Hey Scotty! My friend very recently bought an '05 Subaru Outback with 154k miles for $5,000 (base model, automatic transmission). Unfortunately he had his car inspected and it came back with a head gasket leak and power steering pump leak. Do you have any suggestions for getting the head gasket leak repaired?
To get it properly repaired, you will have to take it to a mechanic that is willing to do it. This, however, will likely cost $1,000+ due to the intensity of the labor. Call around to get quotes and see how it compares with the value of the car. If the repair is too expensive from a mechanic, then you essentially have three options. One: find a tutorial on youtube and attempt to do it yourself (keep in mind this is not an easy job), two: attempt to use some sort of block sealer (like bars leaks. Sometimes these sealers work and sometimes they don't; this is the last resort option because it can potentially lead to other issues), or three: try to sell/scrap/part out the car.
The reason head gasket leaks are so expensive to fix on these cars is that the engine has to be pulled out in order to remove the cylinder heads. I've done it and if you've pulled engines before it's not that tough a job since the Subaru 4-banger is compact and light, and is not transverse mounted.
However it is time consuming and at $100/hour or more shop rate that winds up being pretty big $$$ to replace about $30 worth of gaskets. If your friend knows someone who is handy with working on cars it's a job that can be done over a weekend and a couple of six packs.
