1999 Legacy questions (newbie)

[Airhead]

I am looking to buy a 99 Legacy wagon and have a few questions. Engine has
155k and sounds like a lifter click when cold. The owner claims this is
normal and has done that since new,,,"ask any Subaru owner" where better to
ask?

The engine also had some work done at 110K ..bearings, gaskets, seals timing
belt ,water pump because of an oil low by problem..is this typical?

What type of life do you get from these 4 cyl engines? Any inputs
appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Jim Stewart]

I am looking to buy a 99 Legacy wagon and have a few questions. Engine has
155k and sounds like a lifter click when cold. The owner claims this is
normal and has done that since new,,,"ask any Subaru owner" where better to
ask?

Very normal. Should pretty much disappear when warm.
I believe that running Mobil1 10w30 will minimize it,
but opinions vary.

The engine also had some work done at 110K ..bearings, gaskets, seals timing
belt ,water pump because of an oil low by problem..is this typical?

I don't know about the oil low problem, but the
work should be done at 100k. Do it again at 200k
if you buy the car.

What type of life do you get from these 4 cyl engines? Any inputs
appreciated.

Don't know, I have 90k on mine.

 

[Dominic Richens]

What type of life do you get from these 4 cyl engines? Any inputs
appreciated.

lots. Type "high mileage subaru" into google.

 

[D H]

Very normal. Should pretty much disappear when warm.
I believe that running Mobil1 10w30 will minimize it,
but opinions vary.

We have two 99Foresters, owned since new, same engine as your Legacy, I
believe. (2.5L current production model) One has made the noise for a long
time, probably 2/3 of its 84000 miles. The other has never made the noise
and has 73000 miles. Both run beautifully and both have plenty of pep.
Neither uses oil enough to add ANY between 5000 mile changes. I have not
tried any other oil besides Castrol 5-30 and don't believe it would make any
difference, personally. The problem is likely the belt tensioner on my
wife's car, based only on what I have read on this group. I'm not likely to
change it because the fix only seems to cure it part of the time.

I don't know about the oil low problem, but the
work should be done at 100k. Do it again at 200k
if you buy the car.

I think he meant oil "blow by problem?" Yes, the other work was called for
at about that time, but bearings, Hmm. Which ones? I assume related to the
blow by problem? Did he mean rings?

Don't know, I have 90k on mine.

Frequently reported life on this group is 200,000 miles and higher. As to
this engine, I'm not as sure I would personally be ready to trust it or
expect that much out of it, though it might easily surpass that by a wide
margin. That's simply an unknown.
--
D N
I E T S
Off to R the M __, D H

Reply to group. (Detestible spammers!)

 

[Mike Deskevich]

I am looking to buy a 99 Legacy wagon and have a few questions. Engine has
155k and sounds like a lifter click when cold. The owner claims this is
normal and has done that since new,,,"ask any Subaru owner" where better to
ask?

i have the gt 2.5 rather than the 2.2, but i have the same sound at
start up. after idiling for 30 seconds it goes away. i've always used
synthetic in it.

What type of life do you get from these 4 cyl engines? Any inputs
appreciated.

don't know. i have 50k on mine and it runs well. in general it's a
decent engine, though i'm not terribly impressed, my '89 4cyl toyota
4runner with 225K miles starts easier and runs smoother.

 

[L. Kreh]

I am looking to buy a 99 Legacy wagon and have a few questions. Engine has
155k and sounds like a lifter click when cold. The owner claims this is
normal and has done that since new,,,"ask any Subaru owner" where better to
ask?

Noise should diminish when the engine warms. If not, that's something
to have a mechanic look at before buying.

The engine also had some work done at 110K ..bearings, gaskets, seals timing
belt ,water pump because of an oil low by problem..is this typical?

The first timing belt replacement is recommended at 105K. Typically
there are belt tensioner, water pump and engine seal problems around
100K with this engine, so these components are wisely replaced along
with the belt. Basically, these replacement intervals are typical. I
don't know about replacing a water pump "because of an oil low by
problem." Did you mean the oil pump was also replaced?

What type of life do you get from these 4 cyl engines? Any inputs
appreciated.

I have just over 110K on my engine (99 OBW) and it's still very
strong. You can expect 200K easily if the oil has been changed
regularly. This reminds me, are all service records available? If
not, I wouldn't buy it. There are plenty of 99's for sale. I'd hold
out for one with a documented, diligent service history.

Thanks,
Steve

Yep.

 

[Airhead]

thanks to all...Yes, I meant oil blow by and the work done was to eliminate
the problem. As far as the oil changes or service records they are not all
available..makes me wonder about how hard the 155k was. I have driven other
4 cyl engines to excess of 200k and they were much quieter than this one at
155...I may take a pass on this one ..but again, thanks for the inputs

 

[Stu Hedith]

thanks to all...Yes, I meant oil blow by and the work done was to eliminate
the problem. As far as the oil changes or service records they are not all
available..makes me wonder about how hard the 155k was. I have driven other
4 cyl engines to excess of 200k and they were much quieter than this one at
155...I may take a pass on this one ..but again, thanks for the inputs

I wouldn't be too concerned about the noise alone. Very typical of
Subarus, some are louder than others. A previous blow by problem would
certainly raise the warning flags though.

Stu

 

[Guest]

I've had the lifter tick in two subarus now and replaced the lifters
(and checked oil pressure and compression leakdown, made sure the
galleys were unobstructed, all the usual stuff) on the first one but
it came back after a month or so. The replaced lifters weren't bad
(according to the mechanic) but I had him put new ones in anyway since
the engine was apart.

That one was used when i got it, the other new (an 85 and 91
respectively) and I always changed oil regularly and used castrol
10/40 (not sure if synthetic would have made any difference, too late
to switch now because of likely leaking with the tired old gaskets if
i switched). The lifter tick in the new one didn't start until
probably 80 or 90k (160k now) and i've read a lot about how it's
probably caused by a leak in the oil pump gasket; air gets into the
system though the lifters aren't actually bad, they just tick because
they've got air in them.

Don't know if it's true or not but my point being, the noise may very
well not go away when it warms up otoh other than being annoying, it
hasn't caused me any problems.

 

[TG]

Which Subarus had lifters...not any in the last decade? TG

 

[Guest]

85 subaru gl10 and 91 legacy non-turbo so you are correct, not in the
last decade