The Dude

Good question, Nipper. Because as with many things Subaru, there doesn't seem to be a lot of hard data availabe. I frequent a number of Subaru/automotive message boards. I recall, that on a number of occasions, the poster seemed disappointed that a timing chain replacement was required at around 150,000 miles. I also remember that the posters were not too happy with the bottom line on the repair order. There are a lot of expensive machined parts that have to be replaced with a timing chain replacement. All the metal cams, chain guides, tensioners, idlers, and, of couse, an expensive timing chain. A good deal of shop rate labor is required to remove and replace all these parts along with the 100 bolts just to access the timing chain. So, is 150,000 miles typical for a H6 timing chain replacement? I honestly don't know. But soon, we all will know because the first group of H6s will be hitting that mileage marker. Of course, there is one thing that we can be sure of now, the cost of timing chain repalcement on a H6. We have few people on this board who work for Subaru dealerships. So, can anyone provide the cost for a H6 timing chain replacement?

Understand that the timing chain on the H6 typically needs to be replaced at around 150,000 miles. You might want to get a quote to do the job from your local Subaru dealer, I hear that it's pretty expensive maintenance item.

If you search this website, you will see that the use of genuine Subaru head gaskets is very strongly recommended. Indeed, Subaru went through four or so revisions of the head gasket before they finally got it right. If I was having the job done on my car I would insist on using genuine head gaskets. Also note that the heads must be skinned and surfaced properly. Hopefully, your mechanic has prior experience doing this job. Apparently you have tested not the coolant for exhaust gass, however it is likely that your engine has an external head gasket failure. Good luck.

I thought that we had pretty much established that blown 2.5L SOHC Phase I engines properly repaired with the latest rev head gaskets had a very good success rate. Don't forget that dtaffe is not a mechanic- professional, shade tree, or otherwise. What is he going to do if he gets a bum used 2.2L ? I'll tell you, he's going to be paying to have the engine de-installed, repaired, and then re-installed on all his dime at full shop rates. He does not have the options of a Nipper, Grossgary or a Msmith. When he's screwed mechanically, he's screwed at $75+ per hour. If the engine in his car is otherwise solid, I say that the risks involved in putting new head gaskets in it are less than the risks involved with screwing around with an unknown used engine. And I say less risk, because there are risks involved no matter what route he goes. If he gets a good used 2.2L, great, dtaffe comes out of this smelling like a rose. But if he gets a bad 2.2L he's totally screwed. CCR excepted, I don't care much for the general "ethical standards" in the used/rebuilt engine business as I have experienced it. My advise in general to someone buying a replacement engine-buy an engine from in state company because it makes easier to sue if necessary, and wear a cup. I am sure that there are plenty of good engine rebuilders besides CCR. But I would go very slowly and insist on seeing a ton of local references. Just my personal opinion based on my personal experience and observations.

I advise you be to very cautious with engine replacment. I have read some real horror stories involving used engines. In fact, I have my own horror story involving a "remanufactured" engine installed in one of my cars. The cheapest thing to do is to have head gaskets replaced on your engine. When done properly, and using the latest rev genuine Subaru head gaskets, the results have been extremely good. You have a nine year old car. How much money do you want to pump into it? At this point, I'd say the least amount possible to keep the car safe and running. Have you abused your engine? Have you had the oil changed on schedule? Is it burning excessive amounts of oil? No? Then it should be in pretty good shape. Why take a risk on a more expensive used engine that you know nothing about? Replacing the head gaskets is the easiest, possibly surest, and cheapest way out. Good luck.

I may be wrong on this, but I believe that the 2001 engine has a metal separator plate, instead of the previously installed plastic one, and does not require replacement. In any event, the motor or transmission must be removed from the car to replace the separator plate. If you ever have the motor or transmission removed from the car, you would want to replace the rear seal at that point. Say, when you had a replacement clutch fitted. Even without replacing the head gasket you're going to be spending a packet on this car. Tming belt replacement is coming up soon. There's the belt, possibly the tensioner, possibly a pulley or so, and the water pump. You might also consider having the oil seals on the front of the engine replaced at the same time as the belt. $1200-1500 USD is for head gasket replacement, parts and labor, alone. "Gunk" in the radiator overflow tank is a frequent symptom of an internal head gasket failure. Do you see any dark gooey gloobs in your tank? I'm a bit of a gambler and cheapskate. So, if there's no indication of internal head gasket failure and the coolant loss isn't very great, I might be inclined to nurse the engine along. I got 200,000 trouble free miles from 1999 Forester before I sold it. With a bit of luck these cars can be quite durable.

