01 Forester, Anything Else To Look For?

[subsince77]

I have a friend that has decided she wants a Forester. There happens to be a 2001 that just shoed up for sale in town. It has 90K on it, I think they are asking 8400 or something like that - remember this is Colorado.

 

Anyway, I took a quick look at it the other day. i didn't even have time to start it yet. It looks very clean inside, it's a manual which I like, and she wants. The only thing I looked for was any sign of an external HG leak on the drivers side. Everything looked dry.

 

When I start it I'll listen for piston slap or any lower end noise - anything else on that car that year?

[EVOthis]

take it for a cruise and drive it in some tight circles and make sure it feels smooth (no vibration)....not to sure if torque bind is common in this year but in my 96 it was....

[ferret]

Only thing the 2001 was involved in was the WWP-99, Coolant conditioner recall. There are a lot of 2001/2002 Foresters out there. Drive it, get a Car-Fax just in case, and have a reliable mechanic check it over. It still has many good years of service on it. If it has clutch shutter when cold, this was common for all Subaru 5 speeds at that time. The clutch is made of organic material, and the shutter goes away after warmup.

 

Price is a reasonable if it is in good condition. If it is an S or S premium ( large sunroof ), the price is very good.

[OB99W]

WWP-99 info: http://www.snedcs.com/dcsmain/service/WWP_subnet2-5-04.htm

 

Other service campaigns that might relate to an '01 Forester:

WXW-80 O2 sensor

WWF-89 ECU reflash

[subsince77]

Thanks. I couldn't follow that last link OB99W. I know how to change an O2 sensor, no big deal there. But ECu reflash? What does that mean? I didn't know about the clutch shudder thing.

 

This car is being sold at a local gas station. That actually is a good thing. The station owner sells a few choice vehicles on the side, and they are always from sources he knows well and in really good shape. Mostly Subarus, BMWs and a few Mercedes. I think this car is probably from a local owner, so we will be able to talk to them about the car's history if my friend is interested. This is where I bought my 97 OBW 5 or 6 years ago. I worked with the actual owner and got all the maintenance receipts.

 

Also, the car is tagged to have originated at one of the nearer Subaru dealers, so they may know about whether it had the coolant conditioner or not. Unfortunately, I wouldn't take my car near that dealer. They are the ones that , when I first got my car, swore up and down that it had hydraulic lifters and that it did not need to ever have the valves set. They would not believe me when I told them that had changed on the newer 2.5 engines. Anyway, I'll see if she wants to go look at it.

[idosubaru]

keep in mind she's got a $500 - $1,000 repair bill looming on that vehicle as well. it is coming due for a timing belt change, a common time for people to sell.

 

you probably know but this is an interference engine so the belt needs changed on time (105,000) or before. at 8 years old you aren't replacing it too soon to do it now.

 

with such large change intervals on these engines it's best to replace the water pump with it. otherwise you're expecting the original pump to last 200,000 miles (next belt change) and 15 years, that's too long.

 

if you can do it yourself you can do it for $200 for the belt and pump. dealer will charge around $700.

 

good luck!

[subsince77]

Yes, thanks, I did know that because I have the same engine. If they haven't done the belt/WP/front seals job yet, and likely they haven't, she can use that as a bargaining chip.

[OB99W]

  subsince77 said:

Thanks. I couldn't follow that last link OB99W. I know how to change an O2 sensor, no big deal there. But ECu reflash? What does that mean?[...]

Some Subarus around '01-'02 had problems with O2 sensors and with the way the ECU interpreted their operation. The bad O2 sensors were supposed to be replaced, and the ECUs should have been "reflashed" (programming in the "flash" memory updated), at no charge to the owner.

 

Here's a link that has the full story on WWF-89; click on the thumbnails at:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7043

 

If you don't want to talk to the local dealer, you could probably call SoA, provide the VIN, and ask them if all the service campaigns have been completed on the car.

