1999 Legacy questions (newbie)

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

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.

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

lots. Type "high mileage subaru" into google.

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 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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

Yep.

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

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.

D>

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