01-11-2013, 04:23 PM
The plot thickens even more. I'll try to be brief. I took the car to a fourth garage today, that's very close to home (recommended by neighbours). This shop had the car for a few hours and came up with some things that made sense and others that were different.
Basically, they said that the cylinder heads were NOT leaking oil but that there was a leak from the valve cover gaskets. The leak was so bad, that oil was getting into and around the spark plugs and causing damage. This would have caused the misfiring / rough running problem that we had in December when the car was cold. So this all makes sense. Replacing the valve gasket cover is a minor job.
(One of the spark plug wires was so bad, that they had to replace it with a non-Subaru wire, and said that this was only temporary -- definitely don't leave it for longterm. Not sure if this is a trick to get me back!)
However, they also found some problems in the lower ball joints of the steering.
All in all, they quoted $306 for replacing the valve cover gaskets, $400 for a tune-up and $370 for the ball joint repair.
Apparently, the first garage and the Subaru dealer may have misdiagnosed the problem as leaking valve cover gaskets could be mistaken as the cylinder heads leaking.
So the leak/misfiring problem is clearing up or making sense but now there's more confusion re the steering.
Basically, they said that the cylinder heads were NOT leaking oil but that there was a leak from the valve cover gaskets. The leak was so bad, that oil was getting into and around the spark plugs and causing damage. This would have caused the misfiring / rough running problem that we had in December when the car was cold. So this all makes sense. Replacing the valve gasket cover is a minor job.
(One of the spark plug wires was so bad, that they had to replace it with a non-Subaru wire, and said that this was only temporary -- definitely don't leave it for longterm. Not sure if this is a trick to get me back!)
However, they also found some problems in the lower ball joints of the steering.
All in all, they quoted $306 for replacing the valve cover gaskets, $400 for a tune-up and $370 for the ball joint repair.
Apparently, the first garage and the Subaru dealer may have misdiagnosed the problem as leaking valve cover gaskets could be mistaken as the cylinder heads leaking.
So the leak/misfiring problem is clearing up or making sense but now there's more confusion re the steering.
Rob
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