suruba Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 First, hello to everyone. This is my first post. I'm glad I found this place. Thank you all in advance. I'm looking at a 2002 Outback wagon, Standard, 2.5, manual. It's at a Subaru dealer, but not necessarily a certified car. I don't even know if they have any service records for it (haven't been to it yet, just saw it online). From researching, it sounds like the biggest thing to be careful about is the head gasket problem. If they have the service records, what should it say for the remedy taken? Is the fluid additive enough, or should parts have been replaced? And if they don't have any records, how do I know whether or not that was a problem with that car, whether it's gone or just temporarily stopped? I'm not mechanically-savvy, so any specific description would help. What other things should I look for/be concerned about? The car has under 40000 miles. What about it being a stick? Any major problems in that area? What else? I've always thought of Subarus as reliable cars, but after looking at customer reviews and forums, I must say I'm a bit gun-shy about it. I realize I can go on any forums for any vehicle and there will be scary stuff about them too, so I'm also taking that into account. I just want to be more informed, that's all. Any feedback is very appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannonball Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 In general a 2002 should be very reliable as long as the previous owner didn't rag it out. Not sure what year but the head gasket problem was remedied in either 02 or 03. I have a 00 OBW and have added the additive. My car has 129,000 and no real problems yet (knock on wood). The only thing with the manual is clutch shudder. Mine and a lot of others have it, but it hasn't been a real problem for me. I just consider it a characteristic of my Subie. FYI I bought mine used with 65,000 on it. So I was crossing my fingers too at first. I have been very satisfied. Welcome to the board and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 You will not have a head gasket issue at that point, wel within reason. Headgaskets can go at anytime on any car, but more likely as the mialge gets up there, especially if you are not religous on changing antifreeze every 2 years. You shouild have no problems .. heh just get in and drive it nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
740gle Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 I have a 2002 Legacy GT since new. Same as Outback, but has a "normal" suspension, rides low as Legacy. There was a recall last year(?) - they added coolant additive, I suspect it was for the headgasket problem. Also had to replace the oil pump seals this year at around $65K - was slowly leaking oil. You could see oil around the oil pan gasket. Otherwise - no trouble, loke the car, could have a bit more umph, and more comfortable seats... PS: Just joined this group, this is my first post. have been looking for a forum like this for a while. -Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_SemC Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 Also had to replace the oil pump seals this year at around $65K - was slowly leaking oil.... Those are some really expensive o-rings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 hehehe i think those are the new kevlar reinforced platnum gold weave .. some blingbling for the oil pump nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_SemC Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 The ones with the diamond studs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
740gle Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Those are some really expensive o-rings! Yes they weren't cheap, was done at the dealer, also did the timing belt, once it had to come out anyways. But it doesn't leak oil. I have my 90' 740 GLE with 180Kmiles to save on the repairs and mark the driveway. Sub is my wife's and so far has been going to the dealer only, Fortunately - not that much, only for recalls, tires, windshield, and those oil seals. I have only changed oil and filters myself on the Legacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoor Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 You also should be aware that the AWD system in a manual OBW uses a Viscous Coupling in the center differential, a completey different system than in the automatic. The service people have less experience with this, as I am finding out as I try to get a "torque-bind" problem fixed in my 2001 OBW with 80K miles. Good luck Outdoor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 You have a manual with torquebind? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 You also should be aware that the AWD system in a manual OBW uses a Viscous Coupling in the center differential, a completey different system than in the automatic. The service people have less experience with this, as I am finding out as I try to get a "torque-bind" problem fixed in my 2001 OBW with 80K miles. Good luck Outdoor A manual with Torque Bind is really rare, which is why the mechanics have so much less experience with it. really only one component that fails to produce the torqu bind in a manual: the center diff (viscous coupling). In an Automatic there are several reasons that "torque bind" can occur. Because there are more points of failure, failure is much more frequent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 Suruba, you started this thread to ask advice, and here is mine. If you like the car, get it. the 2002 is SOHC 2.5, and the incidence of head gasket leak is much smaller (and less catastrophic) in this engine than the original DOHC 2.5L engine. A manual transmission, as I stated above, is much more reliable than the automatic, although both are very good in that year. The Outback retians it's resale value better than the Legacy (which is almost it's twin) as it is the more heavily advertised and known name. For the 2000 to 2002 cars, there is an additive that seals the external leaks that these engines are "prone" to. I put quotes around that as they are more prone than Subaru allows, but still a lot better than most cars. Subaru has a name for long lasting, reliable cars for good reason. They do not want to loose that reputation, so thier standards of reliability are set a bit higher than most cars. Because of this, even if an engine is considered to be "problematic", it is usually far better than the competition. All this to say that you need not be scared. If you get this 2002, it will take good care of you for a good long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suruba Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks all for the advice. I may be going to look at it tomorrow. The place has some automatics for the same price but much higher mileage (60k). Reliability and maintenance costs all being equal, I'd prefer the manual for the low miles and more fun to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Thanks all for the advice.I may be going to look at it tomorrow. The place has some automatics for the same price but much higher mileage (60k). Reliability and maintenance costs all being equal, I'd prefer the manual for the low miles and more fun to drive. Ahh, but they are not equal. The manual is cheaper. . . Now you have even more reason to get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoor Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Yes. I confirmed by jacking up one tire and trying to turn it. If I did first thing in the morning, all turned fine. After driving for 1/2 hour or so, I couldn't turn any of them by hand. When I first noticed the problem it was by the binding sound when trying to make tight turns at low speed. Other boards have talked about the problem in the manual subarus. The viscous coupling is not immune to damage from tires out more than 1/4 inch! I'm having it changed now, for $1300. outdoors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenwhateefa Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I love Subaru cars. This is my Third and the others never let me down, but I would warn against buying anything built around 2000 - 2002 I now have a Subaru Outback Wagon 2002 and it is problematic. Currently dealing with Subaru Canada re: repeatedly worn out clutches! The car always shuddered starting slow in first or second.Pain in butt when pulling into traffic/intersection.My dealership blamed my driving. Said I obviously didn't know how to drive a standard. I have never driven anything else and never needed a clutch in less than 150,000km! Never had a dealership give me such a disrespectful runaround either. Car has 100,000km and is on 3rd clutch! First replaced at 72,000km, 2nd replaced at 98,000km. Mechanic (not at dealership!) said the first clutch had been replaced with a remachined one! This cannot be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobyclimbs Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Those are some really expensive o-rings! Ah yes ! the Unobtanium ones ....!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_SemC Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 Ah yes ! the Unobtanium ones ....!!! <rimshot!> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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