A friend is looking into a '99-'03 Forester. Are there any consistent issues with these or things he should look out for? I don't know anything about those models.

 

Beyond the typical high mileage Subaru things I was told those all have potential HG issues. So if it hasn't been done, that's the first concern. At this point though, most of those that were at risk will have had the issue and had it fixed by now IMO.

 

What he said. Typical high mileage Subaru issues, but otherwise nothing too out of the ordinary. It's essentially an Impreza chassis, so anything that would pertain to the Impreza would also pertain to the Foz.

-Brian

 

check the spark plugs. Pull the rubber cap and see if there is oil in it. I just bought an 01 forester and forgot to do that and found oil in my spark plug wells which means the o-ring seals in the valve cover that seal the spark plug wells were deformed and not sealing. All that requires is a $30 valve cover kit and about 2 hours of your time. Thats the only issue I had and its an 01 w/ 103k. Just my two cents....

 

Yes, I'd say that would be among the "typical" things to check on higher mileage Subie. Those gaskets leaking at ~100K are pretty much a given. That's certainly not just Subaru too.

 

The only known issue is...

They rock! that Subaru should just have discontinued all other body types and only made foresters.

 

Same weak tranny as the Impreza of the era.

I've heard that Foresters are harder on halfshafts than conventional Imprezas... probably due to drive angle from the higher ride height

 

Most typical soccer mom automobile

most 98-99 EJ25 rs motor's have the HG problem. Otherwise, they are tanks.

 

Ive had ky 01 for almost a year now done all maint. And HG haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood)..otherwise there a beast when fixed up right.

 

As many have said, check the head gaskets. MY1998 Foresters are most prone to head gasket failure as it is equipped with the non-turbo DOHC EJ25D, the same one that's often found overheated on 1996-1999 Legacy/Outback models with the EJ25D and the 1998 Impreza 2.5RS.

The non-turbo "Phase II" SOHC EJ25 is not prone to the severe internal head gasket leaks of the non-turbo "Phase I" DOHC EJ25.

The seepage of the non-turbo, "Phase II" SOHC EJ25 is typically external, meaning, oil leaks out the gaskets but no mixture of the oil and coolant. However, it can worsen to a full-on head gasket failure.

There seems to be mixed results with the Subaru Cooling System Conditioner (rebranded Holts Radweld), many claiming it to be a successful band-aid, while others say it does nothing or may clog the cooling system.

Also, if your friend intends to go off-road or use the Forester in a severe, heavy-duty manner (such as towing), there have been some cases of people breaking welds of the unibody, so unibody reinforcement and bracing may be necessary.


It's the SF chassis, first generation Forester you'll have to be weary of the above issues.

The SG chassis, second generation Forester shouldn't be so bad.