[Emerson]

Hey everyone, so I have been trying to make this decision all week and probably read 100 horror stories about this car but also plenty of really happy people. I was hoping to maybe gain a little bit more information before making a decision. Basically this is what I am up against:

I found a mint 2005 Outback XT with great service records and 131,000 Kms on it (timing belt done at 105,000 kms) for 7 grand. These cars are rare (impossible) to find where I'm from (Alberta) for that kind of price so I bought it in a second. I had a mechanic take a look at it and he say's everything looks good on the car.

I currently own a 2006 Forester X with 180,000 kms and am trying to decide should I sell it and drive the XT (I have always wanted a turbo) or just flip the Outback.

I am leaning towards keeping the Outback since I can't stop thinking about it since I drove it but all the blow engines scare me.

So what I am asking is all these horror stories are the mostly people who put off oil changes and other basic maintenance or are these cars just waiting to blow?

Also how imperative is replacing the Catted up-pipe? I would like to do it at some point but would way more prefer to find a used one and swap it myself (when it's not winter). Do they require a tune?

Anyways thanks for reading my banter!

 

[traildogck]

I am not afraid of XTs. I have (2). You can buy a 3rd party warranty as cheap insurance until you check out all the common sh*t. Blackstone labs, banjo filter, intake leaks etc....

Prior maintenance, good oil, and good gas is imperative. The catted up-pipe and turbo can past 150K miles easy. I did swap the UP on Cherry, since I had one. You should get a tune with the new up-pipe when/if you do that.

I think they are the best ever. That's why I have one that's wild and one that mild.

 

[Emerson]

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I'm leaning pretty heavily towards driving this thing, getting 5 more years out of it wouldn't be unrealistic would it? I have no intention of doing any performance mods.

 

[traildogck]

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I'm leaning pretty heavily towards driving this thing, getting 5 more years out of it wouldn't be unrealistic would it? I have no intention of doing any performance mods.

I feel that is totally realistic. I plan on keeping both of mine until internal combustion is no longer legal. They are finicky b*tches tho. You will need to get to know the motor. Being a Gen3 OB, there are some suspension issues they all have which can be corrected. Turbo chargers do have a lifespan. Once I hit 170K or so, I would replace any stock unit.

Any turbo car has the added "premium" of turbo maintenance in gas and fluids, cost of ownership is certainly higher. But they don't need to be avoided, just well chosen.

 

[Logie_OBXT]

If the starting point is well maintained, then you're far better off than most. It's the ones with questionable history that make for unpleasant experiences.

 

[Emerson]

The only reason this car is being sold is because the owner passed away (old lady), the guy selling it has yearly maintenance records that average about 2,000$ each time, I will comb through exactly what got done but I think it's a good start.

I believe the car was their primarily winter car.

When you say 170k is that miles?

 

[traildogck]

The only reason this car is being sold is because the owner passed away (old lady), the guy selling it has yearly maintenance records that average about 2,000$ each time, I will comb through exactly what got done but I think it's a good start.

I believe the car was their primarily winter car.

When you say 170k is that miles?

Yep.

I have about 140K miles on Cherry and my next investment is going to be a refresher snail. I drive a 15K miles a year or so. So next year I will be sourcing a new spool.

Old Lady huh, my only concern would be non-premium gas and lots of low rpm lugging. The stock tune is lean to begin with and low octane lugging tends to burn exhaust valves due to detonation. A compression and leak down test would tell you for sure if there is any cause for head work.

 

[Emerson]

The inspection mechanic said no issues but I won't see what tests he performed until tomorrow.

Anything I should check that would be damaged by that behavior?

They owned a TDI and a Volvo XC70 as well so I am hoping they followed the manufacturers recommend fuel type. I know that TDI wouldn't be too happy getting a drink of premium gasoline haha

 

[sternman318]

@traildogck I'm starting to think you should write up a sticky for prospective XT buyers, there have been a lot of folks coming up lately asking about it haha

 

[traildogck]

@traildogck I'm starting to think you should write up a sticky for prospective XT buyers, there have been a lot of folks coming up lately asking about it haha

If I only had the time....it's a very good idea. There are many others here in the XT haystack that have great advice. I think I just have a lot more...

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/23-village/226873-weird-stuff-your-spare-time.html

Or, I utilize my XT's and this forum to keep me out of trouble. So far, (4) years, (2) cars, so good.

 

[RoughDiamond]

Sounds like you have a good candidate for a long-term driver.

However, most "inspections" are simply a visual and drive. Your "real" inspections are to pull the intercooler and check for excessive oil pooling (on both sides of the cooler), pull the downpipe back and check for turbo shaft play, and pull the L + R timing belt covers for belt and component inspection. A stack of paperwork isn't worth a **** unless you can confirm, within reason.

Catless up-pipes can be installed two ways: have a tuner "turn-off" the impending converter and EGT codes, or install a "dummy" resistor for the EGT (which avoids any tune modifications). At any mileage, I recommend getting rid of the cat up pipe. Good insurance and easier/cheaper to replace, need be (get an OEM STi or later LGT/OBXT/FXT uppipe. Avoid aftermarkets unless it's FullRace or other high-end).

They are very sturdy platforms and are unlike most other comparable vehicles. They do requires extra attention, but the pay off will leave you with long-term love and usefulness.

