lhrocker Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I got rid of my 95 legacy and I am looking to get another subaru. I would love to get another 95 with relatively low miles if I can, but other than that, what are good years and what are bad years? How long was the head gasket issue? 1996 - ???? and for 2.5's only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Anything with the ej25 phase 1 dohc has the head gasket issues. Phase 2 sohc was started in 99 for the impreza rs and 00 for the legacy lineup. Begining in MY02 all n/a subaru's were ej25 phase 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 1990-1994 Legacy's are all extremely reliable and some of them even came with turbos for more power. They're all non-interference engines so you don't have to worry about being aggressive with the timing belt change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 In addition to the '90'-94 I see a lot of people like the '95 & '96 2.2L. Someone mentioned in an earlier post the '96 Outback with MT was 2.2L. The potential head gasket issue 2.5L's are still a great vehicle if you are willing/prepared to have it fixed if/when needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 good year in terms of what? the 2.5's are real nice, got nice power. i would not pay full price for one personally. i'd buy an inexpensive one with a blown motor (easy to find) and put a new motor in it if i wanted one with a 2.5. the 2.2's are solid for reliability. non-interference 2.2's are nice for reliability and no chance of engine damage with timing belt, pulley or water pump related timing belt failure (1996 or earlier) non interference 2.2's with hydraulic lifters are nice, they have all of the above and no valve adjustments are needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 i love my 1997 OBW. i liked my 1998 legacy too, but i like the power of the 2.5 . I got jumped on for scaring people off subarus due to the AWD system (people damaging it due to not understanmding it .. can happen on any awd car), but i constantly see people badmouthing the 2.5. i love the 2.5 over the 2.2 . The older the 2.5 Gets, the more likely if it had a HG issue, it was already repaired. I loved mine so much I had it rebuilt. Mine did not have a HG issues, but had a previous owner that did once a year oil changes (not synthetic) and that caught up to it. If you live in a hilly area, defanitly look at a 2.5L. When your looking at a 7-10 year old car used, anything can go wrong. I always used the rule of thumb that the older the car, the more likely you are to put 50% of the purchase price back into the car the next year in repairs. This is just for budgeting purposes. Some cars i just drove, others i had to reseal. This is just something to help you plan. As with any AWD car, make sure the tires all match, and drive it in a few tight circles to check the AWD system. If its an automatic make sure the fuse is not in the FWD holder under the hood. nipper nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 i love my 1997 OBW. i liked my 1998 legacy too, but i like the power of the 2.5 .I got jumped on for scaring people off subarus due to the AWD system (people damaging it due to not understanmding it .. can happen on any awd car), but i constantly see people badmouthing the 2.5. i love the 2.5 over the 2.2 . The older the 2.5 Gets, the more likely if it had a HG issue, it was already repaired. I loved mine so much I had it rebuilt. Mine did not have a HG issues, but had a previous owner that did once a year oil changes (not synthetic) and that caught up to it. If you live in a hilly area, defanitly look at a 2.5L. When your looking at a 7-10 year old car used, anything can go wrong. I always used the rule of thumb that the older the car, the more likely you are to put 50% of the purchase price back into the car the next year in repairs. This is just for budgeting purposes. Some cars i just drove, others i had to reseal. This is just something to help you plan. As with any AWD car, make sure the tires all match, and drive it in a few tight circles to check the AWD system. If its an automatic make sure the fuse is not in the FWD holder under the hood. nipper nipper That about sums it up nipper! nice post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterD Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 i love my 1997 OBW. i liked my 1998 legacy too, but i like the power of the 2.5 .I got jumped on for scaring people off subarus due to the AWD system (people damaging it due to not understanmding it .. can happen on any awd car), but i constantly see people badmouthing the 2.5. i love the 2.5 over the 2.2 . The older the 2.5 Gets, the more likely if it had a HG issue, it was already repaired. I loved mine so much I had it rebuilt. Mine did not have a HG issues, but had a previous owner that did once a year oil changes (not synthetic) and that caught up to it. If you live in a hilly area, defanitly look at a 