Gen 3 Liberty Wagon: what to look out for before I buy.
 

Looking at buying a 2.5l Liberty Wagon. Non turbo, just a second car for us. I know I can get it checked out by the usuals, and Jim has already offered if I'm not happy with my own inspection, but I feel I should know enough about Subarus now. So apart from the glaringly obvious, and usual compression etc, what else should I look for? Any model specific quirks?

Cheers
Kym

very common for them to leak at the head gasket, usually externally, remove the engine undertray & check for green stains, caz's car had this problem with only 60,000 on the clock, it didn't seem to be losing alot so i ignored fixing it & kept topping the coolant up once a month, engine blew up at 105,000 :( not sure if related hahaha

auto trans is woeful, car likes to drink even without a hefty foot, i was getting better fuel economy when i had the unichip & vf22 on my ej205 5 speed foz

edit: my advise (obviously) is to buy an sf5 foz instead

i get 650 to a tank in my g3 sedan, i learnt very quickly when shopping that the head gasket go's in these. i would be very cautious about buying one over 150,000k's without the head being done.

I can keep mine under 2k rpm until its at operating temp so that's my strategy to keep the head from blowing! if you dont its at temp in about 1minute no wonder the head gaskets are such an issue..

x2 on Chris - would rather a Forri than Lib wagon

I looked at Forry when we bought our Liberty Wagon.
Liberty has more boot space, and lower load height for the pram etc.

Mine is Gen4 though, not sure if boot capacity is different to Gen3.

As stubarubsaid, head gasket leak is fairly common, so is the water pump and thermostat gaskets, auto trans could be better. Other things such as lower control arm bushes and rocker cover gaskets should be checked too

I've always been a massive fan of the Gen 3 wagon, and this is basically exactly what I want, and the deal I talked them in to is pretty close to what I want... car appeared to be in great condition, a couple of minor things.

+1 for lower control arm bushes. They go to shit by 100k.

I'd get a full coolant system check - my Gen 3 radiator was foobar at 145,000 odd with regular servicing.

Also check for rust staining in the spare wheel footwell as some have fixed window leak issues. The moving glass will most likely be scratched from the positioning pads - check moving glass for excessive movement due to being a pillarless design.

[QUOTE=Saint_23;680324]I looked at Forry when we bought our Liberty Wagon.
Liberty has more boot space, and lower load height for the pram etc.

Mine is Gen4 though, not sure if boot capacity is different to Gen3.[/QUOTE]

main reason or getting the Lib Wagon - pram space. I know I won't be using a full on infant pram for ever and will probably swap to a stroller in the next few months, but also would be nice to have a wagon again, Foz's boot is just too small I reckon. Be nice to be able to pack up and go for a trip somewhere without having to fill the back seat with gear too