Like the subject line says. Found a clean one with 120k miles in our price range. Automatic :-(
what should I be afraid of?
Like the subject line says. Found a clean one with 120k miles in our price range. Automatic :-(
what should I be afraid of?
Not much. The headgasket issue is... overblown 
When it needs a converter in 50-60k, give or take, you'll need genuine Subaru to make the PCM happy.
You'll also get good at replacing rear wheel bearings and front control arms, for some reason this chassis eats the rear wheel bearings and front control arm bushings. Not the vertical ones that are expected to fail, either, but the on-axis ones.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
This is AK1. Any common AC issues?
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
None that I have seen. I did have one weird one (you always remember the weird ones) that would stall the engine at a light with the A/C on. The expansion valve was sticking shut, high side pressure would go right on up to around 400-450psi, and the load on the compressor was enough to stall the engine.
What was interesting is that nobody aftermarket made an expansion valve. I did get one from the knowhow people, and it turned out to not actually fit the vehicle. After returning it, magically the online catalog showed no listings for the application 
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Not much. The headgasket issue is... overblown
When I was slinging car parts to shops for NAPA we sold more Subaru head gaskets than all others combined. Some are better than others, but that engine family as a whole just expect it as regular maintenance.
AC compressor didn't engage. Dude said "it needs the gas recharged."
Upper rad support was slightly bent, headlight inboard mounting tabs didn't line up. Both headlight outboard mounting tabs were broken and glued. So it's has a light front hit at some point.
what are the typical symptoms of head gasket issues on these engines?
faint smell of coolant when I first opened the hood. Didn't see any leaks or track marks, and overflow bottle was full. Ran good, no steam or smoke or weird noises. A little clunky over bumps, not too heavy a noise, maybe sway bar end links?
overall a pretty nice car needing a little love. Definitely on the short list.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
The head gasket issue is heavy oil leaks. The oil drains are the whole bottom of the deck, and it isn't supported all that well, so it may leak.
It CAN get bad enough for the oil to catch fire if it happens. What more typically happens is the oil pan leaks, or the head gaskets drool a little, nothing enough to gey worked up over, and people get the head gaskets replaced because of "how common that is".
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:AC compressor didn't engage. Dude said "it needs the gas recharged."
Upper rad support was slightly bent, headlight inboard mounting tabs didn't line up. Both headlight outboard mounting tabs were broken and glued. So it's has a light front hit at some point.
what are the typical symptoms of head gasket issues on these engines?
faint smell of coolant when I first opened the hood. Didn't see any leaks or track marks, and overflow bottle was full. Ran good, no steam or smoke or weird noises. A little clunky over bumps, not too heavy a noise, maybe sway bar end links?
overall a pretty nice car needing a little love. Definitely on the short list.
Ugh - I hope its cheap.
Unless you are somehow madly in love with Subarus or you just want to try one out, hard pass for me. I wanted one baaaaaaddd. And then I bought one. Just was really unremarkable at everything but using gas.
Hopefully it's a non turbo. Don't even think about one of them unless you want to get really intimate with the motors. Like others have said head gaskets & wheel bearings.
I was adding a comment about the A/C when the power went out... lightning strike must've weakened something.
Anyway. The frontal collision evidence might mean the condensor is holed.
I've also seen that the engine-out technique of leaving the A/C lines connected and tucking the compressor into the battery area can slightly bend one of the A/C lines up, so the O-ring leaks at the compressor. Engine out isn't a bad thing, that's actually the fast way to do things like clutches and oil pans, and on DOHC it is practically the only way to do camshaft seals. And the kinked fitting is fairly easy to fix with a pair of pliers or something.
For reference, I could usually get the engine ready to come out by the time the A/C machine had evacuated the charge from the system. Engine-out is so incredibly easy that it doesn't make sense not to do it for a lot of things.
AK1 and I appreciate the feedback. Forester was at the top of her want list, and this one is very clean for a Michigan car, so we rolled the dice and struck a deal. Verified title info matches VIN on car, left a deposit, and got a bill of sale that may only be worth the paper it's printed on, but the young man seemed pretty honest and his behavior / demeanor wasn't at all indicative of impending shenanigans, so we'll see on Friday (I'm out of town Mon-Thu) whether or not I read the situation correctly.
Oh yeah, nice thing about this generation is they don't seem to rust like the previous one.
A head gasket going bad usually weeps right over the motor mount, usually on the driver side for whatever reason.
