A buddy of mine and I are both looking to buy Foresters. Thing is, I don't know shit about them because I have never looked at them. I was curious if anyone had any info such as: year models to avoid, known issues, etc. Thanks for any info
I am very pleased with what SUBARU did with the 2009+ Forester. Thus far the only issues have been a few rattles here and there that were easily fixed, this being 1 out of 1,000 vehicles. Otherwise, no other known problems or issues. If you are looking at the 1998~2008 Foresters.... 1998: DOHC engine, you will need to replace the headgaskets, PERIOD. Otherwise, solid vehicle. 1999~2002: Similar to the 1998, but a SOHC engine. These are old enough to have external leaks on the headgaskets. Otherwise, solid vehicle. 2003~2005: Exterior and interior redesign. Same SOHC engine that will develop external leaks from the headgasket. 2006~2008: Exterior redesign, interior is largely unchanged. Same SOHC engine that will develop external headgasket leaks. Otherwise, solid vehicle. That being said, I will not lie and tell you the 2009~2010 foresters "fixed" the headgasket issue. They are still using the same shitty gasket. Part number is 11044AA632. For the SOHC engines, if you replace the headgasket with the 11044AA642, it will never leak again. This is a known fix. SOA does not want to tell you that and FHI does not want to spend $10 more per engine to fix. For the DOHC engine in 1998, use the 11044AA610. You will never have any more problems from the headgasket, same as the 642 gasket. 2004+ you can get the DOHC 2.5L Turbocharged engine. As long as you keep it full of oil and change it regularly, it will last forever.
Perfect time to ask this question – a buddy of mine is looking to get a Forester soon, so I've sent this link to him.
I loved my Forestor XT when I had it. I would be back in a Forestor XT if it wasnt for the fact that I found the Legacy Wagon in a manual locally when I was looking and could not find a manual XT locally.
i have a 99 forester and love it. my wife now drives it. i have a 2001 forester that i am putting an engine in and will be selling it as soon as i get it all together. ill post pics and price as soon as its done
My Bad...Then they used the EJ255 from 2004+ on the XT. So what is the difference between EJ255 and EJ257? The shortblocks are the same....is it int he cams or heads? They both have AVCS and DBW?
Similar. Cams are all the same (minus the "lightweight" update, same as the STi), heads in 2006 changed to the same as the WRX with the air pump bullshit. All 07 2.5 turbo engines use the same heads. 08, WRX/FXT/OBXT/FXT/LGT are all the same. The EJ255 and EJ257 can be said to be the same from 2004~2007. The 2008~2009 EJ255 engines are the same as the previous ones. The 2010 Legacy Turbo engine is extremely similar to the 08~10 STi with DAVCS, but it does not have the air pump bullshit. All of the single AVCS engines have the same power handling and reliability, all else being equal. No and no...technically. The EJ255 is the designation for "non-STI" use. So it has a smaller turbo...thats about it. All 2006+ EJ255's have 0.2:1 higher compression than the 2004~2007 STi EJ257. This comes from a slightly different dome on the piston, which is constructed 100% in the same method and materials as the EJ257 pistons. Otherwise, ALL 2004 and 2005 EJ255/EJ257 engines shared ALL OF THE SAME internal engine parts. The *ONLY* real difference aside from an oil cooler here, an exhaust manifold there, an intake manifold on the Legacy/Outback there and the paint on the STi Version, was the turbocharger. TD04L-13G vs VF40 vs VF39. See above. All 2.5L turbo engines, EJ255 and EJ257, are DBW and have AVCS or DAVCS in the USDM.
I absolutely love mine! Pre '09 XT is the way to go. Mine is an '07 XT Sport, which is basically a regular XT with a different front bumper. 04/05 have a 255s and 06-08 have 257s, and all come with the same turbo. The 04/05s have lower compression so when you put a STi turbo on you basically have a STi. I have an '07 so it has higher compression, but it's running awesome with an STi turbo. Has had one on for 50K and no problems whatsoever. I think the best part about a Forester is that you can score really nice upgrades CHEAP because STi parts drop into them. I've put an '06 STi brake booster and master cylinder, '04 STi steering rack (stock is 19:1 vs STi 13:1), STi rear swaybar, '04 STi struts, turbo, TMIC, brakes, the seats swap over... you get the idea. And when/if this transmission blows up I'll be going with a 6speed; however, I can't seem to kill it. 50K miles at 300/340, two full seasons of autoX, and a short shifter- not that it does much. The clutch is slipping really bad, but I don't call that failure. More like wear and exceeding its intended use. Check out subaruforester.org.
I prefer a turbo model but haven't been able to find one. Before I buy one though I need to sell my Civic, so if you know anybody that needs one let me know.
Just found an '04 XT listed with 94K for $8995. If it doesn't sell in the next couple days I might go look at it(aka-buy it). Any thoughts?
It will need a timing belt soon, might want to take it to "up dog" to have it checked out before you buy it. PM him.
hey, have you ever seen this article? Or maybe you 'fixed' it a little already in the past? :] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EJ_engine
You do know wiki is only as right as the person entering the data right? EJ255 != Ej257...I've seen both pistons in person and the EJ255 has a little different dome.
thats what I'm saying. I'm thinking maybe some "Nawlej" might need to be dispensed into the article. ;p
I've fixed a few subaru wiki entries as well as some F-14 info. I would like to stay on top of it, but everyone who has internet access has the ability to change the wiki.
My B. I got the numbers backwards, but my point was correct. 04/05 has the exact same motor top to bottom from an STi, but with a smaller turbo and intercooler. In '06 they made a non-STi 2.5 turbo to be used on several cars.
FAIL. The part number for the shortblock on the 04/05 FXT, LGT, BXT, STi are all the same so how can it have higher compression pistons in one motor over the other? Will just said the longblocks were identical and the only difference between the ej255 and ej257 was the turbo that was mounted on it.
I guess I need to clarify a little more...04~05 EJ255 *AND* EJ257 are 100% identical internally. The only differences are whats bolted to the heads as far as manifolds, turbo, intake manifold and in the case of the Forester and Baja, the oil cooler setup. In 2006+, for the EJ255, the compression went up that 0.2:1, the air pump bull shit started and a slightly different oil cooler showed up on the WRX/FXT/Baja Turbo. The Baja Turbo did not get the air pump bullshit. Otherwise in 2006, the EJ257 was unchanged from 04~05. The EJ257 got the air pump BS in 2007+.
So I went today and looked at two different 2004 XT's. They were both complete pieces of shit, the search continues.
That's no good. Have you looked on subaruforester.org??? I bought mine from the classifieds there. Lots of guys who take really good care of their Foresters. You may have to fly out and drive it back, but it'll be well worth it in the long run. Mine came from Florida and someone else on the boards brought one back from SoCal.
Well, I hardly visit SF.org because it's 95% boring questions from your typical Forester owner (old men, lesbians, dirty hippies), and NASIOC is a complete waste of my life.
That one is nice, but I am looking for an automatic since it will be my new daily driver. I am thinking about giving up the search and just buying a new one.