What to look out for in a Subaru?

Testament1

Im going to be going to look at a 00 Subaru Legacy B4 (twin turbo model) at the weekend and I'm just wondering what would be common issues/problems to look out for with them?
I signed up to ISDC.ie but admin havent approved my account there yet so thought I'd ask here. Any advice appreciated.

fonecrusher1

Owned one a few years ago.

When you take it for a spin put the foot down. You want to see good clean acceleration without shuddering or hesitation. If the car is hesitating under acceleration i'd walk away. Those B4 sequential turbo engines are complex yokes, if something goes wrong its going to be expensive. On the whole they're reliable cars though unless its a huge miler thats been thrashed for 10 years.

Ask the seller has it been remapped for irish petrol. The B4 is a jap car with an ecu which has been configured for higher octane jap petrol. It needs to be reset for our slightly weaker petrol so it runs at optimum performance. Otherwise you'll be down a little bit on power.

Good car. Just make sure its running properly before you hand over cash.

darragh o meara

Subaru engines tend to be very soft. Bottom end bearings tend to go quiet easy so you need to hear the car start from stone cold and make sure there is no knocking from engine mught even be an idea to have a mechanic go look it over.

The car is unlikely to be remapped as there was problems remapping the standard b4 ecu. You will nedd to run octane booster all the time as youll end up melting a piston if you drive it hard, this is caused by the engine running lean due to lower octane rating.

Clutches also need to be checked thoroughly too as again they tend to go and are a bitch to replace!!

As the previous post said make sure both turbos are sound the twin turbo setup is complicated.

Finally as with all high performance check it out thoroughly for crash damage. Fast yokes tend to see the wrong side of a ditch now and again.

Testament1

This is the one I'm going looking at:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1913084

Says its mapped for 95 octane via a Greddy Emanage ECU. But he also says it 295bhp which means the boost was probably upped a little. I'd prefer if the boost wasnt messed around with as I've been told Subaru engines arent fond of increased boost.
I also reckon his estimate of up to 40mpg is very optimistic but I only do about 250kms a week at the moment so I'm not too worried about that.

fonecrusher1

Testament1 wrote: »

This is the one I'm going looking at:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1913084

Says its mapped for 95 octane via a Greddy Emanage ECU. But he also says it 295bhp which means the boost was probably upped a little. I'd prefer if the boost wasnt messed around with as I've been told Subaru engines arent fond of increased boost.
I also reckon his estimate of up to 40mpg is very optimistic but I only do about 250kms a week at the moment so I'm not too worried about that.

40mpg? Not a chance in hell. I used to get around 23/24 in around city/suburbs. Might get 31/32 on a long run. Its a big car with a dual turbo engine, its never going to be easy on the pocket.

Testament1

Testament1 wrote: »

I also reckon his estimate of up to 40mpg is very optimistic .

It's not optimistic, he is trying to deceive folks by lieing out of his arse
I hate that out of sellers, boils my p1ss to he honest. Some numpty might actually believe that.

Testament1

Ya I wouldnt be expecting anythin close to 40mpg out of it. A mate owned one about a year ago and it was pretty heavy on the juice. But like I said I dont do much weekly mileage at the moment so I wouldnt get too bothered about it.

homer90

40mpg

Expect low to mid 20's. Being twin turbo its always going to be on boost.. generally reliable. However it's the JDM subaru's that give them a bad rep reliability wise, as most will not have been remapped as previously mentioned.

I ran a JDM STI for a while, was lucky to see 220-250 miles per tank..

A wealth on knowledge on ISDC

Testament1

Testament1 wrote: »

Ya I wouldnt be expecting anythin close to 40mpg out of it. A mate owned one about a year ago and it was pretty heavy on the juice. But like I said I dont do much weekly mileage at the moment so I wouldnt get too bothered about it.

I'd take everything else he says with a grain of salt too, particularly the remap claim unless he has a receipt to prove it and even at that I'd verify with whoever he claims performed it

Testament1

RoverJames wrote: »

I'd take everything else he says with a grain of salt too, particularly the remap claim unless he has a receipt to prove it and even at that I'd verify with whoever he claims performed it

Says it was done at West Coast Performance in Kerry. I'll give them a ring see if they can back it up if he has no receipt. It would be a bit strange though to buy a Greddy Emanage, wire it up and then do nothing with it!

fonecrusher1

Testament1 wrote: »

Says it was done at West Coast Performance in Kerry. I'll give them a ring see if they can back it up if he has no receipt. It would be a bit strange though to buy a Greddy Emanage, wire it up and then do nothing with it!

Presume you'll be looking to get some money off the asking price?

