Six problems related to engine exhaust system have been reported for the 1998 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Cylinder #4 exhaust vale failure in July of 2004. Subaru dealer prestige imports pulled head and replaced valve. They insisted the cause was "bad gasoline. " April 2005 car is found to have high level of co2 in cooling system. Subaru dealer prestige imports refuses to do a leak down test to determine which head gasket has failed. Pulls both heads at a cost of close to $3,000. Refused to acknowledge that they removed the head in July 2004 to replace the valve and refuse to acknowledge that this may have been the cause of the July 2005 failure. Told me "we've seen this before. " refused to call Subaru USA because "they would just laugh at us. " in a meeting with prestige imports gm jim borreli he indicated that this is a common problem and promised to contact Subaru USA he never did and would not return my phone calls. Subaru USA has been extremely unhelpful and claims that they have nothing to do with authorized dealer repairs or issues with head gaskets on 2. 5 l type 1 engines. This is an very common problem apparently. Almost every auto mechanic in America is familiar with it. On the NHTSA complain site I counted at least 18 head gasket related complaints. A search of the web brings up hundreds if not thousands more. , why has the NHTSA ignored these problems and not acted in the best interest of costumers?.
Safety issue: seal failure causes oil to leak onto hot exhaust (fire hazard). Mr.
The consumer has been experiencing problems with exhaust pumps. Whe vehicle is parked or when vehicle is started up, consumert can smell a sulphur smell. The manufacturer has yet to be contacted.
Engine overheating started 10 months ago on long trips only. Overheating was common when engine was under heavier than normal loads for long periods of time(climbing hilss, etc. ). Fluid in radiator was eventually deplented leading to sharp rise in engine temperature. Lately this has been worse as only 30 miles of normal driving will cause the same symptoms. The fault turned out to be a head gasket failure on Subaru r2. 5l type 1 engines. The coolant was being forced out of the radiator by the slow leak of exhaust gases in the coolant around the radiator. This vechicle has been serviced since new by only the local Subaru dealer. A search on the internet for Subaru 2. 5l engines 1996-1999 (legacy) turned up multiple hits for owners with this same problem. Failure is as low as 40k miles to over 100k for the same problem. This multi-layer gasket for the type 1 engine has be redesigned 6 times, leading one to surmise that the head gaskets are defective. The type2 engine also has this failure but this has been intercepted by Subaru of America by adding a "lubricant" to the coolant, block sealer. This engine should have been recalled to replace the multiple defects which Subaru will only do on type 2 engines and only if the owner knows to ask for the "secret waranty". Given that there is no other choice, I plan to pull the engine myself and fix the problem. The dealer wants over $2k to do the same work.
Oil was leaking from the top of the engine on the right side near the rear oil galley plug, the oil leaked down onto the exhaust causing and odor to come through the vents. Nlm.
Exhaust system leaks fumes into the ventillation system.