I know from reading the "Honest John" motoring agony column on The Telegraph website that UK dealer repair charges are extraordinarily high compared to those in the US. It also appears to me that cars depreciate a good deal more rapidly in the UK. I would suggest that you do a site search on "head gaskets" and read all of the information available. Then you might consider having your coolant "sniffed" for exhaust gases. If you have none of the symptoms of an INTERNAL head gasket leak, and your sniff test come back negative, you might very well have an EXTERNAL head gasket leak. If you have an external leak, you might be able to nurse the engine on by keeping a close eye on it and the radiator. I suppose it all depends on your appetite for risk versus the cost of the repair and the current replacement value of your car. BTW, head gasket repair runs about 1,200-1,500 USD here in the states. If you don't mind, would you please post the estimate for the head gasket repair?

You guys have the 2.5L DOHC Phase I engine. Changing the spark plugs on this engine are such a pain that Subaru speced the Phase I with platinum plugs and extended the replacement to cycle to 60,000 miles. With the Phase II, the spark plugs were much easier to change, the spark plugs became copper core, and the replacement cycle was scaled back to 30,000 miles. Consider yourself lucky if replacing the spark plugs is your biggest problem with the Phase I.

Lot of us Yanks on this board. I won't necessarily assume that US and GB Subarus were speced identically. Indeed, my forays on the web have found the same MY Subaru has been speced with entirely engines in GB and the US. Plus, you have MOB, carbon tax, London congestion tax, and a myriad of other taxes and fees to consider when buying a car in GB.

After 200,000 miles, I replaced my '99 Forester with a 2007. But unlike some others, I'm a Subaru owner, not necessarily a fan. External head gasket failure on a 2001 Phase II engine is not common, but is a known problem. Cylinder failure as you described is extremely rare in an engine that has not been abused.

Incredible story. Fortunately, you're the one that got away. Off road driving can be a pretty expensive hobby and should be done in old and rusty Jeeps, not shinny new Subarus.

If you change your own motor oil I have one word for you, "Fumoto". I would not consider changing my oil without one.

Go ahead and drain the extra oil, but 1/2" over the notch probably is nothing to be overly concerned about. The dipstick on the Subaru is extremely non linear. Just a little overfilling makes a really big differance on the dipstick. The major concern with overfilling the engine oil is that the connecting rods and crankshaft will whip the oil into a foam. An air entrained oily foam is a very poor lubricant. Overfilling the engine oil has nothing to do with fouled spark plugs. The oil found on the ceramic spark plug insulators are due to the "O" ring gaskets under the vlave covers leaking.

Go ahead and have the alignment checked. But I had to replace the ball joints on my Forester at 150,000 miles. Since I don't live in the rust belt, I found replacing the ball joints to be a fairly easy DIY repair.

There are many, many reasons that I do not like automotive warranties. Among them is that most policies state that "any damage done as the result of an UNCOVERED component failing is not covered either". So, if your timing belt isn't covered, and it almost certainly isn't, then all of the valve and piston done by a failed timing belt wouldn't be cover either. Say the dryer in your AC, frequently an uncovered component, fails. Well, all the labor, parts, and refrigerant required to repair the AC won't be covered either. Automotive warrantyies are kind of a Vegas slot machine. On average, you're going to put a hell of a lot more money into old one arm than you're ever going to take out. Learn to save some money, and self-insure.

I have a 06 Forester, which came equiped with a compact spare tire. I'm planning on towing, so the compact tire has got to go. What size/offset rim do I need? The rim is for a spare tire, so I'm not opposed to getting one cheap from a wrecking yard. Should any rim from a late model Forester or Impreza fit? Thanks.

