2000 Outback overheats, loses coolant

[Wildwrench]

Hi Everyone,

Rember when Subaru 'recalled' this car several years ago for head gasket leakage? The fix, at that time. was to add a few ounces of some kind of liquid sealant. Worked for me! That is until I had the cooling system flushed last Fall. I put in the same sealant but did not have time to run it much before I parked in over winter. A week ago, when I retrieved it from storage, it overheated in about 6 miles. I added coolant and drove it. Then did the same again several times. Finally, the leakage is down to about 1 cup in 100 miles. So, the problem is not really fixed but tolerable.

I have a 2400 mile trip to make in 3 weeks (through Canada). I'm thinking I need a permanent fix. I was quoted over $900 for replacing the head gaskets.

Should I continue to work with the additive or 'bite the bullet' and get new gaskets? Are there any other options?

Thanks for your help.

[bertmaster2000]

I do not know if your car has more than 100K miles, but if it doesn't you should check out this link about possible headgasket replacement under warranty:

http://www.subaruheadgasket.com/0003.htm

The headgasket just went on my '97 (out of warranty) so I ordered a salvage engine and plan to install it myself as the fix...for me, money is too tight right now to go any other route!

best of luck to you!