The Dude

In America, the land of the free, the SUV, and cheap gas, the Subaru is thought of primarily as a AWD car. But in Europe, Subarus are renowned as tow vehicles. Check the UK Subaru website. The 2006 Forester equiped with a 2.0L gasoline (petrol) engine is rated at a 3,410lbs (1500 Kg) maximum towing limit. The 2006 Forester equiped with the 2.5L diesel maxes out at a prodigious 4,400 lbs (2000 Kg) towing limit. So, what gives? Why are US Subarus speced at only 2,200 lbs (1000 Kg)? I've looked into it, US and UK Subarus are virtually the same vehicle. The Brits get smaller engines because petroleum products are so highly taxed there. So, why the the big difference?

If it makes a difference, I'm pretty sure that the 95 2.2L engine is a NON-INTERFERENCE type. So, if you mess up the timing belt replacement, you're just imbarassed, not out an engine. It would make a difference to me.

The problem with a used engine, even a great engine like the 2.2, is that you are never certain of the condition of the engine. I know a number of people who have installed used Japanese engines only to have them blow up a short time later. Rlsimpso KNOWS the condition of his present engine. Except for the blown heads gaskets , he has taken care of it. He has every reason to believe that the blown head gaskets are the ONLY problem with the engine. So, if he replaces the blown gaskets with the latest rev genuine Suby head gaskets, he can be pretty certain of having a reliable engine. The head gasket job can be done with the motor in the car. It can be done by a compentent amateur. It will be a PITA, but not a whole lot in actual cash outlay. Plus no manifold, exhaust, ECU, or other compatibility issues. The 2.2 may be close to the 2.5, but it ain't exactly plug and play.

I would just add that frequently, a Subaru can have a bad O2 sensor and NOT throw a code. If your car has close to 100,000 miles and you suspect a problem, you might change it. You'll be replacing it soon enough, anyway.

I would say, all things being equal, the newer, the better. I would avoid the 98 Forester. It had the 2.5L DOHC Phase I engine, a history of bearing failures, and clutch problems. I believe if you get a 2002 or newer, the possibility of an external head gasket failure is greatly reduced. I got excellent service out of my 1999 Forester. My 2006 Forester has a number of nice improvements over the 1999. If you don't need to carry passengers in the back seat on a regular basis, the Forester is a pretty sweet ride.

Yes, the Legacy didn't get the 2.5L SOHC Phase II until MY2000.

You're not home free yet. The threads are usually damaged when the engine spits out a plug. You can re-install the plug OK, but the engine spits it out again after a few days to a couple of weeks. I hope you got lucky.

I say one thing about the guy who clipped his Fumoto drain valve on a rock, he's honest. His post says "A sad day....due to my own stupidity". I wouldn't suggest the Fumoto valve for rugged off road use. For normal use, it's great. I figure the likelyhood of stripping the drain plug or having it leak, or fall out, from undertightening is much greater than the slight chance of the Fumoto valve getting whacked while driving on an actual road.

The best advise I can give you is to buy a Fumoto drain valve. I had one on my last Suby for seven years without even one drip. And a Fumoto drain valve was the first thing I installed in my new Forester. Without a Fumoto, you either have tighten the drain plug by "feel" or use a torque wrench.

So that we can all learn something, please tell us why was the engine rebuilt? How many miles on the engine when you had it rebuilt? Thanks. You seem like a very conscientious owner, so I'm extra curious as to why the engine failed.

This is one time that I hope that I am wrong. I sure hope that you gave that heater core a thorough going over. If it was me, given what a PITA the replacement is, I probably would've installed a new heater core even if I couldn't have found the leak. Fogged windows and an antifreeze smell are dead on symptoms of a leaky heater core. You tested the heater core under pressure, but in the car the heater core also has coolant running through it, it might make a difference. Also, did you check to see if the heater core was clogged? No heat means no coolant flow. To be honest, I don't know where the heater cut-off valve valve is located in your car. If it's on the cabin side of the firewall, it's a suspect. Anything on the cabin side of the firewall, heater core, hoses, cut-off valve and clamps are suspects. BTW, depending on the humidity of the air in the cabin, it might not take much of a leak to fog the windows and create a smell. Some of that florescent leak detect fluid and a black light might help.

Vacuum oil extractors are primarily used where it is impossible or very difficult to drain the oil otherwise. A good example would be a boat. Cramped engine compartments usually make it impossible to access the drain plug on a diesel engine installed in a boat.

