Subaru Repair: Subaru is gurgling under the dash, combustion gases, head gaskets

Question
Hello, I drive a 98 Forester, and it is making what can only be described as a 'gurgling' sound under the dashboard.  It sounds like there is air in the heater core.

I have just spent upwards of $2700 on repair work for this car, most of which came from new head gaskets.  

The car overheated, and was towed to the dealership.  They replaced the radiator and the head gaskets.  The car overheated again basically driving off the lot after the repairs.  Took it back, waited, waited, drove it home when they said all was well, and it overheated on the ride home.  Took it back, and basically the same thing repeated itself again.  They would say it was ok, and then it would overheat.  

Finally, after five trips to the dealership, a new technician looked at the car and said there was air in the cooling system.  He burped it and gave it back to me.  It runs fine now,  no overheating... yet.  But I can still hear  the gurgling under the dash.  And the check engine light just came on again.  

I am at a loss, and am ready to contest the payment to the dealership and get rid of this car.  What is wrong with my Subaru?  Please Help.

Thank you.

Answer
Part of what is wrong with your Subaru may be your dealership. Sometimes, things don't go as we would like, but 5 times is too many. Make an appointment to see the Service Manager or Director and ask for his or her involvement. If the system has air in it after a repair either one of two things are going on. Either the tech that refilled the cooling system did not know how to do it right to avoid air. Or, there still is a problem. And, since the car has overheated at least 3 times since the repairs, the head gaskets may be blown again, the heads may be cracked or warped, and even the block can be damaged. They can use a fairly simple tool to determine if there are combustion gases in the cooling system. If there are not, then maybe one more bleed of the system and you are done. If there is combustion gases in the cooling system, then that is where the air is coming from, and no amount of "burping" will fix that. If there is combustion gasses in the cooling system, either the first repair was not complete, not done right, or blown all over again because it overheated. Also, ask that the check engine light be checked for free since it may be related to what has been going on. If it isn't, then checking it for free is the least they can do. And if it isn't, then paying for that repair would be fair, if the motor isn't toast after all those overheating problems.

As far as getting rid of the car, I would hate to see you do that because of lousy service. But, it is almost 10 years old with over 100,000 miles. Not that that is too old or too many miles, but it may be too much of both if you don't have a good repair shop available when you need it.

Good luck, and get me back here if they tell you something that docent make sense.