mikec03

The problem with the 99 outback or forester is the ej2.5D engine. It had/has a nasty habit of leaking coolant into the oil and combustion gas into the coolant and overheating. I would never buy one and I have own/owned 7 subarus. The above poster mentioned the ej2.2 because it is bullet proof. You really don't have to worry about the motor bearings being destroyed from overheating. If you can't find an ej2.2 then your second alternative would be the 00+ subaru. I have an 02 and aside from the HG repair at 90K, it's has a good maintenance record. The 00+ engines [ ej251] leak externally so you arn't likely to buy a lemon that has been overheated. Unfortunately, the HG repair, especially from dealers, are kind of problematic so you never know how long they will last. On the other hand, repairing the HG [on a subaru] is well within your experience level and there are many DIY on these forums.

We will be interested in your experience. But, you will never do it in 4-5 hr on an old car. There are too many things to go wrong, Examples: 1. The bolts brake off on the timing cover and you have to spend an hour figuring out how to hold them back on [ans: tie wraps]. 2. The radiator hoses clamps, hoses, or plastic radiator nozzles are destroyed in getting the hoses off [extra trips to the hardware or junk yard] 3. The crank pulley won't come off [keep tugging, it'll come] This is just a partial list. And if you don't get that leslie tool to get the seals out, you can have an interesting time with them too.

Use the subaru crank and cam seals. The oil pump is normally sealed, judging from the posts on these forums, with anarobic liquid gasket, although I used the felpro paper gasket when I just did my 97. I doubt if it matters who's o ring you use.

With no oil showing on the dipstick, there is at least 2 1/2 qts left. The car will run without damage at 2 qts [but don't try it]. This even assumes that the person making the measurement has the car level and is not making a mistake on the reading the dipstick, which is commen.

+1 to the comments above. However, the most likely source of a 90's car stalling suddenly. Fuel pump failure MAF failure The problem is that neither of these faults reliably set a code, and I have had both. The MAF failure is really hard to diagnose since the car often will restart after 5-10 min and run for a number of miles thereafter until it stalls again. But changing the motor is really crazy but you better not say so out laud. And I know for certain that the 2.2 engine can be really low on oil without damage, not that anyone should allow it of course.

Thats a good price for a 95 with 135K miles. No matter what you find that needs fixing, except for torque bind, at that price you can fix it. For torque bind, you have to drop the transmission so that's relatively expensive for a 20 year old car. Check to see if the FWD fuse is installed [on passenger front strut post] Things that you are liable to find: Struts worn out Brake lines in back severely corroded [and ready to leak] CV[on axles] and steering rubber joints split open [6 total on front] Rear frame rusted excessively [slight possibility].

The first guy may have had it done under the subaru HG guarantee. Do everything including the water pump and oil pump immediately. I'm surprised that the HG's arn't leaking again.

You didn't mention the MSRP. That would help posters to advise you whether $24484 was a good price.

. I was wondering when I read your comment if you were just trolling. The effort to repair the rust area, even if successful, would not be worth the time if you are only concerned about one year of driving. In any case, thanks for bringing the old post back to life. I will lock under my 95 and 97 and see if there are holes next to the rear struts. If there is, I will just plaster it with undercoating asphalt.

Go to the Monroe site and check the part numbers for your struts. Then compare the part numbers from other years.

And when the MAF fails, it doesn't always set a code. It's apparently a temporary short in the device wiring. It can't be fixed by cleaning. Just get a used replacement..

Subaru has very specific procedures to drain and fill the CVT. They require the CVT temperature to be checked after the drain and fill and the car has to be exactly level. Why is subaru so concerned that the CVT level be so exact? Will the CVT last 200Kmiles even if you follow their procedures? Who Knows! Anyway, here is a DIY that you can follow. http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f89/re-filling-2015-2-5i-cvt-transmission-385233/

I had the fuel pump fail on a 95. I had the same symptoms as OP, ie. no fuel coming out of the hose before the filter when I cranked it. I went to the junk yard and replaced the entire assembly for $50. Problem solved.

