gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Soooooooooooooooooo... after months of scouring the internet . . . I have a potential first Subie. I'm going to go and test drive next weekend... Couple of things though - in all honesty, I don't want a GT... only because it makes me nervous with the whole turbo issue from the '05 model. Any advices or tips on how I can check the health of the turbo when I go to test drive the car? The car has 75K miles, and the seller said he's had all work done at a S.o.A. dealer with paperwork. I read that the issue with the turbo was that Subaru mistakenly stated that turbo oil changes needed to be done at 7000 miles, rather than 3500 miles now. I asked the guy how often he got the oil changes... he said "I got it everytime the sticker told me to do so..." My concern is that in the beginning, it was done at 7k miles, and later on it went down to 3500... which might affect the turbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Outback 2.5i Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Make sure the inlet Screen (Banjo Bolt filter) TSB has been addressed, and at what mileage.. Search 'Bango Bolt' in the subject lines if you are not familiar with what I'm talking about.. __________________ ~Scott '05 Outback 2.5i Wagon Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic 225/60HR16 Bridgestone G009's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 4, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 4, 2010 It is a pretty reliable turbo with everything stock. Like he^ said, find out if the banjo filter has been checked. If it hasn't, get it checked. Regular oil changes usually keep it clean so there is no problem. And if you do pull the trigger, just check the oil at least once a week. My car doesn't eat any of the Subaru synthetic oil, but it goes through about a quart of castrol synthetic in 3000 miles. Just pay Very close attention to the oil since the car will be an unknown quantity to you...and wipe off the dipstick (i know it's pretty obvious) because it for some reason always looks full when you pull it out...even when it's been sitting overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 nice, thanks guys. im gonna read more on main thread on this more, but guess as long as he's got some paper work that it's been addressed, i should be good!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06wrxlbart Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 I just picked up a 2005 Legacy GT wagon unlimited with 63k, and I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 dah! aren't you the one selling the sedan gt? haha i ended up finding a '05 lgt wagon.. black on black for a great price i think. how much did you end up paying for yours? color? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosAngelesLGT Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Couple of things though - in all honesty, I don't want a GT... only because it makes me nervous with the whole turbo issue from the '05 model. Oh yeah, those pesky 05 models are REAL bad. Turbos keep blowing up constantly. Sometimes CATASTRPOHICALLY causing explosion and instant death for everyone within 30 feet. Any advices or tips on how I can check the health of the turbo when I go to test drive the car? Worry about the tranny, suspension, brakes... Hell so much could go wrong:spin: [/sarcasm] GNod its apparent is that you don't know a whole lot about Legacies. IF you have to have a wagon, maybe you can find a non GT. IF you want power but dont want to mod the car find a 3.0/3.6R (unless you gotta have a wagon) IF you want a turbo to mod, you will want a bigger turbo anyway. IF soa dealer maintenance is not enough for you, I doubt you will find better records with another used car. ...some model years of Forester are pretty nice too... ALWAYS have a mechanic check out the car to see if there is anything wrong with it and if you like it, buy it and drive it. Having a mechanic check it out will help reassure you things are fine. The forum is a source of info for everything else you will want to know to best maintain and get the most of of your Legacy. YOU REALLY CANT GO WRONG WITH A LEGACY. EDIT: NO CAR IS FLAWLESS. They are made by PEOPLE. Certainly there are BAD cars but most cars on the road today are plesant to drive (unless its a Chevy Cobalt). Wagons are RARE too so if you find one you like in the condition you like for the price you like, SNATCH THAT BAD BOY BEFORE ITS GONE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 ^ lol . . . thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 i thought only 5mt wagons were rare no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosAngelesLGT Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 5MT are VERY rare in comparison but way more EAT LGT are sedan than wagon. Im sure we can look up the production numbers easy enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 cool, sounds good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubOperator Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 as they said above ^^^, plus: - ask your mechanic to check whether uppipe, downpipe or turbo were reinstalled; beware of modded cars that were returned to stock before sale; - read about oil pickup failures and decide for yourself whether you want to change it after purchase or not. Wagons are great. You'll find it hard to (ever) want to go back to a sedan. 