Subaru Outback 2.5 Auto Project

[richyb66]

My neighbour is trying to sell one of her cars and I thought it might interest someone here.

2000 (W) Subaru Legacy Estate 2.5 Outback 5 door Auto 93,400 miles Service History

Red Metallic. Grey ½ Leather & Suede Upholstery with Matching Interior Trim. 16" Alloy Wheels. Alarm & Immobiliser Central Locking. Digital Climate Control with A/C. Radio/Cassette. ABS, Power Assisted Steering, Electric Windows, Electric Heated Door Mirrors, Multiple Airbags, Front Arm Rest, Rake & Reach Adjustable S/Wheel, Front Fog Lights, Heated Rear Screen, Heated Front Seats, Rear Wiper, Roof Rails, Folding Split Rear Seats, Rear Area Load Cover, Electric Glass Tilt/Slide Sunroof. 2 new tyres plus new spare.

She had it converted to LPG in 2012 as she was commuting a few miles to work every day. It‘s been off the road since last August because it developed a fault and she‘s had 1 valve replaced, together with the head gasket, timing belt, plugs and leads. The work was done by her son who‘s a mechanic and it‘s running again now but seems to be overheating.

He‘s not really got the time (or inclination) to work on it and now she wants it out of the way. It‘s SORNED currently and only MOT‘d until next month but it was only used for 3 months since the last MOT and she can‘t be bothered to re-MOT it (even though she knows it worth more with a decent ticket on it).

She thinks it might be of interest to someone who‘s in to Subarus (she‘s got 2) and doesn‘t mind getting their hands dirty. I‘ve not had a really good look under the bonnet and I don‘t know that much about the conversion on it (but don‘t think it‘s got Flashlube on it) but the overall condition of the car is pretty good.

She‘s got more photos she could e-mail anyone who‘s interested and there‘s a few below. I don‘t know if the chunk missing from the valve is a sign of VSR or just one of those things that happens (and has happened on 3 of my own cars). I‘ve tried to nail her down on a price but have given up, basically if you‘re interested, give her a call. She knows quite a bit about the car so can answer any questions and if you want to make her an offer for what you think it‘s worth, she may very well say yes.

You can contact Kay on, the car is located in Tamworth (nice and central in the UK)

[rich r]

Try advertising it on www.uklegacy.com - which is the UK Subaru Legacy/Outback Owner's Club. A similar one (without LPG and with tatty bodywork) was for sale recently.

The EJ25 engine of that era has a very well known issue with overheating leading to head gasket failure. It appears to be down to poor quality coolant being used, coolant not being changed often enough, or a clogged radiato. The cooling channels aren't really big enough or in quite the right place for the heads to cool well under some conditions although they're fine on the 2.0 and 2.2 litre versions of the same engine. By 2001 there was a slight redesign and the issue has pretty much been solved. Giving the cooling system a really good flush out, a new radiator and decent antifreeze generally solves the problem on pre-2001 models like this though.

[richyb66]

Thanks for that, some useful info there. I've generally been active on the specialist forums for my previous cars but my current Legacy has (so far) been utterly reliable so I've not needed to sign up to a Subaru one yet!!!

I'll give it a punt on here first and then try uklegacy

[rich r]

Heh - I've had three Legacys and an Outback (2.0 twin turbo GTB, 2.2 estate, 2.2 saloon and current 3.0 Outback). Two have had LPG I foolishly had a Vauxhall for a couple of years but regretted it and went back to Subaru.

Come and join us on UKLegacy, it's a very friendly forum.

[richyb66]

The only thing I can fault my Legacy on is the climate control which doesn't have a clue what it's doing.

[richyb66]

NOW SOLD!