Aeronaught

Hi Have a hot smell around the front of my 3.00 H 6 Outback. Had the brake disc temps measured which were OK, and the guy reckoned it could be burning grease from a pin hole he spotted in the gaiter, and it does smell as if it could be. I am due to drive the car to Cornwall on Thursday this week ( the guy thought it would be OK to use ), so just want to make sure this is nothing serious. A couple of years ago i had a total water loss due to a corroded pipe, and lost the head, £4.5 K later, it was back on the road after consulting on this forum (feel my pain) so a bit anxious about this, but oil, coolant and gauge all fine so I hope that rules out the engine. Any thoughts please? Stuart

Yes found the EZ thanks, no reference to H6 though.

Ok, so my H6 is also known as EZ30?

Thanks, a lot to think about there, but hopefully its all top end work, and will fit new water pump. You mentioned that EZ is the unstated crown jewel of Subaru engines, good to hear but what does EZ refer to?

Thanks Mr B, you also confirm my own thoughts. As for the price I could shop around, but I am mindful that if there are problems, I might be better off with our local dealership who I have some trading history with, rather than a outfit miles away who I won't know from Adam? Thanks for the reminder about the valves. The vehicle does have a valve lube system, but I will point it out to them. I am hoping that this wont turn into an engine rebuild once I am committed! Any thoughts about other parts that it might be worth replacing whilst they are at it, water/oil pumps etc?

Afraid I don't have the pipe or a photo of it now, but for sure its something that everyone should be aware of!

Thanks for your advice. The car is in very good condition and with low mileage for its 17 years, so I think it is worth doing. It was a corroded metal coolant pipe that drained the system, although no engine lights came up. The heater was blowing cold air and I carried on a couple of miles to get home, wish I hadn't! The car still starts and drives perfectly, but the temp gauge is all over the place, and coolant is displaced from the radiator to the coolant reservoir after a journey of a few miles.

Hi I am not a mechanic and I know little about cars in general. I have a 2004 Outback, 3 litre engine 96,000 miles, which apparently is quite rare, and the car is in great condition. I had it converted to dual fuel, LPG/petrol, and it has been a brilliant car for 7 years, drives like a dream, and is so cheap to run. In December, I suffered a major water loss and by the time I realised, the head was cooked. I had the cooling system fixed, and the local dealership sniff tested the coolant and confirmed that there is gas in it. Quote to do both gaskets is £2,800 + vat (if the job is straight forward). I am led to believe that the H6 is a very robust engine and should have gone round the clock twice easily if not for the coolant fiasco. Question is should I spend the cash, and do bear in mind that there is £2,500 quid’s worth of gas conversion kit on the car. Any thoughts from anyone welcome, but don’t forget that technically I’m an idiot. Thanks