How much to replace head gaskets?

[Willwrb04]

Noticed my coolent was very low, filled it up a couple days later and in about a week or so was low again. Filled it up a few days ago and is at about half now. Checked oil (was low) looked fine, but checked under oil cap where to fill oil and had a green tint to it (color of coolant) which im assuming is a head gasket issue since im finding no leaks anywhere. If im correct and need a new head gasket(s), how much would it cost including labor? thanks

also just hit 100k a couple months ago, and temp is ALWAYS at normal.

 

[IBratmanI]

There is a good chance it is just some moisture under the cap. I bet it looks similar to the stuff you would find in some of the lines that run along the front of the intercooler. Check for coolant leaks everywhere. The radiators commonly leak on the WRX's, and look around the turbo.

 

[IBratmanI]

There is a good chance it is just some moisture under the cap. I bet it looks similar to the stuff you would find in some of the lines that run along the front of the intercooler. Check for coolant leaks everywhere. The radiators commonly leak on the WRX's, and look around the turbo.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

... checked under oil cap where to fill oil and had a green tint to it (color of coolant) which im assuming is a head gasket issue since im finding no leaks anywhere. ... temp is ALWAYS at normal.

if coolant is mixing with oil due to pooched h/gs, you'll find a foamy choco mouse kind of dreck under oil filler cap. oil will be cloudy/milky. greenish tint under that yello oil filler cap is 100% normal.

if oil is mixing w.coolant due to pooched h/gs, there will be an oily sheen to the coolant, check overflow tank and esp carefully in coolant filler/takk top of engine for that oily sheen.

bratman is right about leaks in rad being pretty common, look around edges of plastic rad tank (esp at edges of plastic and metal areas) for whitish crystalline crust, that's a dead giveaway to leakage. rad, hoses, & block get hot enough so leaked coolant evaporates and leaves the whitish crust behind. you may alsio notice sweetish coolant smell on hot shutdown.

another sign of h/g probs is erratic temp readings, watch closely as car warms up and runs for a while.

inspect coolant lines in/out of turbo, they are rubber hoses that live in a high heat environment, if they are hardened and cracked you may well have found your culprits.

 

[Chris]

If you need headgaskets done PM mike. He can do that sort of thing wicked quick and do a perfect job. Good time to throw a new timing belt on too!

 

[Willwrb04]

Checked underneath a little bit ago and noticed it was wet around the seam of the cylinder head where the gasket is, so I whipped everything I could find and ran the engine for a bit and saw nothing leaking. I rev'd it a couple times and before I even got under saw fluid dripping and found that it was coming out from the end of the hose that meets the engine from the radiator. So I tightened the clamp which was pretty loose and stopped leaking

. But it still doesn't explain why it looked like it was leaking/wet around the gasket

. It's suppose to be dry around that area right? im pretty sure the gasket has never been changed on it either though.

 

[Chris]

If the level, colour, or smell of the coolant hasn't changed; it's really unlikely to be headgasket.

 

[Willwrb04]

garage says no gasket problem =] just gotta do struts.