The non-turbo EJ25 in older Foresters, Outbacks, Imprezas and Legacys is known for head gasket leaks. How to spot it, what's involved, and real owner prices.
If you've owned a 2000s-era Subaru in Colorado, you've probably heard somebody say "head gaskets" in the same breath. The naturally aspirated EJ25 (Forester, Outback, Impreza, Legacy, Baja) had a long run of head gasket problems, and lots of these cars are still on the road here.
Two kinds of leaks
- External. Oil and coolant seep out the edge of the gasket, usually on the lower side of the heads. You'll see oil on the underside and maybe smell coolant. It can go a long time before it gets serious.
- Internal. Combustion gas gets into the cooling system. This one causes overheating, bubbles in the overflow tank, and coolant that disappears with no puddle. This is the one to fix right away.
The job
On these engines most shops pull the engine out to do the heads properly. Heads go to a machine shop to be checked for flatness and resurfaced, the new gaskets go in (multi-layer steel is the usual upgrade), and since the timing belt has to come off anyway, most shops do the full timing kit and water pump at the same time. That's why the quotes are big.
What we have so far
Only two reports, both from New Jersey in early 2022, both on a 2009 Forester. In that case the dealer quotes actually came in a bit under the independent quote, but the indie number included the timing kit and resurfacing. Detail matters on this one more than the headline price. We'd really like more Colorado numbers for this job.
Ask about
- Is the timing kit and water pump included?
- Are the heads being resurfaced and pressure tested?
- Which gasket (OEM or multi-layer steel)?
- Will they replace the valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals while it's out? They should.