TR: TR: nac.. thinking of jumping ship

[laraa at sympatico.ca]

Jim, 

Geraint is a former 200tqa owner that did what you think of doing. Here is
his view on the 05 Legacy turbo.

Louis-Alain



-----Message d'origine-----
De : Geraint Lloyd [mailto:geraint.lloyd.geo at gmail.com] 
Envoyé : 14 novembre 2011 18:36
À : laraa at sympatico.ca
Objet : Re: TR: nac.. thinking of jumping ship

Not got Jim's email any more so pleas fwd this to the list

My tips having gone from 200tqa to 05 legacy gt wagon 5eat.

Pretty solid vehicle overall. Plastic bits are a touch fragile.

4wd system varies with engine
5speed auto in turbo apparently has clutch pack and planetary centre
diff with torsen rear. Can be fun on ice, but spirited rear end
wagging generates a "wheel speeds do not match" fault code, which is a
bit off putting.

Turbos also tend to be a weak point. Flat four seems to physically
break down oil quickly resulting in some carbon build up that can
block the 2 filtered banjo bolts on the heads which are the turbos oil
supply. Had that happen at 120k kms and it was $1500cad for a new one.
Couldn't find a 2nd hand one as "they are all f$&ked"

Generally the parts are all pretty cheap and subaruparts.com in Tacoma
WA have been pretty handy.

Seats are no way near as comfy as the 200. Throttle pedal is at a
weird angle on Lhd cars generating odd leg twist and thigh / calf
strain.
Take a loooooong test drive. Pulling the back cover off the front seat
and stuffing some sheets of $10 high density foam sleeping mat under
the seat back springs cures poor lumbar support. Apparently the
Limited seats are better, but I can't confirm.

I think that there were more manual 2.5 turbo salons and outbacks than
legacy wagons sold. Might be an option

Also the support forums are all full of young blokes talking about
fart cannon exhausts, BIG alloys with rubber band tyres and low
suspension.

Apart from the seats and the dead turbo, I've been happy.

Hope that helps,

Geraint

> -----Message d'origine-----


> leaning toward an 05ish legacy gt. seems most are automatic. anyone know
> anything to watch out for on these? my trolling of the suby forums hasn't
> yielded much. cars seem sound.
>
> thx!
> jim