They are very particular about plugs and wires (NGK or oem only).
Coils can crack, generating a misfire.
I replaced a couple crank and/or cam sensors on the ones we had. It will typically throw a code before they completely die.
P0420 code is the catalytic converter. It may or may not need one. I've read several reports of guys replacing them only to have the light come back. Using a spark plug anti-fouler (referred to in Subaru circles as the "$5 fix") on the rear O2 sensor can diminish or sometimes eliminate recurrence.
Rear wheel bearings, yes. And they suck to do. Pay someone. I've never replaced control arms on the front though.
WRX suspension bolts on.
In reply to ddavidv :
iATN is full of "P0420, replaced cat, code came back" on Subarus... and the fix is always "removed aftermarket converter, replaced with dealer part"
In reply to ddavidv :
What sucks about changing rear wheel bearings? It looks pretty straightforward to me. Interested in hearing your experience.
And anything tricky about timing belt / water pump R&R? That also looks pretty straightforward. What else "while I'm in there"?
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
May I field that one? I do a couple per month.
The drum brake backing plate is a close tolerance fit to the bearing assembly's pilot. This turns into a rust interference fit. So, after you beat the hell out of the bearing trying to jar it free from the knuckle (don't forget to remove the ABS sensor first!) then you get to fight trying to heat the backing plate so you can beat the bearing assembly out of it while everything is dangling by the handbrake cable.
I could not imagine doing one without a hub striker tool and a 20lb sledge to get the bearing out, and then oxyacetylene and an air hammer to get the bearing out of the backing plate.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:And anything tricky about timing belt / water pump R&R? That also looks pretty straightforward. What else "while I'm in there"?
I would not replace the water pump unless you are installing a Subaru unit. The only water pump failures I've seen were aftermarket units. It's very straightforward, especially if you have a knocker tool to get the crank pulley loose.
Are the harmonic balancer still prone to separating like they were in previous years?
We had headgasket issues on our '92 SVX in 2002 at about 140k miles-overheating and combustion gasses in coolant. I pulled the motor to replace them. Not a bad job. Our '07 Legacy GT (turbo) didn't have head gasket issues when we sold it in 2015 with about the same miles on it.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
May I field that one? I do a couple per month.
The drum brake backing plate is a close tolerance fit to the bearing assembly's pilot.
are you talking about the DIH parking brake? Because this one has rear discs. Not questioning your wisdom, just trying to understand what I'm getting into.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:And anything tricky about timing belt / water pump R&R? That also looks pretty straightforward. What else "while I'm in there"?
I would not replace the water pump unless you are installing a Subaru unit. The only water pump failures I've seen were aftermarket units. It's very straightforward, especially if you have a knocker tool to get the crank pulley loose.
Assuming it's never been done, this timing belt and water pump are at 125k. Are you saying Leave the water pump alone? Or are you saying replace with Subaru part? I've had great luck with Aisin kits on Hondas, and another buddy says the Conti kit is good for Subarus. Again, not questioning your experience, just looking for clarification. I want to knock this all out before she goes back to school in a couple months.
What about ATF? Sube-branded fluid? Or is Valvoline Max-Life the special sauce?
what about front diff?
what about rear diff?
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
May I field that one? I do a couple per month.
The drum brake backing plate is a close tolerance fit to the bearing assembly's pilot.
are you talking about the DIH parking brake? Because this one has rear discs. Not questioning your wisdom, just trying to understand what I'm getting into.
It has rear disks but it has a drum parking brake/handbrake.
To the best of my knowledge, Subarus have never had unified handbrakes in the caliper in the rear. (They did in the old cars where it went to the front brakes)
Pete. (l33t FS) said:AngryCorvair said:are you talking about the DIH parking brake? Because this one has rear discs. Not questioning your wisdom, just trying to understand what I'm getting into.
It has rear disks but it has a drum parking brake/handbrake.
Ah yes. DIH = Drum In Hat, ie a drum-style parking brake in which the hat of the rotor is also the drum.
Ok, another question: strong gas smell at traffic lights, did not notice while idling in driveway. I filled it up the day we bought it (low fuel light was on), and I noticed it while in my car following AK1 home. No obvious leaks anywhere, no tracking under car, don't smell it under hood. Pulled rear seat and both fuel pump access panels, no smell. Haven't removed the belly pan under the tank yet. Google was no help. What say ye, oh great hive mind?
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