Looking for a dog hauler, camping machine.

[almstsobur]

Hey all, I was hoping I could get some suggestions about
getting an older Subaru. I currently drive a full size SUV for all of my
outdoor activities and it’s just killing me on fuel. I’ve always liked and
heard nothing but good about Subaru’s, so now I’m looking to rebuild one. I don’t
have the budget to buy anything new, but I have the mechanical ability to bring
an older one back to life.  I’m going to need a Wagon type; I would prefer all-wheel drive, so I think maybe that limits me to the Outback or Forester?? Excuse my ignorance if I’m wrong.

 

My priorities are first and foremost fuel economy and
reliability. Are there any particular years or models I should avoid? Any serious
known issues, particularly with the Driveline, tranny, differentials, gearbox
etc? I can rebuild a motor, but I don’t dabble much in transmissions. Should I
avoid a high mileage automatic then, how long are the automatics good for? I’ve
pretty much decided I’m going to look for a clean body that needs a new engine
and rebuild it. I’m not particularly interested in power mods, turbo’s or the
sort, just a fairly economic daily dog and camping gear hauler. My budget will
be about $2000-$3000 for a rolling chassis with good drive-train and another
$2000-3000 in overhaul budget.

 

 

 

Thank You for any input,

 

-Robert 

[idosubaru]

that's more than enough for a great rig.  i'd get a legacy wagon - more room and better car all around.

 

4EAT automatics found in legacys and outbacks are very robust.  no clutch maintenance and warn synchro's and input shaft bearings make it a stretch to call manuals more reliable.

 

for $2,000 - $3,000 around here you can get into a 2000+ Outback needing work...or not really much of anything big...easily.

 

2.5 liter 4 cylinder engines (EJ25's) have gobs of headgasket issues from their inception in 1996 all the way to 2009, they are easily found with blown headgaskets or bad blocks (bearings due to prior overheating from aforementioned headgasket issues). 

 

i'd look for one needing headgasket repairs and go from there, should easily find one from $1,000 - $3,000 needing headgaskets.

 

resurface the heads, get EJ25 turbo headgaskets and add Subaru's coolant conditioner required for all EJ25 engines.  add a timing kit, water pump, valve cover gaskets, and you've got a reliable 100,000 miles for not much money really, well under the dollars you mentioned.

 

the 2.5 will be easy to find cheap and easy to repair reliably too.  you can do an EJ22 swap (they are plug and play into an EJ25 2.5 liter vehicle) for better reliability and gas mileage but you might want the extra power of the 2.5 liter engine over the 2.2 with hauling, camping, gear, mountains, and coming from a beastly SUV where you're going to dislike whatever engine you get in a Subaru.

[heartless]

keep an eye on craigslist in your area - really cheap ones do pop up from time to time...

 

We just picked up a 98 Forester in good condition (for our area) with a bad motor (EJ25) for a ridiculously low $350 (plus fuel to go get it about 2 hrs away)

 

I did find out why it was so cheap after I got it home - the so called "mechanic" the previous owner took it to started a fire under the hood causing damage to wiring & a few other things - nothing that cant/couldnt be repaired, but it would have been nice to have been told about it....

 

I currently drive a 1990 Legacy AWD w/auto tranny with 234,000 (give or take a little) on the odometer - no problems whatsoever with the tranny thus far. They are a little different than most auto trannies (shifting patterns/torque converter lock-up/unlocking) but you get used to it quickly enough.

 

If you go to look at one, and it is a running vehicle, if at all possible take it to a large parking lot and turn slow, tight circles in both directions - any bucking/binding would indicate what is called "torque bind" - sometimes it can be fixed easily...sometimes not. a quick search here for that term will turn up tons of info on it.

 

Look at the tires - all 4 should match in brand, size, and wear - mismatched tires can/will cause problems with the tranny on any of the AWD Subarus.

 

high mileage is kind of a relative term - what do you consider to be high mileage? for some people, anything over 100K is high - for me, not so much...Both of my Subarus have had over 150K on them when I got them - the first one died from rust at 265,000 (I live in WI - lots of salt usage) - still ran great - the current one is around 234K as I said, and still running strong...

 

my personal suggestion for you would be a Forester - mainly because it does sit a little taller than the Legacy/Outback - coming from a full size SUV, it wouldnt be quite as drastic a change as the Legacy versions would be...the drawback on the Forester is slightly less cargo space (not as long) than the Legacy/Outback. Either way, take a look at a few, sit in them, get a feel for them - you may find you prefer the "feel" of the Legacy/Outback over the Forester...

 

With a little care and basic maintenance they are great, reliable cars.

[almstsobur]

Thank you both for the elaborate replies, I appreciate it. I'm not in a time crunch, so I'm going to keep my eyes open for the right one and grab it now, but If it needs serious motor work, it will likely become a fall/winter project. It's just too hot around here this time of year for a serious garage project.