Ravenwoods

VCG must be valve cover gasket I’ve heard from a local mechanic that some Subaru engines are picky about spark plug brands? Is that true? Timing stuff was changed 10,000 miles ago. So I thought we’d change oil, filter, and plugs as good selling points.

What’s VCG?

My daughter is getting ready to sell her 1995 Hatch back Impreza (182,000) so as a selling point I thought I’d point out its good and bad points. She just bought a nice low mileage 96 Legacy to replace the cosmetically challenged Impreza. In our case the EJ18 doesn’t drip oil anytime, unlike our 98 Forester. So I thought I’d get people’s opinions on this engine. I understand all EJ18 engines are non-interference. We are looking forward to hearing your opinions.

Here up North the UV from the sun isn't so strong so things don't break down much. I'm also guessing this car was kept in a heated garage too.

Thanks! My daughter paid for it with her own money. She’s got a healthy bank balance through hard work and savings—and is a university student too.

Thanks for pointing these out to me. Our Forester has a Manual transmission. Does the replacement need to come out of a car with a manual as well? The plan is to run the current engine until it is done. I’m really curious to see what happens. Then probably my wife will get something newer that isn’t cosmetically challenged. My 17 year old daughter could have the old Forester and I’ll try and get one of those engines. So when we put in a EJ22 into a Forester does fit together easily or does one need some special adaptation?

Okay, we’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks!

Our snow is light, fluffy and dry. Cars push through it easily. So not likely to break those links.

She bought it. Clutch seems fine. It is cable clutch rather than hydraulic. Our Forester’s clutch went out at about 150,000. So maybe this one will too. Thanks everyone for the advice and help.

We asked him about the notes from the auction and he says he hasn’t done anything mechanical to repair the car. It seems the auction notes were inaccurate because it also said it was an automatic transmission but one of pictures showed it is a manual. All the vin plates on the car are accurate. I think in Anchorage (360 miles away) one can get Subarus cheaper. We’ve been watching Craigslist a lot at the local Subarus and this seems like a good price for a low mileage car with no rust. My daughter has decided to get it.

We googled the vin. It was a donated vehicle. Mentions the front end damage on the bumper. Notes say it starts but won’t idle. No accidents reported for this car. Runs great now so the new owner seems to have worked on it.

It’s a legacy Brighton with crank windows, front disc brakes, rear drum brakes.

Yes, flipping seems to be the thing. We’ve run into others doing this too.

It looks well maintained with 112,000 miles. No rust any where. Fluids clean looking. Not leaking anywhere. Front fender has some damage. Struts normal and no rust. Hood has paint chipped off from gravel hitting it. Otherwise looks good. Alternator belt needs replacing which probably means needs new timing belt too.

We found the original owners name in the car and we are trying to phone him.

We are on a test drive now. The owner was not upfront. He just bought it at auction in Anchorage and brought it to Fairbanks to sell. So far the car seems fine.

Is the fuel pump in the gas tank? Our Forester has never had a fuel pump problem.

I texted the owner we are real serious and we have an appointment. It’s still only 6am here.

I checked the Kelly Blue Book value and $2900 is the upper range for our location. It also comes with a set of winter tires on a separate set of steel rims. Here in Fairbanks they hardly use salt on the roads and our snow is a fine dry powder so card don’t rust much. The owner bought the car new in Anchorage and also lived in Washington state. Anchorage does have rust issues but apparently this car is nice and solid.

My daughter sounds like she is ready to upgrade to a nicer car so we are going to look at a Legacy with the 2.2 liter engine and manual transmission. Here is what the seller says: “1996 Subaru Legacy. One owner, 111K Miles, non smoking vehicle. Comes with summer and winter tires. Mechanically sound and in perfect working condition. This is a great reliable car for Alaskan life. Current registration. Great shocks and not a chip in the windsheild. $2800 firm.” I’ve never had a car with the 2.2 engine. Is there anything in particular we should look for on this vehicle? I’ve heard people say the EJ22 is better than the EJ25.

I put on the new rotor and caliper yesterday evening and lubed up the caliper on the other side. My daughter drove it this morning and when she got home I checked the rotor temperature and it was cold. She says the shaking in the steering wheel is gone. So it seems the old caliper wasn’t opening up enough and while driving the pads were rubbing on the rotor getting it hot. The rotor expanded from the heat causing the brake pads to grab even more and that caused the shaking in the steering wheel. Thanks everyone for suggestions and help.

I looked at the JDM engine website. Alaska always has high shipping costs associated with 300 pound items. It would probably at least double the cost of the engine.

Head gaskets might have been replaced about 125,000 miles ago. We got it when it had 103,000 on the odometer.

Thanks for the information. Back in the 90s i used to hear one could get low mileage engines from Japan for a good price. Apparently once the engines reached about 100,000 miles in Japan they are required by law to replace it. Are those engines still available these days? So is the 2.2 liter engine better than the 2.5?