kdixey Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 After a long and fruitful relationship with my 86 GL wagon I've decided I cannot put any more $ into it for repairs (I used to do the repairs myself, but I have neither the time nor the space to do that in anymore). I also have a 5 year old and have been wanting to move into a more modern car. I went into this thinking that I was going to pick up a mid to late 90's Legacy. Yesterday I came across a very nice 99 Forester with a few minor interior cosmetic issues (missing speaker grills and such) and a cracked windshield. Its got about 90K on it and drives really well. They are asking around $5K for it and it looks to be pretty close to NADA and under KBB (so my bank will be happy). I had not even been considering a Forester before but this car has me thinking about it. Does anyone have any sage advice? If I remember correctly the Forester is built on an Impreza platform correct? I had an Impreza about 10 years ago and I really liked that car. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) One year engine. 2.5 SOHC (and no - you can't 2.2 it). External HG leak prone. Just infront of #4 cylinder - usually tough to see it's right by the cross member. Like all 2.5 SOHC's. I think the tranny's are a little unigue as well. Last one I did was a PITA. I pulled 4 engines in that vehicle. A used one w/53k HG's leaked. Pricey engines. Also seem to be known for bearing troubles judging by the number of folks who have called me looking for an engine. More than the DOHC's it seems. I bought this one with bad bearings and one of the replacement engines had bad bearings. If it's running good that's fine. I'd still put it in the air and look for the external HG leak and listen for rod knock. Edited February 21, 2009 by davebugs typing ability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I would add to the above: - Rear wheel bearings seem to be a frequent maintenance item, but you're still on the low side for miles @ 90k - TSB HERE - There may be a TSB for the HG leak - more info HERE If your car is local, check the Subaru dealer to see if the car has been in for the above or other issues. - I've heard a few people complain about a lack of room in the back seats, so if you haul adults it may be an issue; probably not w/the kidlets. Note: You may need to create an account on 'scooobymods' to view the links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlm30 Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 One year engine. 2.5 SOHC (and no - you can't 2.2 it). External HG leak prone. Just infront of #4 cylinder - usually tough to see it's right by the cross member. Like all 2.5 SOHC's. I think the tranny's are a little unigue as well. Last one I did was a PITA. I pulled 4 engines in that vehicle. A used one w/53k HG's leaked. Pricey engines. Also seem to be known for bearing troubles judging by the number of folks who have called me looking for an engine. More than the DOHC's it seems. I bought this one with bad bearings and one of the replacement engines had bad bearings. If it's running good that's fine. I'd still put it in the air and look for the external HG leak and listen for rod knock. Hi Dave A few questions 1)What do you mean by one year engine? Is it the engine/trany bolt pattern? 2)And #4 HG leak? Is it usually at #4 cylinder for the EJ25? Where is the #4? 3)What is the rod knock sounds like? Where is the best location to hear it? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 [...]Where is the #4? Cylinder numbering, facing car from front: 3 4 1 2 In other words, #4 is nearest driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) As far as getting a Forester I would recommend you get a newer model considering what you said about your situation. There were improvements made in '03 to the model that you might like so I would get something made from then, on to the present. I guess you don't want a new car but if you can handle the payments on one I think it is a great time to buy a new car with the good deals going on now. You could have a car that will last many years if you can swing a deal for one. Subaru has 4.9% financing available to well qualified buyers. http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/112_0812_2009_subaru_forester_suv_of_the_year/suspension_and_price.html Edited February 21, 2009 by Cougar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 As far as getting a Forester I would recommend you get a newer model considering what you said about your situation. There were improvements made in '03 to the model that you might like so I would get something made from then, on to the present. I guess you don't want a new car but if you can handle the payments on one I think it is a great time to buy a new car with the good deals going on now. You could have a car that will last many years if you can swing a deal for one. http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/112_0812_2009_subaru_forester_suv_of_the_year/suspension_and_price.html No can do as far as a new car...the school that I work for is facing BIG budget cuts (as they all are) and my job will likely be gone come next Fall. If I stay in the 5K range I can pay it off pretty easily before that happens. What I am gathering by the responses is stay away from the Forester and perhaps look for a used 2.2 Legacy (which I would love to find if they weren't all so ridiculously priced around here). The other option is to drop $1500 on my 86 GL to fix the clutch and get an engine reseal and see how far that gets me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I think the Forester would be a great car to have. I just would try to get a '03 or newer model since they made better improvements to them. I hope your job continues on. I can understand how you would not want to take on extra debt when faced with uncertainty about your employment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 After a long and fruitful relationship