Looking at a 1998 Forester

[dssenne]

Hi,

I'm looking at a 1998 Forester L and would like to get any opinions.

The head gaskets/intake/exhaust/valve cover gaskets have been recently replaced as has the timing belt and the camshaft, front crankshaft seals.

It has 120K and he's asking $2500.

I've read here and elsewhere about Phase 1 HG problems.

If I buy this car do I stand a good chance of having continuing HG problems in the future, or does replacement usually take care of it?

Should I be especially worried about any other more serious damage that could have been caused to the engine by the overheating?

Also, I've read of people having to replace the axle boots regularly on Foresters. Is this true?

Other than these problems, do Foresters have good reputations for reliability or should I look elsewhere?

Thanks for any comments/suggestions!

[GeneralDisorder]

The 98's have the DOHC phase 1 and these did suffer from HG problems as well as piston slap and bottom end failure. Often the overheating is a repeat problem because it comes and goes and occurs sometimes only after miles of driving..... so rod bearing failure isn't uncommon as oil breakdown is caused by the high temperature's. There's no way to know with a used engine - it could last a long time or it could blow up in a month.

 

Personally I stay away from that engine and it's sad that the first year Forester's had to get them. The 99's have the phase-II engine. I own one of those and it has 237k on the original engine.

 

Axle boots are common on all Subaru's. Frankly they are a common failure on most cars. What is more of a problem on the Foresters is the rear wheel bearings - they eat those like candy. Mine is on the third set that I know of from the records I have and at least one of those is bad.

 

GD

[idosubaru]

pretty much what he said. should be good to go if the job was done right, i probably wouldn't get it if Subaru gaskets weren't used. you can tell by looking at the head gasket, the Subaru's are a multi-layer design.

 

like he said there are a low percentage of bottom end failures of EJ25's, so that's sort of a gamble.

 

$2,500 is a great price if the head gasket job was done right and the engine wasn't abused. car should also have new timing belt and pulleys though, it's an interference engine so if any of that fails you'll have internal engine damage.

 

wheel bearings like candy is about right.

[dssenne]

Thanks,

I think I'll pass on this one.