AggressiveTuna Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Cruising these threads on these cars makes me think this spec B with 188k miles is just a mile away from a complete engine failure, but maybe people only post when there is a problem... I am new to subaru but super excited to get in a gen 4 legacy. The price on this one makes me hesitant, but it seems like hes done quite a bit of serious maintenance and most of it reasonably recently. The clutch and water pump seem to be about due though. Would greatly appreciate any advice from someone who knows what they are talking about, either 'stay the hell away' or 'Just check these things' would be awesome! Going to be a daily driver, but daily might be aggressive. I don't commute to work so more of a fun car that ill take when the other ride is busy. Thanks! https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/cto/d/loveland-rare-2006-subaru-legacy-gt/7355424089.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobsyouruncl Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Definitely want to have the turbo and compression checked and buy at your own risk. Banjo filters need to be inspected. I have a friend that has a 2008 spec b with 200k but from what I understand they need some good maintenance to remain trouble free for that long. Def worth a very thorough inspection. I bought one with 150k and didn't realize the turbo was borked. I was a bit hasty and before figuring out what was wrong it went out on me and filled the motor up with bearing material. Not an experience you want to have without being prepared for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobsyouruncl Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I will say that despite my experience, which was mostly due to my own ignorance, I love this car. It's really a joy to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleides Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 A 180K Subaru turbo engine will consume a lot of oil and need to be replaced within the next 50K. If you don't mind that, buy the car. The Spec B of that model year isn't really that special as it's a 5-speed. My car went on the original engine until 214K. It burned a quart every 500 miles by then. This car definitely needs a compression test and the turbo should be checked for shaft play. The owner mentions neither of these things, which worries me. Anybody who has done two seconds of research about these cars knows that those two components are common failure points on these. The OEM turbos typically last around 120-150K from my experience before needing replacement. I'm assuming this car is on its second turbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Buy it, but have a new shortblock, turbo, and money for heads to be redone and your set. these cars are great, but you better get it at a great deal because you will have to spend some coin to make it solid. BTW i used cars are sold as is. I never let people get a turbo check, or compression test on the cars I have sold. If you don't know what your getting into, get a stock camary, corolla, or NA subie and be done. Like stated, we all know what we get into with these cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggressiveTuna Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 This is great advice, thanks. Any experience with price for these? Looking around, 7.5k seems like a great deal, but not if its 'any day until a new shortblock and turbo have to go in'. That seems like major surgery, and could drive the all in price upwards of 13k I imagine. He mentions the oil burn in a separate email at 1qt every 3000 miles, a qt every 500 miles seems insane! 1qt/3kmi sound reasonable or do you think hes exaggerating? Thanks again! Glad I checked here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWebb Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Do you have $5k & labor to invest TODAY into the car? If not do not buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_talk Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I will offer a counter point, and I am willing to believe my experience could be an exception but... I have a '07 Spec B and the original engine, with original turbo, went to 305K miles and was still running when pulled. Oil consumption got to the point of needing to add some between changes at about 230K, by the time it was pulled it was using about a quart every 1000 miles, but didn't seem to be getting much worse. In fact if I drove it easy it would use much less. The turbo still boosted normally, it had notable shaft play but no contact between the compressor wheel and the housing, and no significant oil past the shaft seal. I did regular maintenance and properly fixed any issues that came up but I think the most important thing was oil changes, quality full synthetic (Pennzoil) with a quality filter every 3000 to 4000 miles. The stock banjo filters were in place the engines entire life, I checked them at several points, included after it was pulled and always squeaky clean. I would guess that 75% of the mileage was freeway cruising at 75mph with the cruse set and that certainly makes a difference, But this engine was not babied, I don't abuse my car but spirited driving is a daily occurrence. The old engine saw redline shifts daily and highspeed jaunts most weeks (triple digits). In fact I believe engines last better when exercised. The car now has the entire drivetrain (and subframes) from a lower mileage '07 Spec B (130K) and I have put almost 10K on it since. Your mileage may vary. