Dunc20

I own a MY99 UK Turbo, sensible mods engine and styling.

I do a fair few miles my cars a T-reg and i have done 72,200, always run it on super unleaded, serviced every 7500 on the dot and i drive it moderately hard 80% of the time.

My question is what mileage will my car be 'good' up until?- i have had no trouble at all with it so far but when will those little niggly thinks start to go?

Look forward to hearing your experiences in a similar situation.

Dunc.

Shropshire-Guy

My97 on R plate . Done 97,000 Miles. I ring its neck everyday. Not missed a beat.Had leggy Turbo before on M plate, 150,000 miles. Never missed a beat. Used to have 280 capri 45,000 miles New gearbox biggest piece of junk on this earth, matched only by the main Ford Dealer who i bought it off

Flat 4x4

A Lovely Question

It will be good until anywhere between 40,000 and 150,000.

Do some reading on here about engine meltdowns. I am sure that you will be one of the vast majority of lucky people. Sold my FSSH 99T with a new engine and clutch at 60k - and no it wasn't abused !

Dunc20

That's reassuring!



[Edited by Dunc20 - 12/27/2003 2:12:31 PM]

greasemonkey

You're asking a bit of a silly question Dunc, as the answer's almost literally as long as a piece of string. There are plenty of people in Shropshire Guy's situation, and there are also a few people in Flat 4x4's.

It's not as though all Imprezas are designed to do a specific mileage then fall apart (that's Fords ), and if you take care of it there's no reason to think it won't last.

There's also a growing body of evidence to suggest things like shoddy oil change technique have been responsible for a number of premature engine deaths, and as issues like that come out of the woodwork, it also becomes easier to avoid them yourself.

Dunc20

It's not really a silly question tho is it?! I was wondering if any people have experienced common problems at a common mileage?- is there anything to look out for etc?

Dunc.

v5 man

iTrader: (4)

yep Dunc, i second what your saying. looking at px`ing my bugeye for a classic but the two in hand are both 90k ish high mile scoobs. was wondering if its ok to go for these, or if im only gonna be spending out more than its worth to fix em in the near future, as well as a lot of grief i dont need.

cliff

andypugh2000

It was a question i was also thinking of asking but didn't want to go down the "how long is a piece of string" route, i was told by a reliable source that they are "good" for twice round the clock so thats why i bought one, after owning a landrover discovery and it always being on either a tow truck or in the garage i needed something reliable and easy to live and exciting to drive

[Edited by andypugh2000 - 12/27/2003 4:24:19 PM]

greasemonkey

As mentioned, it's not like they're designed to blow up at a specific mileage, and you risk scaring yourself by asking questions like this. If you get two people replying saying their engines blew up at 90,500 miles, would you deduce that all Imprezas sh*t themselves at 90,500 miles? Obviously not. Would you deduce that it's more likely for Imprezas to blow up at 90,500 miles? Obviously not given a database of two cars.

As big as Scoobynet is, you're never going to get a single useful answer to questions like "How many miles is a UK Turbo good up until?"

The things you really need to pay attention to are largely the same as with any other used car purchase. A bog standard, dealer serviced car is theoretically the best bet.

The main thing is to have the car serviced properly, with oil changes carried out at appropriate intervals, with items like timing belts being replaced as per necessary.

Shropshire-Guy

I personaly Change my oil every month between services ,Use only Genuine oil filter. And disconnect crank sensor when doing intial start up after oil change to get oil pressure up before actualy starting. As for oil i use Castrol Magnatec 10/40. Used same in leggy too.

Age old saying.

OIL IS CHEAPER THEN STEEL

greasemonkey

Regular oil changes much better than not, but Magnatec isn't the best oil for the job.

markwild

Have mine serviced at TSL for last 40K, now On 95000

98 R plate - Had it since 42K and no 'MAJOR' probs - had a couple of oil leaks last 6K, had SRS fail, a drive coupling, ball joint - and been through a couple of sets of disks -

Currently running ITG filter, full de-cat and boost increased via Dawes (But standard Fuel Cut)

I rag it regularly, but show it some TLC at service times !



Mark

fdpxfunix

Dunc

I've owned my MY99 wagon on a T plate since Sep 2001. Started with 17K on the clock, now at 39K. De-cat centre, ProDrive BB, up rated rear drop links and anti-roll bar. No engine mods. Serviced every 6 months by Subaru LGW.

Under warranty I've had a new ECU, Lambda sensor and MAF sensor to fix a 'hesitation' problem which sometimes raises it's head even now! This is normally only when the Scoob is coldish or you push it too quickly without warming the Turbo up.