with my 86 GL wagon I've decided I cannot put any more $ into it for repairs (I used to do the repairs myself, but I have neither the time nor the space to do that in anymore). I also have a 5 year old and have been wanting to move into a more modern car. I went into this thinking that I was going to pick up a mid to late 90's Legacy. Yesterday I came across a very nice 99 Forester with a few minor interior cosmetic issues (missing speaker grills and such) and a cracked windshield. Its got about 90K on it and drives really well. They are asking around $5K for it and it looks to be pretty close to NADA and under KBB (so my bank will be happy). I had not even been considering a Forester before but this car has me thinking about it. Does anyone have any sage advice? If I remember correctly the Forester is built on an Impreza platform correct? I had an Impreza about 10 years ago and I really liked that car. Kevin Having spent about 5 months searching for the "right" Forester, I think I can add some comments. Forget the '98 model year. It's a DOHC engine and I don't like the added complexity. Fuji only offered that engine in the Forester for one year and switched to the SOHC engine in '99. Unless you really have to have an automatic, go for the 5MT transmission which is hard to find in the Forester model. However, the added pickup and slightly better gas mileage is worth the search. We only drove one automatic during our search and it was a "stone." No pickup at all. Pay attention to the warnings about headgasket problems. If you find one that hasn't had it done recently, you'll be the one paying for it. Generally the first timing belt is due at 105K. If the headgaskets have been done by a reputable shop you shouldn't have any issues with them since the latest version gaskets and specific tightening technique seem to have done away with the problem. We finally bought a '99 from richierich for a decent price with all the onerous work already done. It had 110K on it when we bought it, and we're around 125K now. Only issue has been the viscous coupler started to give us trouble recently. Kind of unusual for the model and I don't regret having bought the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 After a long and fruitful relationship with my 86 GL wagon I've decided I cannot put any more $ into it for repairs (I used to do the repairs myself, but I have neither the time nor the space to do that in anymore). I also have a 5 year old and have been wanting to move into a more modern car. I went into this thinking that I was going to pick up a mid to late 90's Legacy. Yesterday I came across a very nice 99 Forester with a few minor interior cosmetic issues (missing speaker grills and such) and a cracked windshield. Its got about 90K on it and drives really well. They are asking around $5K for it and it looks to be pretty close to NADA and under KBB (so my bank will be happy). I had not even been considering a Forester before but this car has me thinking about it. Does anyone have any sage advice? If I remember correctly the Forester is built on an Impreza platform correct? I had an Impreza about 10 years ago and I really liked that car. Kevin Just a comment on the Forester that you are looking at. You will likely be paying for the timing belt job on this one (due at 105K) so add that to the price of the car. A windshield will likely run you another $250. Adding those two numbers to the price of the car put it well above a "good" value. I'm very fond of the Forester having just bought one in the last year from richierich. You might check his website for a "quality" Forester or Legacy (www.fixmysuby.com). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 find one with the head gaskets already replaced. or buy one for $1,000 with the headgaskets blown and pay $3,000 for a brand new, warrantied CCR engine and have a much better car. interference engine -so the timing belt has to be done on time. that's a $500+ job, so factor that in. buy from a private owner. fly somewhere and pick it up if you have to, i do it all the time. easy way to get a great vehicle cheap. if you're not set on the forester, any 2.2 vehicle would be a great bet, fewer issues and they're usually cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I owned a 1999 Forester, which I sold at 200,000 miles, and now I own a 2006 Forester. The 1999 Forester was a good car, and gave me 200,000 trouble free miles (replaced one drive shaft and ball joints). I much prefer the styling of the 1999 over my current 2006. There is very little difference between the 1999 and the 2006 Forester. The external head gasket leak problem on the SOHC 2.5L is WAY, WAY blown out of proportion. I owned my 1999 for seven years, and I was on this board every day. There was a lot of noise about the external head gasket leaks and the oatmeal stop leak, but I remember relatively few actual failures. I remember quite a few wheel bearing failures on the early Foresters due to the cheap "caged' ball bearings. Carefully installing tapered bearings will solve this problem, if it arises. My 2006 has ajustable valve timing, and the engine has reverted back to mechanical valve lifters. I am a guinea pig for these engine changes? Subaru doesn't mind using its' customers as unpaid, and unknowing, beta testers. If I get the same service from my 2006 as I did from my 1999 I'll be a pretty happy guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Just one question...can I call you El Duderino? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogstar7055 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I own an 01 and an 08 and love them both. I to believe the HG problem is blown way outta proportion but I would definitely do the timing belt(water pump and idler while your in there). That being said the issues you stated make me feel around $4000 or so would be a better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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