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Subaru Impreza WRX Head Gasket

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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
Im looking at an Impreza Wrx Turbo. I have heard that the head gaskets can shit out on them, like quicker than a non turbo.

So does anybody have, or have had this head gasket problem? And if so, how much does the repair part cost and get it installed?

any info will be helpful.

Yes i have searchbarred on google

The car


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Jan 28 2012 7:18PM
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SPskier543
Posts: 2413 - Karma: 324
Engine Click for larger image A periodic problem on this vehicle is failure of the Cylinder Head Gaskets. The cost to repair the Cylinder Head Gaskets is $130.00 for parts and $890.50 (w/turbocharger) or $663.00 (w/o turbocharger) for labor (2.5L engine). All prices are estimates based on $65.00 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Jan 28 2012 7:36PM
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SPskier543
Posts: 2413 - Karma: 324
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2003&make=Subaru&model=Impreza

Do a gasket leak test before you buy, also when you test drive it turn on the heat and if it smells like a burning rubbery/antifreezy smell dont buy it, check oil for water as well, look for a creamy kinda mixture in the fill tube and on the dip stick

Jan 28 2012 7:39PM
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connory998
Posts: 1197 - Karma: 34
From what ive seen, a lot of subaru headgaskets shit the bed at about 100k, and it will be expensive to repair do to the fact that it is a horizontally opposed engine layout.
Jan 28 2012 7:39PM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
Would it be cheaper if i can replace everything myself at my schools auto shop. im in the class.
Jan 28 2012 8:06PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
2 problem- look at the exaust and rims, someone who mods their car usually beats it to shit especially since its a wrx, price isnt terriable, i got my 03 wrx wag for less then that by a few hundred with 69k on it. Also, 25/30 is a lie, youll be luckey to get 20/25
Jan 28 2012 10:18PM
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SPskier543
Posts: 2413 - Karma: 324
Most definitely. A new gasket is like $35 or something, it's the work involved that jacks the price at a shop up. Make sure your teacher knows how to do a head gasket first and is sure he can help you out if your stuck or have any questions. If it's a bad blown gasket you may need to do get some work done on the head if it's warped, that would get expensive too
Jan 28 2012 10:29PM
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Static
Posts: 8561 - Karma: 4,139
turbo timer and short intake are bad signs, so are the painted rims. painted sideskirts and boost gauge are nice extras though.
Jan 28 2012 10:37PM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
ya, i want to go and take a look at it soon. maybe take a test drive.

here are 2 other ones i was looking at.

this one is at the same dealer which is nice. but has 152k miles which really scares me.


This is another one that i really like with 100k miles.

Jan 28 2012 11:14PM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
I recently got a WRX, it had like 96 k miles on it? I think we paid $8500, but the guy had just recently replaced the clutch and had documented oil changes and such... Anyways ut def had the head gasket problem, or at least i think it did... It would smoke a lot from the engine, and well they told me it was the head gasket. Anyways we had that fixed and replaced the water pump and timing belt and a few other things for like $850. The car should be good to drive for awhile now (knock on wood).

But overall I am very happy with the car, and just driving it puts me in a good mood, highly recommend it.
Jan 28 2012 11:55PM
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Static
Posts: 8561 - Karma: 4,139
152k one is a regular impreza, no turbo
Jan 29 2012 12:12AM
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Dr.Dickless
Posts: 2620 - Karma: 1,392
the 2 liter turbo charged engine usually blows around 150k, but dont worry its fun as fuck until it does
the 2.5 cuts out around the same time usually due to some manufacturing defect
the 2.2 liter engine is the soundest engine they made, but its terrible to drive

