In Depth - 2011 Subaru Forester

"Although the new engine has just about the same figures as the old
one, it is indeed an upgrade because the old one had a belt-driven,
single-overhead design whereas the new one comes with a more modern
chain-driven dual-overhead cam configuration, making it more
efficient. Thanks to this upgrade, the car is now one mpg in the city
more efficient according to the EPA ratings. In comparison to the old
engine, the new one has a larger bore and a longer stroke as the
tweaking displacement has grown from 2,457cc to 2,498cc which means
that the 2011 Forester is capable of offering an additional four pound-
feet of torque at 300 rpm sooner than the old powertrain.

Although the engine has received some minor yet well-deserved updates
and improvements, it still is linked to the same old 4-speed automatic
gearbox, making this configuration quite similar to what we were used
to in the previous generations of the Forester.  The new engine is
however more smooth and considerably more quiet than the last
generation."


This is great news, ...hopefully it will be free from the former
engine's head gasket problems.  Also, it would be good for
the Impreza to get it.  Can't wait!

Basia

On 1/9/2011 8:08 AM, basia@sbcglobal.net wrote:

I hope so.  I went through the head gasket problem last month on my '03
Forester and while it's an 8 year old car, I only had 40K miles on it.
Service writer said they had only seen it on a couple of '03's with over
100 k miles.  Last year, it was a water pump and that with a belt change
and now head gasket has cost me about $2,000.

If it happens again or on my '08 Forester I'll be truly pissed as I
thought they solved this problem ~'02.