2.5L. When your looking at a 7-10 year old car used, anything can go wrong. I always used the rule of thumb that the older the car, the more likely you are to put 50% of the purchase price back into the car the next year in repairs. This is just for budgeting purposes. Some cars i just drove, others i had to reseal. This is just something to help you plan. As with any AWD car, make sure the tires all match, and drive it in a few tight circles to check the AWD system. If its an automatic make sure the fuse is not in the FWD holder under the hood. nipper nipper my only problem with the 2.2 was little power with a heavy car. my dads 98 ouback with the 2.5 is a great car, nearly 200k miles on it and had the headgaskets chagned at 188k, the only real problem with it is massive piston slap that is making my dad nervous. he isn't as happy with this car due to these engine problems. I like it its a great engine when well taken care of. don't let the problems scar you away its not like it happens all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 the only real problem with it is massive piston slap that is making my dad nervous. he isn't as happy with this car due to these engine problems. I like it its a great engine when well taken care of. don't let the problems scar you away its not like it happens all the time. Indeed, mine had that too! It was so anoying, and the only cure is a rebuild. I am told it requires slightly larger pistons to correct this problem, and so far it has worked for me. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srs_49 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I've had no problems at all with our '02 OBW, 3.0L H6 engine. It's got 91K miles on it. Only non-expected item I had to replace was the brake master cylinder when I accidently grabbed a can of motor oil instead of brake fluid for topping it off. Oh yeah, there was the brake-problem-when-cold issue that has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, that I finally fixed for no cost. So far, no complaints other than I think the gas mileage could be better than the 23-24 mpg we've been getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I'm with nippster on this one, the EJ25 is so much more fun than the EJ22 even though they're known for blowing up etc... i think it's worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoStu Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 i love my 1997 OBW. i liked my 1998 legacy too, but i like the power of the 2.5 .I got jumped on for scaring people off subarus due to the AWD system (people damaging it due to not understanmding it .. can happen on any awd car), but i constantly see people badmouthing the 2.5. i love the 2.5 over the 2.2 . The older the 2.5 Gets, the more likely if it had a HG issue, it was already repaired. I loved mine so much I had it rebuilt. Mine did not have a HG issues, but had a previous owner that did once a year oil changes (not synthetic) and that caught up to it. If you live in a hilly area, defanitly look at a 2.5L. When your looking at a 7-10 year old car used, anything can go wrong. I always used the rule of thumb that the older the car, the more likely you are to put 50% of the purchase price back into the car the next year in repairs. This is just for budgeting purposes. Some cars i just drove, others i had to reseal. This is just something to help you plan. As with any AWD car, make sure the tires all match, and drive it in a few tight circles to check the AWD system. If its an automatic make sure the fuse is not in the FWD holder under the hood. nipper nipper What would one look for when driving in tight cirlces to check the AWD system? I have a 99 Legacy OBW and was always wondering if the AWD was working properly. How would this tell? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 What would one look for when driving in tight cirlces to check the AWD system?Check for binding. It should make the turn at idle or with very light throttle. Any popping, banging, hanging up, feeling like the brakes on could mean torque bind. To see if the AWD is working, I'd say get on some snow or gravel or mud or something and get the wheels to spinning. You might need someone outside the vehicle to verify that at least one front and one rear wheel spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Check for binding. It should make the turn at idle or with very light throttle. Any popping, banging, hanging up, feeling like the brakes on could mean torque bind. To see if the AWD is working, I'd say get on some snow or gravel or mud or something and get the wheels to spinning. You might need someone outside the vehicle to verify that at least one front and one rear wheel spin. If its icy, and awd is working correct and you hammer down as much as she has there is a good chance of it breaking sideways, actually a real good chance. I've always loved mom's 98 in the snow:grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.