Poss head gasket issue not sure
 

Right im a newbie to the scoobies and im looking for abit of advice please people.

I recently purchased a scooby import on a 95 4 weeks ago and after 2 weeks the radiator basically fecked up.Checked all the pipes etc no splits and half the grills on the rad had burnt out.So had to bite the bullet and get a new radiator which was reasonably priced at £55.Dropped this in with the almighty special subaru coolant i was advised to use and away i went 2 weeks running fine and done quite alot of motorway miles too

Now just 2 days ago away i went off to work and pulled up and loads of steam coming out the bonnet,saw immiediately a big split in the pipe of the top hose for the radiator so this was obviously the problem.

Now i may have jumped the gun but ive bought a 2nd hand top hose off ebay for a 96 UK!!! sti impreza.It looks the same as mine and is in the same shape etc, just wondering will this be compatible even though its an import yeah?

Now to my main problem,i spoke to a mate that is really clued up on scoobys and he said it may be that the head gasket has gone and the pressure is too much and thats why the pipe split (although i have also been told the top hose is a common problem with them splitting by a scrapyard dealer).

Just to add aswell it has abit turbo lag to start with but not alot.The car isnt overheating and isnt misfiring.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated peeps

Cheers

Re: Poss head gasket issue not sure
 

You have answered your own question really, yes the hoses are common as are Rads so the only true way would be to get a sniffer/pressure check, we can give you a list of things to check but at the end of the day its about the best way to tell,
we have threads on bubbles in coolant etc but a sniffer test would confirm it, we have had a lot of members with the same issue and large number of times it is the HG`s im affraid.
HTH

Re: Poss head gasket issue not sure
 

Thanks for the reply mate and am i right in the saying the hose uk sti spec will be ok for my import yeah?Need to find somewhere near motherwell that will have the equipment to do the pressure check as my local dosnt :(

Re: Poss head gasket issue not sure
 

yeah the hose will be fine

Re: Poss head gasket issue not sure
 

my hose split about 2 years ago, still going strong no headgasket issues. as long as it hasn;t run out of coolant and cooked then split hose will prob just be the culprit, bear in mind its prob 15 yers old and rubber does perish