I know what engines are in what cars maybe you should take a look theres a number of sohc ej25’s
and fyi there is a campaign put out by Subaru of America for 99-02 2.5L’s(the sohc) for a cooling system conditioner (SOA635071) which is essentially holts radiator sealer, for external coolant leaks, and if it wasnt an issue why would they be extending warranty coverage for head gaskets to 100k on those production dates? You have owned two subaru’s i have seen thousands. I’ve sold so many of these headgaskets i can ramble off the part numbers for them and every other gasket you need for doing the job if you’d like. But you’re the expert with two subaru engines under your belt and a forum you frequent to back you up!
Some car have it luck, in this case maybe your own car, but i guess if u sell a certian amount of parts you tend to see a trend? lol anyways i have owned alot more subarus then you have and from what i heard from other owners headgaskets are common issues…
I say go for the ej22 I have one i can sell you but its automatic
I got my '96 Legacy Outback 2.2L for a steal of a price. New clutch and only 100k on the clock, cold weather package, 5 speed. I get about 26mpg. I stole it for $1,400.
Love the car. Great ride. Only drawbacks are the anemic power (but these days I’d rather have good MPG than high HP), and the annoying lifter tick.
You can definitely get the options you are looking for for under $4k. just keep looking around.
:lol: Wikipedia’s a great reference. It has contradictory information. But it does show that I was correct about which models had the EJ25D and when.
It also shows that the 2000 Legacy had a different version of the SOHC, and the cars I’ve owned had another type. So that would account for all the Legacy headgaskets you sell every week. I never saw a problem with my two cars because I had an EJ251 in both cases, and RS25.com is also EJ251 owners with no HG problems. Anecdotal evidence but thats about all we have to go off.
omg the limiteds come with dual sunroofs…lol. im having a hard time finding something else in this range, so i think im gonna pick one up next month and do the gaskets and clutch if needed and then put it in the road and sell my current dd after. thanks for the advice everyone.
just thought I’d update this…bought this about a month and a half ago. It’s a 97 legacy limited. Got it cheap, about $1500 under blue book knowing that it had a skip or hesitation. Thought shit, worse case scenario is a fuel injector or pump or cat or w/e. FALSE… lol worse case scenario turned out to be whichever turd changed the timing belt and water pump neglected to fully torque the crank pulley, rounding off the keyway and twisting the snout of the crank in turn taking the oil pump with it… well 5 weeks later and $2500 less here she is with a brand spankin new OEM crank and internals, full rebuild with new rings and bearings, etc etc. Runs well, now that she’s back I’m happy but obviously wasn’t when I found out. Shit happens right…it’s only money.
white letters rule, lol. they’ve got about 10,000 miles on them and are quiet so i’ma keep them on until winter. it might get summer wheels and tires next year. thinking about lowering it too but we’ll see how funds are.
This is a pretty decent thread, couldn’t have popped up at a better time for me. :tup: I’m considering looking at 2.5RSs for winter use as well, and I’m in the OPs price range as well, 'round $3-4K. Power isn’t so much of a concern as snowy road stability and winter mileage. Garage is open right now as my summer car is on the road, so i could do some work in there.
Signed up for buffaloscooby too, I should pop my head in.
