When it's Time to Repair or Replace Your Subaru Head Gasket, Let Peninsula Subaru Be Your Expert Guide

Before you decide when and how to take care of your Subaru vehicle's head gasket, it pays, besides to discuss your options with our expert service professionals here at Peninsula Subaru, to take stock on your own of several factors. Determine: 

1. How well you've kept up your Subaru to date. Regular oil changes, as well as routine maintenance and mechanical fixes, surely put you ahead of potential issues, but it doesn't always mean you've staved off the effects of neglect or outright damage. It's not a good idea to go in on a new head gasket if your Subaru's maintenance problems lie elsewhere.
 
2. Whether you're coming up on a Subaru-suggested regular maintenance deadline. Do you require a timing belt, drive belt or clutch replacement? If so, that means your engine can be removed to both replace drive belts and timing belts at near parts cost, as well as timing components and your Subaru's clutch with minimal labor. And that means your head gaskets, also requiring engine removal, can be replaced, too, if needed. So discuss the possibility with your service technician.
 
3. Whether your Subaru is around or within the mileage range between 100,000 and 150,000 miles. Subaru 2.5 engines gaskets tend to last until around this distance threshold, and the same often goes for replacement gaskets. Your service technician will surely take note of your mileage, but such detail is worth mentioning if you have head gasket concerns.
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5. How well your vehicle has accomplished that for which you've used it. If you're happy with your Subaru's performance and the vehicle has lived up to its potential, as the Subaru tradition evinces, then head gasket repair or replacement may be a better option for you than the transition to another vehicle. However, if long-unaddressed concerns such as severe repeated overheating, which affects the engine and cooling system, have led to deferred repairs, it's best to discuss them all with your service technician beforehand. That way, we at Peninsula Subaru can determine the best course to take with your vehicle.

Going the Do-It-Yourself Route? Here are a Few More Things to Consider

If you're planning on going ahead and replacing your Subaru's head gaskets yourself, know first and foremost that the process will include not only head gasket replacement but valve cover gasket changes, thermostat/gasket changes and an oil and filter change. Likewise, connected components are key: you'll want to replace your Subaru's timing belt, timing idlers, tensioner and cam and crank seals, and you'll need to inspect and/or replace your water pump, too. If your Subaru's baffle plate either leaks or is antiquated, you'll want to upgrade to a new plate as well. And if you're looking to economize, should you encounter deteriorated exhaust gaskets, hoses or other small parts like spark plugs or sensors, it's a good idea to replace them sooner to maintain long-run utility and value.

As Always, Our Peninsula Subaru Service Department is Here to Help

Looking to price the cost of a head gasket and related component replacement? Need advice on whether your Subaru's condition is worth maintaining with such a replacement? Perhaps you'd just prefer to bring in your Subaru for service. Feel free to get in touch with us here at our 3888 W. State Highway 16 showroom via the Web, by a phone call to our Service Department at (888) 461-7169, or just stop on by. Our highly trained car repair technicians make it their business and a calling to remain up to date on the latest and most effective Subaru repair tools, technologies and know-how, so we'll be happy to assist you.