Ticking Time Bomb or Totally Bombproof?

[Starkapopolis]

I'm looking at buying a 98 Forester 5spd with 116K mi. Talking with the seller, the plus side is the car has had the timing belt replaced, clutch replaced, new rotors, brakes, drive belts, and normal fluid flushed at normal intervals. That all sounds good 'n normal but he also said that he bought it used off a lot at the dealer and later on, the car blew two head gasgets on a road trip and he had them both machined and fixed by a dealer. He said that the mechanic told him there was "oil in the coolant" and that was why the car kept overheating leading to the blown heads. He said he didn't drive it long enough to ruin the engine, but had it towed to the dealer where they fixed it for $2K. I've never heard of blown heads on a Subaru - is this a common problem?

 

He says all is good now but my question is: is it better to buy a car that hasn't had problems and parts that haven't been replaced or is it better to buy a car that has already had a few major things go wrong and had them fixed by a good mechanic? The price is fair for this model with these miles but I'm just getting out of a repair nightmare and want something reliable.

 

Thanks for your input.

[idosubaru]

do a search on "headgasket" in this new generation forum and you'll see this is a very common problem for 2.5's on the boards (i think i've replied to two or three posts about it already this morning). still a small percentage of vehicles, but those problems often end up visiting this board for help so there's a high number on here.

 

that being said, the "new" head gaskets solve the issue and are not known to have issue and make a great motor if the heads and block were'nt damaged when it was first overheated. i would thoroughly test it out and test drive it as much as possible and keep your eye on the temperature gauge, looking for any fluctuations and pop the hood after the car is warmed up and hot. look for any air bubbles in the overflow tank. also look for coolant coming out the exhaust at start up.

 

if done properly, you've got yourself a great car. if i were looking for a 2.5 i would certainly be most interested in one with the newer headgaskets as they are great motors.

 

i personally say much much better to have had the head gaskets replaced if it's a 2.5 then buying one sight unseen. i like the sounds of it personally.

[Starkapopolis]

Thank you for your opinion and the test drive tips. I'll search the post now like I shoulda done first!

 

Brian

 

 

do a search on "headgasket" in this new generation forum and you'll see this is a very common problem for 2.5's on the boards (i think i've replied to two or three posts about it already this morning). still a small percentage of vehicles, but those problems often end up visiting this board for help so there's a high number on here.

 

that being said, the "new" head gaskets solve the issue and are not known to have issue and make a great motor if the heads and block were'nt damaged when it was first overheated. i would thoroughly test it out and test drive it as much as possible and keep your eye on the temperature gauge, looking for any fluctuations and pop the hood after the car is warmed up and hot. look for any air bubbles in the overflow tank. also look for coolant coming out the exhaust at start up.

 

if done properly, you've got yourself a great car. if i were looking for a 2.5 i would certainly be most interested in one with the newer headgaskets as they are great motors.

 

i personally say much much better to have had the head gaskets replaced if it's a 2.5 then buying one sight unseen. i like the sounds of it personally.

[cookie]

If the car drives well now it sounds like most of the work you would want to do on it has been done. I would much rather buy that car with new headgaskets myself.

[rweddy]

If the car drives well now it sounds like most of the work you would want to do on it has been done. I would much rather buy that car with new headgaskets myself.

I agree Cookie. As long as the work was done by good mechanic you should be golden.

[friendly_jacek]

There are a couple of things that need to be checked.

Was the HG repaired with the new-style gasket?

It could be determined from the repair paperwork. I remember from this board that repair with old style gasket would lead to repeated HG problems.

Second, do a careful compression check. You never know, it could be damaged from overheating.