Re: Subaru guys, What year did the Legacy/Forester (MagicBus)
Quote, originally posted by MagicBus » |
I'd heard the problem only affected 1996-early 2001 subaru 2.5L engines when researching for buying a Subaru (ended up in a 2.2L) and for a possible Vanagon engine swap. Though, I searched, and can't find the info now. |
x2. That is my understanding.
My aunt bought the very first '00 Outback delivered to the Jax, Florida Subaru dealership. It just rolled over to 100k miles and hasn't had any head gasket issues. Everyone says first-year models always have teething problems but she's only had a couple couple of A/C issues (but she's in south Georgia so the A/C is almost always on) and a fuel pump. It's a great car.
My mom has a '96 Outback with the bulletproof 2.2-liter/5-speed combination. It has about 160k miles and still runs great, doesn't burn any oil, etc. The upside of the 2.2-liter engine is that it is non-interference, so you don't have to stress about replacing the timing belt if you buy a car with an unknown history. I believe '96 was the last year for the 2.2 in the Outback. It's not the fastest thing in the world and has short gears so it revs high in the interstate, so keep that in mind if you find one.