2007 subaru legacy wagon - engine replacement or repair
Asked by RichRatt Jul 02, 2017 at 01:31 PM about the 2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5i GT Limited Wagon AWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
My 2007 Subaru legacy wagon (170 K miles) is in the shop for lack of pressure in one cylinder. My mechanic noted until the engine is opened up, we will not the full extend of the problem (could be head gasket, or may be piston rings, etc). I am leaning towards paying more for a replacement engine vice just a repair (and wait for another possible fix). Any comments?
5 Answers
Being a Subaru I would suspect the head gasket first. If it is the head gasket I would do both head gaskets and the timing belt and keep driving it. If you like the car and plan on keeping it the replacement engine might be your best choice.
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 7 years ago
Remove the heads and have a machine shop pressure-test for cracks and of course geometry. Have a good wrench check the block at the same time. You didn't describe coolant nor oil losses, so I'm not sure it's the HGs. If a valve guide is flopping around you'll rebuild that head, of course. If the block has to come apart I might then try to find a nice used one instead. This is a tricky call at this juncture, but I'm guessing that it's a head issue (valve or gasket) rather than a worn ring....
We had this head gasket issue, fixed it and drove over 150k more miles. Now we have thrown a rod and need an engine replacement... Can someone help me on where to look for a new engine? Thanks! Allison
TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 6 years ago
Find a reputable mechanic who will secure a warranted used motor from a trusted salvage yard. It's that simple...yet hard. Figure $2.5k installed and backed for half a year.
