My Subaru enthusiasm has been dampened

L

lkreh

Took my 99 OBW (2.5L) to the dealer for some regular service at
130,000. The car has been very well maintained and garaged. I was
told that the cam and crank seals are leaking (they were already
replaced at 105,000 miles), there's a slight transmission leak and the
head gasket is on its way out. I'm looking at a repair bill that's
about half the value of the car (I'm not going to have the repairs
done). Was it unrealistic to expect the car to run longer than this
without needing major engine work? Are newer Subarus with the 2.5L
likely to last any longer than this? Anyone want to talk me into
another Subaru or should I look elsewhere?

Where I used to work, we had a fleet of Ford Tauruses that all ran
well beyond 130,000 miles without needing any major engine work...
 
Given the longevity of the taureses with thier sideways lopsidedness...
Subaru ought to be embarassed.
The 2.5 is not as good as the reputation subaru has had in the past.
shamefully.
It is going backwards and it is disturbing. The past was better in more
ways than I can't even think of... and they are going extinct. find a 2.2 or
a 2.0 or my favorite, the slow poke ea series soobs of the 80s (by far the
most reputable). for cheaper than the cost of thier repairs...
 
lkreh said:
Took my 99 OBW (2.5L) to the dealer for some regular service at
130,000. The car has been very well maintained and garaged. I was
told that the cam and crank seals are leaking (they were already
replaced at 105,000 miles),

Did you put the coolant conditioner in at 105k that is supposed to protect
against that?

What brand who did the original work? Maybe you got cheap parts last time
around.

there's a slight transmission leak and the
head gasket is on its way out. I'm looking at a repair bill that's
about half the value of the car (I'm not going to have the repairs
done). Was it unrealistic to expect the car to run longer than this
without needing major engine work? Are newer Subarus with the 2.5L
likely to last any longer than this? Anyone want to talk me into
another Subaru or should I look elsewhere?

Where I used to work, we had a fleet of Ford Tauruses that all ran
well beyond 130,000 miles without needing any major engine work...

You got lucky. How bout them transmissions? Keep a stock of replacements
out back to just drop in or something?
 
lkreh said:
Took my 99 OBW (2.5L) to the dealer for some regular service at
130,000.

My 98 OBL with the same motor has twice that mileage and is great. It has
never needed a head gasket. If the oil seals are leaking already I would say
they were improperly installed.

What evidence does the dealer have to support the claim that the head gasket
is "on its way out"? I don't believe you can tell unless it starts to leak.
 
I guess in response to your post and others...

All maintenance has been done by dealer with OEM parts.

According to the dealer, the coolant conditioner does not help/prevent
internal HG leak. It's aimed at external coolant leak on different
version of the 2.5L.

As far as my HG status, dealer saw contamination in coolant which
would indicate internal leak.
 
I guess in response to your post and others...

All maintenance has been done by dealer with OEM parts.

According to the dealer, the coolant conditioner does not help/prevent
internal HG leak. It's aimed at external coolant leak on different
version of the 2.5L.

As far as my HG status, dealer saw contamination in coolant which
would indicate internal leak.

Did you mean "contamination of oil"? - internal leak means that the
coolant leaks into the cylinder through fire ring of HG, so it's oil
that will be contaminated with ethyl glycol.... If there's a
"contamination in coolant" - external HG leak occurs and you are
lucky :) By the way, I never pay attention to what "dealer" says for
all he says is for $$$$ ( read : " it's a BS")
 
Sorry to hear about your problem. My 00 Forester with 116,000 miles
has had no real issues or problems. I suggest a second opinion on the
HG issue.
 
@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>, (e-mail address removed)
says...
Where I used to work, we had a fleet of Ford Tauruses that all ran
well beyond 130,000 miles without needing any major engine work..

Whoa...now that's getting a bit deep!
 
lkreh said:
I guess in response to your post and others...

All maintenance has been done by dealer with OEM parts.

According to the dealer, the coolant conditioner does not help/prevent
internal HG leak. It's aimed at external coolant leak on different
version of the 2.5L.

As far as my HG status, dealer saw contamination in coolant which
would indicate internal leak.

Did he run any further tests? A compression test and a radiator
pressure test would probably tell the story for sure.

Dean
 
This 'coolant conditioner' deal is a boondoggle. You don't substitute snake
oil for good engineering. The stock head gaskets on the 2.5 engines are
crap, Suby knows they're crap and they are using the 'conditioner' to get
the wretched things through their warranty period.

Head gaskets on our '99 Fartster went and were replaced twice under warranty
( badly, by 2 different dealerships) and once by a private garage ( well,
with aftermarket gaskets which don't leak.)

The Suby is great to drive, but design flaws, cons like 'coolant
conditioner' and truly rotten service guarantee I'll be driving another
brand next time 'round.
KH
 
That's interesting. Looks like you have a lemon or the dealer/mechanic didn't do a good repair
job. For a car with 130k shouldn't have problem like that.

My 03 Forester only 4 years old but has 180k already (mostly highway of course). And, touch
wood, no problems whatsover. I don't go to dealer first of all. I found they rip me off with
simple jobs like oil change. But I do have a good mechanic and I follow his regular maintenence
(not as often as the dealer suggested) every 50k. I do regular oil changes of course. And so
far so good.

I understand your concern. You can try other cars (without the benefits of AWD) or try another
dealer.
 
According to Consumer Reports, my problems are common ones. CR's SUV
buying guide gives the engine in the first gen Outbacks a solid black
circle rating (worst possible).
 
lkreh said:
According to Consumer Reports, my problems are common ones. CR's SUV
buying guide gives the engine in the first gen Outbacks a solid black
circle rating (worst possible).

I can vouch for that. My '96 was a piece of crap. My wife got stranded
about 6 times before they figured out it was an intermittent crank
sensor.

Al
 
Al said:
I can vouch for that. My '96 was a piece of crap. My wife got stranded
about 6 times before they figured out it was an intermittent crank
sensor.

What, was she triggering it from the driver's seat?

[ba dahmp bump]

Apologies in advance. Comedy is about timed risk taking. :)
 
[email protected] (Todd H.) said:
Al said:
I can vouch for that. My '96 was a piece of crap. My wife got stranded
about 6 times before they figured out it was an intermittent crank
sensor.

What, was she triggering it from the driver's seat?

[ba dahmp bump]

Apologies in advance. Comedy is about timed risk taking. :)

LOL!

You know, maybe you are right ;-)

BTW, I took the "bad" crank sensor and examined it for continuty under
different conditions. I also examined it with my X-ray equipment. All it
is, is a coil that picks up magnetic pulses from a magnet mounted, I
think, on the flywheel. I could not find anything wrong with it. I now
suspect that there was a problem with the connector, but can't prove it
as the vehicle is long gone. If I had known where it was, I would have
made and broken the connection a few times before I took it to the
dealer and if I had a clue that that might be the problem. It has been
my experince that sometimes intermittent problems can be traced to
contaminated/oxidized contacts on connectors. Once this is cleared,
normal operation can resume. But, hey, the dealer wouldn't make much
money on just breaking and making the connection a couple of times.

Al
 

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