Is this a sign the head gasket going to blow?

[Rico]

Is this a sign the head gasket going to blow?

This is a 02 Subaru Legacy, box engine driver side. The passenger side looks no sludge. Please see attachment.

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• 6d5dfb0b6b30e169c9e428d1e4a17617
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• 8bc4677daee6e163c154ddc24bb18025

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

That doesn’t look good.
How many miles on the vehicle?.

[Rico]

About 147k. I haven’t driven much this past year. I put on like 55k on this car. Timing belt was done when I purchased it. If I know this much when I purchased it, I would just tell the mechanic do the gasket at the same time. What a waste of money.

[Richard Kirshy]

Sorry.
It happens sometimes.

[Rico]

So, you agree the sludge between the head and block is the sign of failure of the head gasket?
If it blow, how much damage would it do to the engine(Piston, camshaft etc…)?
Do I need to resurface the head and the block?

[Richard Kirshy]

So, you agree the sludge between the head and block is the sign of failure of the head gasket?
Fairly common indicator for your type of engine
If it blow, how much damage would it do to the engine(Piston, camshaft etc…)?
More likely loss of compression and poor running than mechanical engine damage.
Do I need to resurface the head and the block?
Only way to tell is after disassembly you’ll need to measure both the block deck and heads mating surfaces for warping.

[Author]

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