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 305K. wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleides Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 A quart every 3000 miles, to me, seems unlikely for a car with 180K, but again I am going by my experience with used turbocharged Subarus. My car has a new engine and when changing the oil at 3000 miles this week, I was down a half quart. My car was also freeway driven for a good portion of its life too. First owner did 30K per year. With me it’s only gone 19K since I bought it December 2019. I do freeway driving mostly as well and find that the oil consumption gets substantially worse driving much faster than 70 MPH. FWIW, I think that car is a good buy because it’s pretty close to stock and appears to have been maintained, but as others have said, have a fat stack of money ready to blow on a new engine/turbo at any time with 180K on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 My 06 has 170K now. It's about a quart per 3k still. Not too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonspecB Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 (edited) Almost 319,000 on my daily. Original auto and, as far as I can tell, engine. When I first got it, it had a massive oil leak. I pulled the engine and put all new gaskets in it including head gaskets. The cylinder walls were damn near like glass. Probably the most worn cylinders I've seen. Drives fine and pulls good. Did a dragy test on it and it went 90 mph in the 1/4 mile at 4200'. Uses 1 qt every 1k miles. I figure that's not too bad since Toyota considers 1 qt every 1200 miles to be ok for a new engine. I have had pretty good luck with the EJs I've had, but I have seen the issues that are pretty common to them. My brother's 2007 Forester XT burned an exhaust valve at around 95,000 miles. A friend's 2014 WRX rod knocked at around 100,000 miles. I fixed both those cars. There is a reason why people joke that Subaru regular maintenance includes a 100k mile engine change. Edited August 1, 2021 by BrandonspecB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggressiveTuna Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 Thanks for the wealth of information! Im getting a PPI and compression test on Monday, went and checked it out myself yesterday. Couldn't find a thing wrong mechanically, turbo and engine felt great. Hopefully the mechanic finds the same result. Anyone have experience with getting these compression tests done on these cars? Mechanic mentioned should be above 115. He might be able to help me interpret too, but is it a 'good or bad' result or is it more granular than that? Such as compression is fantastic, like new; or its fine for its age; its got 10k left before you start to lose power; its ticking time bomb... Personal experience here would be great to help me price the car after the result. Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 I wasn't aware the 06 SpecB had a special 5mt... https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/transmission-gear-ratios-and-final-drives-229267.html Be careful what your paying for... 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeInOregon Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Any used car with that many miles is a huge gamble , tranny swap with labor and clutch and flywheel costing me just under 2k, quotes 10k for long block and head job, got a nice used turbo for 450 ....if you don't need the car and 9 to 15k didn't scare you do it Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleides Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Thanks for the wealth of information! Im getting a PPI and compression test on Monday, went and checked it out myself yesterday. Couldn't find a thing wrong mechanically, turbo and engine felt great. Hopefully the mechanic finds the same result. Anyone have experience with getting these compression tests done on these cars? Mechanic mentioned should be above 115. He might be able to help me interpret too, but is it a 'good or bad' result or is it more granular than that? Such as compression is fantastic, like new; or its fine for its age; its got 10k left before you start to lose power; its ticking time bomb... Personal experience here would be great to help me price the car after the result. Thank you!! Every compression gauge will read differently. Generally you want no more than 10% variation between cylinders. I started saving up a couple bucks a month when I tested mine at around 205K at 140, 130, 140, 120 on cylinders 1-4 in that order. It made appreciably less boost than it should have and burned a lot of oil. When my car went through a half quart of oil after just under a full tank of gas, I parked the car and bought a beater and removed insurance on the Legacy. Saved up a couple grand and accelerated the engine rebuild timeline. My valve stem seals were shot and my piston rings didn’t hold much oil back. Others experience burnt valves often as well. My valve clearance was extremely tight but my valvetrain appeared fine when all removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggressiveTuna Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Every compression gauge will read differently. Generally you want no more than 10% variation between cylinders. I started saving up a couple bucks a month when I tested mine at around 205K at 140, 130, 140, 120 on cylinders 1-4 in that order. It made appreciably less boost than it should have and burned a lot of oil. When my car went through a half quart of oil after just under a full tank of gas, I parked the car and bought a beater and removed insurance on the Legacy. Saved up a couple grand and accelerated the engine rebuild timeline. My valve stem seals were shot and my piston rings didn’t hold much oil back. Others experience burnt valves often as well. My valve clearance was extremely tight but my valvetrain appeared fine when all removed. Thanks Pleides. Compression test came back at 124 123 120 and 114 for 1-4. Leak down 20-25%. I told him I couldnt meet the 7500 asking and he said he has some other offers on the table. Does cyl 4 scare you? I know its the hot one so it makes sense its worse, but a -10 difference seems large to me. Leak down also seems large, but mechanic didnt seem concerned about either. It does have 188k.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pleides Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 25% leakdown is concerning, yes. You'd want the money for an engine rebuild waiting to go once you buy this thing. Under 20 would be fine. I do think the 4th cylinder ring is on its way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 If he has other people, tell him that's find and keep looking. Do not call him back. Shoot him a lower offer like 5800 and leave it at that. he might call you back and try to get you to buy it at like 6K. If not keep looking do not get car happy. take your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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