Replacing an engine?

[kamoore63]

I have a 1998 Subaru Forester S with 150,000 miles on it. The engine just died this weekend (blown head gasket apparently). According to the mechanic who looked at it (someone I don't know as this happened while I was away for the weekend), the engine has a lot of aluminum in it and so gets damaged easily if it overheats, which it did.

 

With this many miles on it, I'd probably just let the car go, rather than spend probably about $2K to replace the engine BUT I just put a bunch of money into it two months ago for a new fuel tank, sensors and lines, new rear struts and new pistons for the rear hatch. Plus four brand-new tires. So if I decide just to junk the car, that money is pretty much down the toilet.

 

Any opinions on whether or not it's worth replacing the engine? The body's in good shape and I had the clutch replaced a couple of years ago.

[johnceggleston]

for 2k$ or less you have a good car. where are you going to get the same quality for 2k? just make sure the engine you put in has new head gaskets.

 

go to kbb.com and check the value of your car in good condition. then subtract the engine replacement. this is about what your car is worth as is. someone will but it , put in a used motor themselves and have a great , cheap car.

 

you can do the engine for less than 2K$. you could even go with a 95 2.2L engine.

 

fix it.

 

 

  kamoore63 said:

I have a 1998 Subaru Forester S with 150,000 miles on it. The engine just died this weekend (blown head gasket apparently). According to the mechanic who looked at it (someone I don't know as this happened while I was away for the weekend), the engine has a lot of aluminum in it and so gets damaged easily if it overheats, which it did.

 

With this many miles on it, I'd probably just let the car go, rather than spend probably about $2K to replace the engine BUT I just put a bunch of money into it two months ago for a new fuel tank, sensors and lines, new rear struts and new pistons for the rear hatch. Plus four brand-new tires. So if I decide just to junk the car, that money is pretty much down the toilet.

 

Any opinions on whether or not it's worth replacing the engine? The body's in good shape and I had the clutch replaced a couple of years ago.

[nipper]

Find another mechanic. i wouldnt take a car to this guy if he was doing it for free, as he does not know subarus.

All cars have aluminum engines these days. Any car over 130,000 miles can blow a HG. We have them blow HG here, get repaired, and the problem is gone. The "lots of aluminum" line is pure crap. He shouldnt be in business, man things like this really piss me off.

The big question here, which you dont say, is did you bake the engine, or did you not notice the temp gauge was pegged for a while. DId it stall on you?

a HG runs 1200-1500 to fix. I would fix this one, since 99% of the time you fix the HG only once. There most likely is nothing worng with this engine aside from HG if you didnt bake it.

 

i would keep the car.

 

nipper

[kamoore63]

  nipper said:

The big question here, which you dont say, is did you bake the engine, or did you not notice the temp gauge was pegged for a while. DId it stall on you?

 

The engine overheated back at the end of July in the middle of the night when I was driving in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. It didn't stall but it ran hot for awhile until I managed to pull over. When I checked it, the coolant was empty so I refilled it and it's been fine since. When it went on Saturday, I noticed a smell and then looked at the temperature gauge and noticed it was as high as it would go. It couldn't have been there for long since I look at the gauge frequently, esp. since the problem at the end of July.

 

The mechanic did say he could replace the head gasket but his concern would be that there's other damage and for the work involved, he figured it was better to get a new engine. He said the last one he did was a 1999 and cost $1,700.

[nipper]

 

so you cooked the engine. Its not so much the aluminum, but you cooked the oil, and ild be more concerned about connecting rod bearings at this point, or in the future.

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

head gaskets are usually $1,000-$1,500 depending how many parts they replace along the way (head work, timing belts, water pump, oil pump, etc). $1700 is high and should include alot of new stuff..water pump and such.

 

the motor is probably fine, but like nipper said the more it's been overheated the more chance you had of damaging the engine. thing is, if there wasn't any damage done this motor will last another 150,000 miles. if it were me i'd install new headgaskets myself. but i wouldn't have to pay since i'd do it myself. the parts are cheap.

 

2.2 liter motors are super cheap and don't have the head gasket issues of the 2.5. if engine replacement was the way you wanted to go, do not replace it with another 2.5. you have no way of knowing if the headgaskets are good. you can get a new motor or new headgaskets but i'm assuming you don't want to spend much money. 2.5's are not cheap. 2.2's on the other hand are a dime a dozen because they last forever and there are many of them around. a 2.2 is nearly a direct swap for a 2.5, plenty of people on the board here have done it. they are more reliable and don't have the pesky headgasket issues of the 2.5. this swap can be done for around the $500 mark with a little legwork. definitley under $1,000 even for a newbie paying someone else to do it.

[kamoore63]

  grossgary said:

2.2 liter motors are super cheap and don't have the head gasket issues of the 2.5. if engine replacement was the way you wanted to go, do not replace it with another 2.5. you have no way of knowing if the headgaskets are good. you can get a new motor or new headgaskets but i'm assuming you don't want to spend much money. 2.5's are not cheap. 2.2's on the other hand are a dime a dozen because they last forever and there are many of them around. a 2.2 is nearly a direct swap for a 2.5, plenty of people on the board here have done it. they are more reliable and don't have the pesky headgasket issues of the 2.5. this swap can be done for around the $500 mark with a little legwork. definitley under $1,000 even for a newbie paying someone else to do it.

 

I'm definitely a newbie as I don't have either the knowledge or equipment (or location) to be doing work on my car. What's the power difference between the 2.2 and 2.5 liter engines? The current engine (RIP) is great with the stick, lots of pick-up, which is important where I live (Boston area) due to a lot of short on-ramps and other bad road situations where it's good to have solid acceleration.

 

Anything special I'd need to tell the mechanic if I do go the 2.2 liter route?