mikec03

My 95 subaru just passed 200K mi. I bought at 126K. People may be interested in what has gone wrong, other then normal maintence, over the last 74K mi. 1. Leaking oil pressure switch 2. Fuel pump failure 3. Screws frozen in timing belt guard 4. Leak in gas filler tube 5. Starter failure 6. Alternator failure 7. Coil failure 8. Front brake caliper frozen 9. Steering tie rods and boots failure It's been kind of interesting trying to fix these things. I've become real familiar with the local "u pull it" junk yard. On top of this, I'm in a life and death struggle with rust in the rear panels, the bottom of the doors, and the roof [where the stupid carrying rack was drilled into it]. On the other hand, I only paid $1900 for the car so I'm way ahead of the game. I'm currently plagued with hard starting at low temperatures which I'm suspecting is a fuel injector problem, but I don't know what to do about it. I'll submit a separate post about it. I've owned 3 older subaru's, including the funny looking one from the 70's, but I think that I only ran one over 200K. Fortunately I didn't have the problems [or the time to fix them] that I have had on this car.

I wish that I had thought of zip tying my timing belt guard when I was in the dealership to have a timing belt change on my '95. Most of the screws were frozen and stripped out the threads. It just never occurred to me to zip tie it! Instead I paid to reassemble it and come back a week later when the replacement guard was delivered. It was a $200 mistake.

I own a '95 and a '97 subaru [both 2.2l] so maybe I have some opinions that you may value. I would take the '96 on price basis. The new valve cover gaskets are irrelevant. They are are only a 15 min change on the 2.2 anyway. It is especially important that you have talked to the previous owner so if there was anything amiss, I'm sure he would tell you. The 2.2l engines are bullet proof and that is the major consideration. It's too bad Maine is so far away from me, otherwise, I would go and buy it even though I don't need it just for a reserve car. The new radiator caps probably indicate an overheating condition that the previous owner tried to fix by changing the radiator cap. Avoid! You better get that car before someone else does. Be aware and I'm sure that you are that the fuel feed tube will rust out on the 90's cars. I have replaced two at a cost of $50/ea and a little swearing.

I agree with whats been posted. But I think that it's a matter of price too. The gold standard for a used car, to me, is a total cost of $.10/mi for depreciation and major maintenance. If one is willing to assume higher auto costs then $.10/mi, then they should buy new. So if the price of the '99 subaru is $2000, then there is a good chance that you will get 20,000 mi [$.10/mi] without the head gaskets failing. However, if the price is $4,000, then it's probably less then 50% chance that you will get 40,000 mi. before failure. Unfortunately, it's also beginning to look like that sort of calculation is appropriate for the SOHC 2.5 engines 00-09 with over 100K mi. So think about it. And the HG problem is definitely not "dodged."

I have a 95 subaru that had the same problem. As the engine temperature dropped below 30 degF, the engine became harder to start. It cranked but would not start. I replaced the temperature coolant sensor twice, once for the junkyard and then from advancedauto. But I don't think that it was a problem although it's very logical that it would be. The second time I replaced the sensor, I found that the PCV hose that I had to take off to get to the sensor was rock hard and cracked where it connects to the crankcase. So I think that the crack let in air making the start up combustion mixture lean. So now it starts relatively easily down to 10 degF. So check that hose.

Grossgary Please note that the data is for the last THREE months of emails only. And how many people even know of Stobb's blog and how many would even bother to email him if they found his site? So I think that the numbers are kind of significant. Subaru switched the HG's very early in the '02 production run for OB's and Legacies and their guarantee didn't apply after that. I think that the HG from from the change in '02 to just recently is essentially the same although they may have changed the part numbers. I think another conclusion from the emails: It's surprising that some of the original composite gaskets from the DOHC and the 00-01 motors lasted well over 100K miles.

I occasionally read Justin Stobb's AWD website blog on HG's. I was a little surprised at the number of recent letters from people with 2002-2005 Subarus with HG failures. So I added up the last 3 months of letters and divided them 96-99 [dohc w/ orig. composite gaskets]. 00-01 [sohc w/ orig. composite gaskets] and 02-05 [sohc w/ orig. one metal sheet and rubber coating gasket]. I included the 02 with later years since most of the legacy model run was made with the metal gasket. This is not a scientific analysis to save anyone posting the obvious. 96-99 7 failures 00-01 6 failures 02-05 8 failures A couple of conclusion: 1. The '02+ failures seem higher then instinctively I feel they should be given the age and mileage. 2. There are some double failures mentioned in the letters so it reinforces the point that the skill of the people doing the replacement is vitally important.

Even if the HG's have been replaced, you have to determine who did the replacement and their reputation. Even dealer replacements are not fullproof.

Update: I started the car this morning on the third crank [about 3 sec/crank] by pressing the accerator most of the way down. It's 6 degf here. What am I doing when I press on the accerator other then opening the throttle? I have been looking at pressure gauges for the gas. Unfortunately, that year, Subaru didn't have a pressure tap on the rail so its a pita. I should have said in my original post that the car fires weakly below 25 degf. And the lower the temperature, the weaker it is. Sometime it starts after 10 or so tries but by then the battery is run down and a jump is needed.

