Looking to buy '98 Liberty.... What to look for??

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:43 am

been a while since ive been here, but i will admit i did leave the subie family for a while as i got rid of the brumby for an XR8 at the end of 2008.... BUT!!! Im looking to return for some more subie lovin and im lookin at buying a 1998 SUBARU LIBERTY 2GEN MY98 RX AWD.... geez thats a mouthful lol:p

The XR8 spat a gearbox today (same day i looked at the Liberty, must be jelous lol) so definatly keen for the upgrade

Car looks great for its age, low kays @ 148000 (ave 12,300km a yr) and looks to be an upper spec model, with the fog lamps, power everything, air, P/S, Cruise, woodgrain dash etc and 2.5lt 4cyl (not sure what type of motor, EJ25 im guessing?), auto, velour trim, 15" alloy wheels. looks exactly the same as this pic but just different alloys

Can someone offer any info on what to look out for during the test drive, any rust/structural issues, anything to do with the AWD system etc etc.... so far all my research on these cars is flawless with great reviews which makes me excited about hopefully getting it....

look forward to the replys, cheers

valerian · Post by **valerian** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:23 am

I got an Outback 1997. I read that the series was prone to have the head gaskets blown (this relates to the 2.5 liter engine common to Liberty as well).

I've also read that those engines have piston slap/valve lash which means an irregular noise during the first 5 minutes until the engine gets hot. My car had it. I discovered it only after my car mechanic checked and approved the car and I bought it. What happened I brought the hot car to him for inspection, and he could not discover the notorious piston slap (or was that valve lash ?). Anyway, this condition is said not to affect the performance of engine or its longevity.

daza · Post by **daza** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:39 am

At 148000 it will have had the Head Gaskets done, but it would pay to confirm this.
Other than that just the usual used car checks.
Daza.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 3:30 pm

Check the service history for headgaskets! its a common problem with EJ25 (yes late RX Liberty has EJ25 engines)
Rust - you wont find a place but i do have seen some rusty ones only if it lived near beaches or road salt!
if that kilometres - its nothing mate.
Cheers
AP

INEEDABEER · Post by **INEEDABEER** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:09 pm

Don't forget about the cam belts as well,if that goes the whole lot goes.

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:34 pm

Yeh checking log books tomorrow and will look for timing belt change date and will look for anything regarding head gaskets.

If neither has been done, anyone recommend a subie workshop on the gold coast and possible idea of cost?? Be stoked to find out both been done already tho

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 1:02 am

well so far everything seems to check out....except one thing happened on the test drive.... the check engine light came on:(... mainly under acceleration (not always tho) and also stayed on whilst going around a big round about til i turned off it... but that kinda symptom seems like low oil but we checked it and its fine... so any pointers?

the car salesman said he will have his mechanics look at the problem and will also be getting the car looked over by my own mechanic

ive asked a couple of people and looked up a couple of sites, seems the MAF sensor sometimes plays up?? anyone had a similar symptom on their car or, if i goto a subaru workshop will the computer show a fault code in the memory each time the check engine light shows up?

besides this light showing, the car drove and performed flawless...

INEEDABEER · Post by **INEEDABEER** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:01 pm

The O2 sensor might be gone too.Any good mechanic will have diagnostic tool which will show the fault.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:01 pm

INEEDABEER wrote:The O2 sensor might be gone too.Any good mechanic will have diagnostic tool which will show the fault.

Sometime it doesnt pick up! (I dunno why!)
Cheers
AP

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:46 am

thanks guys.... about to finalise the sale this week and the caryard is getting the mechanic to check the fault and also sending the car to my mechanic too just to be sure.

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:41 am

all checked out, should be picking it up tomorrow

Anyone recommend a good service book like a gregorys etc? cheers

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:38 pm

Sweet... show pics when you have it...
I have both Gregs and Hynes, both are okay depending on what you want to do on your subaru. Also have Subaru workshop manuals as well.
Cheers
AP

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 6:48 pm

well got the car home, will post up some pics in a day or so...

Took it on a road trip this weekend upto glass house mountains... car went really well but, a little PITA thing happened which i understood the caryard sorted.... the check engine light came back on a few times on the trip up and back...

the light mainly came on under light throttle situations and when the car was in cruise control, happened most when going from 100kmh to 110kmh, where only need a light amount of throttle.... and when the light comes on, feels like the engine is sputtering and looses a lot of power when under load whilst the light is on too... at a guess im assuming it could be either the MAF sensor, O2 sensor or the TPS, but im only guessing here..... Any suggestions???

