New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

General talk about the Subaru Baja.

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DADDY
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New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by DADDY »

So I found a killer deal on an 05 turbo M/T with 50k miles.. It's roughly 600 miles away and I'll be flying there soon to pick it up and drive it home. Is their something I should have the dealership check before I leave? Any fluids that would other wise need attention? Or some kind of service that is recommended by owners. Thanks for any replies I look forward to getting to know everyone.Image

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roywitty312
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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by roywitty312 »

Everything under the hood should look dry and leak free I'd also try listening for any shaft play in the turbo.


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DADDY
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Re: RE: Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by DADDY »

roywitty312 wrote:Everything under the hood should look dry and leak free I'd also try listening for any shaft play in the turbo.


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Good to know, what about this banjo bolt I keep hearing about? Timing belt?

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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by Guacamole »

[spits out drink] 600 Miles??? And I thought 200mi for mine was wild.
So I have an NA, & don't know too much about the turbos or the specific parts they use, so take my 2c with a grain of salt.
Here we go
The banjo bolt is a type of filter inside a bolt that's fitted to the turbo oil-feed line. Apparently, the screen filter inside the bolt gets easily clogged from neglect. Some threads from here & other Subie forums have suggested to just outright remove the screen filter.
(see thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3315&p=18561)

According to official Subie manuals, the timing belt should be replaced every 105k miles. The belts are behind a plastic cover on the bottom-front of the motor which is also partially hidden by the rock guard underneath the front of the car, so you probably won't be able to see those, but they're probably fine at ~50k miles.

Some side maintenance stuff:
Oil should be replaced every 3k miles.
Though they don't fail as often as the NA's, keep an eye around the seam between the motor block & head for any seepage- this will indicate a failed head gasket & if left unchecked could result in complete engine failure. Keep in mind though- the gasket failure on these is generally caused by usage + negligence (though some oddballs do occur, mostly on NAs... basically don't worry about it until later).

Definitely suggest what Roy posted, also I'd check if the fluids are filled to the appropriate levels, especially the oil & coolant reservoir.
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DADDY
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Re: RE: Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

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Guacamole wrote:[spits out drink] 600 Miles??? And I thought 200mi for mine was wild.
So I have an NA, & don't know too much about the turbos or the specific parts they use, so take my 2c with a grain of salt.
Here we go
The banjo bolt is a type of filter inside a bolt that's fitted to the turbo oil-feed line. Apparently, the screen filter inside the bolt gets easily clogged from neglect. Some threads from here & other Subie forums have suggested to just outright remove the screen filter.
(see thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3315&p=18561)

According to official Subie manuals, the timing belt should be replaced every 105k miles. The belts are behind a plastic cover on the bottom-front of the motor which is also partially hidden by the rock guard underneath the front of the car, so you probably won't be able to see those, but they're probably fine at ~50k miles.

Some side maintenance stuff:
Oil should be replaced every 3k miles.
Though they don't fail as often as the NA's, keep an eye around the seam between the motor block & head for any seepage- this will indicate a failed head gasket & if left unchecked could result in complete engine failure. Keep in mind though- the gasket failure on these is generally caused by usage + negligence (though some oddballs do occur, mostly on NAs... basically don't worry about it until later).

Definitely suggest what Roy posted, also I'd check if the fluids are filled to the appropriate levels, especially the oil & coolant reservoir.
Got a friend that lives there that I haven't seen, so this is kinda a 2 part trip. It's currently going through an inspection, fluids are going to be checked, changed, and topped off.they understand my lengthy drive back home so they assured me they would check it thoroughly. I just didn't know if their was something specific that people knew about that I should be worried about. Once I get it back home I can get to wrenching and taking care of repairs and mods. I'm not shy with a wrench.

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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by Guacamole »

Most of the stuff you'll have to worry about is after 100k miles, but just remember the golden rule: Love your Subie & it'll love you back. :D
Best of luck to you!
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Re: RE: Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by DADDY »

Guacamole wrote:Most of the stuff you'll have to worry about is after 100k miles, but just remember the golden rule: Love your Subie & it'll love you back. :D
Best of luck to you!
Good to know brotha, I'm excited. I've always been a subaru fan, I've always been a wanted an sti wrx, but the baja has been a very close 2nd favorite. Glad I finally got one.

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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by roywitty312 »

I could be wrong here but I think:
The banjo bolt is a bolt on the lower side of the turbo that sometimes gets clogged or just goes bad and starves the turbo of the necessary amount of oil.


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DADDY
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Re: RE: Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by DADDY »

roywitty312 wrote:I could be wrong here but I think:
The banjo bolt is a bolt on the lower side of the turbo that sometimes gets clogged or just goes bad and starves the turbo of the necessary amount of oil.


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That's my understanding too. Little filter in there gets clogged and just like you said starves the turbo. People are saying to dig that little filter out, replace the crushwasher and button it back up for an easy fix... might just do that in the parking lot lol

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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by BajaTim »

Keep in mind that service intervals are based on mileage AND/OR time...e.g., belts, some fluids, ...


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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by kamesama980 »

While you will probably OK, do plan an the t-belt and other soft goods (belts, hoses, seals). while the miles may be low, time is just as big a killer of cars. I've seen (and owned) enough old cars to say I'd rather buy a 20 year old car with 250k miles with maintenance records (or at least evidence) than one with 50k miles and all original parts... or at least I'd value them not far apart and plan on going through the one with lower miles sooner.
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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by deanrocker »

I won on EBay for $6200 an 06 Baha Turbo MT with 143k. Wondering if that's a good deal. Do you mind stating how much you paid? PM me at drock1331@hotmail.com if you prefer.
Thanks.
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Re: New owner making a 600 mile trip back home with first baja.

Post by kamesama980 »

Guacamole wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:52 pm Most of the stuff you'll have to worry about is after 100k miles, but just remember the golden rule: Love your Subie & it'll love you back. :D
Best of luck to you!
I strongly disagree. Most maintenance periods are miles or years whichever comes first. I've seen more cars (and even have one) ruined by lack of use with low miles than maintained high miles.

50k is low enough to maybe have the original tires, do you think those are as good as new ones? belts and hoses are made from rubber too and degrade. Fluids absolutely degrade over time when not properly stored (in the engine is not proper storage). Parts suffer more from short trips, not being allowed to heat up all the way: the engine was designed to fit together best at operating temp.
-Russell
"You don't get to judge me for how I fix what you break"
03 sport 5mt
05 turbo 5mt vf39 and other STI bits, 3" turbo-back
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