I'm thinking about taking a look at a 2000 L Wagon, though I am not certain whether it has the 2.2 or 2.5. If it has the later, did they switch over to the SOHC heads without the gasket issue in that year? It's been so long, I can't remember! Thanks for any info you guys can pass along!

That car will be a SOHC 2.5L. They have been known to leak coolant externally, however if they have been replaced with the updated OEM gaskets, they usually don't leak. If the car has under 100,000 miles and has coolant leaking externally, there is a warranty extension, however I don't know exactly what years are covered. The head gasket job would cost ~1800 or so if you had it done at my dealership, might be less from an aftermarket shop or if you did it yourself. (Does not require engine removal)

Thanks, I'll be sure to take a look!

All of that is covered here, practice that search engine and read all you want.

 

It's the Ej25 SOHC, but you're not informed i guess that the later ones still have headgasket issues. They're a little different, less annoying than the older ones and fully recognized by Subaru who extended the head gasket warranty to 100,000 miles and 8 years so more than likely a 2001 is going to fall outside of that range no matter what but ocassionally Subaru goes above and beyond.

 

Fortuantely these don't leave you stranded like the older ones as they don't overheat until they run out of coolant (which usually takes a really long time at the rate they drip). Additives also help, Subaru has a special subaru gunk to dump into with every coolant change (which is good to do often given the nature of the headgasket problem).

 

You can always ask/run a VIN through Subaru and see if they were ever replaced under warranty, that's a nice hit and easy to find.