2008 Subaru Outback 5 speed, blown engine

[deadken]

I'm not a big Japanese car guy. I only bought my first ('96 Miata) a few years ago when I was 46YO. Now, during my search for a wagon, I came across a 2008 Subaru Outback with a 5-speed manual transmission. A friend of my Girlfriend is the original owner and we had talked about her car in the past. A few months ago, she blew the engine and ended up buying a new car. Now, I'm considering buying the old car. Anyone have experience with these? I've briefly browsed the net and will likely join a Subaru owners forum. But in the meantime, I figured I'd ask here (always a good group of people around these forums).

Simply put, I already own an engine hoist and an engine stand. I've pulled the engine out of a Subaru a long time ago (probably 1990) when I was working in a repair shop and was replacing the clutch on that car. I'm betting this engine has likely come out at least once already when the clutch was changed. I figure I'll look into what options it has, see the cars condition in person, and see what she wants for it. If all lines up, I'll buy it and swap in a used engine. From the brief bit of research I have done, there seem to be a lot of JDM engines being sold. Any idea why a JDM engine would be preferable to one from a local junkyard?

From what I remember, the flat fours used to require timing belt changes fairly frequently (back then it was 30k when everybody else was suggesting 60 or 80k). I remember problems with the exhaust systems and catalytic converters, but I'm guessing most of these issues have largely been worked out.

Any helpful (or even funny) comments or suggestions are welcome!

 

[Kaido]

Would you consider a diesel conversion? BoxEEr sells parts:

http://www.boxeer.com/ee20_subaru_conversion

 

[NutBucket]

Should be a piece of cake. Now, Subarus are not known for ease of wiring if you want to drop in an EJ255 or something similar. I would stick with a stock replacement unless you have lots of time.

Also, timing belt interval is something like 8 years, 105k miles. It's a non-issue.

 

[deadken]

Thanks for the replies. I have learned a bit since my OP. The original owner of this 2008 Subaru was going to replace the engine, but the was having a hard time coming across a replacement engine. So, needing a car, she ended up buying a new car.

While browsing the net, I found out that only the four cylinder engines come with a manual transmission. For some reason, I had kind of assumed that this was just a 'plain Jane' car. When I went by the junk yard and asked about an engine for a 2008 Subaru Outback, the guy asked me which Outback? Huh? Okay, so now I learned that they make a Impreza and a Legacy Outback. I gave him the VIN and he looked it up and told me that the car is a Legacy Outback and has the Turbo engine. Huh? Okay, so I guess it isn't just a plain Jane base model. Naturally, that junkyard didn't have a Turbo engine for that car. I asked if he could get one in and how much it would cost. He said it'd be $1,800 and that he doesn't sell other peoples Subaru engines. Huh? He said that in hard front end collisions, the timing belts can jump. So, they'd bend valves and he doesn't sell Subaru engines that he hasn't heard run.

Okay, so now I understand the difficulty in finding a replacement engine. I'm still searching around and finding out that $1,800 is a pretty low price. One junkyard said he couldn't pay more than $800 for that car the way it is. So, I now have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into. I'm still looking into finding a good used engine, but am now also considering a rebuilt long lock.

 

[NutBucket]

Ah. A turbo 5MT Outback is a bit of a rare bird. Getting the engine rebuilt (even with stock internals) is probably your best bet. Hopefully you can find a decent machine shop locally.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Get a junkyard NA 2.5 and swap the brain with it. Prolly come out cheaper. Double check trans compatibility at the suby boards.

Also might consider the 3.0 6cyl if it will plug and play with the trans.

JDM 2.5t from japan? You've got the time to wait for it......

 

[NutBucket]

Meh, what's the fun in that?

EDIT: It will be impossible to source a JDM 2.5 turbo as that motor was never sold in Japan! All JDM cars have 2.0 motors because of displacement taxes, etc.

 

[thesmokingman]

It's so much easier to just drop in a sti motor or wrx 2.5T motor. Go find one of those OP. There's a few shops that can do a later model motor swap and keep the CARB certification, well in CA that's a stickler. Other states should be a helluva lot easier.

Btw, I built a hybrid motor myself. STI shortblock, wrx heads, sti cams, no avcs, supporting mods...

Best part is it went from 3 cats to 1 cat and it passes smog with ease in CA lol.

 

[Kelvrick]

Are you looking to use this as a project car to learn and work on? Or is it something you're interested in just getting up and running?

If you're not going to be doing the rebuild yourself, or hope to buy something to put in, I'd say to walk away if you're not willing to throw at least another 3k at the car unless you find some awesome deals. You're likely going to need to replace or rebuild the turbo as well. The usual recommendation for people who are going through a rebuild without plans for additional power modifications is to get a brand spanking new short block for about 2k and a mix of replacing what needs to be replaced and using old parts.

Sorry, I don't want to type too much if the price tag is going to have you walking away.

EDIT: PS. when you're researching, beware of a lot of wrx/sti guys who don't understand the nuances of the legacy/outbacks. For example, the 07 and 08 share the 06+ wrx blocks, while the 05/06 have the exact same blocks as the 04-06 sti. You can use any year sti ej block, but you'd have to swap over intake manifolds. Not too much more work if you're pulling the engine anyway. If you can find an 08+wrx ej donor, then it is drop in but then you will definitely need a tune as the 09+wrx's have a vf52 turbo compared to the vf40 on the 2008 outback.

Not to call out thesmokingman but I have no idea exactly which models he is talking about and that is dangerous information for people who aren't as familiar with the model year differences.

 

[thesmokingman]

Not to call out thesmokingman but I have no idea exactly which models he is talking about and that is dangerous information for people who aren't as familiar with the model year differences.

What's your problem? It's nice that you put a dig into everyone as a disclaimer. I didn't list specifics because he should research and learn the nuances, prerequisites, and dependencies if he is attempting to do this himself. And it's not like anyone is going to attempt something like this with info from one post. :\

 

[Kelvrick]

What's your problem? It's nice that you put a dig into everyone as a disclaimer. I didn't list specifics because he should research and learn the nuances, prerequisites, and dependencies if he is attempting to do this himself. And it's not like anyone is going to attempt something like this with info from one post. :\

I didn't mean for it to be a dig. Maybe I didn't word it well enough. I just wanted to make sure he did his research.

 

[deadken]

Thanks for all of the information. I really appreciate the advice. Unfortunately, circumstances have lined up to make me walk away from this car. The lack of reputable used engines locally, the pricing of the few that I could find along with a few other projects and responsibilities have left me feeling that I'm sticking my neck out further than I really feel comfortable with. Couple that with the fact that I picked up an older Volvo 240 Wagon for $500 and I just didn't have the need for this that I once did.

As it ends up, I got a phone call from a person I've never met. Well over 3.5 years ago (I know it had to be before hurricane Sandy) I left a note on a 1980 Volvo 240 2 door that I had seen in my neighborhood. I wrote that if the owner wanted to sell the car, to please give me a call. As it ends up, the owner had recently passed and his daughter called me to tell me that no one in the family wanted the car. She asked if I was still interested. Sure! So, if interested, look for another thread on here about my next project! (Just in case you were wondering about one of the few other things I have going on at the moment).

-Ken