"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
01/10/2014 at 12:07 • Filed to: None
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"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
01/10/2014 at 12:07 • Filed to: None | 1
| 19 |
Asking because there are tremendous deals on great 2g/3g Legacy wagons. But with the history of the early 2.5 issues, how does one know the engine has been fixed with the better parts so no more coolant and HG leaks expected?
Takuro Spirit
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 12:11 |
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Repair records.
The newer style HG's came out in..... 2002? I think? So as long as its been repaired since then you should be okay.
But ask for proof.
And if it's been 60k since they've been done, it'll probably need them again. Or soon.
My rule was always to
A: Buy a car with proof they were recently done at a premium.
B: Buy a car that needed them done at a substantial savings.
505Turbeaux
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 12:13 |
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I have seen these go for a long time with no HG issues, SOMETIMES. either the PO knows the work that was done or they don't. If they don't a visual inspection should give you a clue if things are on the up and up. Check for timing belt to be done on time, see if the cam seals leak (obvious), and look for the green on the underside of the head mating surface. If it has a nice clean tidy motor it was likely cared for well. If the owner knows about "Subaru Coolant Conditioner" then it is usually a good sign they were proactive (and that stuff does save alot of coolant issues, a reason they sell it at the parts counter at the dealer). We have a great Subie service guy up here. He puts a hand written tag on every component he touches under the hood so you can see everything done.
LuczOr
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 12:16 |
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The new head gaskets came out exactly in year 2000. Just make sure it was after that and you're golden.
Stupidru
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 12:44 |
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If you have the time, do a quick oil analysis from Blackstone for $25. If there's a lot of sodium or potassium in the engine, see ya. Head gasket needs to go soon and that's why the car is for sale. But I'll echo what others have said and try to get service records and take a careful peek under the hood.
Hell, why not just buy a bugeye WRX? The 2.0L turbos had hardly any headgasket problems.
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Grindintosecond
> Stupidru
01/10/2014 at 12:57 |
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but the bugeye transmissions had issues...
NaturallyAspirated
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 13:02 |
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The HG in my 2.5L '98 Legacy lasted until 198,000 miles. The newest HG revision from Subaru is significantly better than the factory gaskets. IMO, if the HGs have been done in the past, it's unlikely to ever need it again.
Bonus picture of my Subie with the heads off:
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Stupidru
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 13:03 |
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.....you do realize that the 5MT and 4EAT are shared with every other Subaru across the range, right?
I drive an 03 Impreza Outback and have had absolutely zero problems with its transmission. I'd be willing to wager that the bugeye transmissions are "issue prone" because of bros who don't know how to properly shift.
schwartz
> Takuro Spirit
01/10/2014 at 13:15 |
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My family typically does option B, as my dad has done over a dozen of them all with engine still in. The 3 they own all have close to 300k miles on them with little else wrong.
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Takuro Spirit
> schwartz
01/10/2014 at 13:27 |
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Yeah they're not the nightmare to work on everyone says they are.
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schwartz
> Takuro Spirit
01/10/2014 at 13:43 |
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Nope quite pleasant and easy for routine stuff as well. Spark plugs are a pain on some motors.
George McNally
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 14:24 |
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We had the head gaskets, timing belt etc done on our 2001 Outback when the car had about 110k on it.
Car now has 170k on it (our daughter now owns it) with no issues. The car looks like it's been through a war...14 years of parking in high school, college and nursing home parking lots tend to age a cars sheet metal prematurely.
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Grindintosecond
> Stupidru
01/10/2014 at 16:36 |
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I would agree with you on most parts of that. Bring out a nice fun car thats not too expensive and lets young college guys get one and everyone wants to play rally driver....of course this is also their first manual ever. The issue with the bugeye WRX is that a 100k mile example of that car I can not trust. An enormously thorough check would need to be done to make sure that transmission has not been beat on. Besides, What i'm trying to do is economize the family and eliminate a payment. Go from a 08 mazda3 to the possibility of a 2.5 legacy and knock out the payment i'm making and shift to a paid off reliable car... a 2.0 turbo is outside the price range...but it does sound like a great idea.
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Grindintosecond
> schwartz
01/10/2014 at 16:38 |
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I've seen that in the internet. Engine in, heads pop off and they're done. There's not too much in the way to remove and if you have the time and the tools, easy peasy.
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Stupidru
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 16:39 |
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Don't you hate getting old? ;) I do!
Now that I'm no longer as young as I used to be, I find my car that's paid off to be extremely attractive and I can't wait for my wife's car to be paid off either.
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Grindintosecond
> George McNally
01/10/2014 at 16:41 |
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Awesome luck! Is this a car you would buy NOW at 170k miles, with 60 on the gaskets for 2.5k ? (assuming you needed another one) because that's the situation i am in now. I don't NEED to buy one but I'm going to eliminate a payment this way and go from one car to a paid off car...and this is a candidate.
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Grindintosecond
> Stupidru
01/10/2014 at 16:51 |
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Oh no kidding! It's too bad the income doesn't go up with the family size. Wife's car paid off finally last fall. I sold off a 01 focus for 3k nearly 3 years back and I could either suffer through 2 more years of 220/month payment or sell it and take the equity I get and buy.....something....that's still a little bit of fun. What we need is a truck but honestly we just don't have the equity around without starting up another payment. Perhaps income tax season will be generous.
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Stupidru
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 17:12 |
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I need to be a real adult and pay off all of my student loans, buy a house, and save for the inevitable child before I even think about buying another car
...We're getting there, but it'll be a while
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George McNally
> Grindintosecond
01/10/2014 at 23:30 |
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Mmmm good question. Our daughters Subie is *rough* looking but mechanically-it's 100%, we have an awesome shop that does excellent work for us. I guess it all comes down to service history.
4 years ago, I bought a 2002 24v Taurus for our son to use with 160k miles on it for 3 grand...it was a used Verizon company car and had the full service history with lots of work and parts replaced (transaxle, head work,etc). 4 years later-we still have the car and have spent less than 1200 dollars (replaced the steering rack and ignition parts) on repairs. To me-that's a good deal if you average 1200 dollars in repairs over 4 years.....
Orange Exige
> Grindintosecond
01/11/2014 at 00:41 |
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Never saw what a (4-cylinder) boxer head gasket looked like before - pretty neat :)