Hey gang, would appreciate any input, observations, feelings (pro or con) on the '08 Forester. My sister-in-law in Tennessee is considering buying one, LLBean model with 69k miles.

 

The '08 is SOHC 2.5 liter, right? Still have HG concerns? How about the Forester rear wheel bearing problems--solved?

 

Anything in particular I should warn her about?

 

Thanks for any help.

Bump! No one has anything nice to say about the car? Or bad?

The HG problems were corrected with the last generation in 2005. Rarely do you hear of any 2.5 since then having the problem. I believe the same is true concerning the rear wheel bearings. Both are a thing of the past.

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

The HG problems were corrected with the last generation in 2005. Rarely do you hear of any 2.5 since then having the problem. I believe the same is true concerning the rear wheel bearings. Both are a thing of the past.

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I highly doubt it is absolutely fixed on either of these but the frequency is likely to be going down. I look at these as a maintenance issue. Perform the HG replacement with the timing belt and you are only looking at around 5 hours of extra labor to do the head gaskets, and you likely need valve cover gaskets and seals as well. Packed and priced as a package, its really not that bad especially if you set aside $1000 for a leaky day.

Thanks gentlemen, very helpful. Quick followup questions:

 

1) Does Subaru still require that their "stop leak" be added to the coolant? Specifically, do they in the '08 Forester?

 

2) Do Foresters come from the factory with the Legacy style (roller?) rear wheel bearings now? In the '08 model?

What part of Tennessee?

Just down the road a piece . . . in Chattanooga!