Rooster2

With 230K miles on the motor, possible or probable cracked pistons, scored cylinder walls, and good chance motor shavings went everywhere to plug passages, I think I would throw in the towel on the engine, and go with a different motor. Just my 2 cents worth.

Owner says selling for $750 or obo.................. Pretty hard to sell a non running old car for much more then just for parts value. Possibly worth buying for $500 or less, with the thought that it will probably take another motor to put it back on the road. As others have said, the problems with that car can easily stem from over heating because of a blown head gasket, or broken timing belt. Just because current owner put $1200 into the motor last summer means little, since motor still does not run.

Do e-commerce companies that ship via U.S Postal, Fed-Ex, UPS, etc., do so with large contractual discounts in place with the shippers?? I have sort of guess this, when I had a return to an e-bay vendor. It cost me probably twice as much to return the product, then what the vendor paid to ship it to me via U.S. Postal. If this is the case, then the vendors are making a profit on charging more for shipping, then what it cost them.

Because Parts Geek, and other on line parts retailers have crappy customer service, I have found it much better to buy on line from Advance Auto Parts. They always have discount coupons available on line to lower prices, and offer in store pick up, if the part you order is available and in stock at a nearby store. Even if the parts are shipped to you, at reasonable cost, and not what you want, it is so easy to return the unwanted parts to any Advance store for an instant credit that is put back on your charge card. If a "core" charge is involved, that too, is an easy core return to any Advance store. This amounts to excellent customer service from Advance. I am sold on their business approach.

Suggest you call, or email tire stores that sell wheels..... companies like Discount Tire or Tire Rack. com. They like to sell expensive alloys wheels with lots of bling, but also sell steel wheels most likely for both highway and off road use. Ask them what size wheel will fit your Forester. Write down the size(s) including wheel offset, and lug nut arrangement. Once you learn the sizing, you should be able to find some good steel wheels at a wrecking yard for cheap. Would also be a good idea to call wrecking yards,or email them to ask what steel wheels they have available that would fit your Forester. It can be surprising to learn how much the yard guys know about what parts they have, and what will interchange with other cars.

With my alloys, I check air pressure the first of each month, and generally need to add a little air. Alloys also rust around the tire bead, which causes the tire to loose air. When that happens, the tire needs to be taken off, the wheel bead cleaned, and sealer added to the bead to create a good seal. Alloy wheels don't tighten up well upon put upon a car. Drive 20+ miles, then re-tighten the lugs. Chances are, you will find the lugs do need tightening. Avoid hitting pot holes with alloys and low profile tires. Just too easy to not only blow a tire, but to break an alloy, requiring wheel replacement.

Don't know for sure, but feel that going with the 235 will prolly rub.

I have heard others complain.........prices and delivery generally good at Parts Geek, but customer service is non existent.

"we need to reseal the front and rear timing cover".............. The timing cover is simply a cover, it is not sealed. Nothing there to leak. The odd smell may indeed be the grease from the split boot on an axle. That stuff does smell nasty, when some of it comes out and vaporizes if in contact with the exhaust system. Having a half shaft axle replaced, or perhaps only the boot replaced on the axle is not expensive. No where near $3,000. I would be reluctant to go to that dealer for any work. It would be interesting to read an itemized break down of estimated intended work. Ask for an estimate via email, and please post here on this forum. Recommend you get a second opinion. Take to the friend of a friend would be a good idea.

Is the clutch hydraulic assisted? I don't know, just asking. If so, and low on fluid, this could be the problem.

Not aware that a 98 Legacy was available with a turbo. If that is true, then trying to install a turbo, when not wired for it, creates a big problem. I would suggest building a Franken motor for more power.

I buy a lot of product from Advance Auto. If you read the warranty info thoroughly on receipt, it will say "Limited life time warranty," on most items. Further reading will say that it is only a 90 day warranty. So you are pretty much stuck with that. However..............the store must have some leeway on warranty work. I recently bought an RV that had a bad blower motor in the under hood HVAC system. I found the receipt from previous owner from Advance, and took it to their store. The receipt showed sale in 2011, and not my name on the receipt. It very much surprised me that the store honored the warranty, which I am sure I was not eligible for. Pretty sure since the counter people, and store manager know me so well, they gave me a deal. All I had to do was return the old blower motor as a "core" to complete the warranty work.

Doesn't surprise me that Walmart is matching the Amazon price. I read that Walmart is pushing hard to compete directly against Amazon with on line sales.

For what it is worth......years back, I installed rear struts on a VW. I needed to have the strut assembly moved upwards to be able to bolt the unit at the top hat. I used a bottle jack to "lift" the unit up, so I could bolt at the top. Otherwise, there was no way I could have done the job by myself.

