Killed it now what? Subaru Forester

Wifes been using my Cobalt the past week so I've been driving the 98 Forester. Friday i got to work and shut it off and it pushed out 3/4 of a gallon of anti-freeze out of the motor in 2 seconds... Crap this anti good... Re filled it with 50/50 mix and for 5 miles at lunch it was fine. stopped got 2 slices for lunch on the way back was watching the temp gauge was normal mid of the range then WHAM pegged. Pulled over steam all over. At this point I'm kinda of sure it a head gasket or both with 218,000 miles on it I've been waiting and hoping it would keep going. A few weeks prior i had seen a small puddle on top of the passengers head by the inlet fitting. Anyways. Local junk yards want $1200 for a used 100+ motor. E-bay shows all sorts of JDM motors for same price ranges delivered. Anyone ever have good luck with on of theses JDM dealers? I don't really want to put a motor in it but still have 3 years left to pay on the truck...

I know two different people who had good luck with JDM import engines - one in a Honda, one in a Toyota. Heck, the Toyota station wagon received a replacement V6 and is still going after another 100,000 miles.

Give it to me so I can put my eg33 in it :)

Also, it would be a little more nutless, but you could just put an ej22e in it. Those motors are incredible in terms of longevity, and are often sold cheap.

$1200 for motor and if you do it yourself there is bound to be something else needed so lets say $1500. If you have it done then $3,000 total.
How is everything else on the car?
Could you do better just buying a $1500 running car? Do those exist in your area.

If they do, act quickly because tax return season will be upon us soon and the price of cheap used cars tends to jump.

http://worcester.craigslist.org/cto/2761440674.html
$600 will get you a Legacy w/ a bad manual trans
Mix and match and you either have a Legacy w/ a Forester trans or a Forester w/ a Legacy motor.

http://worcester.craigslist.org/cto/2782218534.html
2dr Impreza that need trans work.

http://worcester.craigslist.org/cto/2773649417.html Outback wagon manual needs emissions work? Do you have those parts?

$2k or less will get you a runner...
http://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/2780443479.html
http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/2780840382.html http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/2779329680.html
http://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/2771034681.html

Those engines are less than half that much here, that's really quite expensive. It's not a hard swap though, so you should be able to do it pretty easily.

Sounds like someone needs a balled up STi and a solid weekend.

Travis_K wrote: Those engines are less than half that much here, that's really quite expensive. It's not a hard swap though, so you should be able to do it pretty easily.

+1. I've never paid more than $500 for an EJ. Those prices are absolutely insane!

I think you'll have a hard time finding a jdyam 2.5L N/A motor that will work...

Swapping it out is no problem We had it out 2 years ago to do the clutch. Rest of the boddy is not great but not real bad yet...but there was no warenty on the windshield we had done this summer due to rusty A pillar. Called on the $600 one its got over 223,000 on it before the OD broke.. so god only knows.. With my luck it would last a week...

+1 for finding a running, non-driving donor.

I bought my Brighton (for the second time) with a locked up EJ18 for $250 and after a lot of waiting and watching I found a '92 FWD Legacy with a fragged slushbox for $300. It was HAGGARD but ran perfectly. Definitely the most cost effective way to go, if you have the time, tools and space.

Just a longblock is like $250 here, or $600 for the complete engine. You dont really need anything but the longblock if its like an EJ22, the wiring harness is pretty much just attached to the intake manifold and plugged into the engine. There is no way of knowing if they run though, so you have to just exchange it if they are bad.

Well I hope it is just a thermostat puking the coolant. But if you do have to replace the engine I think everybody is in agreement that the quotes you have received are absurdly high. Around here $1200 will buy you a clean running 90s Legacy wagon with a clear title and around 150k if not lower.

What about putting head gaskets on the current mill before replacing the engine?

Paul B

did you try other subarus of that era? wow...prices have shot the hell up on DOHC motors.

Looks like on car-part.com there's one with a 112k on it for under 900 at Everett's in brockton. They usually have an awesome warrantee on their stuff.

1998 Engine Subaru Forester (2.5L, VIN '6' 6th digit) 1120884 $875.95 Everett's Auto Parts USA-MA(Brockton) Request_Quote 1-800-772-5200 Request_Insurance_Quote

I can spy it for you 44 as I am pretty close to Brockton, and know the manager over there at Everetts.

Chris

Donebrokeit wrote: What about putting head gaskets on the current mill before replacing the engine? Paul B

It might work but theses motors are known for cracking when the gasket lets go and the bolts are torque to yield so it get to be big $$ quick for fix a old high mileage motor.

I've got to talk with the wife and see what she wants to do..

Well dropped the lower hose and pulled the T-stat. Last it was changed was 1/09 with a factory unit this time it got a Gates brand (never knew gates made t-stats...) Put the front up on ramps so rad was highest I could get it took about 1/2 hour to get it filled with it running all seems fine....We'll see to night after its cooled down if it takes more and then go for test drive...

Occam's Razor. Awesome. I love it. I hope that's all it needs.

Hope that fixes it. When the motor on the MR2 blowed up, I replaced the short block. I got a new block complete with pistons, crank, rings, etc, all machined, cleaned, and ready to go. Just swap over the head and the oil pan and it was ready to go. This allowed me to upgrade the head gasket and lots of other stuff. I recommend that route over a complete used motor.

How did the gates unit compare with the factory unit? Size of spring and wax chamber?

When I did the timing belton my 03 forester, I replaced the water pump and thermostat. The thermostat was a Duralast one from AZ.

I found the car ran warm around town, but on the highway it was fine if RPM's were high enough.

I replaced it with a factory t-stat and the temp was stable. I was amazed when looking at the two side by side how much heavier the factory unit was.

My theory (correct or not) is that the AZ unit would respond too quickly to the cold water coming in and close before the circulating enough coolant to maintain stable temps. The heavier factory unit took longer to cool and close allowing it to circulate enough coolant before closing to maintain a stable temp.

Not sure if the theory is correct, but the temp problems went away after the change.

Well the gate does not have the tickler valve in the body (looks like a small hole with a rivet lose inside) to let it move some fluid and most importantly drain the block so you don't take a huge bath next time.... Yes the spring was shorter but the chamber size was about the same. In 09 we did clutch, water pump, all seals, T belts ect as we had motor out thought about doing head gaskets but after pricing gaskets and bolt and valve job cuase if i take a head off it gets worked it was just to much to spend

Time will tell but I'm not betting on it. It had been pushing about a quart out and not sucking it back in when it cooled for over a year now...hoses would have presure even after sitting over night.

The hose pressure could have just been a bad cap.

If I get a T-stat without the tickler I drill a 1/16" hole in the rim to let air bleed out easier.

I'll post a photo later showing the difference I found between aftermarket and factory. Can't access photobucket from current location.

Changed caps at least twice Ya i looked at drilling the hole but it was snowing and i was wet and cold. It got new rad cap last night too. Got the parts friday on the way home before calling tow truck...