it sounds like your raping it with a suburban
Jan 29 2012 12:17AM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
ya i know...
Jan 29 2012 12:28AM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
one thing i dont get, is we have a 99 outback wagon in Germany, it has about 137k miles. And we have never had any problems with it. cant you prolong the head gasket problems by not driving it super hard, and doing regular oil changes? I mean thats what people have been telling me.
Jan 29 2012 12:35AM
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tBatt
Posts: 9632 - Karma: 580
Yes and no. That helps, but not guaranteed. But it's a slightly modded WRX. 98% chance it was beat on.
Jan 29 2012 12:56AM
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Static
Posts: 8561 - Karma: 4,139
I would say 98% chance every WRX was beat on. 100% once you see any modification. Don't let those BS numbers of engine death times scare you, it is a crap shoot. Some get ruined in 20k, plenty hit 200k. All you can do is get it checked out before you buy and cross your fingers.... Or just buy a new one, they arn't that expensive upfront, and really only cost pennies more per mile over the lifetime. Orrrrrr get one for cheap, drive like a bat out of hell, wreck it before there are any repairs needed and use the insurance money as a downpayment on an upgrade.
Jan 29 2012 1:11AM
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C-Weezy
Posts: 786 - Karma: 50
oooo I have the same car...if it has not been tuned for that intake it is NOT good to be driving it like that
Jan 29 2012 1:18AM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
thats the thing statc, it seems like sone engines will blow at 100k. while our outback is runnin strong. and we take it through hell and back.
Jan 29 2012 9:14AM
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skithebert
Posts: 2163 - Karma: 16
its only certain model years that have the problem
Jan 29 2012 11:03AM
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NWbyNW
Posts: 882 - Karma: 148
its more common on the NA 2.5. the 2.0 does not have the common headgasket issue. I have an 03 wrx and a 99 forester. no issues with the wrx. but the forester blew at the 130 mark. which is expected. its a known issue that was fixed in manufacturing during 2003. take it to a shop and have them test for hydrocarbons. that will tell you if they are leaking internally and need to be fixed. otherwise run it into the ground!
Jan 29 2012 8:19PM
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Joebin
Posts: 1664 - Karma: 867
I have an 02 WRX with 96k on the clock, no issues with the head gasket (or anything else for that matter). My buddy has an 02 WRX with 160k on it and he hasnt had this problem as well. I havent really heard of the head gaskets shitting out on them either. One thing I can tell you, dont buy that car. When youre buying from a dealer you get screwed over with the price, no matter what. Not only that but you dont know who was driving it before you. I went to go look at several WRX's before I got mine and I didnt go for them because after a conversation with the owner I realized that they beat the shit out of it and didnt take care of the car at all. Trust me, go on Autotrader or craigslist and youll find a better deal and get a better idea of how the previous owner treated it.
Jan 29 2012 8:45PM
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adamlukowski
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 311
My 98 legacy had to be rebuilt ~100k, but now its running reaaaal nice
Jan 29 2012 9:05PM
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mxrcr222
Posts: 87 - Karma: 13

I worked at Carr Subaru for a while and can tell you that alot of the cars that rolled in for service were in there for glown head gaskets. It wasn't just specific to WRX's, Foresters, Legacy's etc... Just like people are saying above, pretty much all of them had 90K + miles. Timing belts were another item getting replaced. If the car is in good shape and they changed the oil often I wouldn't worry about it too much. Boosted engines due put added stress on head gaskets especially if its turned up past the stock recomendations. Its still a Subie though, there dependable even in the turbo models. They recommend running premium gas on the turbo cars though, which is the only part that kinda sucks.

Jan 29 2012 10:50PM
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connory998
Posts: 1197 - Karma: 34
Not really a recommendation. The compression ratio requires that you run high octane fuel, so if you buy a wrx, be prepared to pay the cost for premium.
Jan 29 2012 11:13PM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
ya guys. im not even gonna go look at the turbo one.

im going to look at this one on tuesday.


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Jan 30 2012 12:23AM
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tomahawk
Posts: 2006 - Karma: 53
I picked up an 02 wrx wagon with 138k on it for 6k. driving it for a year and then letting it go for around 6.5k or so.
Jan 30 2012 2:32AM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
maybe^

im throwin the blue book offer at this guy of 6600 right away.