Yea, many of the national on line parts houses are poor about taking phone calls and giving advise. That makes the problem that much worse, if you need customer service for any reason, particularly on a return. I have found it better to think and work in terms of the manufacturer's product number, when comparing prices from different on line stores. That way, if the pixs are different, you are not concerned, as what really counts is the product number. Also, last year I replaced the struts front and rear on both my 98 and 99 Outbacks with KYBs. I reused the coil springs, and they work fine. Not aware that KYB, or anyone else, sells assembled struts and springs for a Subie. Yes, an assembly is less physical work, but not that much less work. I have used KYBs for 20+ years, and am totally satisfied with their struts. Product is excellent, at a good price.

I would put the car up on jack stands at all four wheels to get the tires off the ground.........prolly done best in a garage with a cement floor. Also, would fill up gas tank with Stabil additive added. I would disconnect the battery, and maybe put the battery on a trickle charge. If left outside, I would cover the windshield from the inside with sun covers.

It is an old trick using a heavier grade of oil when you have a rod knock. Instead of changing out your fresh oil change, you can get a thicker oil by adding something like Motor Honey, or other additives to your existing oil. Oil thickner products are sold at auto parts stores and even Wal-Mart. Not worth IMO trying to save a motor with 255K miles on the odo with a rebuild. The thicker oil will buy you some time hopefully until the weather breaks into Spring to do that motor swap you have in mind. Running higher test gasoline above 87 won't help your rod knock problem.

The 2.5 motor in your car does not do well with repeated over heating. The connecting rod bearings are not robust, and apt to give you future trouble because of the over heating. Also, the repeated over heating warps all aluminum parts. When my wife "cooked" the motor in my 99 Outback beyond belief, I opted to install a 2.2 motor from a 1995 Subie with about 150K miles on the odo. It is drop in plug and play, and has run well for the past 3 years with no issues. As said the 2.2 is nearly bullet proof, and will run forever. The down side is that the swap needs to be done with 2.2 motors from years 95 to 98. Those motors are getting old, and low millage ones are getting hard to find. I would advise finding a good motor from a wrecking yard at a good price, vs. buying, and installing a rebuilt motor.

I have read that Parts Geek has a poor customer service department. All goes well with super prices, until you have a return. Then, it is reported you have a difficult time getting a proper settlement.

I buy and use the 50/50 mix of green antifreeze, so don't have to add distilled water. I, too, recommend using the Subaru coolant conditioner to help stop any coolant leak at the head gasket.

Thumbs up on KYBs..............work great on a Subie.

When a 97 has a head gasket problem, it will idle all day, and not over heat. However, put a load on the motor by driving at highway speed, or climbing hills, and the added stress will cause the bad head gasket to allow exhaust gas into the coolant to cause the over heating. So, drive the car around to see if it over heats.

With them saying it needs plugs and wires suggests it has a skip. That could be from a head gasket leaking coolant in the cyls............... not sure I agree with this statement. A blown head gasket on a '97 with the 2.5 will push exhaust gas into the cooling system causing over heating. I am not aware that coolant leaks into the combustion chambers to cause a spark plug "miss."

The motors generally will go another 100K miles after a quality head gasket replacement, before possible head gasket trouble again. Over all, count on a well maintained Subie motor running well to at least 300K miles. With the head gasket repaired on my '99 2.5, at 185K miles,(same motor as used in '97 model), my car now has 232K miles on the odometer, and it is still running strong with no issues. Most people on this Subaru forum wrench on their cars to some degree. If you buy the '97, and decide to wrench on the car, you will be happy to see how easy they are to work on for the most part. Belts, alternator, starter are so easily swapped out. There is even a drain plug on the automatic transmission to easily drain the ATF. I never owned a domestic car with that feature. Changing brake pads is super easy. Only difficult part is changing spark plugs and head gaskets due to the flat boxer engine design. What I really like is the smoothness of the 4 cylinder engine due to the boxer design. Much more so, then an in line 4 cylinder motor, particularily at high RPM.

As advised, 96-99 Subie 2.5 motors are prone to blow head gaskets. Ask owner if car is over heating. I have both a 98 and 99, and on cue, both blew their head gaskets. Some blow at around 75K miles, or as in my case at around 165K miles, the other at 185K miles. The biggest tell tale sign is to see bubbles in the over flow radiator container, when motor is at operating temperature, or if you see the temp gauge heading towards HOT. Keep an eye on the temp gauge, as over heating is easily over looked, because there is no dashboard warning light. If motor is not over heated a number of times, then replacing the head gaskets fixes the problem for roughly another 100K miles. Other then the Head Gasket problem, Subies are very reliable, and very well made. The automatic trans is very robust, and seldom cause trouble. The power steering pump leak is generally repairable by easily installing a replacement rubber "O" ring. Oil pan should not leak, unless someone has already dropped the pan, then they have a tendency to leak.