I'm on my second Forester. I owned a 1999, and currently drive an 2006. The Forester has more pep and handles better than the OBW. And why not? It weighs 300 lbs less than the OBW. If the Forester has a weakness, it is the rear seats. They're OK in a pinch, but I would not want to do a trip of any length seated in them. Seldom do I have a passenger seated next to me, and never do I have passengers in the rear seats. So, the Forester works very well for me. With the rear seats down, the Forester holds a surprising amount of stuff. What doesn't fit in the back, you can usually put on the roof rack. However, I would be very happy to own either car. Let's face it, many Subaru models are more alike than different.

....hit the deer, and the insurance company does NOT hold you responsible for the accident. So, no increase in your car insurance. Hit something while trying to miss a deer, and the insurance company WILL charge you with the accident. Me, I'm hitting the deer.

Thank you for your suggestions. I called the local dealer this morning. I was told that I would have to cough up a $45 "diagnostic fee" before the possibility of a warranty replacement could even be considered. I was told that Subaru of America may or may not decide to participate in the cost of the repair to one degee or another. At this point, three separate acuators have failed on my car. Therefore, there are two remaining actuators that have a great probability of failing in the near future, out of warranty. ONCE AGAIN, SUBARU KNOWS THAT DEFECTIVE ACTUATORS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN THEIR CARS. Here's my take on this subject. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION MUST BE INFORMED OF THIS PROBLEM. That's right, having door locks that don't work is definitely a safety issue in my opinion. Dad in the driver's seat flips the master door lock switch but little Suzy's rear passenger door doesn't lock because it has a defective acuator. It could easy happen. Plus, it a well known fact that locking the doors help them stay shut in the event of a wreck. That's why so many cars have doors that lock automatically. With a Subaru you not only don't get automatic door locks, you don't even get doors that lock reliably.

Ok, it's not a blown engine or a trashed tranny, but it's annoying. A year after I buy my new 06 Forester I bring it in for a intermittent front passenger side door lock accuator. The dealer mechanic says, "sorry I couldn't make it fail, so no fix". Well, six months later the rear passenger door accuator craps out dead cold. It was a real push on my part, but both accuators were replaced under warranty. It was one trip to the shop for the diagnosis. It was another trip to the shop when the accuator came in. But the dealer only ordered one acccuator, so it was another trip to the shop when they finally got it right and got both accuators. BTW, Subaru KNOWS that they installed a number of bad door accuators in the Forester, and maybe other models. So, problem solved? Not really. At 37,000 miles the drivers side door accuator just took a dump. Soooooo... is this the new customer friendly Subaru? Even if the car is one thousand miles out of warranty I am I going to get a warranty repair given the history of my car, and the known problem with the accuators? Stand by. Know this, Subaru, when you sell a car with only ONE door lock, you damn well should use depenable accuators on it.

Look into the expense of replacing the timing CHAIN and sproket wheels. It's quite expensive. If I'm not mistaken, the timing chain in the 3.0L frequently needs to be replaced around 150,000 miles.

What's the down side of leaving as it is? You're probably using at least 1/2 qt. a month in the engine. That leaves about 1/2 qt. or less due to the separator plate leak. How many miles do you have on your Forester, and how long do you plan to keep it? Sooner or later, probably sooner, you'll need tranny work done. When the tranny needs to be removed, replacing the separator plate is almost "free". AFAIK, replacing the separator plate requires pulling either the engine or the tranny. Neither one is a great way to spend a weekend.

In many states, there is no such thing as a true "as is" sale if the vehicle is sold for use on the public highways by a licensed car dealer. Frequently, there is minimum warranty period that is REQUIRED by state law. If it is applicable to your case, it is your best option. Next time buy your used car in SC, or elsewhere in the deep south. I practically had to give my Forester away. Subarus command no premium out of the snow belt.

My understanding is that in Europe, training and a driver's license endorsement is required to tow anything of significant weight. Also, unlike the United States, in Europe, filling lawsuits isn't the national pastime. In the UK, the losing party in a civil lawsuit pays for the attorney's fees for BOTH sides. It does away with the "pay me and I'll go away" extortion that often appears to be a very large part of civil litigation in the US.

Your Outback should tow that weight handily. The SAME model Subarus are rated for MUCH higher towing limits in Europe. One concern would be the brakes. Subaru suggests trailer brakes for any load over 1,000 lbs. Add some gear, a passenger or two, and you might end up 2 1/2 + times over the brake limit. That's a little over the limit for my taste. Rear ending a car always results in a lousy day, and usually a lawsuit.