looking at a 2002 Legacy this weekend--what should I look out for?

66Mope · 01-31-2008, 05:25 PM

It's an automatic wagon with 80k miles. Anything I need to look out for? Sounds like the head gasket thing is still an issue for some 2002 Legacys but Subaru "fixed" the problem half-way through the year or something? Will the VIN be useful in telling if this one is exempt? Or should I not even consider cars with this engine?

"Certain 1999 through 2002 2.5L equipped vehicles may experience an external coolant leak at the head gaskets. As a precautionary measure, SOA is adding a special conditioner to the engine cooling system. This conditioner prevents leaks from occurring and corrects existing leaks.
Only early Phase II 2.5 liter engines are affected. Phase I 2.5 liter engines (some 1999 model year and prior years) are not affected. Countermeasures applied to the manufacturing process for those 2002 and later VINS not affected by this campaign have eliminated the need for this campaign to be performed on those vehicles."

http://www.cars101.com/recalls.html

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask. I just want a safe, reliable AWD family hauler and this is my first time looking at Subaru. Thanks.

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Dobbs · 01-31-2008, 05:28 PM

drive more than one... that will make any specific problems very obvious

66Mope · 01-31-2008, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobbs

drive more than one... that will make any specific problems very obvious

I'm not too worried about the test drive part. I'm wondering if there are specific things to look for on this generation of Legacy, and how worried I should be about this head gasket issue on a 2002.

01-31-2008, 05:25 PM	#1
66Mope Scooby Newbie Member#: 151927 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Seattle Vehicle: 1966 Satellite Yellow	looking at a 2002 Legacy this weekend--what should I look out for? It's an automatic wagon with 80k miles. Anything I need to look out for? Sounds like the head gasket thing is still an issue for some 2002 Legacys but Subaru "fixed" the problem half-way through the year or something? Will the VIN be useful in telling if this one is exempt? Or should I not even consider cars with this engine? "Certain 1999 through 2002 2.5L equipped vehicles may experience an external coolant leak at the head gaskets. As a precautionary measure, SOA is adding a special conditioner to the engine cooling system. This conditioner prevents leaks from occurring and corrects existing leaks. Only early Phase II 2.5 liter engines are affected. Phase I 2.5 liter engines (some 1999 model year and prior years) are not affected. Countermeasures applied to the manufacturing process for those 2002 and later VINS not affected by this campaign have eliminated the need for this campaign to be performed on those vehicles." http://www.cars101.com/recalls.html Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask. I just want a safe, reliable AWD family hauler and this is my first time looking at Subaru. Thanks. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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01-31-2008, 05:28 PM	#2
Dobbs Scooby Newbie Member#: 28291 Join Date: Oct 2002 Chapter/Region: RMIC Vehicle: 2005 STi Tuning Subarus in RMIC	drive more than one... that will make any specific problems very obvious