Just curious, having talked w/ a friend he says the dealership and an independent mechanic say a conditioner is needed for a 1997 2.5L. Having said that he further stated the independent used a BG super coolant conditioner in replace of the subaru conditioner. Any thoughts on this?

Also, I was under the impression that subaru put the conditioner in the 2000-02 2.5L (and possibly the 2.2L) to remedy external head gasket leaks while also offering a conditional 7yr/100k warranty after the conditioner was used.

Is the conditioner on the 96-99 2.5L a.......hmm, preventative maintenance task.

His car has 150k on it, is in really good shape, both physically and mentally, I mean mechanically.

Just curious, having talked w/ a friend he says the dealership and an independent mechanic say a conditioner is needed for a 1997 2.5L. Having said that he further stated the independent used a BG super coolant conditioner in replace of the subaru conditioner. Any thoughts on this?

BG product descriptions can be found here:

http://www.haisleymachine.com/BG%20PRODUCTS.htm

Can you determine which one your friend is referring to?

 

 

Also, I was under the impression that subaru put the conditioner in the 2000-02 2.5L (and possibly the 2.2L) to remedy external head gasket leaks while also offering a conditional 7yr/100k warranty after the conditioner was used.

The conditioner that Subaru uses appears to be Holts Radweld, and is definitely meant to deal with possible external leaks on phase-2 2.5 engines.

 

 

Is the conditioner on the 96-99 2.5L a.......hmm, preventative maintenance task. [...]

"Conditioner" is a vague term. The internal HG leaks that develop in phase-1 2.5 engines aren't going to be easily stopped by a sealant. If the coolant is replaced on a regular basis, the need for additional anti-corrosives, etc., is also questionable.

 

 

His car has 150k on it, is in really good shape, both physically and mentally, I mean mechanically.

I wouldn't argue with success. If your friend's car has been doing well without any "conditioner", why start now? If it's been used in the car previously with sucess, ...