 

[Davej98092]

I ordered a Cat-less up pipe back in 2010 for my 94 Legacy Touring wagon 2.2 turbo. It is a 2 inch ID and has 2 Bungs for O2 and 1 for EGT sensors. I thought it was Pirren but I can not remember. I have not installed it yet. I wrapped it with header wrap and a custom made steel heat shield.

 

[tdelker1]

Very few turbo failures due to cat in up-pipe as far as I can tell. One poster in LGT that talks about having some loose honeycomb, but no actual failures that I can recall.

I wouldn't bother with removing it unless you really feel compelled.

Removing BOTH banjos is super important, or replacing at least.

The issue with 05-06 is that they
a) Had a 7.5k miles oil change interval per SOA. It wasn't updated until 07+. Many drivers never knew to change at 3275 ever. I only found out because I started visiting these boards.
b) I believe the turbo was more susceptible to oil starvation in those two years. They made a slight change in 07+ that seems to have slowed the number of turbo failures.

It's a fun car, but keep up the oil change, get those banjo bolts out, and if you EVER get a check engine light, stop driving immediately and read the code (it's easy to keep the $20 scanner and know which code you are concerned about). If it's related to oil, you are at risk of killing your turbo. AVCS system is the common code that comes up right before the turbo tanks since it is sensitive to oil pressure.

I didn't follow this advice, but I also never blew up my turbo. I did sell it earlier than I normally would have because of a) my wife spinning it around on a dry road because, I believe, of the ghost walk issue. and b) I was concerned that the 3 years of 7.5k OCI was going to bite me later in life. Sold it at 120k. The buyer contacted me recently, car is still going strong (12 years old). I should have kept it. We upgraded to a tribeca for the VDC, 3.6L engine, and the extra space. I got a 2010 LGT that I'm happy with but given my limited time, I just haven't had time to play with it.

 

[tdelker1]

PS. In case you haven't found the excellent LGT wiki on the subject: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/turbo-failure-wiki-173358.html

 

[Thinline38]

There was a bolt with a filter in it that no one seemed to know about at least in the 2.5gt legacy. There are threads on how to bypass it or at least to know how to clean it. I’m sure someone will correct me but I think that was the reason for most of the blown turbos that eventually led to blown motors

 

[Jaeslay36a]

Got the 05 2.5XT OB, had some trouble with turbo, no noise only a little studder on the low end, seemingly little to no boost, but then found out the MAF was bad; loss of power, stalls sometimes close to idle and that issue with the turbo.. It all started when the valve cover gasket blew: a big enough blow out that I could put two quarts of oil in it drive it a mile to the shop and it was almost bone dry. Well that's when the MAF symptoms started, the turbo issue as well.. I took The MAF sensor out and on the intake side it was completely covered with a surprisingly hard and thick layer of burnt oil. The gasket leak was direct under the air intake and apparently it pulled that thick smoke right into the sensitive MAF's Hotwire and it immediately threw those codes; bad MAF, Too Lean, and now misfiring on cylinders 2 and 4.(I have a point to all this) one, my question (s) is/are: should I spring for two coil packs and replace them(or all four) or will the bad MAF cause the misfiring? And a sidebar, I only recently started researching this car, I haven't had it long, so next I ask should I locate and remove the oil line Union/Banjo bolt before I even put s*** back to drive it, or can it wait till I see if the New MAF resets all problems. There are 185k miles on it.. And I know the old woman I bought it from wasn't getting on the pedal like I do, and I ha e no clue what octane she had in it.. I assume Reg. And feedback will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[MaximumX]

yearly maintenance records that average about 2,000$ each time, I will comb through exactly what got done but I think it's a good start.

If it was at a dealership, probably oil change and tire rotation...

 

[Jaeslay36a]

Wh

If it was at a dealership, probably oil change and tire rotation...

What???

 

[Logie_OBXT]

Wh

What???

Hello!

Hi, welcome to the forum!
What happened is that you've commented on a 2 year old (exactly BTW) thread and bumped it to the top of the page and someone replied to an earlier post on the thread.

It looks like you've got a lot of issues with your new XT. To try and keep all the replies relative to you, try creating your own thread and list your problems. That way we're not confusing your issues with someone else's.

To start you off, you're going to want to get the engine sealed up nice and tight if possible. Intake air leaks, oil leaks, etc are all no good. It sounds like you're going to have your hands full. Hopefully you're handy with tools, or it will get expensive very quickly.

 

[Max Capacity]

If done right, you can get many trouble free miles out of these cars. I have 133,000 trouble free miles in the ej257 short block I installed back in May 2012 when my Legacy GT wagon had 154,000 miles. I replaced its vf40 turbo at 142,000 miles because of the P0011 and P0021 CEL. I was one of the few that drove the car another 1000 miles before the turbo whine turned into a whistle after leaving the house one day going to work, I was 1/2 mile from home, turned around parked it in the driveway. Got in my 09 Spec B and drove to work.

From work I called Mike at www.AZPinstall.com before 9AM, I had the vf52 the next day when I got home from work. Installed the vf52 the next couple days, drove the car to the dyno, where the Tuner set the boost at 21psi on stock fueling, car made 280AWHP/300FTLBS. It's still my DD gets 27+mpg on the highway. Chassis has 287,000 miles.

I use Amsoil European Classis 5w-40 oil year round with there oil filter. After sending a oil sample off to Blackstone, I do 7000+ mile oil changes.

Check the oil weekly and always top it off, never let it get low.