 

EDIT: Fixed WWP-99 link in post #4, above.

[hohieu]

Earlier Foresters also had issues with rear wheel bearings. I think Subaru rememdied the situation in 2003. If you hear any odd noises from the rear, here's a good way to verify a wheel bearing issue:

 

With all 4 wheels off the ground, rotate the wheel with one hand and feel for any vibration with your other hand on the spring coil. May as well check the front ones while you're at it.

[subsince77]

Just a follow-up report. It turns out this Forester is a one owner car that has had every recommended service throughout it's life. I haven't talked directly to the owner, but I would imagine that includes the magic coolant additive. The owner has the receipts from everything she has ever done to it. I guess she just spent $1000.00 at the dealer on an 80,000 mile service - no idea what that would be. I can't imagine my car having needed $1000 worth of work at 80,000, but whatever. Probably changed the tranny oil and checked the brakes.

 

The only thing not done is of course the timing belt ( so probably also the cam seals and water pump too). All in all though, it's probably a sweet deal for someone. My friend has decided to drive her Forerunner for another year and pay off some other debt before buying a new car, so I won't be pursuing it. Thanks for the help.

[idosubaru]

congrats to your friend for making a good financial move...i see too many people overextending themselves. my best friend bought his 4runner years ago with 60,000 miles - it now has 250,000 and he's never replaced the timing belt.

 

dealers charge insane prices, but as long as people are dumb enough to pay you can't blame them. the "package" or "mileage" deals are horrific. they make a long list that sounds like a lot but takes about 13 minutes and charge $1,000.

 

"check front brake pads, front rotors, rear pads, rear rotors, emergency brake, windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, trans fluid, differential fluid, valve cover gaskets...." all pretty much worthless stuff and then they'll throw a couple worthwhile items in there too - but it's mostly BS for $1,000.

 

last legacy i bought was like that, i got all the receipts from the previous owner. poor girl got wrecked with insanely ridiculous expenses.

[Bmm001]

It's great to have a friend who knows about cars and required service when making major financial decisions like the purchase of an automobile. Forums like this are also a wonderful resource.

 

Second and even third opionions are invaluable, especially if what someone is telling you is wrong doesn't make sense. Example:

 

My girlfriend's '02 Corolla has had 3 catalytic converters since she's owned the car (2 1/2 years) and probably didn't need any of them--never lost any MPG or performance or any indication that there was actually something wrong with the converter other than PO420. My guess is no actual diagnostics were ever done other than reading the code and saying "That code means you need a new catalytic converter."

 

She finally (at my urging), took her car to a different mechanic and the only problem he found was a slight leak at the exhaust manifold gasket. Reset the P0420 CEL (this was 600 miles ago) and it hasn't been back on since.

 

Needless to say she'll never take her car back to that garage for service, and has to wonder how much other unnecessary and overpriced work has been done on her and her family's cars over the years.

 

Brian M.

[subsince77]

  grossgary said:

congrats to your friend for making a good financial move...i see too many people overextending themselves. my best friend bought his 4runner years ago with 60,000 miles - it now has 250,000 and he's never replaced the timing belt.

 

Her Forerunner is great. She got the thing several years ago. I think it's a 93, and it only had about 50,000 miles on it. Some guy from Texas just kept it up here for his summer visits. He had a friend run it occasionally, do oil changes etc. so it was in great shape. I think she still has less than 100,000 on it. It is a great vehicle, especially in actual 4wd conditions. It's just that she and her husband would like to have one of their vehicles get better milage (he drives a full-sized Chevy PU). They just did some work on thier house and want to pay that off first.

 

That was one question she had though, she thought a Forester would go where her Forerunner goes - I said no way. I love my Outback, and it's great in the winter etc., but you would never confuse it with an actual high clearance, low geared, 4wd vehicle. We've taken her Forerunner on some serious roads:eek: , and it handles them with ease. Anyway, there is a nice Forester sitting there if someone wants it.