Possible purchase of 97 legacy. Need opinions please.

[xdeadeye1]

Found a low mileage 1997 legacy outback that looks nice.   Havent laid eyes on it yet, just seen on the internet.

Nice price..   She says it runs but has a cracked head.   I can do the work.   

I figure i can find another head or both or whatever.

What pitfalls should i be aware of.    Should i steer clear of this purchase. ?  

[forester2002s]

If it has a cracked head, the coolant likely leaks, and it may have a history of overheating.

Beware!

[moosens]

Most folks avoid that four cam engine. 
It’s such a short run and Subaru then offered a more reliable 2.5

 

To me it had better be dirt cheap because you’re rolling the dice.

my opinion 

[lmdew]

Dirt cheap and then drop a 95 2.2 into it.

[xdeadeye1]

It has 88k miles,   she wants 1500 for the car

 

[xdeadeye1]

(Dirt cheap and then drop a 95 2.2 into it. )

 

Is it plug and play?

I found a 93 2.2 with 80k miles on it?   

Edited July 25 by xdeadeye1

[idosubaru]

Sure: look for rust, drop in a 2.2 with new timing bits and you’re golden. $1,500 seems high for a non running 90s Subaru with a blown engine but I’m guessing you’re in the PNW?

long explanation: 

You know this I’m sure: Those 90s 2.5s blow headgaskets all the time. It’s probably not a cracked head, there’s no way someone put the effort into distinguishing between headgaskets and blown head.  Although it probably doesn’t matter these things usually overheat in such a way that people often limp them and overheat them multiple times. Good chance you’ll see evidence of a new cooling system part (or 5) as people chased it, they often diagnosed those engines incorrectly. they’re prone to multiple overheats before someone figures out it’s the headgaskets.  Also at this age the chance of this being a second (or third!) head gasket is high as well (and maybe prompted the cracked head guess).  Anyway - all of those reasons make this a really risky repair and an engine I’d rather not keep. They’re prone to losing the lower end bearings due to all the prior overheats

That’s why Larry and I would just drop a 2.2 in it. Much better engine.  

if you love risky engines and want it, look for signs of distorted/warped melted timing belt covers or knock sensor  indicating extreme external temperatures. I’ve seen them with new headgaskets blow an engine within a month had signs of overheating like that. They were engines I told someone not to keep and the person didn’t listen.   

If you do repair it resurface the heads. Don’t bother checking for flatness, it’s a waste of time. They always have high and low spots 100% of the time and you want proper surface roughness on an engine that loses headgaskets this easily. Use Subaru gaskets and clean and lubricate the head bolt threads to make sure they torque properly.  If they’re not rusty reuse them. 

[xdeadeye1]

 Thank you.

She says It does run and has a cracked head.  I agree that they probably dont know for sure its a cracked head. 

car:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3641701636070190/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner

 

engine i found

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/451568884474460/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ab67ead0b-ab41-40e5-a383-715ad38ce71f

 

i have pulled both a 2.2 and a 2.5 before and did the head gaskets and timing belts .    I think the car is nice .  Seems high for it without a good engine.   IDK the price of a good 2.2 .  What should it be?

 

Edited July 26 by xdeadeye1

[moosens]

I think that price is fair given mileage and availability. 
 

For a future vintage project I just drove several hours mostly due to NYC traffic to pay $800 for a low mileage sedan with the early 2.2.

Car had interior stripped so I really paid for the engine, harnesses, and not a lot else.

 

I will also try to extract the 4EAT transmission for our 94 Legacy but if that doesn’t happen I still feel I got a somewhat fair deal.

 Guys like me have to wake up and realize there are no more $500 beaters. 
 

Also, I would never make the effort I did for any other engine. It’s the first edition 2.2 and that’s it. Simple and reliable. 

[el_freddo]

2 hours ago, moosens said:

Guys like me have to wake up and realize there are no more $500 beaters

100% agree. It’s the same over here in Oz too. “Sad times”, but here I am hanging onto my old Subarus - I started that before they needed to hang on to their older cars… 

Cheers 

Bennie

[idosubaru]

20 hours ago, xdeadeye1 said:

 Thank you.

She says It does run and has a cracked head.  I agree that they probably dont know for sure its a cracked head. 

car:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3641701636070190/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner

 

engine i found

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/451568884474460/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ab67ead0b-ab41-40e5-a383-715ad38ce71f

 

i have pulled both a 2.2 and a 2.5 before and did the head gaskets and timing belts .    I think the car is nice .  Seems high for it without a good engine.   IDK the price of a good 2.2 .  What should it be?

 

A 93 22 intake manifold won’t plug into the EJ25.

It could work if you bolt a 1995-1998 EJ22 intake manifold on it and figure out all the minor pvc and vacuum and other bits. 93 EJ22 block bolts to EJ25 trans and exhaust. Bolt 95-98 intake manifold onto 93 engine and it’ll plug into the EJ25.

1995 EJ22 from an automatic is the direct bolt in option. Manual 95 works too but just won’t have EGR which you can easily work around. 

1996-1998 EJ22 are all bolt in and plug and play if you also get a single port EJ22 exhaust manifold. It bolts right in place.  The EJ25 exhaust is dual port and won’t bolt to the 96+ EJ22.  (95 EJ22 has dual port exhaust heads so it bolts right up to the ej25 exhaust