looking to buy a legacy

I've been looking at cars for a while now, and i think ive settled on a 2005 subaru legacy GT. I currently have a 2006 scion tc and i am looking to trade for it. Could i have you guys look at this car to see what you think about it. will i need to fork over any money in repairs for it soon? what tips do you have for me? just help me out, because i know little to nothing about these cars. thank you! this is the link to the car on craigslist http://gulfport.craigslist.org/cto/4753466793.html sorry i put this in the wrong forum and now cant figure out how to delete it...

In the ad he mentions that it has a new factory turbo. It is right at about the milage that the these cars have the turbo go and many just replace to turbo when the proper way is to investigate why the turbo went. Most commonly it is the oil feed line banjo bolt becomes clogged and starves the turbo of oil and then the turbo bearing go throughout the engine. The only proper way to replace this is to drop a new shortblock in. See MrTris's build and shopping cart for an estimate on what you would be getting yourself into as well as MaxCapacity's build. Both of those guys I have mentioned along with many others on here are very helpful and knowledgeable. I would not suggest getting that particular car unless you are ready for spend another $3k at least on a new engine.

So really the only way for the turbo to go is if that happens? and when that happens it needs a new motor? sorry, im just trying to get that straight. and is there a way to prevent that from happening? also, once the turbo does go, is it too late for the whole thing?

To answer your questions in order:

1. More then likely yes. Oil starvation is the most common problem for these cars. I removed the banjo bolt filters when I put on my new downpipe and up pipe since I had so much removed they were easily accessible.

 

2. Not necessarily but more then likely. What happens is the bearing from the turbo travels through the engine with the oil and causes microscopic damages to other parts of the engine.

 

3. To prevent the engine from going removing the banjo bolts is the best way. But if they are already clogged and a new turbo as been put on depending on if the engine had the oil pan dropped and the oil changed multiple times rapidly to flush the engine it could be too late to save the short block if there were bearing fragments traveling through the engine.

 

4. More then likely yes.

ok. thank you so much for your help! im looking into ways to check this, and if i go look at the car, im going to see if we can do it. I really like the car, and i dont want to miss out on the opportunity, because i live in the deep south and all wheel drive cars of that age are very hard to find! by the way, your wagon is badass

Good luck! Hopefully the car turns out well and you are able to get it. Thanks it is still very much a work in progress.

I'm not sure I buy the idea that the shortblock will necessarily go due to a turbo failure. Seems that most of these cars have had a turbo failure, yet the engines mainly blow from the poor factory tune, ringlands and such.

Don't do it. New factory turbo most likely means metal shaving in the oil.

thanks for the help guys. im going to go look at the car, and ill be bringing a mechanic with me to do any checks on it. if the car isn't perfect ill pass.

It's a 9 year old turbo subaru. None of them are perfect.

Failed turbo does not always equate to a failed engine- my car is an example of this- the original owner noticed a change in the turbo noises during normal driving and immediately took it in for a turbo replacement.

 

My car is now 30k miles past the replacement and no issues relating to failed bearings have arisen (knock on wood).

 

As for the other engine problems like burnt valve and cracked ringlands, that is tune related and depends on how the car was driven. The original owner of my car did 87k miles on my car on the stock tune and Costco 91 octane, while driving conservatively and keeping it dealer maintained. So far, no engine issues (knock on wood).

 

For this particular car, the previous owner looks to be a bit of an enthusiast since there are a few visual upgrades (like the front grill he seems very proud of)- he may have driven it hard, might have had some previous performance mods, etc.

 

I would be worried about what led to the turbo swap and how it was done:

 

-Did the old one completely grenade, or replace at just making some noise?

- If grenaded, did he flush the engine oil and replace the oil cooler and pan?

- If not grenaded, did he still flush the engine oil?

- Did a shop do the swap?

- Where did the turbo come from? (rebuilt, used, new oem?)

 

Once you know all that, and bounce it off the more experienced guys on here, you have to ask yourself if you can trust the seller. Price is good, especially for 100k- much lower than what they go for in my area. As sigmafour mentions, it is close to timing belt change- due at 105k- and that's about a $1k job at a shop, so if you buy, keep that in mind.