October 30, 200421 yr I recently sold my Geo Prizm which has a reputation of lasting past 200K+ before any major repairs are expected and bought a 1997 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport 2.2L Auto Transmission. Reading some of the posts, it doesn't sound like Subaru engines last very long. Someone wrote that 150K is good for the engine before Head Gaskets and knocks start happening. Is it that bad? What about the drive train? Does that fall apart around 150K too. Any 411 on this is appreciated.
October 30, 200421 yr the engine your hearing about is the phase 1 2.5. you have a 2.2 so it will be good till 300k+ if you treat it well
November 2, 200421 yr WHOLEY SCHNIKIES! I'm pushing my Forester to that too. I'm well on my way. 03 Forester with 70k on it now. Don't ask me how it got there. I burn waaaayyy too much fuel.
November 3, 200421 yr Amanda, do you drive in your sleep or something?! That's a ton of miles. Anyway, there are a few subaru engines that have been problematic, mainly the early 2.5. As to the problems you mention, the 2.5 did have some weak HG issues, but subaru engines seem way less prone to knocking or anything like that than most others. The biggest complaint is lifter tick on the EA82s that were sold from 85-94, but even those engines will run forever. I pulled main and rod bearings out of the 89 EA82 block that I rebuilt (had been sitting for a while so I decided to tear it down anyway) with 205k on it and they looked almost new. Most subaru engines will go past 250k reliably. The EJ22 in your car should go for 3-4 hundred thousand before needing a teardown if you keep up on the maintenance (i.e., oil at 3000, coolant every two years, etc.) WAAAAAY more subarus are killed by rust than mechanical failures.
November 3, 200421 yr It all depends on how you treat them. If you beat the crap out of your Subie and ignore maintenance, yeah it can kick the bucket at 150k. But honestly, there are cars on the road that can kick the bucket at 15k if you abuse them If you maintain the vehicle meticulously, Subarus can easily last 300k. I think someone in the Old-Gen forum has a GL-10 Turbo with like 330k and would you believe the axial play on the turbine shaft is still within spec?? But honestly, since you have the 2.2, don't worry about it. You can beat the crap out of those and still get 200k
November 3, 200421 yr I just saw a Phase 1, with 140K, torn apart for a HG, and it still had the original honing marks on the cylinder bores. The Phase 1 2.5 did have problems with the stock seperator plate leaking. The revised part is an aluminum plate as opposed to the stock plastic plate. Which cures the problem, though a little late.....
November 3, 200421 yr I just saw a Phase 1, with 140K, torn apart for a HG, and it still had the original honing marks on the cylinder bores. The Phase 1 2.5 did have problems with the stock seperator plate leaking. The revised part is an aluminum plate as opposed to the stock plastic plate. Which cures the problem, though a little late..... Heck, that engine with 205k on it still had the honing marks visible.
November 3, 200421 yr My dads 90 legacy AWD 5spd had 350,000 miles on it, then it lost the compresion rings, and 4th gear with in a week, but i still put about 3 hundred miles on it, with those problems. This car wasent babied either we kept the fluids good, but it was beat on it.
November 3, 200421 yr I just saw a Phase 1, with 140K, torn apart for a HG, and it still had the original honing marks on the cylinder bores. The Phase 1 2.5 did have problems with the stock seperator plate leaking. The revised part is an aluminum plate as opposed to the stock plastic plate. Which cures the problem, though a little late.....You mean, like this? It stands to reason that 2WD cars will last longer, with less maintenance. The original head gaskets on these cars often fail at between 90K and 140K miles. So, sell your car; plan on a preemptive HG job (which is what I did); or chance that you won't be one of the ones that this happens to. Mine has 147K and I'm happy with it. My sister-in-law has 211K and she's happy with hers.
November 4, 200421 yr You mean, like this? It stands to reason that 2WD cars will last longer, with less maintenance. The original head gaskets on these cars often fail at between 90K and 140K miles. So, sell your car; plan on a preemptive HG job (which is what I did); or chance that you won't be one of the ones that this happens to. Mine has 147K and I'm happy with it. My sister-in-law has 211K and she's happy with hers. Yep. That's done to create a non directional finish to the cylinder bore.
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