Besides this, i got the car a little cheaper cause the caryard wouldnt do a new timing belt, so @ 150000 im gunna do a major service so i know everything is upto date and go from there... The car drove really nice tho on the trip, everything works great and happy with the purchase, just a shame about these couple of niggly issues...

Can anyone recommend where i can get the fault codes checked on the Gold Coast? my mechanic says he has to call a bloke in to get diagnostics done so i may aswell just take it to a place myself

any info be appreciated like always, cheers

INEEDABEER · Post by **INEEDABEER** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:31 pm

Try somewhere like Ultra tune even they will have,you could always buy one from ebay also.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:59 pm

You could do the fault codes yourself, heres the link -
error codes
parts are easily found over ebay (ive brought them from America) or retail stores...
Cheers
AP

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:12 pm

AlpineRaven wrote:You could do the fault codes yourself, heres the link -
error codes
parts are easily found over ebay (ive brought them from America) or retail stores...
Cheers
AP

Thanks AP!

i just did the error code check, only had to plug in 2 black connectors together tho, but soon as i did the check engine light flashed so i assume i did it right.... flashed up code 22, knock sensor or circuit... is this an easy fix and where is the knock sensor located??

Im not telling the caryard that i know what the fault is yet.... they awaiting a "scanner" to check for any faults, and i can already see what they will do... they will wipe off any error codes and say "we didnt find any faults" then i will hit them with what i found and get them to sort it... but if S%^T hits the fan, like to know if its a fix i can do without any special tools etc

thanks a lot for the help again guys... starting to enjoy my new toy more n more

Post by **TOONGA** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:35 pm

this place may come in handy for factory service manuals

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... ual_scans/

or this page has manuals as well

http://ken-gilbert.com/impreza-manuals

TOONGA

subie_1st_timer · Post by **subie_1st_timer** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:55 am

well still no word back from this car yard about replacing this knock sensor or checking the faults with their "scanner"... not happy about that i tell ya.

I have noticed tho that since i been running the car on BP ultimate (which i do with any car i own) that the check engine light has since stopped comming up and for the last 5 days or so it hasnt come up at all and the car been running beautifully!!!

would it be possible that the car may have had stale fuel when i got it and had detonation issues which caused the check engine light to show and the ECU logged a knock sensor fault? (hope that made sense) cause ive noticed the car starting to run a lot better already with the Premium 98 octane fuel and no check engine light!!.... So should i still hassle the car yard to replace the knock sensor?

Oh also.... the fog lamps in the front bar... there seem to be 2 lights each side but only the small round ones work, are the outer ones just cosmetic or something cause i cant even see a bulb for em? Its nothing major just thought id ask lol

Guess the other niggly issue is the hard to read fan/ac digital readout, especially in the day and if i have the lights on or if its raining during the day, the readout goes really dull, like almost blacks out, same as the radio (which dont bother me as its being replaced) but its hard to read and distracting to fiddle cause i cant see the readout, could this be an alternator issue not sending out enough current?

Cheers

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:50 pm

subie_1st_timer wrote:well still no word back from this car yard about replacing this knock sensor or checking the faults with their "scanner"... not happy about that i tell ya.

I have noticed tho that since i been running the car on BP ultimate (which i do with any car i own) that the check engine light has since stopped comming up and for the last 5 days or so it hasnt come up at all and the car been running beautifully!!!

would it be possible that the car may have had stale fuel when i got it and had detonation issues which caused the check engine light to show and the ECU logged a knock sensor fault? (hope that made sense) cause ive noticed the car starting to run a lot better already with the Premium 98 octane fuel and no check engine light!!.... So should i still hassle the car yard to replace the knock sensor?

Oh also.... the fog lamps in the front bar... there seem to be 2 lights each side but only the small round ones work, are the outer ones just cosmetic or something cause i cant even see a bulb for em? Its nothing major just thought id ask lol

Guess the other niggly issue is the hard to read fan/ac digital readout, especially in the day and if i have the lights on or if its raining during the day, the readout goes really dull, like almost blacks out, same as the radio (which dont bother me as its being replaced) but its hard to read and distracting to fiddle cause i cant see the readout, could this be an alternator issue not sending out enough current?

Cheers

Yeah possible that the fuel has gone off hence giving you problems...

Fog Lights - the inner ones are fogs and the outside are lights for indicators when your turning.
Cheers
AP