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[Nate McVey]

Quote:

Is that the V-6?

It is the V6....

[Nate McVey]

Make sure you have the brake hoses inspected regularly!

Why's that jer? I've never heard of any issues, have I had my head in the sand?

[Jeremy airjer W]

Why's that jer? I've never heard of any issues, have I had my head in the sand?

The escapes are well known for there brake hose failures. I forget the years but the early 2000's through 06 (or so)e all four can crack and severely degrade and ultimately burst. The later models only the fronts are an issue since they had a different rear hose. The newest models look like they have the latest update/different hoses all together.

So if you have an older escape do yourself a favor and take a look at all the brake hoses. There will be no doubt if they are really bad and sometimes you may have to look a little harder to find the cracked ones. THe parts are available through ford and the fronts are available through anyone that carries Dorman problem solver products. Retail at a shop your looking at $560 for all four out the door. Do it yourself for under a couple hundred.

[hondavxr]

I have a Subaru in my drive way also. Head gasket problems in Subarus were more around the 2000-2003 range. Its funny how some of the engines had the problem while others have none, and owners drive them to 200,000+. My Subaru Forester is getting pass 170,000 miles and I did replace the head gasket once. Subarus awd is one of the best in the industry. The forester still runs like when it was brand new, all I have done is the head gaskets and routine maintenance, haven't changed even a alternator yet. Here's a little fact about Subaru, Subaru Company(Fuji Heavy Industry) does not use any Chinese parts and will never use Chinese parts, that is one of their company mottos. I remember one time drive axles were back-ordered for a few months. They could have gotten cheap Chinese ones, but instead they waited for their supplier in Japan. I am probaly gonna drive this Forester into the ground.

[zamboni]

My sister had an old Subaru GL2000, I remember the first time I ever seen the hood popped on it- the spare tire was mounted right on top of the engine. Never seen a spare tire in the engine compartment.

[Nate McVey]

Thanks jer, I'll check them out tomorrow.....I had not heard of this so I appreciate the info.

[deadeye]

Ok, I hate to bring up ancient history but I am looking at getting a Forester/Legacy wagon myself (now that I have a proper pickup i want to get rid of the pink blazer so yes a subbie is less "rainbow sticker ish" than my blazer LOL) and am curious about how much of a pita the timing belt is to do on these.

I have a talon (mistubishi DOHC 4g63t) that I have done along with a standard 1.8 ltr eclipse and a v6 camry so I am not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I have never been under the hood of a subbie before. Just curious how it would rate in difficulty compared to those.

It seems like they are well built. Head gaskets might be a issue but everything has a weak spot and as long as I know what it is I'm OK with that. I can't really remember selling much other than maintenance stuff for them when I worked at oreilly's.

The thing I like is that I really wouldn't be losing any inside space and with AWD I could pretty much make it where my Blazer has been if I had decent tires on it.

Also, for those that own a forester or legacy wagon what do you get for mpgs? I did a lot of looking at fueleconomy.gov and it appears at worst I will get 7-8 mpgs better than my blazer is getting. That is a huge bonus since I am commuting around 35 miles each day now.

[Jeremy airjer W]

the timing belt in the subaru is a walk in the park compared to the other you have done. When removing or installing the crank bolt look for the plug on the transmission on the passenger side. Remove it and you can use a pry bar to lock the flywheel in place so you can break loose and torque the crank bolt. other than that there is nothing special about doing them.

[deadeye]

Thanks airjer. I was hoping it wouldn't be to bad. I just think of what a pita the old dohc 3.4 chevy one was to do and don't want to deal with that kind of stuff again.

Now if I can just get to see one before its sold out from under me. I have gone to see 3 different ones and they were all gone just before I got there to see it LOL.

[CJH]

With the recent snow storms, that's when the AWD vehicles sell the best, so I am not surprised. Overall Subies are good vehicles.

Good Luck!