Jeronimo Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Good day all. I am currently running an 11 year old Alfa 156 2.4 JTD Sportwagon which I have had for 10 years. Quite frankly it has been brilliant, only letting me down once in its 146k miles of travel. I'm now feeling like a change and will give the Alfa to my son who loves 'em too. What to replace it with?? Not an Alfa I fly radio controlled model planes and gliders so need reasonable carrying capacity, and I like some grunt from my motors (Alfa remapped to 181 BHP :D ) So I am considering getting a Legacy 2.5i. As I'm now retired I'm only doing about 4 - 5 thousand miles a year so diesel is out (of the newer age anyway) and I'm not too concerned at consumption. I've identified two for sale that look interesting a 2006 manual car with 37k clocked and a 2009 auto car at 59k miles. So I would like to ask if there are any problems I should look out for and what is the change cycle for cam-belts on this engine? Also, what is the service interval and normal servicing cost. Answers, advice appreciated. Thanks. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay762 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Wotcha and welcome Jerry - we have a couple of Alfa enthusiasts as members already, I dont know specifics about those Legacies but hopefully one of the members who do will be along in a bit :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Hi mate welcome to S.O.C Echo Jay said :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeronimo Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 62 views and no comments about these cars. Am I to assume they are brilliant and never develop any faults that members are willing to comment on? I know that they came out tops in surveys of the past and looking on here I might find a few things to be aware of but 'twould be good to get some comments - positive as well as negative, if there are any. Thanks people. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Sorry I thought you would have had some feedback about the cars by now we do have Legacy owners. And some very good Mechanics that do repairs with them, I can only guess they don't really use the New members section often to answer any questions. I will PM Adam for you see if he can help give any advice. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Ah yes, saw this thread while I was at work and said to myself I'll reply when I get home. Then forgot. Sorry :( Quickly as I'm at work again... 2.5 is famous for head gasket issues but that tends to be on older version and cars that have been abused. Still, check very carefully before you buy as replacement will cost over £1000. Subaru do not make good auto boxes so don't expect them to be as good as the ones from Germany cars etc. also they are very fussy about gearbox oil so make sure they have been serviced with the correct oil and using the correct procedure. A badly done service or old/wrong oil will make them a pig to drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Cheers Adam :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeronimo Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thank you Adam and Gambit. I tried the auto car yesterday and it seemed to drive OK. It had just been serviced by a Subaru dealer (Norwich I think). Front tyres are bald (they will replace) and I negotiated a new cambelt but have not concluded any deal yet. Er-indoors needs a lookin. Any way I can spot a potential head gasket problem? Look in the cooling system? I did not notice if there is a transparent/translucent header bottle anywhere. BTW it is a 2009 model, 1st reg Sept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 If you are buying from a main dealer and the car is less than six years old you are very well protected. Head gasket issues can be hard to spot in the short time you have the car for a test drive unless they have failed badly, and that's unlikely from a main dealer. Once (if) you get the car keep an eye on the coolant level and water temp. If shouldn't loose any coolant at all and the temp should always be in the middle if the gauge. If this isn't the case go straight back to the dealer and get them to sort it. You pay a premium at a dealer so let them worry about it!! It's when you buy private you need to be more careful. As for the gearbox... If it has a full Subaru service history you will be OK. It's when you take it to a garage that doesn't know about the joys of Subaru autos that the problems can start. Just make sure the gearbox oil is changed when it says in the book and that whoever does the job knows what oil to use and how it's done. One other think I forgot to mention. Some top spec cars had air suspension. These rarely go wrong but if they do it can be a nightmare. Because they are so rare in the UK a lot of garages haven't seen them, I worked part-time at an independent Subaru garage for almost 3 years and we didn't have one come in. Therefore if they do go wrong you usually have to go back to Subaru and pay huge bills, or rip the whole lot out and fit standard suspension. That's not cheap either. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeronimo Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thank you Adam. That is useful information. The car I'm looking at has not had every service done by a Subaru dealer and I do not know (at home) if the should have or has been changed (at 60k miles?) Before I do a deal, I will endeavour to check this. I don't know if this is a top range car, it has nice creamy/grey leather instead of black but no satnav. Good choices I think as I found it is 350 squid to update a satnav!! :( How do I spot the air suspension? Thanks very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I am reading this with great interest as I bought a legacy about a month ago and have previously never had a Subaru. Sorry to use your post but just a quick question Adam, I have a auto 2010 legacy 2.5i estate 80000 miles and in the service book it says the gear box oil is for life !! But I was wondering should I change it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Oh yeh and welcome and I have to say my legacy has been great took it to Scotland 730 mile round trip and had snow and it was brilliant :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny b Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 A lot of manufacturers state gearbox oil for life, but tbh after 40k what's the harm, maybe ιt's me just being a pain in the !Removed! about things lol! But hey if I ever sell a car, you know ιt's been looked after lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny b Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Ha ha forgot to say welcome bud!! So "welcome" lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I was going to say should be for life so I wouldn't worry about it but as Jonny said if you feel the need won't harm it either :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I've never heard it said the gearbox oil is for life, but then I've never worked on a Generation 5 car (model year 2010) so they may well have improved their design with the newest cars? The issue is that as the oil gets old the gear change will start to slow making it feel bumpy. As it gets older still you may hear a clunk as it changes, most noticeable from Neutral to First when pulling away from a standstill. Finally it will start dropping out of gear. There was a post on this forum a few months ago from an owner who lost all gears when a local non-Subaru garage put in the wrong oil, so that also gives an idea of how fussy they can be. The issue with changing the oil is that when you remove the sump plug and drain the old oil, a large amount (as much as 50% I think) stays in the torque converter. Therefore when you fill up with new oil you end up with a 50:50 mix of new and old oil. People without knowledge of the Subaru box will leave it at that and any of the above issues may still be there or soon come back. I have known people sell the car at this point at way below market value as they think they are looking at huge gearbox bills, but what you should do is drive the car normally for a couple of hundred miles to mix up the old and new oil, then change it again. The second change should clear up any issues, but if the old oil was really crap it may require a third. If the problems are still there after three changes, then sell the car quick! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thanks guys think I will get it changed any way. Haven't noticed any issues yet but as you say what's the harm :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I've had a look in the manual myself. It does say for the life of the car. And by the look's of it most new auto is now the life. I wonder if they have some sort of silicone based oil they use now that keeps it fresh for Auto trans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny b Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Yeh but what do they deem as a cars life nowadays? Won't find many modern iPod touchscreen cars on the road in years to come with 100k + anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Not sure But it's grabbed my attention ;) So I will look at it some more, I'm guessing it's the way they make the Auto trans to work it doesn't need the oil changes. But still think a change would never hurt but is that me being sceptical. And not being so use to maintaining the oil changes :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I have had another look at service plan and it says transmission and diff oil change at 48 and 96 it was my partner said it was life long lol :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Any way sorry I hijacked your post Jeronimo but hope you enjoy your new Subaru :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Tut :) well no harm in changing it early did you have a look in the history to see when it was last changed might be lucky and was done before you bought it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
select Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Well it was serviced at 48 and it's stamped but will have to look through info to see if it was changed although it was a Subaru dealer who done it so hopefully it was :) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 But I've not long looked through the 2010 Legacy hand book and it did say trans oil didn't need to be changed I might have to go have another look to double check I was doing other stuff at the same time. :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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