I have a 95 subaru, 2.2 engine, 198K. The engine will crank but won't fire as temperatures drop below 25 degF. No Cels. This has been going on a couple of years. I've change the temp sensor, plugs, coil and wires. I've checked for vacuum leaks. The acceleration and driveabilty is fine so I think that the electrical must be OK. I've tried priming the gas rail, by repeatedly turning the key on/off, before trying to start thinking that the back pressure regulator is leaking. I suspect that it's not rich enough fuel/air ratio at cold temperatures, so that's why I changed the temp sensor. Maybe the wiring from the TS is bad, but the connector looks good. The only clue is that even in warm weather, I need to depress the accelerator on starting. On my other two subarus, I can just turn the key and they start. I don't what to check now? I could pull the plugs and look at them for clues? I don't smell gas so it doesn't seem too rich is the problem. Give me an idea.

Mikevan10 No, my fuel pump just failed and stayed failed. It's tough if the problem is intermitent.

twhb The CTS is located in a very difficult spot to reach on the coolent line exiting from the engine [and it is on the passenger side]. Search for a DIY instruction. There's a lot of hoses and wiring in the way.

I had the same problem with my 95 subaru. I eventually towed it home. I checked the potential of the electrical problem by squirting some starting fluid into the intake. It ran fine for 30 sec. So that eliminated the electrical problem in my opinion. [i understand the danger of doing this but it's an easy test and I didn't repeat it] Even then I wasn't convinced that it was a gas problem until I went to the hardware and fitted a polyethylene hose to the gas line with a clamp and into a duck taped coke bottle. No gas when I cranked it. So I went and got a fuel pump assembly from the local junk yard and installed it. Problem solved. Lots of gas into the coke bottle when I cranked it. Hope your problem is as easily solved although it took me a few days.

I use the original equipment replacement goodyear tires. I have rotated the tires and it doesn't change the steering rotation at slow speeds. Any other guesses?

On my '97 legacy 155K, at low speeds such as in a parking lot, the steering wheel will rotate back and forth about 1/4". No problem at high speeds. Does this sound like a wheel bearing starting to fail? I haven't felt any excessive temperature build up in the front bearings.

I second GD's comments. But to be clear, the head gasket problem definitely was not solved in '02. You might want to lay yourself on top of the engine and look down the driver side of the engine at the head gasket with a good flashlight. You might see a dark oil seep. You can use that to bargain for a lower price. Also repeat looking up from the bottom.

Qman may have answered a question I wondered about. I had knocking without any check engine light. i cleaned out the EGR valve, and it seems to have gone away. Maybe the knock sensor is defective?

Well, if I lived in Seattle, I definitely have Smart Service use their gasket and do the repair. The problem with replacing the HG with the Subaru one is that it is the same gasket that's already in the engine for the 02+ production years. So, it's possible/probable that replacement gasket is going to leak eventually just like the original. Subaru has gone to the three layer HG [MLS] for the '10 model year and they went to it for the '97-'99 fix, so it must have some merit.

You have to adjust the tps to factory specs. Search for tps and you will probably find the shut off voltage that you need to adjust to. Its a little less then 0.50v.

To emphasize the point that I was trying to make, the "new" head gaskets installed early in the '02 Lagacy production run have proven to be not a total fix. The evidence is the consumer report data. Up to now, there was anecdotial reports, but nothing definitive. Now it's definitive. I hope everyone realizes that the conditioner is not a fix and is changing the coolant religiously every 30K. As for changing the motor or head gasket preemtively, tell me how many failures there will be before 200k [10% 20% 30% etc], and I will be able to make a decision.

I see that last years consumer reports auto report, which still included '03 models, shows that the engine had "much more" problems than normal. This is the worst ranking. I interpret this to mean head gasket problems. The head gaskets were changed early in the '02 production run for legacys but it appear that it didn't totally fix the problem. I have an '02 made after the change, so I'm worried. Consumers reports doesn't report maintenance details unfortunately.

Bump I'm wondering about the stand location too. I see on a diy, that one person put the stand next to the jack on the rocker panel. But this area is not completely flat and makes me concerned that it might slip. I'm doing the rears tomorrow and would appreciate advice.

There have been a few head gasket failures of the late'02 and later subarus as you can see in the link. I have a late'02 so I'm keeping careful track of the situation. If I were looking to buy an '03, I would want to see that the coolant had been regularly changed at 30K intervals [unless it was a good bargain]. http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/88-head-gasket-issues/18583-hg-failure-log-no-discussion-log-only.html

I definitely recommend welding. The glues will not last. Midas and others weld a 6" steel cover over the leaking area so the "rusted" area itself isn't welded.

Midas will weld it up for you [assuming the break is not right at the muffler] for about $70. The weld will last at least 2 years.