Maybe instead of "DOHC" it should be called the 2.5L "POS". It doesn't happen anywhere as often as the infamous head gasket failures, but the 2.5L DOHC is known to suffer from camshaft failure. The oil channels in this engine supplying the camshafts are extremely narrow. They are very easily occluded by even a very small piece of debris. Did the debris come from the head gasket work? Who knows? This many miles after the repair work it's unfair to point a finger at the shop. Anyway, depending on how well the search functions on this board, you should be able to find other people posting on this same problem

Most of what you wrote is true. However, if the AWD fails, and the dealer suspects driver abuse (mismatching tires, for example) the dealership will not cover it under warranty. Also, the car could have been towed improperly, again no warranty coverage. Or the car could have some damaged components from off road use, again no warranty coverage. Your idea of counting the warranty to take care of any post purchase problems is not a particulary good one. There are plenty of honest people selling their cars out there. But there are also a fair number of people looking to unload a problem, and consider the unwary fair game. You can never be too careful when buying a used car.

Take some slow, sharp 90 degree turns. Drive just as you were pulling into a parking space at a mall. This will test for center differential binding. Visually inspect the fuse box, make certain that the FWD fuse has NOT been installed. In AWD it should be almost impossible to "chirp" the tires when making a "jack rabbit" start. Install the FWD fuse, it should be easy to "chirp" the tires. The difference should be fairly obvious. That may the best you can do. Snow and ice are probably in short supply in Texas right now.

You're getting close to the end, but did you check the radiator for obstructions? After running the engine, the surface of the radiator should be uniformly warm with no hot or cold spots. When was the water pump last changed? It's rare for a genuine Subaru water pump to fail under 100,000 miles.

No, when the radiator cap fails to seal it can not pressurize the cooling system. Pressure RAISES the boiling point of the coolant. No again, thermostats can, and often do, fail in the OPEN or CLOSED position. If the thermostat fails in the closed position the coolant in the engine block will not be able to circulate to the radiator and will overheat. It is possible to test a thermostat by heating it to its' operating temperature. However, it necessary to remove the thermostat from the car in order to test it. Given the fact that the thermostat is already out, and a replacement is fairly cheap, most people just replace them without testing. If you replace the thermostat be sure to use a genuine Subaru brand thermostat. After market thermostats usually do NOT work well in Subarus.

Thermostat failure could be a possible cause. Also check the cooling fans. A defective radiator cap is another possible problem item. Whatever you do handle the problem quickly, because an all aluminum engine takes overheating extremely poorly.

I would never suggest buying a car unseen. But if you can find a Subaru in the deep south it might be worth a look. Obviously, there are a lot fewer Subarus south of the snow belt, but they almost all are rust free. And used, they don't bring the same prices as they do up north. I had one person show up to see my used 1999 Forester. Other than having 200,000 mile on the clock, the car was in cherry condition.

Rotating five tires isn't hard for anyone with a functioning brain. The donut doesn't save any space because it's in a FULL sized wheel well. There are strict SPEED and DISTANCE restrictions on an emergency donut. If it's 2:00 AM and I have a flat, I'd much prefer to change to a full sized spare, slip in the FWD fuse, and continue my journey. It's a widely recognized fact that emergency donuts are inferior in every respect to full sized spares and they are speced ONLY to save the manufacturer a few bucks. When Subaru speced the donut did they redesign the car to give the Forester a badly needed inch or two of room in the back seats? NO Same wheel well, same lousy cramped back seats, only thing different, a cheap inferior donut. And since I tow, the donut will be replaced at my expense, because I have no choice.

I know the 2006 Forester doesn't have a full size spare, at least mine doesn't. A full size spare would fit in the well perfectly, just as a fully sized spare fit in the well of my 99 Forester. The emegency spare was speced ONLY so Subaru could save a few miserable bucks, the cheap, lousy bastards. You absolutely can't use an emergency spare when towing anything. A lot of peopel buy Subarus because they are excellent tow vehicles. This bonehead move doesn't make a lot of sense.

IF you could negotiate your best deal, get that deal in writing, and THEN whip out that coupon, you'd have something. BUT you have to show dealership the coupon UP FRONT, as soon as you walk through the door. The amount of the coupon is just coming off some other incentive you would have gotten. SALESMAN: Ok, it's $20,000 for the new Forester, and I'll give you $3,000 for the trade-in CUSTOMER: I need more for my trade-in. SALESMAN: Sure thing, pal. How about $22,000 for the new Forester and $5,000 for the trade-in? CUSTOMER: Let's write the deal up. I'm actually as stupid as I look.

There is always noticable lag with a turbocharger, any turbocharger. If you want less lag, go with a supercharger.

The Forester has a 1000 pound limit for towing a trailer without brakes. I would be much more concerned with the braking limit than the amount of weight towed. I believe the same Forester has been given a 2000 kg towing limit in Europe.

Rencently there have been several people posting on badly toasted differentials due to mismatching tires. I know that the center differential in a Subaru can be damaged by mismatched tires, but these posters reported severe damage in the front and/or rear differentials as well. A center differential is unique to AWD cars, but the front and rear differentials are similar to the units found in FWD and RWD cars. FWD cars aren't sensitive to mismatched tires, so why do the front and rear differentials go out in the Subaru? I can understand a locking rear differential going out, but these sounded like open differentials.