I do give mine a damn good 'ragging' sometimes and find the engine is much better when warmed up. The only advice I'd give is ... don't thrash the living daylights out of it all the time, warm it up a bit before planting your foot down, do give it some stick (mine does not like days and days of 'comfortable' driving), do the servicing on time.

I do feel my Scoob is not as powerful as it was since the first day I picked it up. It just seems to run out of power too quickly or just does not give me that 'push back in your seat' feeling anymore in 3rd gear and above. Whether this is down to an engine problem, MAF sensor, exhaust mods ... or just me, I don't know.

I'm planning a RR session in the new year to find out what's what and get something 'tweaked' if need be.

J.

greasemonkey

When you had the ECU replaced under warranty, what type of ECU did they fit? If they've put an AE802 in (as is quite likely), this would explain both the fact that the hesitation still occurs, and the "down on power" feeling.

Matt P

Just done the 90k service and runs like new (or so said Len at subaru4you who did it). Only non service items in the 30k miles I've had it are a pulley on the FEAD belt and discs and pads. Oh and a couple of bulbs. And wiper blades. And I got scared and changed the MAF sensor after reading too many 'my engine's failed cos of det' threads on SN. You watch, it'll blow up tomorrow.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

131k & still going strong, rear wheel bearings tend to need doing c.100k, otherwise keep changing the oil & keep your fingers crossed !

D

Bubba po

I have mine serviced by a local specialist and a potentially disastrous problem was brought to my attention when I realised i had an oil leak. When I first got the scoob, about a year ago, I checked the oil all the time; as it wasn't using any, I let the frequency tail off a bit. When I checked it recenly before setting off on a long journey I found it was nearly dry- I'd had a leak that I hadn't spotted because I park on hardcore and my oil is changed so often it never goes black! The oil was leaking from around the filter, which I found odd, considering the skill of the mechanic I use. When I mentioned the problem, he informed me that oil filters don't come loose, but a collar above it can. It's something to do with the oil cooler. I can't be more specific, because I'm not a mechanic, but the moral of the story is keep checking the oil all the time because it's too late when your engine has seized.

[Edited by Bubba po - 12/28/2003 8:25:21 AM]

Rasher

is it possible to go from fully synthetic oil back to semi???
I am sure that I heard that you cant do this. Can anyone enlighten me??

Triple X

iTrader: (1)

My mates MY98 Turbo Wagon has done around 220,000 miles and has only had to change the expected parts, brakes, clutch oh and a water temp switch. It still goes well too!

Shropshire-Guy

Well put it this way. I used to deliver Bulk Oil for castrol in tanker to Subaru garages. All they used 2 use was manatec 10/40. Some have changed to Shell because it was cheaper. But SGT at taplow, cross country Vehicles, the subaru garage at southam etc all used Castrol oil.But i stress this was some 12 months ago,so things may have changed . I did actualy put formula SLX in for 2 days but dropped it out ,has it was to thin. I dont want to start an oil argument,but i,ll stick with what ive always used. Plus with Magnetec, It coats the big ends etc. Which we all know is where damage is done on inital start up, either from over night or after doing an oil change

greasemonkey

The reason Subaru dealers use it is more down to cost than anything else. Ultimately there's little reason for them to pay over the odds for the "best" oil, as it adds to their overheads without giving them any benefits.

I've little personal experience with Magnatec, but I'm happy to accept the opinion of Mr Rawle, who isn't keen on it at all.

Jamesemt

I personally think plenty of oil changes with any type of medium quality oil is fine... My 2 month old Scoob is running on semi and I am quite happy with that...I am going to change the oil and filter mid service interval (ie at 5k miles), though.
I think it's a bad idea to use much boost until the engine AND oil are fully up to temperature - never go above 3,500 rpm until then. To be honest, I try to keep it under 3,000 rpm when its cold. Using full boost on a Scoob must put loads of stress on all the internals - you don't want to cause too much thermic expansion too quickly (OK...now I'm talking bollox!!) from revving a cold engine. This is my opinion and no doubt someone more qualified than me will tell me that I'm talking rubbish.

Flat 4x4

I used Mobil Motorsport 5W-50 and stuck rigidly to the service intervals and the usual self-preservation techniques, but was still unlucky with the last one.

Dunc20 - funnily enough I had to make a tough decision on whether I kept the car (with new Subaru engine). I had owned several Subarus (one to 130k) and never had an engine problem before.

In the end I decided that the way that Impreza Classic resales were going, I would either keep the car for several more years to way over 100k, pay for servicing and take a gamble on other things failing - wheel bearings, exhaust, gearbox work(?)

Much as I enjoyed driving the car, I decided to cut my 'losses' whilst the car was just still under warranty. I haven't missed it, still love Subarus, but would think hard before owning beyond the 60k warranty (or extension) again.