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Hi there,

Haven't had a Subaru for a while, so haven't been active here.

I'm about to buy a gen 4 Outback 2.5ltr, currently looking. I'd like a manual so it has D/R, don't want a modded one, just standard that has done mostly on road k's.

Any common problems I should be looking out for, on a bit of a budget so I'll likely be looking at 03/04 early ones.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

The Usual CV boots and CV knock on turning. Top stay bar bushes on the motor and gearbox / transmission whine

Haven't seen many issues with the non turbo gen4, so I'd just make sure it's had good services and everything is up to date like timing belt, fluid changes, etc..

IIRC timing belt service interval for late model EJ25 is 125,000kms/5yrs so if its getting close use that to bargain the price down.

Im also beginning to notice every LCA rear bush I look at is cracked, something else to check for

Thank you all for your pointers, I'll create a bit of a list and check them all as I'm looking.


ktmtragic, top stay bar? Is that the bar that runs from the firewall to the gearbox or engine up top, the one that stops forward and aft movement of the engine/gearbox?


I've looked at three so far, one with 190K klm, it was a dog, one with 180K klm, not so good, my favourite so far has done 270K klm, it drove the best of all of them, think it's been mostly highway. I noticed a whine when in low range and putting the boot in, but thought this was to be expected, is that an issue on a car with that many k's, I know the Liberty's and L's I've had in the past all had a bit of a whine in Low range, they were all reasonably high mileage also, and the whine never seemed to get any worse.

The 270K one also had a bone dry dip stick, the dealer put a litre in and then it was overfull, so I guess it actually needed about 500ml. If I buy it it'll be based on the possibility of needing rings or a low mileage engine swap in the not to distant future, it'll be a gamble I guess, it is cheap though. What is with the PCV valve, is it true that a malfunctioning one can cause an engine to use oil?


It is great that you guys haven't come back with anything more than routine service type items, looks like a Suby is still the right car to buy.

dree wrote:I know the Liberty's and L's I've had in the past all had a bit of a whine in Low range, they were all reasonably high mileage also, and the whine never seemed to get any worse.

My whines as well, I think its just a LR thing

What is with the PCV valve, is it true that a malfunctioning one can cause an engine to use oil?

PCV=Positive Crankcase Ventilation. They get clogged up & from what I understand this can cause crankcase pressure to push extra oil fumes into the manifold...not sure exactly how it all works. Paul?

Apparently it does affect fuel economy though, so I took mine out & gave it a thorough clean in petrol till the ball inside rattled freely. I also cleaned the hoses, they had a fair bit of gunk inside as well

NachaLuva wrote:My whines as well, I think its just a LR thing



PCV=Positive Crankcase Ventilation. They get clogged up & from what I understand this can cause crankcase pressure to push extra oil fumes into the manifold...not sure exactly how it all works. Paul?

Apparently it does affect fuel economy though, so I took mine out & gave it a thorough clean in petrol till the ball inside rattled freely. I also cleaned the hoses, they had a fair bit of gunk inside as well

Thank you, sounds like the PCV valve is easy to fix if it is crook, and yeah I'll look out for whining in H/R, but I think a small whine in L/R is OK.

Looked at another one yesterday, 2007 with 240K klm, all good, but a bit expensive for the K's. Smelled a bit coolanty after pushing hard, do the Gen 4's still suffer head gasket issues?

dree wrote:ktmtragic, top stay bar? Is that the bar that runs from the firewall to the gearbox or engine up top, the one that stops forward and aft movement of the engine/gearbox?

Yes, this is the stay rod but really not an issue in the later models. I wouldn't rule it out if there is noises when powering on or off the accelerator.

dree wrote:I've looked at three so far, one with 190K klm, it was a dog, one with 180K klm, not so good, my favourite so far has done 270K klm, it drove the best of all of them, think it's been mostly highway. I noticed a whine when in low range and putting the boot in, but thought this was to be expected, is that an issue on a car with that many k's, I know the Liberty's and L's I've had in the past all had a bit of a whine in Low range, they were all reasonably high mileage also, and the whine never seemed to get any worse.

Higher kms aren't an issue as long as it's been looked after. My daughter's Forester has over 400,000kms on it and it still runs perfectly without any issues. Depends on how loud this whine is in Low Range but really, how many times will you use it?

dree wrote:The 270K one also had a bone dry dip stick, the dealer put a litre in and then it was overfull, so I guess it actually needed about 500ml. If I buy it it'll be based on the possibility of needing rings or a low mileage engine swap in the not to distant future, it'll be a gamble I guess, it is cheap though. What is with the PCV valve, is it true that a malfunctioning one can cause an engine to use oil?

The only time to check oil on a Subaru is first thing in the morning, as these engines take some time for the oil to flow back to the sump. I would have them dump the oil and fill with the correct amount.

The PCV is as NachaLuva has mentioned and can be cleaned out with carby clean or replaced (pretty cheap from Subaru if needed) and these should be replaced at every 100,000kms as per service manual.

dree wrote:It is great that you guys haven't come back with anything more than routine service type items, looks like a Suby is still the right car to buy.

Best ever car to own.. in my opinion

NachaLuva wrote:PCV=Positive Crankcase Ventilation. They get clogged up & from what I understand this can cause crankcase pressure to push extra oil fumes into the manifold...not sure exactly how it all works. Paul?

The main purpose for these PCVs are to stop gaskets and seals blowing out oil, by creating a small vacuum inside the block but the bad side is that as oil gets hot and old, it start to burn off as fumes and these aren't allowed (ADR requirements) to vent to open atmosphere, so they must be sucked into the engine and burnt out through the exhaust. As these fumes cool (through the pipes) they build up as crud and this also causes the PCV valve to get sticky, so it will require cleaning ever so often. If these PCV valves aren't working correctly you will loose economy and/or cause seals to leak badly.

dree wrote:Looked at another one yesterday, 2007 with 240K klm, all good, but a bit expensive for the K's. Smelled a bit coolanty after pushing hard, do the Gen 4's still suffer head gasket issues?

Al the EJ25 engines have issues if they have been over heated. Have it checked by someone before making any decision