i have a friend that is considering a new or almost new legacy. i advised him of piston slap and other problems of the 2.5 and recommended the H6. has anyone had problems with that engine?

piston slap is a subaru sound, 99% of the time our cars run for ever with it with no problem. i think its been corrected as no one with a new sooby has complained.

H6 takes premium and for a short time had a problem with a timing chain tensioner, which seems to eb cleared up.

 

nipper

My 92 SVX H-6 has 150K on it and is still pulling strong. The engine was not the thing that gives heart aches but the automatic transmission gave up too early.

My 92 SVX H-6 has 150K on it and is still pulling strong. The engine was not the thing that gives heart aches but the automatic transmission gave up too early.

 

Thats a differnt engine, not the same as in the new subarus.

 

nipper

the SVX H6 and the new one are not even close to the same motor. completely different animals, they are worlds apart.

 

the 2.5 is a nice solid motor, in terms of reliability if i were buying or recommending a new Subaru i would definitely get a 2.5 over the H6. the new H6 hasn't been around long enough to see potential issues and such. the 2.5's routinely get to 200,000 miles without issue. it's based off the rock solid 2.2, which is an awesome motor. 2.5 failure is a rare thing with proper maintenance. i'd go with years and many miles of solid reliability over a brand new motor any day.

 

if he's like most americans and isn't going to have the car long...say 5 years and 100,000+ miles then it probably doesn't really matter anyway.

But just for a counter point I have a few friends with an H6 and the only complaints are premium fuel and one guy says he feels it has very little power advantage over the 2.5 he had.

I have seen a couple complaints on the board like the timing chain tensioner and when you go to install plugs it is supposed to be tough to work on.

One guy in San Jose had a ring and pinion problem didn't he? Not sure you can blame that on the H6 though.

But just for a counter point I have a few friends with an H6 and the only complaints are premium fuel and one guy says he feels it has very little power advantage over the 2.5 he had.

I have seen a couple complaints on the board like the timing chain tensioner and when you go to install plugs it is supposed to be tough to work on.

One guy in San Jose had a ring and pinion problem didn't he? Not sure you can blame that on the H6 though.

I had a 97 and now have an 06 OB with H6.

 

The H6 has more wheel horsepower on a dyno than the rated hp of the older H4 - at least on the dyno I used. And it has a five speed auto with sportshift. There's an immense difference. Our Nissan Quest minivan is faster than an H4 Outback - so is our Mazda MPV minivan, for that matter. BTW, I did my dyno run with Regular fuel, not Premium - Subaru "Recommends" Premium but does not require it and I can't tell the difference.

 

The folks who bought H6's tend to drive a lot. So you're starting to see used ones from 2002 or so starting to show up with well over 100,000 miles, and no issues to speak of. The complaints are mostly the cost of used ones - not many were sold and they had lots of options, so they're hard to find and seem expensive compared to the H4's. Most are LLBeans with leather seats, sunroofs, and all of them are automatics.

 

In 2006 they added variable valve timing, went to a nylon intake manifold, and boosted the hp rating to 250. The H6 in the older OB's is nicer looking though as you can see the cast intake manifold through the cover. This one is not pretty - but it's a great engine.

piston slap is a subaru sound, 99% of the time our cars run for ever with it with no problem. i think its been corrected as no one with a new sooby has complained.

nipper

Just as an aside: I was at the stealership the other day and they had an 04 impreza wagon on the hoist with the engine on a stand underneath of it. They were installing new pistons on the drivers(?) side to cure slap. Reportedly the car had about 40,000kms on it. The mechanic said short-drive owners seem to get more piston slap than people who warm the car up completely more often and also that the noise is only an inconvenience and the motors will still go forever even with the slap.

Just as an aside: I was at the stealership the other day and they had an 04 impreza wagon on the hoist with the engine on a stand underneath of it. They were installing new pistons on the drivers(?) side to cure slap. Reportedly the car had about 40,000kms on it. The mechanic said short-drive owners seem to get more piston slap than people who warm the car up completely more often and also that the noise is only an inconvenience and the motors will still go forever even with the slap.

yup. Subarus also tend to be a bit more sensative to proper break in, but then again not many cars on the road where 200-400,000 miles is the norm and still running like a top.

 

nipper

I've got an '03 H6, about to roll 60k with no major issues to speak of. I had a bad idler pulley about 30k ago that sounds like it needs to be replaced again soon. Other than that, it has been solid. I did hear piston slap on my engine two years ago, but that's because it was about 2 degrees outside when i started my car early in the morning during winter...clack clack clack clack clack clack clack clack....

Idler seems to be a problem with the older H6, but it seems like they fixed it on the newere ones. Be interesting to see how that pans out.

 

nipper