I haven't given up on the '01 EZ30 I was talking about recently, but have been dealing with higher priority stuff - including acquiring a radiant heater for the garage so I can get the damn thing fixed in comfort.

In the meantime, we have an opportunity to grab an (estate) '06 Outback with the 3.0R - low miles (~250K km and an initial ask of $2K CAD).  That's newer than anything else we have (or have had), so I've never touched this motor.

What do all-y'all think of it?

[Edit]

I see now that it (the EZ30D Mk 2) is basically the same EZ30(D Mk1) as I'm familiar with, but with the addition of VVT.  So my question stands:  Do you think it's a good/bad/indifferent change?

Edited February 11Feb 11 by jonathan909

Crickets... awesome.

Couldn't help buying it at the price.  VVT strikes me as marginal fussiness but probably harmless, though I've seen oil leak through them in a friend's EJ25.  The car's twenty years old and already too modern for my taste, though.  Electronic gear selection, auto-dimming rearview mirror, no key lock on the hatchback, etc.  But we'll see how it goes.

 

Not a big fan of FB but there’s a “Subaru Mechanics” group that might offer a wider base of knowledge than this aging message board.
Apologies if you’re already aware.
Wish I could contribute. Right now I’m a little gun shy of the whole 2005 to present engines. 

I boycott bookface.  NFW.  I did notice it's been relatively quite here; hate to see everyone defect.

I feel the same way about the newer, but if this is the same basic engine as my '01 H6s, I think I'll be happy.

 

Good engine.

5EAT is lovely when it works. I think higher failure rate than 4 speeds.

 

Prepare for electrical issues. Rear tailgate harness breakage. Passenger airbag light fails and disables the entire airbag system. Any trouble code disables the cruise.

VVT will flag codes ending up in limp mode. The mechanism is kind of cool if you end up diving into the valve cover. Yes the oil pressure sensors leak and make a mess on top of the engine, but not expensive or hard to replace. the 3.0 h6 is a great engine presume the 3.0r is the same. we're running a jdm h6 replaced at 300k now into 400k miles on the 02 h6 outback. lots of hex bolts on the timing cover. had fuel leaks on the rails/injectors just replaced orings/seals/lines/dampeners dang expensive. had a hard steering line oring fail on the rack but what do you expect after 25 years. 

It's a really good engine. I've had 2 cars with the one in them.  One word of caution: DO NOT forgo oil changes! Do them RELIGIOUSLY, FAITHFULLY and REGULARLY. That's the biggest killer of that engine because the engine oil also lubricates the timing components (ALL of them). If you let the oil get low or old, you're not taking good care of an engine that you really DON'T want to work on!