To add to above good advice, the original OEM torque for the crank bolt on the 95 was only about 65 ft lb. So maybe someone who torqued it last was reading the original service manual. Use 130 ft lb.

Does the engine need to be jacked up? Yes but only to get to the two rear bolts. The write up is clear in the service manual which I suggest you get. It's only $10 on the internet [a dvd]. I had my oil pan changed on my 95 in order to eliminate the oil pan gasket that someone installed. I was thinking that the gasket allowed oil to be sucked up the drain tube [the drain tube depends on a gasket that is compressed when the oil pan is bolted on]. It's just something to think about in case that you go with the pan gasket. Did it stop the oil burning? Not entirely. It did reduce it from a 1.0 qt/1000 mi to 0.5 qt/1000 mi.

The OP car has a MAF. Why would the MAF, which is really does measure mass air flow, need the pressure reading?

Your question is really "is there any catastropic event that could happen on an 01 Forrester with 83K miles on a cross country trip? I have an 02, which I assume is the same motor as yours [2.5 SOHC] and nothing has happened to the car from 00 to 100K that would have stopped it from running. So that should be reassuring to you. However, I did have a HG repair and the muffler did need repair during this time. The HG doesn't start to leak precipitously so that shouldn't be a problem. The exhaust could develop a nasty leak, so you should check it out, especially the flange before the cat and replace/weld up if it looks bad. The only other thing that might be a problem is the brake line rusting. On my 02 sedan legacy, the metal tubing to the rear brakes is short and while not looking good, seem OK. On my older subarus, and possibly on your forester, the rear brake lines were long, from the rear seat, over the gas tank, to the rear wheels. I've had two subaru like this where the brake lines rusted out and started to leak. On the old subarus, from the rust belt, everyone should check the power brake reservoir when they check the oil level so that they don't get an unpleasent surprise.

Its not hard to replace the tensioner with all the timing belt diy's available. But by the time you take off the timing belt cover, you have done 1/3 of the work to change tensioner and idlers on an 02.

No, the 00 to 09 subaru outback/ legacy 2.5 engines, non turbo, were single layer. The black coating on the steel is generally thought to be viton. Did all the posters catch the fact that the OP has a turbo engine. I thought that, one, the HG failure in a turbo was rare, and, two, the replacement if required should be the subaru which is MLS?

I own one 95 at the moment and have owned two others. They will last well over 200K unless they rust out, so 160K on the motor and trans isn't much. They are all 2.2. I figure that the 95 should get to 250K at least, and I own a 97 [also a 2.2] which already has 225k Previous comments are spot on. But aside from the running problems, you have to figure out where the coolant is going. Losing coolant is not a normal or common problem with a 95. Look under car where it's parked. Look under car while its on a rack. Do some investigation. It's probably a hose leak or a leak around the radiator. If so, it should be obvious. You don't have to be a motor expert to spot a green stain, just observant.

You better search the forums for axle replacement. Lots of posters have had vibration trouble with non subaru axles. For example: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/37399-vibration-idle-after-replacing-front-axles-solved.html

My 2014 outback got 26 mph during the summer and 20mpg now during the winter in Wisconsin [even lower when the high was 0 degF]. My driving is intercity, short trips.

In my opinion, the old hose didn't look bad. I took off an old OEM hose which I guess had 120 to 200K and it was cracked every 1/2 inch. Your problem was that you didn't pour coolant into top radiator hose and/or didn't have the car on a slight slope. Your clue should have been when you couldn't get more then 3 qts in. But all's well then ends well. Thanks be to the helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum and the wonderfully easy to work on and robustness of the 2.2 engine. I know that you feel just like I did when I did my first timing belt change, also on a 95, with the great help of this forum.

All I can say is wow. If I knew that there was someone in Montana that had done 500+ HG replacements, I would have driven out there, dropped off the car to be fixed, and gone fishing with a rented car for a week!

Short answer: use 6 Star or OEM sti gasket. Both are 3 layers unlike the replacement Subaru HG. I used 6 Star. Over whelming comments on these forums say that the bolts are reusable.