tpt519

Wow guys - thanks for the responses. I'll get a 2nd opinion for sure and quite possibly start looking for a EJ22 motor. I'll post updates as I get them. Regards - Tim

This past June I purchased a 99 Legacy GT wagon with 99K and was happy as a clam until I noticed it was using a lot of oil. No serious leaks but I was smelling oil occasionally like when I was backing up with the windows down. A few days ago I noticed oil in the coolant overflow and it looks like she's got the infamous 2.5L Phase 1 head gasket issue. Found a local guy that works on Soobs & Volvos telling me it's a basket case and I should consider walking away from this (I paid 4K). He's telling me that if the heads are pitted, it'd be cheaper to find a used motor but that since my car is a stick, I'd need to find a motor from a car with the exact same transmission and that might be tricky and expensive. Besides the engine issues, he's telling me the whole exhaust will need replacement soon and there's significant rust on a few body seams, the gas tank and stuff like the brake lines. For around 650$ he'll pull the motor and crack the case and tell me if the motor is toast or not. Any advice you folks have would be greatly appreciated......Thanks - Tim