Impreza 2000 Turbo
Discussion
Off to potentially buy a 2000 Turbo tomorrow if it isn't too badly affected by reararchitus. Obviously never bought one, or even considered buying one (daydreaming aside) other than the usual stuff, E.G overspray, panel gaps, service history, what should I look for? I know to check to see if the head gasket was replaced at around 100k, but as I said I'm not a Subaru buying expert, just a fan boy 
Edit:
It's a late S reg 99, GF8 (Wagon) with 128k on the clock. Surprisingly only 2 owners from new.
Edit:
It's a late S reg 99, GF8 (Wagon) with 128k on the clock. Surprisingly only 2 owners from new.
Edited by aaron_2000 on Thursday 8th March 22:46
Nice car mate. Dad's had a few of them. Reliability shouldn't be an issue, but they do have issues. Check with the owner first. You'll find on the MOT they can be an issue with headlight aim, which is probably an old car problem. Nothing to worry about. Seen some scoobs with this issue. Shouldn't be flagging up as a problem though.
Edited by DivineRS on Thursday 8th March 23:07
I though you couldn’t get anyone to insure you youngster from the other Impreza thread?
Anyway what to look out for;
Rust or bubbling on rear arches - tricky and often expensive to cure. If the arches are bubbling they may already be gone and often the rear suspension turrets are then also dead.
Cars that have had engine upgrades without a proper remap, including induction kits.
Gearbox issues, common to have synchro problems or jumping out of 5th gear. Test by driving car hard and change relatively quickly at high revs.
Lack of service history
Check MOT history
Anyway what to look out for;
Rust or bubbling on rear arches - tricky and often expensive to cure. If the arches are bubbling they may already be gone and often the rear suspension turrets are then also dead.
Cars that have had engine upgrades without a proper remap, including induction kits.
Gearbox issues, common to have synchro problems or jumping out of 5th gear. Test by driving car hard and change relatively quickly at high revs.
Lack of service history
Check MOT history
Don't let the piston slap put you off an otherwise perfect car though, it's really common and my 97 Turbo 2000 had it quite noticeably when warm, still pulled like a train, didn't use a drop of oil or coolant, and covered 20k in my ownership, all hard driving with a few track days without getting any worse. Sold it on at 125k 4 years ago and it's still going strong today, 2 owners later I still see it every now and then. Desperately needs the rear arches doing now though 
Scobblelotcher said:
I though you couldn’t get anyone to insure you youngster from the other Impreza thread?
Anyway what to look out for;
Rust or bubbling on rear arches - tricky and often expensive to cure. If the arches are bubbling they may already be gone and often the rear suspension turrets are then also dead.
Cars that have had engine upgrades without a proper remap, including induction kits.
Gearbox issues, common to have synchro problems or jumping out of 5th gear. Test by driving car hard and change relatively quickly at high revs.
Lack of service history
Check MOT history
Insurance is a no go, just buying it as a project to keep me busy, and to learn something about them for when I eventually buy one to keep. What drew me to this one is the fact it mentions being remapped after having some work done to it, arches are something I'll have to have a good look at tomorrow. Thanks for the advice. Anyway what to look out for;
Rust or bubbling on rear arches - tricky and often expensive to cure. If the arches are bubbling they may already be gone and often the rear suspension turrets are then also dead.
Cars that have had engine upgrades without a proper remap, including induction kits.
Gearbox issues, common to have synchro problems or jumping out of 5th gear. Test by driving car hard and change relatively quickly at high revs.
Lack of service history
Check MOT history
Darkslider said:
Don't let the piston slap put you off an otherwise perfect car though, it's really common and my 97 Turbo 2000 had it quite noticeably when warm, still pulled like a train, didn't use a drop of oil or coolant, and covered 20k in my ownership, all hard driving with a few track days without getting any worse. Sold it on at 125k 4 years ago and it's still going strong today, 2 owners later I still see it every now and then. Desperately needs the rear arches doing now though
Interesting to know thanks, the only issue I see for me is I won't want to sell it aaron_2000 said:
What I really want to find out is where the remap and the work was done. What I'm cautious about is the issues with the bottom end. Anything I can do to look for any signs of that specific to the EJ20?
I think you need to understand what sort of EJ the car has as they can support different power levels Eg 205 or 207. There are very few facts but most seem to believe the 205 can be somewhat safely run at 330bhp or less and that the 5 speed gearbox can’t take much more either. My old car was forged and ran at 375 for many years and about 25k miles. Along these lines but remember this is largely internet talk most seem to think the 207 can be run at up to 400bhp on standard internals although the later 6 speed is definitely required at those power levels.I’d then want to know what ECU was used for the remap and who did the remap.
One thing I know for sure after owning many is the classics can get very expensive to run at over 270bhp!
It's not a case of check the head gasket, they have 2 head gaskets and 2 heads. Don't confuse the 2 rocker cover gaskets for head gaskets. The engine is a boxer so the pistons move horizontally rather than vertically so remember that when you are looking at these things.
If the cambelt and tensioners haven't been done in the last 4 years then budget to do one immediately.
They are meant to be serviced every 6 months which is basically a very regular oil change.
As you seem to know, rust is the biggest issue along with the bottom end bearings. If the car is running well , oil, coolant clean full and not mixing or leaking and there is evidence of cambelt and regular oil changes then concentrate on checking for rust.
