mikec03

+1 to above. Also see if you can determine if the head gasket was done and by who. I would think almost certainly it was done, maybe under warranty.

Check to see if the mechanic used a gasket on the oil pan. This is a no no, although it is widely done. The gasket on the drain line in the rear of the oil pan is not an o-ring although I don't doubt some o-rings will seal it. I personally would not take that chance [and didn't]. The gasket is supposed to be a flat gasket and, if a pan gasket is used, the compression on this gasket will not be sufficient. Yes, it's a goofy design, but it is what it is. I just had a mechanic replace the oil pan on a used 95 I bought in order to reduce the oil usage. I had stand there and argue with the mechanic not to put on the pan gasket. Good thing I was there. The result was that the oil consumption went down from 1 qt/900 mi to 1 qt/2500 mi. This is tolerable. I have little doubt that your mechanic screwed up the pan installation. Good luck.

I used this kit, but mostly for 90's cars which only require 60K between TB changes. I have changed the water pump to aisin which is a small charge. I wouldn't use the seals that they supply. I have bought them from subaru and thrown away the kit seals. And I haven't changed them even with cars over 200K if there wasn't any leaks. I know, my bad! But if they aren't leaking, they will probably go another 60 K without leaking and even if they do, it's not a big deal to have a few drips from the front end. It's a good question about the GMB pulleys. Certainly they are good for 60K. But a 105K, I don't know. It's too bad someone can't offer a knowledgeable opinion. I can't even figure out if they are single or double bearings?

Do not use an oring at the PVC/drain tube at the back of the oil pan.. It requires a flat gasket. It's a goofy design, but if you don't properly seal the drain line, it will suck oil up into the intake at a rate of 1/2 to 1 qt/1000 mi. [ask me how I know]. Yes you can put on a oring and goop it up with gray stuff and it probably will seal. Good Luck. And by the way, do not put a gasket on the oil pan. Obviously, this will reduces the sealing pressure at the drain tube and increase the chances of a leak at that point. Of course, without a gasket, using the grey stuff, a leak in the oil pan itself is a real possibility.

The oil dipstick enters the oil pan at only about a 35 deg angle, and the bottom mark on it is just at the edge of the pan when the dipstick is fully inserted. The problem of reading the level is: when you pull out the dipstick, it sweeps oil up the tube a little ways. If you then wipe the dipstick and immediately reinsert the dipstick, it read the oil that is still draining back into the pan. The solution is to wait a couple of minutes after removing the dipstick. Ideally, you are doing a gas fill up when you want to check the oil level, so remove the dipstick, fill the gas tank, and then reinsert the dipstick and read it. The top of the dipstick is more accurate because the bottom is in contact with the oil still draining down the bottom of the tube. You should read the oil level when the engine is hot to lessen the effect of this.

Actually, it's not snow that I think the OP should worry about. I have been driving subarus for 40 years with normal passenger tires and have never been stuck in snow. I assume that is your main worry. I live in Wisconsin and see a lot of snow. What you should be thinking about is water skid resistance. Thats why I didn't buy Michilin for my sons 95. I didn't like the reviewers comments. The Kelly tires were not so good either. I ended up buying Gen Tire tires, partly because there are not too many alternatives for 14" rims on the 95.

Yea, a faulty MAF will stall the car and prevent restarting. And then after an hour, it will restart. And it's random. And it doesn't set codes very often. If you suspect the MAF, go to the junk yard and replace it. It takes only 5 minutes. By the way, in my case, it cost $30 so you are getting a bargain. I don't think that they fail very often so a junk yard replacement will probably last the life of your car.

I've been using the Mizumo kit with the aisin pump and the mitsuboshi belt. Seems OK. I have about 25K on the oldest kit that I installed. Cost was $191. Since your car is 2.5, you would have to use one of their other, but similar, kits. I don't use their crank and cam seals. As noted above, replace everything. http://www.ebay.com/itm/90-97-Subaru-1-8L-2-2L-SOHC-Timing-Belt-Kit-Hydraulic-AISIN-Water-Pump-EJ18-EJ22-/360598032061?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1997|Make%3ASubaru|Model%3ALegacy&hash=item53f5514ebd&vxp=mtr

I would say that is almost no rust at all! The car is in great shape. I think that your catalytic converter worries are probably based on a misunderstanding of the codes. Post the code and people here will help you. If you buy an 06, be prepared for head gasket problems. The fact that you have a 2.2 engine and the trans is OK, should lead you to keep it. It should make 200K easy. And as others have posted, where do you stand on the timing belt replacement. It should have been done at 60K miles and, if it was, then it needs to be done at 120K miles. If you don't know when it was done, then you have to do it right away. Replace everything that the belt touches, pulleys, water pump and tensioner. It is an easy job.

It could be a lot of things. If you don't get a code, it will be really hard to find the problem. You might check the code history which I think should still be searchable to get a clue as to whats wrong. I had a similar problem with a 95. I finally, after stalling out and leaving me stranded 5 times, got a code indicating a MAF problem. Changed same and didn't have a problem afterwards. However, this is one possibility of many and I changed a lot of parts in a vain attempt to correct the problem. By the way, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take out the spark plugs and check them. You should do that the first thing after buying a used car, in my opinion. It costs nothing, and you find out some interesting things.

Someone will find the link to the procedure to get the code number. I did it following directions from a forum but I can't remember the exact procedure. It did involve connecting wires underneath the dash. All that I found out is that the duty c solenoid was not functioning, which I knew before going through the procedure. Of course, you know that too. It's not the wire that's bad.