Testament1

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Presume you'll be looking to get some money off the asking price?

I'm hoping to part exchange my Levin for it. Still not entirely sure how much cash i'll offer with it.

Gary ITR

Testament1 wrote: »

Says it was done at West Coast Performance in Kerry. I'll give them a ring see if they can back it up if he has no receipt. It would be a bit strange though to buy a Greddy Emanage, wire it up and then do nothing with it!

Chances are the car wouldn't run unless it was mapped with the Greddy in

Muckie

Subaru engines tend to last a long time, once there not hammered
by their owners.

Miles per gallon about 30 tops! www.isdc.ie is a great site for anything Subaru relate, you'd probably pick up a well minded Legacy their.

More of an Impreza man myself, good luck.

SouperComputer

On the "freeways" over here I get at best 33 UK MPG from my twin (not sequential) turbo T6 (2.8). 40MPG is taking the piss. Ask him to prove it.

Piston slap is the main thing to watch out in these motors. As mentioned earlier, listen for "clacking" noises when you start it from cold.
Turbos last a long time as long as maintenace is kept up, so give it a good lookover to try and gauge if its been well cared for. When its warmed up, let it idle for a couple of mins, then give it a rev in neutral. Look for blue smoke out the exhaust. You dont need to rev the arse out of it 4.5K is plenty to find out. Pull the dipstick when its warmed up and idling, look for steam\ smoke. Presence of this means either excessive blowby past the piston rings, or, more commonly, a clogged PCV system. Listen for any driveline/differential whines, be sure to test it on tight radius turns left and right.

Id think about looking elsewhere with the figures the owner throwing about though. Mileage seems low, it might well be genuine I guess. Ask to see the auction sheet. If he doesnt have it, I think id walk away.

Testament1

Muckie wrote: »

Miles per gallon about 30 tops! www.isdc.ie is a great site for anything Subaru relate, you'd probably pick up a well minded Legacy their.

More of an Impreza man myself, good luck.

Im still waiting for admin to activate my account on ISDC. Ha I'd absolutely love a hawkeye Impreza but I wont affording one anytime soon!

darragh o meara

I would get this rem pad claim verified a lot of aftermarket ecus are loaded with a base map that will get the car going but they are usually a very aggressive map and specifically designed for higher octane petrol.

I had an impreza sti until recently and before I sold it I bought an afteremarket ecu to get the car mapped for Irish petrol. I stuck the ecu in the car with base map and it sounded and went like stink but I knew not to leave it in the car. I sold the car a few weeks later when a newer sti came my way. I sold the ecu with the car and told the lad to get it mapped before fitting which he didn't, the engine lasted two weeks!!

My biggest concern is that the gaps like to mod their cars when they have them and this ecu could have been fitted over in japland. As someone who has spent a fortune on rebuilding Subaru engines (currently on no 5 but then I've had 10 subarus both imprezas and legacies) I wouldn't even drive the car unless I knew the car was definitely remapped properly. Having said that they run reasonably ok without the map and octane booster added with the petrol but only if you drive them handy which your not going to do I'd imagine

He's talking through his hole telling you the car can do 40 mpg if he's lying about this what else is he lying about??? Lads will tell you anything to sell a car

Do your homework before you splurge or you could end up with a big engine rebuild bill

I could be wrong about this guy but I'd be wary.

12gauge dave

it up to you but id stay away to be honest just my 2 cents will break your heart and will be no quicker than a good vtec!

not here to argue by the way

Number Nine

I had a Subaru 320bhp WRX STI . Best mileage I could get was 18mph driving easy , and 10/12 mph pushing it on . But could it go , that noise of the flat four is something I will remember for a life time .
I caught out a lot of friends with the adjustment for diff control . 320 bhp going to the rear wheels ,when the driver think's its 4WD . I have seen the best of drivers going white in the face when they try a 4 wheel drift .

markc1184

I've owned my Legacy for 3 years now and I guarantee you won't see anywhere close to 40mpg. Excellent cars providing you look after it. Service it regularly with good quality oil and original filter and you'll be flying. In the 3 years I have owned mine the only part that has needed replacing was the top mounts on the suspension which are a known weak point, if it wasn't for the harsh winter they'd have been fine IMO. There isn't much else I can say that hasn't already been said about checking the car over but if you have any specific questions about them give me a pm and I'll do my best to answer. (ISDC Member too)

Testament1

12gauge dave wrote: »

it up to you but id stay away to be honest just my 2 cents will break your heart and will be no quicker than a good vtec!

not here to argue by the way

Id pick the flat 4 over a vtec anyday though just for the sound alone