Pay particular attention to the arches and where they meet the side skirts and well as the strut mounts. The skirts can hide terribly rusty sills. Also look out for any whines through the transmission although bear in mind they aren't silent. If the clutch judders a bit from cold I wouldn't worry too much.
If you find a good one they are great cars.
If the cambelt and tensioners haven't been done in the last 4 years then budget to do one immediately.
They are meant to be serviced every 6 months which is basically a very regular oil change.
As you seem to know, rust is the biggest issue along with the bottom end bearings. If the car is running well , oil, coolant clean full and not mixing or leaking and there is evidence of cambelt and regular oil changes then concentrate on checking for rust.
Pay particular attention to the arches and where they meet the side skirts and well as the strut mounts. The skirts can hide terribly rusty sills. Also look out for any whines through the transmission although bear in mind they aren't silent. If the clutch judders a bit from cold I wouldn't worry too much.
If you find a good one they are great cars.
Edited by Ahbefive on Friday 9th March 17:12
Been looking for a year and all seem to have been chavved to death.Well after driving it, I found out that 2nd gear doesn't engage, guessing it could be a linkage. My god is it fast though, steering feels quite light until you put the power on. It just feels so tight, so planted. Need to know more about that 2nd gear issue though, it just will not go into 2nd. There's no issue with any other gear, no rattling like broken cog teeth, no crunching.
There's no linkage I'm afraid the gear lever goes straight into the box! You might find a gearbox oil change with a moly slip additive like slick 50 improves the change a bit, though the 5 speed boxes on these are a bit of a known weakness, I think £500 is the going rate for getting them reconditioned worse case scenario.
I would imagine the majority of them have pretty terminal rear arch rust now. Even a car with just a few bubbles could potentially be a write off once you start poking deeper.
Oh and as has already been said, there is no gear linkage you are changing the box directly so sounds like the gearbox has had it.
Oh and as has already been said, there is no gear linkage you are changing the box directly so sounds like the gearbox has had it.
Gearboxes are a known weakness, the 5 speed was always suspect and with the amount of abuse these cars suffer it’s inevitable lots of boxes get broken.
The later 6 speed if very strong which is why many classics have been converted. It’s not cheap but it does work.
If I were you I’d want the box to be diagnosed by gearbox specialist and fixed. I wouldn’t want another 2nd hand box added as it may also be abused and close to a failure too.
Did you know it had a broken box before driving it? If not I’d wonder what else the car maybe hiding. Rust and engine problems would be my main concerns.
Did you find out the spec today? If so post it here
The later 6 speed if very strong which is why many classics have been converted. It’s not cheap but it does work.
If I were you I’d want the box to be diagnosed by gearbox specialist and fixed. I wouldn’t want another 2nd hand box added as it may also be abused and close to a failure too.
Did you know it had a broken box before driving it? If not I’d wonder what else the car maybe hiding. Rust and engine problems would be my main concerns.
Did you find out the spec today? If so post it here
Scobblelotcher said:
Gearboxes are a known weakness, the 5 speed was always suspect and with the amount of abuse these cars suffer it’s inevitable lots of boxes get broken.
The later 6 speed if very strong which is why many classics have been converted. It’s not cheap but it does work.
If I were you I’d want the box to be diagnosed by gearbox specialist and fixed. I wouldn’t want another 2nd hand box added as it may also be abused and close to a failure too.
Did you know it had a broken box before driving it? If not I’d wonder what else the car maybe hiding. Rust and engine problems would be my main concerns.
Did you find out the spec today? If so post it here
Interesting to note, probably explains why the box felt so mechanical. Wouldn't touch it in that case really. It's funny, just as I was getting in to drive it he said these exact words to me "Rev it out in 1st then change to 3rd because 2nd doesn't work", he did say it hadn't been thrashed, as I heard him redline it as he arrived The later 6 speed if very strong which is why many classics have been converted. It’s not cheap but it does work.
If I were you I’d want the box to be diagnosed by gearbox specialist and fixed. I wouldn’t want another 2nd hand box added as it may also be abused and close to a failure too.
Did you know it had a broken box before driving it? If not I’d wonder what else the car maybe hiding. Rust and engine problems would be my main concerns.
Did you find out the spec today? If so post it here
It's a base spec like my old family 2000 Turbo, no air con, plastic door handles. I'll link the advert for you to take a look, it was really the price that justified the slight tattyness, but as much as I want a project, I just don't have the room or the time to swap out the box, and it takes away the point if I have my mechanic do it.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/subaru/subaru-impreza-2....
I had one for 10 years.
They're meant to be serviced every 7.5k.
If they haven't been changed by now, then the rocker cover gaskets will probably need done.
MaF sensors don't like non standard air filters or Induction kits.
I has to reckon my gearbox at around 60k. The sincromesh went on second gear.
As already mentioned, rear arches are very prone to rust, as is the rear bumper bar. I had to replace mine. Front fog light mounting also turn to dust.
At this age, bushes and suspension will need a refresh if not already done.
They are now old cars and will need looking after.
They're meant to be serviced every 7.5k.
If they haven't been changed by now, then the rocker cover gaskets will probably need done.
MaF sensors don't like non standard air filters or Induction kits.
I has to reckon my gearbox at around 60k. The sincromesh went on second gear.
As already mentioned, rear arches are very prone to rust, as is the rear bumper bar. I had to replace mine. Front fog light mounting also turn to dust.
At this age, bushes and suspension will need a refresh if not already done.
They are now old cars and will need looking after.
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