot?
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:23 pm

I took it to a place called japenese auto clinic Coffs harbour Im guessing his some what a specialist only due to name lol but he seemed hell dodgy didnt give me a receipt paperwork anything i even had to buy a timing cover for it when it was in the shop he was shut by the time I got back from driving it so I'll have to wait until monday it's doin the exact same shit as when I put it in is he liable to fix it for free now? Not sure what to do????
Last edited by 06liberty on Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:24 pm

And nah the hoses are hard as when it heats up there's no coolant left in the radiator and it's not pumping from the overflow either
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:27 pm

And the mechanic said it had a blown head gasket I just told him the symptoms n that's what he said I don't no much about subies as I've always had commodores and I only just bought it before all this shit plus I already paid him $2200 for what ever he done stressssss!!!!!!cheers for the help fellas
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby spike2135 » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:39 pm

I know it's a long shot, but around the 200,000K's mark Gen5's have a problem where the radiator develops a crack under the top hose connector, as a consequence the radiator looses all its coolant. Not sure about Gen4's though, but would be worth having a look at the rad for cracks or obvious leaks.

if you can find any telling signs of a leak would help narrow down the issue.
if you can find enough symptoms benny should be able to help you track down the problem.
Last edited by spike2135 on Sat Feb 13, 2021 7:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:50 pm

Not sure what gen mine is it's a 2006 Subaru liberty 2.5l single cam ej25 and yeah not sure the temp is good for about ten mins then it just starts to rise towards the red pretty quick and by then all the coolant is gone from the radiator n it's ringin hot there's heaps of pressure aswell not sure if it's from being dry and hot and creating steam or what but wanna find out because I just payed the so called mechanic over 2k
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby spike2135 » Sat Feb 13, 2021 7:36 am

yeah fair enough about the $

2006 is a Gen 4.

with the engine cold, stick your finger in the radiator cap hole and rub the sides :blush: then look at your finger and see if there is any oil

while the car is running....
can you see any leaks from the radiator?
are there any leaks from other parts of the cooling system?
is there any water leaking onto the ground?
if you rev the engine is there white smoke from the back?
if you take the radiator cap off are there bubbles coming up?
does the coolant in the reservoir contain oil, does it look black and murky, or white-ish and milky?

you also could do an oil change and see if there is water in the sump :?
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:40 am

Doesn't seem to be any oil in the coolant and the overflow bottle is clean even the coolant in the overflow is clean it just disappears and overheats but it does take ten minutes to heat up n loose the coolant the mechanic said he took it for a drive around the block and it was fine but that wouldn't of been long enough to make it over heat? I'll have a look if there is anything leaking underneath no white smoke from the back and yeah a few bubbles when I leave the cap off not heaps when I went to the mechanic the day before I got it out he had it up on a lift doin some shit with the oil it looked okay n he never said anything about it but I don't trust him now!!!! I'm just stumped at the moment if he did do the head gaskets like said then wouldn't it have to be the radiator or water pump? I just rang the mechanic he was there and he reckons the radiator could be blocked that's all he said?? He said bring it back on Monday and he will flush the radiator I can do that myself? The stress lol
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby Stifull » Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:27 pm

Take out the plugs, if you can, and see what they look like. If it has a cracked head somewhere, one spark plug will look VERY clean compared to the others because it will be getting steam cleaned by coolant getting into the cylinder. The coolant is probably coming out the exhaust as steam/vapors. It also sounds like you decided to take a specialist performance engine to a dodgee workshop who knows nothing about rexs. $2200 is very cheap for both head gaskets. I am assuming they got a kit and did both sides. But it is very expensive if it was wrongly diagnosed..Did they put in NEW head studs or use the old ones ????? that's a definite NO NO ! You NEVER reuse head studs in these engines. Did they get the heads machined... Did you tell them to do it as ecconomically as possible because $2200 sounds like not a lot was spent on quality parts because more than half that would have been labour and $800 wont get quality studs, gasket kit, or any sort of head work like skim, valve grind, valve stem seals, seats, bucket shims etc etc .. If you are used to Commodores then brace yourself for much more expensive repairs. A proper engine rebuild, and I am not talking forged internals, just normal stock stuff, can cost more than a 2nd hand Commodore ..complete car...So.. If your choice of workshop came down to cost because you already had a quote from a Subi specialist for $5-6k and you thought that was too expensive and chose the "local guy" who is probably used to Nissans and Evos, I am not surprised you didn't get the job done properly. The workshop we take all our rexs to will not touch any other sort of car. A friend in Japan sent us over and EVO 5 and I asked them if they would do some work on it and he said... "mate I am not going to burn your money at $120 an hour learning how to work on an EVO. He and ALL his mechanics are Subaru trained specialists. I wont bore you any more but they were even able to diagnose a rattle over the phone and they were spot on and it was a 60 second fix.. I had spent hours trying to find it.....Anyway.. Mate I hope they give you some sort of refund so you can take it somewhere that knows what they are doing. I would be reluctant to leave it with them.. If it all started by trying to get your Lib fixed on a limited budget, maybe you should rethink the whole Subaru ownership thing. I am not trying to be have a go at you or be hard on you, just sharing some facts from years of experience owning Subarus (we still have 5 in our household). Good luck getting it sorted ..Cheers.
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Sat Feb 13, 2021 3:05 pm

I rang all the mechanics aroud here they quoted the same price I just googled around and seen his name so I rang him he said hiss been doing Subarus for over 50 yrs to me I thought that was a specialist or somewhat I'm not sure I'm guessing he put new head bolts in he didn't show me but even I no you can't use them same head bolts and as far as I no he said the heads got machined and nah I didn't tell him nothing except the symptoms and he did the rest said it was the head gaskets I seen some of the parts he bought the timing kit was genuine Subaru and he has no mechanics it's just him I new the parts would be expensive but as I am not a mechanic I trusted him to do his job! And like I said every where around here quoted the same price I just THOUGHT he would do it proply hence his name and a it's non turbo single cam couldn't be that hard! And it all started when I sold my commodore and bought a Subaru problems after problems it got a recall on the fuel pump aswell yesterday never ending! And I'm definitely not leaving it with him he said "bring it down on Monday and we will flush the radiator it's probly blocked" I bled it today took the heater core hoses off n flushed them with the hose still over heating and losing all the coolant I don't think it looses all of it tho only from the radiator because when I fill it back up I can see the coolant start to circulate in the water after it gets to the engine and im just going to go to fair trading he wouldn't even take the price of the timing cover that I had to pay for off so I doubt he will give my money back easily
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Re: Just had head gaskets done and still over heating

Postby 06liberty » Sat Feb 13, 2021 3:53 pm

spike2135 wrote:yeah fair enough about the $

2006 is a Gen 4.

with the engine cold, stick your finger in the radiator cap hole and rub the sides :blush: then look at your finger and see if there is any oil

while the car is running....
can you see any leaks from the radiator?
are there any leaks from other parts of the cooling system?
is there any water leaking onto the ground?
if you rev the engine is there white smoke from the back?
if you take the radiator cap off are there bubbles coming up?
does the coolant in the reservoir contain oil, does it look black and murky, or white-ish and milky?

you also could do an oil change and see if there is water in the sump :?
And I don't think there is a leak because the coolant that I put back in the radiator when turned off stays there it only drains when driving after 5mins
06liberty
 
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Car: 2006 Subaru liberty


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