I found coolant in my exhaust while replacing my clutch

[legojerry]

Hey everyone, looking for some pointers or thoughts here.

130,000 miles, 2013 Subaru BRZ. I bought it at ~70,000 miles.

Recently started smelling anti-freeze, couldn't see any leaks and the level hasn't gone down a measurable amount.

Car has never overheated, I'm generally fairly easy on it.

2 weeks ago I was replacing my clutch because my TOB failed and when I unbolted the exhaust pipe I found roughly a cup of bright green anti-freeze in the exhaust.

So, that explains the anti-freeze smell. The anti-freeze was completely clean, no visible contaminants from oil. I regularly change my oil myself and it has always been very clean as well. No sludge or separation after draining.

I'm scheduled for the valve-spring recall on the 31st of July, is it worth mentioning to them to see if they can find the issue?

I feel like if the head gasket was blown I would be seeing the oil/water mix but I haven't noticed that at all. Also there is no smoke coming from the exhaust.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[Tcoat]

Depends where the head gasket is leaking. Feasible that you are just blowing a bit directly into the exhaust. Was the death of an old Datsun pickup I once had. Oil was clean but it pushed out the tailpipe

[legojerry]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Depends where the head gasket is leaking. Feasible that you are just blowing a bit directly into the exhaust. Was the death of an old Datsun pickup I once had. Oil was clean but it pushed out the tailpipe

Now was that an untimely death or was that a 'died after 500,000 miles and the body was rotting out' death?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by legojerry

Now was that an untimely death or was that a 'died after 500,000 miles and the body was rotting out' death?

That was the last straw after 500,000 miles, about 20 square feet of tin, several hundred pop rivets and 5 gallons of bondo death yes.

[humfrz]

Welcome to our happy group -

You found a cup of coolant in your exhaust pipe? DANG, that's significant enough to be concerned about for sure.

Yes, since they usually don't remove the heads during the valve spring recall, I would suggest you have them do so and replace the head gaskets.


humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

That was the last straw after 500,000 miles, about 20 square feet of tin, several hundred pop rivets and 5 gallons of bondo death yes.

Got the picture - Tcoat, back in the leaner days -


humfrz

[legojerry]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Welcome to our happy group -

You found a cup of coolant in your exhaust pipe? DANG, that's significant enough to be concerned about for sure.

Yes, since they usually don't remove the heads during the valve spring recall, I would suggest you have them do so and replace the head gaskets.


humfrz

Thanks! I’ve been lurking for quite a while and the forum was super helpful when I was changing my clutch. Got stuck a couple of times and searching answered my questions.

I’ll call the dealership tomorrow and see what their quote is (not that I can really say no &#128556

They quoted $1800 minimum for the clutch job and I did that in about 8 hours on jack stands.

A cup was probably a bit of an exaggeration, I was pretty annoyed to see it.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by legojerry

Thanks! I’ve been lurking for quite a while and the forum was super helpful when I was changing my clutch. Got stuck a couple of times and searching answered my questions.

I’ll call the dealership tomorrow and see what their quote is (not that I can really say no &#128556

They quoted $1800 minimum for the clutch job and I did that in about 8 hours on jack stands.

A cup was probably a bit of an exaggeration, I was pretty annoyed to see it.

Good plan.

Make sure that they understand that the removal of the heads would be done at the same time as the spring recall work.

It shouldn't cost that much to replace the head gaskets while they have the engine out and half tore apart. -

Either way, the coolant shouldn't be in the exhaust system, either a head gasket is leaking or a water jacket is cracked.

(I've got to quit reading this forum - )


humfrz

[legojerry]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Good plan.

Make sure that they understand that the removal of the heads would be done at the same time as the spring recall work.

It shouldn't cost that much to replace the head gaskets while they have the engine out and half tore apart. -

Either way, the coolant shouldn't be in the exhaust system, either a head gasket is leaking or a water jacket is cracked.

(I've got to quit reading this forum - )


humfrz

Quote came back at $2100. 12 hours of labor plus parts. Apparently they will check for any oil leaks etc before they start the job and only do it if that’s what’s wrong.

Going to call another Subaru dealership and see what a head gasket job runs without the recall being performed. Seems a little steep to me but that’d basically give me a completely rebuilt engine.

[humfrz]

That does sound a bit steep to me. Let us know what the other bid is.


humfrz

[maslin]

Originally Posted by legojerry

Quote came back at $2100. 12 hours of labor plus parts. Apparently they will check for any oil leaks etc before they start the job and only do it if that’s what’s wrong.

Going to call another Subaru dealership and see what a head gasket job runs without the recall being performed. Seems a little steep to me but that’d basically give me a completely rebuilt engine.

Not at all. Replacing heaadgaskets will fix leaking headgaskets, that's about it. The most significant part of rebuilding the engine would be in the bottom end, not involved in a headgasket replacement at all.

[bhmax]

Mine was blowing exhaust into the coolant and then it would shoot out the top of the overflow tank during track driving. It overheated once there was a large enough air bubble in the coolant. I wasn’t going to do the recall due to all the issues everyone is having, but I found a good lead tech at a new Subaru dealership that’s an enthusiast. I decided to go ahead with the recall, and I paid an extra 4 hours for the head gasket install. I bought Cometic gaskets and ARP head studs. I saw the bad gasket. Where the leak was wasn’t causing any mixing of oil and coolant.

[legojerry]

Car is currently torn apart, they checked the head gaskets and one of them is blown. They're replacing at a cost of $2300 which honestly I think is really high but just on the line for me to go ahead and do it, I asked if they could throw in some extras but they declined.

They've currently had the car since last Wednesday evening (7/31/19).

They also tried to sell me rear shocks, $950, a cabin filter, air filter, back brakes and tires which I will just do myself. They also wanted to change the rear diff fluid, transmission fluid (which I had just done) and brake fluid. I declined all additional service.

There's been no mixing of oil and coolant so there's no damage.. they did say the cam seals? I think? were leaking and need replaced.

They'll also be replacing the spark plugs.

[maslin]

Originally Posted by legojerry

Car is currently torn apart, they checked the head gaskets and one of them is blown. They're replacing at a cost of $2300 which honestly I think is really high but just on the line for me to go ahead and do it, I asked if they could throw in some extras but they declined.

They've currently had the car since last Wednesday evening (7/31/19).

They also tried to sell me rear shocks, $950, a cabin filter, air filter, back brakes and tires which I will just do myself. They also wanted to change the rear diff fluid, transmission fluid (which I had just done) and brake fluid. I declined all additional service.

There's been no mixing of oil and coolant so there's no damage.. they did say the cam seals? I think? were leaking and need replaced.

They'll also be replacing the spark plugs.

AllData has 2 headgaskets at 13.7 hours. Plus an hour or two diag? At our shop rate, you'd already be over the $2300.

Service items are generally recommended based on time and mileage, if you didn't have the trans serviced by them how would they know it had just been serviced?

Why would expect any "extras"? Do you spend $100 at Target and grab another $10 worth of stuff on the way out the door? It's not a fleamarket, it's a business.