2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 249K 2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 272K SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 ^ nice, very good advice! - can you clarify what you mean by oil pickup failures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 4, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 4, 2010 Oil pickup tube can crack. That would lead to no oil to the engine... There was a TSB on it. Another good thing to ask the dealership about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubOperator Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 ^ nice, very good advice! - can you clarify what you mean by oil pickup failures? Here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/oil-pickup-tube-failures-important-78603.html?t=78603 And there wasn't a TSB on this. The only TSB I recall related to turbo was oil line on 07+ LGTs. 2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 249K 2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 272K SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 Oil pickup tube can crack. That would lead to no oil to the engine... There was a TSB on it. Another good thing to ask the dealership about. thanks for that tip - i'm actually getting it from a private seller, and i'm assuming he doesn't know what that is, much like myself..... so should i try to follow up with the s.o.a. maintenance that he went to? im sure if the seller doesn't, at least the subaru dealership would have records i hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 Here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/oil-pickup-tube-failures-important-78603.html?t=78603 And there wasn't a TSB on this. The only TSB I recall related to turbo was oil line on 07+ LGTs. ty very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 5, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 5, 2010 I think the TSB for the banjo bolt was that SOA has to check the bolt if there are multiple turbo failures...scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubOperator Posted November 5, 2010 Share Posted November 5, 2010 thanks for that tip - i'm actually getting it from a private seller, and i'm assuming he doesn't know what that is, much like myself..... so should i try to follow up with the s.o.a. maintenance that he went to? im sure if the seller doesn't, at least the subaru dealership would have records i hope Do that if you can but keep in mind that some dealerships are better than the others... 2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 249K 2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 272K SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 I think the TSB for the banjo bolt was that SOA has to check the bolt if there are multiple turbo failures...scary! so if the car i'm buying was checked at a subaru dealership.. it would be on a record right? i mean.. geesh, this thing is getting outta control now haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 5, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 5, 2010 I know it sounds scary, but it does not mean that the car is unreliable. It is about knowing what you have and how to take care of it. It's not a honda civic that can go 10k miles with the same oil and never bother you. The most you will get out of a dealership is the major milestone checkups and oil changes. Most don't record everything that was done. They just say (for example) 60k service done. The oil pickup tube thing is very rare from my reading and is more of an occasional defect. The banjo bolt is something that will give you a pretty good reading on how well the oil was changed. If everything looks good with the car and it feels healthy, then check the banjo bolt after you get it. It is a $15 part and is relatively easy to check. Don't panic about it, just have it checked. It's important because you don't actually know how well the car was maintained. cheap insurance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnod85 Posted November 5, 2010 Author Share Posted November 5, 2010 haha you are the man. thanks for the tips and advices! btw - do i just go into a subie dealership and ask them to check on the banjo bolt? oil should've been changed with synthetic only every 3000 miles right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 5, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 5, 2010 3750 miles. It doesn't have to be synthetic. I think synthetic is only required for the newer models. It shouldn't make too much difference if the oil was changed at the right intervals. I'd just ask them to replace the bolt. I haven't the slightest clue about how much they will charge for labor. I did it myself with the how-to's on here. It's relatively simple, just requires a bit of patience. Call them and find out what it will cost. It may be a stupid amount of labor in their book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubOperator Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 well said. 2005 LGT Wagon Limited 6 MT RBP Stage 2 - 249K 2007 B9 Tribeca Limited DGM - 272K SOLD - 2005 OB Limited 5 MT Silver - 245K SOLD - 2010 OB 6 MT Silver - 205K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted November 6, 2010 Mega Users Share Posted November 6, 2010 $150 to change "both" of them. Not really that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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