I have also have had to replace the fuel pump on a 95. The junk yard is the best place to get a replacement. They don't fail so often that you really have to worry about getting a bad one. I replaced the entire assembly. Cost was about $30.

You should not be able to suck any air out the BOTTOM of the BPT. If you can, the diaphragm is cracked.

There is no replacement schedule for the timing chain on the FB engines. It should last for 300K+. You will need to drain and refill the transmission at an interval which is subject to debate. I'm going to do it every 30K which will cost $!35 at my dealership.

Sometimes on older subarus, the electrical current to the starter solenoid is not sufficient to completely close the contacts. The voltage is OK, when tested. It just does not have enough current. I had to add a relay as described as follows on a couple of 90's subarus. This is copied from from an older post. It's a fairly common problem. Maybe, but before i spent $75 on a replacement starter, i would try the relay fix. the parts are cheap and it doesn't take long to try it. 1 - relay (generic head light relay will do just fine) 1- wire pigtail w/ inline fuse (from the the battery to the relay) 1 - ground wire (from the relay to the chassis) 1 - jumper wire pigtail (from relay to starter) 6 - 8 - female spade connectors no existing wires to cut, install the relay in line between the existing ''small wire'' on the starter and the starter. power it from the battery, fused, and run a ground wire. if it works great. if not just disconnect it and you have spent ~$12 diagnosing your problem. but my bet is that the relay will work. this is not an uncommon problem for subarus, 80s - 90s.

Just to alert all, I have had two late 90's subarus that developed leakes on the rear brake lines. So rusting out rear brake lines, in northern states, on ALL subarus is probably going to become a common complaint as these cars age. Unfortunately, my cars were not subject to a recall. The brake lines should be ss in my opinion. It's kind of a dangerous condition.

Almost all of the 90's subarus leak at the separator plate. You can't fix it unless you remove the motor or the transmission. The good news is that they don't leak a tremendous amount. The most I have had is 1 qt per 3000 mi.

I think it's reasonable to expect 50K, at which point you have your money back at 10c/mi. And it might very well go to 100k if there is no serious rust on the frame, especially in the rear where the wheel support arms attach. Things to check that often are going bad at 200K, that have happened to me: struts [4], front ball joints, rusted rear brake lines, front cv joints [4] and steering boots [2]

Just for curiosity, did you ever replace the HG's? This is assuming that you owned the car since mgf. So if the your 05 did 195K miles on the original HG, I think that is unusual.

That is weird! As I'm sure you are the first to realize, usually the 00-09 subarus leak oil and then maybe coolant but to catastrophically fail, well that doesn't seem very common. As someone said on these forums, a used 2.5 engine is always problematic because you don't know if it was overheated. So that leaves you with rebuilding, assuming yours didn't overheat. Another alternative is to visit the junkyards and find an engine from a crash so that there is a fair chance that it wasn't overheated.

I think that we are jumping to conclusions. The poster may not be able to properly describe the normal cranking of the engine [without starting] so it may have led to unwarrented speculation on the starter. Lets start at the beginning with emphasis on what the poster can do without towing the car to the shop. If the car is cranking but not starting there are three possibilities: Fuel problem Electrical problem Other mechanical [timing belt defective, crank sensor defective, MAF or MAP defective, etc] Fuel problem: while the sound of the fuel pump running is a good sign that it is not a fuel problem, the unskilled home mechanic can [1] squirt some starter fluid into the intake and try to start the car or [2] disconnect fuel line after the filter and connect the fuel outlet from the filter with a rubber tube taped into a coke bottle and try to start the car to see if any fuel comes into the coke bottle. I have done both so anyone can do it! Of course, putting a pressure gauge on the fuel rail would be the best but that is a PITA for the 2000 subaru. Electrical problem: As noted the "screw driver" trick is an OK way to check if there is spark, but an easier way for the unskilled mechanic is to buy the device made to check this at Autozone. Other problem: As noted, the poster is way, way overdue to check the timing belt. Take off the driver side timing belt cover [only a few 10 mm screws] and look at the belt. The belt should be tight as a drum. Unfortunately, I think for the 00 subaru, you can't easily take off the passenger side of the cover to check the timing, but that would be the next step. There are great DIY and Youtubes showing procedure to change the timing belt, the first step of which is to take off the crank pulley and timing belt cover. With the help of these instructions, even a unskilled mechanic can do it. After all this, if nothing turns up, the next step is to tow the car to the shop or sell it as is on Craiglist.

Well, since you ask for free advice here's mine. I have bought four used 90's subarus [still own two] so I have some experience. I don't like the milage. It's just too high. I don't like the fact that the seller knows nothing about the rebuilt engine or trans. I don't like that the front or rear stuts are bad. Thats $500 right off the bat and more things could be found as the struts are replaced. Pass unless the price is around $500.

One of the 95 subarus [2.2] that I owned started to bubble in the coolant reservoir at 210K. So it happens even to 2.2 motors. Change the HG using the OEM and you should be good for another 200K.

On his profile, it says his car is an 02 legacy, which means it's a 2.5. I would say that theres a 99% chance that it is a HG leak given the appearance of the leak and the year of mgf. It looks just like my 02 did.

My 95 at 210K miles started to stall randomly. Then it wouldn't start for an hour. It would then start and run OK for 5-30 miles and stall again. It was the MAF. I replaced it with one from the junkyard and it's been OK for 10k miles. It didn't set the code until it stalled for the 6th time. So the old MAFs are a problem.