tapdancer Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Hi There. I finally achieved the dream and got myself a subaru. Have wanted one for ages and finances finally allowed. I bought a 1999 2.5 manual Forester S for $7400 with 114,000 miles on it. After looking into this website it seems i have one "weak spot" to watch for. Many people seem to point to a problem with the head gasket going. Is there some way to know if this is starting to go, or some measure i can take to reduce the risk of this going? Also, if it does go, does it wreck the engine? This car has only had one owner from new and has had every single service suggested by Subaru. Any advice or reassurance greatly appreciated..... On another topic, I was wondering if i should have the timing belt re-done. It seems that Subaru say it should be replaced at 105K, and to my knowledge this wasn't done. Should I do this at this point? Is it likely to break at this mileage (114K)? Does it wreck the engine if it goes out? Any advice really appreciated and Great to have found this website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sios Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Congratulations. Forester was a real consideration for me before going with the Impreza Outback Sport. More of a car vs. SUV, in the end. Hmmmm, if you can be fairly certain the timing belt wasn't replaced you should get it done, as well as the water pump at the same time. Even if it could last another 20 or 30 thousand miles, every day you take a big risk. And yes, it'll mess things up. I don't know much about these Subaru's (yet) but people claim the head gasket trouble is not real common... at least, not as much so as might seem. Plus, it was the pre-99's I believe, which were the worst about failing. Apparently if the engine is never allowed to overheat you would probably be okay, far as head gasket goes. Therein lies the problem, can you possibly know it never overheated before? And would not do so soon anyway, for some reason, namely thermostat or water pump trouble. But I'll let others speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 I own a 99 Forester, which now has 167,000 miles. This car has the Phase II engine, so it should be very unlikely to suffer from a internal head gasket failure. The 2.5L Phase II is an inteference type engine. That means, if your timing belt breaks, kiss your valves and about $3,000 goobye. So, replace the timing belt if it hasn't already been done. READ and understand the operator's manual. Subarus generally are tough, capable and dependable vehicles, but they MUST be maintained properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 bottle of goop to prevent head gasket failure.The phase 2 only gets a small external leak usually and is not a big problem. I forget the exact terms but Subaru also extends the warranty on these engines for head gasket failure. This might be worth doing a search on the board. When I had mine done (second owner) Subaru gave me a bottle of goop and paid me back for the gaskets I had replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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