Considering buying a 2005 Turbo

General talk about the Subaru Baja.

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SirNibbles
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Considering buying a 2005 Turbo

Post by SirNibbles »

I found a 2005 Turbo (AT) for sale with some scrapes, missing cladding on the driver door, and a broken windshield. Overall, it doesn't look too bad from the pictures. It's been sitting on the dealer's lot for nearly two years now so, combined with the fact that it has quite a bit of cosmetic damage and 150,000 miles I reckon it's possible to make a somewhat low-ball offer on it.

That being said, I've never had a Baja, nor any Subaru, and was wondering if it's worth it (with all the problems it's likely to have) if I could get it for around $3,000.

I've done some research on common problems. Have I missed anything big?

1. Head gasket leaks: supposedly not an issue on the 2005 turbos.
2. Banjo bolt/oil filter clogging and destroying the turbo: should be easy to take care of by simply following the guides online to replace it and changing the oil before I try to nurse it home.
3. Oil separator plate: post-2001 they should all be metal, so no issues as far as I'm aware.

Based on how long it's been sitting, I'd expect to have to drop the fuel tank and probably replace the fuel pump. I'm also expecting it to need a new battery and new fluids across the board. What else should I be wary of, or what maintenance should I expect to do once I get it home?

Thanks.
ramrodzergy
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Re: Considering buying a 2005 Turbo

Post by ramrodzergy »

I have a 2005 turbo manual, replacing banjo bolt is a good idea, make sure its the right one, I read somewhere where the 2005 didn't have a screen and the one I found didn't however replacing the turbo a second time I found the one with a screen, (second turbo was actually the original after replacing the core) I picked up a used one off ebay to replace the first one after it failed and I think it was on its last legs(lasted 3k miles), anyways, another thing i would replace immediately is the Turbo oil return hose that's what killed my turbo it got brittle and fell to pieces causing oil loss and subsequently destroying the turbo, this occurred a few years ago at about 120k miles, part # 807515712 (assuming automatic is same) about 10$
I more or less reinstalled this after replacing the turbo but a pain in the A, so should be able to do it without pulling out the turbo however I left the bottom clamp off. quick oilc hange would be good and keep a close eye on the oil level, if you hear chirping the turbos out of oil. I use
Veepeak Mini Bluetooth OBD2 / VP11 to keep an eye on my turbo, pair it with your phone and down load torque lite and you can read the boost. it runs a vacuum until you feed it some gas, you could also use this to see if the turbos good before you buy it, my replacement core cost about 300$ from midwest turbo, if you do your own work this is likely the best route if it does have a bad turbo, (you could use that in negotiations if you see its bad) new turbo minimum 1k and considerably more if installed by a dealer.

Hoses, if you have the time replace em all, recently replaced turbo oil return line turbo to inter cooler hose, inter cooler to intake manifold hose, power steering intake hose several vacuum line hoses, there all getting brittle, also replaced the high line ac hose when I redid my ac system( ac compressor sized up).
also check the CV Axle boots, just put new boots on mine both front inner boots were torn, no degradation of the joints that I found and I know 1 boots been torn for years, i did the replacement when installing new front wheel bearings, 1 was shot other was fine, replaced ball joints and controll arm ends as well, they were functional but the rubber covers were shot, only did these because I was doing the bearings anyways.

anyways seems most of my recent issues is all rubber related, I do have some smoke coming from under hood which I know is from some sort of slow oil leak, likely valve cover gaskets, which is one of the next projects ill be looking at.

you will also want to find out if the timing belt has been replaced, think its due at 100k, but its an easy job.

cabin filter probably never changed, you'll want a good shopvac and you'll have to take the glove box off to get to it.

if it was a manual id definitely say it was worth it. I'm not fond of automatics as they generally have more issues hopefully someone can tell you what to look for on the automatic side of things.

here is a screen shot of the maintenance schedule for a Baja.
schedule.png
schedule.png (78.64 KiB) Viewed 19209 times
SirNibbles
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Re: Considering buying a 2005 Turbo

Post by SirNibbles »

Thanks for the advice, ram, and the maintenance schedule.

I'll be sure to replace any hoses and other rubber parts if I do end up buying it, as well as checking the timing belt.

As for it being automatic, that's actually what I wanted. I love my Z31 but having to drive a manual in traffic or when I'm making a run to the shops and there are stoplights is a pain.
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kamesama980
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Re: Considering buying a 2005 Turbo

Post by kamesama980 »

Remember the banjo bolt is a secondary filter. It only fills up if conditions are such that dirt is bypassing the primary oil filter. IE revving on cold start, clogged filter, really bad oil, etc

Correct, the turbos use a MLS head gasket not prone to the external oil leaks the NAs get.
-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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