i have to plan ahead

[nipper]

Blu, right now the only thing i think that can be salvaged are his new tires, the spare, and the roof rack

 

My max budget is 7000.00

 

I think i want to gent into 2002 plus outback. I thought Baja but not realistic for my uses.

 

Are the plugs on these years easier to change?

 

How hard are the plugs on the H-6

 

What real world (stop/go) mpg are people seeing in the 6? Blu would get 17-19, so the same numbers in a 6 would be acceptable. Has to be an auto and i want loaded.

 

Please no vultures yet, as i am sure someone would like his lift kit.

 

Shame as over the past two years he had a ton of maint done to him. Even if he starts and runs, he was in salt water for 4 hours, and already showing signs of subaru (1997) rust.

[Fairtax4me]

H6 plugs are a BE-Yatch from what I've heard. the ones I've seen don't look easy either.

 

The SOHC 2.5 plugs are easier than 25D plugs but still need some creative thinking and a swivel adapter or plug socket.

 

Those 00+ outbacks have had my eye for a while. A little more room and more ground clearance. They don't have the 2.2 bottom end power but that could be corrected I think with some decent cams.

I'm guessing you want the interior/cargo space of the Legacy wagon/Outback so a Forester would be out of the question? The Foresters tend to be a bit cheaper cost-wise. Bit cheaper build-wise too though.

 

Not sure what kind of fuel mileage the newer cars get though. I would expect high 'teens - low twenties out of the 2.5.

 

 

Any kind of water for that long would probably do a car in for the most part. Wiring gets wet, control modules, connectors, motors, switches, all ends up corroding in short order. Just too much work to strip the car and swap every electrical component, (not to mention seats, dashboard, door panels, other coverings) clean the crud from everything, and expect it to be right afterwards. Water's a beach. Shame to have to part with an "ole faithful" car because of it. :/

[nipper]

I am even thinking oujtback sport

[johnceggleston]

the plugs on the ej25 SOHC are way easier than the ej25d. because of the single cam the plug tubes are angled up which makes it easier.

 

the H6 has double cams and the plug tubes are absolutely horizontal, like the ej25D. and they are a be-itch. worse than the ej25 since there is less clearance to the frame.

 

i'm pretty sure the outback limited has all the snacks that the H6 cars come with except the engine. for mostly town use i would go with the ej25, for mostly hiway i would go with the H6, i think. not sure why.

 

EDIT: how's your house? was the car parked in your drive way?? got power? is the justy ok? good luck.

Edited November 4, 2012 by johnceggleston

[idosubaru]

The H6's are awesome.

 

Plan on resealing the valve covers, they need it at some point anyway. The spark plugs are way easier with the valve covers off. It takes a while but it's at least not the pain of doing spark plugs with the covers in place.

 

The H6's make up for it by being almost no maintenance. No timing belt, resealing oil pump, cam seals, etc. The only item they have is that serpentine belt idler/tensioner bearing issue. I'm sure you've seen that and can read about it.

 

One of mine just hit 200,000 miles and I've only done plugs, V/C gaskets, oil cooler gasket, and those bearings. That's it. My other is at 160,000 and while embarrassing i haven't done anything to it yet.

 

mileage isn't that great - i would expect about the same at best, maybe 1 mpg or so less than the EJ25. we get 21-22 mpg for daily commuting which is 15 miles of back mountain roads and no stop and go traffic, no red lights...it's WV. it's been awhile since i've driven an EJ22 or EJ25 for the commute but i think they'd do like 22-24 doing the same.

 

if i cruise at 55mph i can hit 27 and sometimes 28 mpg...but that only happens on one drive that i do - 3 hours one way and back sustained at those speed due to back roads with no mountains. the H6 mileage drops really quick as soon as you start using the pedal more or hitting mountains, etc. drops quickly on the interstate for instance.

[3Pin]

Nipper, sorry to hear about Blu. Hope everything else is OK. I have one 2000 with a 2.5 and an 02 with the H6. I realy like the H6 both on the highway and local. I get about 20-25 on the H6 and about the same on the older 2.5 with 236K on the clock.

 

The H6 has clearly been less maint. You have to keep your ear on the idler bearings as mentioned in many posts here.

 

Good luck and enjoy the ride of the 00+ Subies.