[Huskymaniac]

I don't have a problem with people suggesting that the head gaskets may be leaking. I just think it was strange that some people seemed convinced of it and made jokes of being in denial if I thought any other causes could be possible. I talked to three Subaru dealers this week, including the largest in the country, and they all said head gasket jobs on the H6 engine were rare and, in some cases, they never even did one. To me, the worst case scenario is that the previous owner or the dealer that sold the car for him removed the thermostat to hide the problem. That would be very upsetting.

Otherwise, I still find it odd that the temp runs low, not hot.

svxfiles,

You mentioned head gasket hill. With a perfectly fine engine, with no head gasket issues, if you climbed that hill on a 90 degree day would you expect the gauge to move off its normal spot even a small amount or is the temp setpoint on the thermostat so high that the engine should never exceed that temperature with the thermostat fully open regardless of conditions?