Stevo F Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 The wife and I test drove a 2005 OBS today. Drove really well, one owner, clean Carfax, shifted and rode smooth, it's clean and she even likes the color- 129K miles. The guy was asking $6K, I told him doesn't appear the timing belt's ever been changed so he said he'd take $5K (it's a stick and he said no one wants a stick- been on the lot for 6 months). No bubbles in the reservoir and the temp gauge was normal (to "first bacon" as I've seen it described on this forum- I love that) so I'm thinking HG's are OK. Here it is- worth it for $5K? http://www.creditlinemotors.com/detail-2005-subaru-impreza_wagon-2_5_outback_sport_manual-used-10821201.html We also drove a 2003 OBS before this one- engine had a pretty loud tick even when warm and a lot of noise from the rear diff so that test drive didn't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 With these 2.5 SOHC engines the headgaskets normally don't leak internally like the 2.5 DOHCs in second gens, they leak externally. Leaking towards the back of the heads at the gaskets. Subaru actually made a coolant additive that in most cases will fix these headgasket issues. I've done probably 10 repairs using the Subaru coolant additive and they never came back with any further problems. You would be surprised with how durable the Subaru timing belts are. I have 108k on my original t belt and it still looks brand new. Others I've seen with higher mileage and still looked good and matter of fact my old 96 L had 170k before i decided to install a new belt. Not because it broke, just becaue I didn't want to chance it. After I removed the t belt I inspected it and I still could've ran it for another 30k easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 The car looks really clean and $5k isn't bad. You could probably get him down a few hundred more I'd bet. Would be nice if it was a turbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 I'm thinking if there is any headgasket leak at all, it might be an external oil leak. I thought I could smell maybe a little oil burning off of something when I poked my head under the hood with engine running, but can't be sure- very slight smell...... I get a lot more of that oil burning smell from my Nissan truck which definitely has an oil leak somewhere. I'm thinking if the headgasket is only leaking oil, and there is no leak involving coolant (overheating, etc...) that I could probably drive it for a good while longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Are you talking about the Wrx you are looking at buying? Being a OB you should be able to get a good look underneath to check for leaks. Hell with my 99 lgt I don't even have to jack my car up to change the oil. There's plenty of room and I'm sure my lgt is just a low as that OB probably even lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Actually it's an Impreza Outback Sport. Tried crawling under it in the gravel parking lot of the used car place but get far enough under there to see the undersides of the heads to see if there is oil leaking or not. My legacy sits lower than this car but I can change the oil and and filter without jacking it up easily just be reaching underneath from the front. Actually every ride I've owned I could do an oil change without jacks except my son's Honda Accord. I've only really got a good view of the underside of my Legacy's EJ22 from sliding under there when it was up on stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Same thing. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 i make my boy get under there and change the oil. now that he has his license, he takes it to my friends shop and uses the lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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