Amokster

Hey, guys and gals. I've been obsessively looking into the newer ( 2006 + ) and on Subarus for quite some time now. I was wondering if you consider them to be a high maintenance/cost vehicle. I've read about the cars going to 200K++ miles but that doesn't seem like much compared to what I've seen with other brands, especially if a head gasket is involved. Is the 2.5 motor a good motor or would it benefit one to wait for an improvement? I've been looking into the Bajas ( I don't really fit in the Foresters for some reason ) but it seems half of the folks either have never ending issues on their hands or their trucks are maintenance free. Thoughts? Are there specific things I should look out for?

Did you buy the white Brat in Oregon City? If so, it might be the Brat I was looking at before it got sold. It had a vacuum leak issue, so he says.

I had the same thing happen to a vehicle of mine--not a Subie--and it turned out to be a vacuum leak.

Looks like the car was sold from under me. Oh well. If an awesome deal on a Baja comes my way, I'll pick it up. Thanks for all of the input, guys.

Thanks for the answers. Sorry about the wrong Thread.

I've looked through the handy Subaru Book on what the compression is suppose to be for an older Brat, 138-168 psi I believe. Is having the compression on the middle to lower end of things ever a problem. The Brat I'm looking at ( still for crying out loud ) has 150 psi in all 4 cylinders. Is there a difference between the lower middle end and the higher end?

The Army stuck rocks! Love it!

Welcome aboard! Tons of great info and folks here.

Does gutting the exhaust affect gas mileage at all?

Inspiring project.

The Brat on Steroids looks fantastic. I am jealous.

What link? ps. Nice work so far!

Quick update: Still don't have the Brat. Was going to look at it last Saturday but the guy said there was a carb issue so he postponed it because he doesn't wanna sell it unless it's working perfectly. Turns out it had 3 vacuum leaks. The mechanic also did a compression check on the engine and all 4 cylinders have 150 psi which he said was perfect--I don't know anything about that kind of thing. So now it runs like new and I'll be checking it out in 1.5 weeks if all goes well. The carb is a year old and works fine but everyone seems to like the Weber carbs. So here's the question: Would it be better to leave the one-year old Hitachi carb on there with all of the H.R. Geiger-esque vacuum lines or ditch the carb right away and go for the Weber which the Brat guy said would eliminate about 75% of the vacuum lines? Also, is there a finish I can put on the dash to cover up the blue interior aside from swapping out the entire thing? maybe like a special paint of mat cover?

Hi, Suebee. I'm a potential Brat owner. I was gonna look at the one I want today but the guy said it had a carb problem and doesn't wanna sell it unless it's in perfect running condition. :-\ can't blame him.

Another Olympian!