Also, when would i take it to a mechanic to get some tests done??


Jan 30 2012 2:42AM
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esotericjive
Posts: 1889 - Karma: 1,445
Someone probably said it, but the gasket itself is a really simple, cheap part. The labor required is expensive though. I guess if you do it in your school's auto shop it'd be good, assuming you/someone there knows how to do it.
Jan 30 2012 10:35AM
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Simmo
Posts: 512 - Karma: 28
Honestly if you're worrying this much I don't think you should be buying a wrx. Too many people buy them and can't afford to run them, resulting in poor maintenance and a lot of really shitty used wrx's out there.

Buy a regular impreza and run it until you can afford to buy a clean used wrx. Something with an immaculate service history and just 1 or 2 previous owners. Then you know its worth spending money on.


Jan 30 2012 10:47AM
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Toasty.
Posts: 6198 - Karma: 2,330
ya, i think im out or the wrx game, if i got a subie it would be a impreza wagon from 98.
Jan 31 2012 2:35AM
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tronned
Posts: 1098 - Karma: 790
so much fail in this thread. I love it. Ps. 98 impreza have a shit motor as well, DOHC.

Jan 31 2012 2:45AM
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-AP-
Posts: 819 - Karma: 344
Don't know if this helps but I have a 1998 legacy outback. The head gasket just went out. the part was really cheap, but after labor it cost $600 to fix. and that's with a fairly cheap mechanic. He said the reason it costs so much is he has to take apart the entire engine to get to it.
Jan 31 2012 2:51AM
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TheStamos
Posts: 9311 - Karma: 910

i couldnt imagine doing a headgasket on a boxer engine.. fuck that shit. i would pay somone to do it.

Jan 31 2012 2:54AM
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DUKES
Posts: 5150 - Karma: 691
wrong the dohcs are the most durable. the sohcs on the other hand have slight problems
Jan 31 2012 9:50AM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627

I'm having my 2.5l head gaskets done tomorrow for $450.  Gotta buy the felpros myself though so that's another ~$150.  Still not bad though, if you're in the WMass/N.CT area and need a cheap, great mechanic let me know.   

Jan 31 2012 9:58AM
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NWbyNW
Posts: 882 - Karma: 148
lulz...
Jan 31 2012 1:00PM
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Bumblesteeze
Posts: 3092 - Karma: 748
Newschoolers is an online ski community and a subaru owner forum.
Jan 31 2012 1:04PM
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Mr_Hyde
Posts: 337 - Karma: 121
Yes n No.. You don't always get that smell but you will see a white foam on the dip stick and you'll see vapor smoking from the exhaust.. You can get a compression test done for pretty cheap! That will tell you alot, it could have a manifold leak.there's NO need for a turbo timer on a stock subie turbo. The only thing they do is let the car run till the turbos done spinning! Your better off getting a Forster, big ground clearance and lots of inside room. And there more then Likly better maintained too. But every car needs to have the dif's fluid change(AWD most importantly) good choice on the Subie! Take your time and you'll find the right one.. I'm really hard on my cars too! And make sure the cars never been hit B4. If there's frame work done on an AWD car, go to the next car, you'll more then Likly have tire aliment probs down the road. Good luck!
Jan 31 2012 8:09PM
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NWbyNW
Posts: 882 - Karma: 148
a turbo time can be set by the operator at a time interval, or by temp. Not by the spinning of the turbo. And there is a possibility that you will not see any indication of a HG failure (Smoke, dipstick, etc). You'd have to have a leak down test performed to determine if there are hydrocarbons in your antifreeze from internal failure, which is the most common.
Jan 31 2012 8:36PM
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Mr_Hyde
Posts: 337 - Karma: 121
Yes sir, your 100% right!! I just think a turbo timer is useless on a stock WRX. IMO
Jan 31 2012 11:19PM
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NWbyNW
Posts: 882 - Karma: 148
Absolutely!
Jan 31 2012 11:58PM
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