avg_joe Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Hey all!! I am from MN, as the title states. A few years back, I picked up a 96 legacy on it's last leg, and hobbled it along for a couple of years, before it was going to cost more than a few bucks to fix. In that time, I had come to really like the little thing....I had even gotten pretty good at cramming myself through the ridiculously small door opening without looking like I was drunk. When it died, I looked around for another Subaru, and found a 99 Forester with a 2.5 and a 5 speed. It only had 195 thousand or so, and had been gone through recently, due to a bad valve(I was told). I figured it was good to go, then, and picked it up. It's only been 4 thousand miles, and I have had a piston replaced, along with the valves, and had the head gone through, and now have a blown head gasket. Needles to say, my appreciation for the Subaru has begun to diminish. It blew it's gasket about 90 miles into a 300 mile journey. I went through several gallons of coolant, and prolonged my 4-5 hour journey into almost 11 hours. I made it through the last 75 miles much easier, after I was able to find a shop that would help me, as I didn't have any tools along. We took the thermostat out, and then I was able to continue on my way....Stopping to add coolant when the gauge started to read warm, and my toes started to get cold. It seems that I have a bit of research ahead of me, to see whether I try to save this thing. But I wanted to at least introduce myself, before I start asking a bunch of questions. avg_joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzijohn Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Hi,I just joined-John in Champlin. When i retired as a UMN mechanic in '08 I sold 4 of my motorcycles and bought a small sailboat and a '99 legacy wagon to tow it. I reasearched the Subaru and concluded that the 2.5 was very problematic(headgasket wise). I was fortunate in finding my '99 2.2 5 spd w 153k on it. It seems that 2.5 after('03-'05?)don't have the issue. After having Toyotas in the family since '76(have '95,'99,'01 Camrys now)I'm quite impressed w Subarus and hope youe luck improves. "Guzzi John" Pierson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 yes, the earlier 2.5s had headgasket issues, but they can be fixed and made to be fairly reliable if done using the right parts. Or, there is always the option of replacing with the much more reliable 2.2... Do a search of the forums here and you will find a wealth of headgasket information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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