roadsubiedog Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 ? have a choice on my 2.5 Outback $2500-3000 for headgasket job that includes clutch, HGs, water pump, timing belt , etc. or $1500 for one of those 45k Japenese motors and $500 labor to exchange. I should get another 100k miles either way, right? pros and cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Miles? I've never done a JDM so I don't know about their HG issues. I'd try to find someone on this site to do the work. That price for TB, HG, etc and clutch seems a bit high. Like 500-1000-1,500 high off the top of my head. I usually figure about 1,500 for that job in parts and labor (mind you I don't work on other peoples stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 BTW I'd assume that you need to add the clutch kit/flywheel resurface to the JDM price. Also pretty much anytime I have a 2.5 out of the car I do HG's - they are just a ticking timebomb as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 ? have a choice on my 2.5 Outback $2500-3000 for headgasket job that includes clutch, HGs, water pump, timing belt , etc. or $1500 for one of those 45k Japenese motors and $500 labor to exchange. I should get another 100k miles either way, right? pros and cons? year, trans and miles???? have you looked for an engine here: http://www.car-part.com . 99 is an odd duck sort of year, but you might be able to use a 95 - 99 2.2L engine that has egr. the decision you are facing is the reason outbacks with bad head gaskets go for 500 - 1000$. you might be able to find a less expensive solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 the decision you are facing is the reason outbacks with bad head gaskets go for 500 - 1000$. you might be able to find a less expensive solution. Not in Tahoe they don't. A clean outback with a totally blown motor can still fetch 2-3k out here. Higher milage, rough bodies maybe $1000-1500 You won't EVER see an outback for $500 on the west coast unless it has been rolled or wrecked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Oh and I would fix the engine you got. Unknown motors are a bad bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 Oh and I would fix the engine you got. Unknown motors are a bad bet. that's why I come to this site. i want to look at all the options. I just towed the car out of a Reno area shop that quoted me $2500 starters and then there was a lady there with the same problem and it ended up costing here over $4000 ! This is for a 10 year old car. I just can't do it. I am gonna talk to this other guy about the Atarrco motor for $1500 or there are a lot of junkyard motors I may have an option on. I thought about a 2.2 but i heard here before there might be smog issues since I live in CA and it has a different wiring harness? Well. I don't like to make snap decisions. ( That shop was none too happy about pulling the car out . They wouldnt even give mr the time of day. I had to ask for the key twice and I had to use the ph to call AAA and you'd think I was asking too much ) i know I made the right decision pulling it as If i had a problem with their work I probably would of gotten trouble with them making it right. I don't like repair shops. I had a GREAT mechanic who retired this year. It took several years to find him. RSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Once again an important question, how many miles are on the engine. Also important a compression test to see the overall health of the engine. Years dont matter but mileage does on this decidion. Its always better to go with a known risk then an unknown risk. Also has this engine ever been overheated or cooked? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 ? have a choice on my 2.5 Outback $2500-3000 for headgasket job that includes clutch, HGs, water pump, timing belt , etc. or $1500 for one of those 45k Japenese motors and $500 labor to exchange. I should get another 100k miles either way, right? pros and cons? let's see, 400$ 2.2L from seattle or new england areas. 350$ shipping, 500$ install = 1250$, you save 750$. just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 This is for a 10 year old car. I just can't do it. I hate this type of logic. The older the car, the more appropriate to spend money on it. If it was a 3 year old car, would it be worth spending $2000 on it? let's see: $2000 divided by 3 = $666 per year. $2000 divided by 10 = $200 per year. You can't justify $200 dollars work for each year of the cars age? Cars are a consumable product. Everyone expects the value of the car to be more than the cost of fixing it. Guess what? doesn't happen that way. Car only KEEPs it's value if you spend the proper money to fix it. But do whatever you want. But if you can't afford the cost of maintaining a vehichle, it won't matter. You will spend the same amount either way, just a matter of spending it all at once, and having confidence everything is fixed. Or you will spend another $1500 for a new motor next year when the headgaskets on you're unkown condition motor go out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croak Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 http://reno.craigslist.org/pts/1069288467.html there is also a Subaru mechanic named Ken In Tahoe that advertises on Craigslist. In reno, Independent Automotive is the Subaru specialist there is also Supposedly a Shop at the lake somewhere, I don't remember the name though. If you were to put in a used motor you might as well replace that stuff anyway not knowing where the motor came from. If you can get a reputable Subaru mechanic to do all that work for $4000 parts and labor thats not bad. This however is why a lot of us do our own work. When I did my car: timing belts, clutch, head gaskets, and seals, it only cost me $600-$700 and about three days of my time. hope that helps croak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 http://reno.craigslist.org/pts/1069288467.html there is also a Subaru mechanic named Ken In Tahoe that advertises on Craigslist. In reno, Independent Automotive is the Subaru specialist there is also Supposedly a Shop at the lake somewhere, I don't remember the name though. If you were to put in a used motor you might as well replace that stuff anyway not knowing where the motor came from. If you can get a reputable Subaru mechanic to do all that work for $4000 parts and labor thats not bad. This however is why a lot of us do our own work. When I did my car: timing belts, clutch, head gaskets, and seals, it only cost me $600-$700 and about three days of my time. hope that helps croak yes, this does help. that is why I posed this question to see what kind of options I have. I have heard of this ken in tahoe but can't locate him. I have very little mechanical ability and hardly any tools so I have to pay someone. yesterday I tried to take off a front axle and even following edrachs directions i came to a deadend bc i don't have the proper tools and knowledge. I've only had the car 4 years and put 80k miles on it. The odometer only works half the time so i don't know the true miles. guess would be 175-200k . But i do agree with the poster about breaking down the cost of a $3000 repair bill down to $750 a year to have a good reliable vehicle again instead of gambling with a strange motor. If i could do the work i would gamble with a $600 motor ( it's only 15 miles from me . ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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