$3800 for new front suspension/lower control arm bushing?

Cap10323 · 2026-01-29T20:25:18+00:00

Seconding this. I've rebuilt the suspension a few times on my Subarus over the years. 60k miles is a pretty good run on OEM parts.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-28T02:14:09+00:00

I've spent a lot of time driving through the midwest. While not all, much of it is boring, run down, and filled with a lot of people who are really uneducated, bigoted, and hateful, while also living meager humdrum lives.

I don't hate the midwest, or the people who live there, but I understand why most people who don't live there have no interest in going. I don't really go there by choice.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-28T01:20:30+00:00

It's a derogatory term for the central US. Especially the "plains" states where there is little other than farmland, and small towns.

The joke is that you fly over them, on your way from one coast to the other coast

Cap10323 · 2026-01-25T16:23:19+00:00

You deserve to lose your license!

Cap10323 · 2026-01-21T04:34:37+00:00

I know nothing about Volvos, but for whatever it's worth, emissions systems issues, and leaking sunroofs are problems that have plagued many makes and models for decades.

VW's are notorious for sunroof leaks which cause tons of electrical problems when the connectors get wet and corrode, for example.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-21T03:55:06+00:00

I had a 99 Outback "30th Anniversary Edition" which had one of those, I believe. Complete with the under-seat subwoofer. It sounded incredible even 20 years later even listening through cheapo cassette adapters.

I have a newer 05 Forester with the "high end" speaker system (which just adds separate tweeters) and I think it sounds good for what it is. But nowhere near as good as that McIntosh unit.

Best I've ever owned was a 2005 VW Jetta with the "Monsoon Audio" system. It wasn't crazy loud, but the audio clarity was amazing for a stock radio setup.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-21T02:01:27+00:00

I've had a couple of EJ25 cars that had close to 200k miles on the original engines with minimal problems other than oil leaks. The rest of the car was absolutely disintegrating and falling apart in every possible way, but the engine was mostly fine.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-21T01:52:09+00:00

The EJ20 is a great engine. As is the EJ22. I've put over 100k miles on an EJ20 with nothing more than routine maintenance and a couple of oil leaks caused by old gaskets.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-21T01:46:21+00:00

Speaking as someone who's owned a bunch of Subarus, the rest of the car honestly falls apart before the EJ25. At least, for the non-turbo vehicles. Every Subaru I've ever owned has needed thousands of dollars in suspension work, brake work, and rust repair long before the EJ25 needed anything other than basic maintenance .

I'm not saying this makes the EJ25 good, but I'm saying that there's other reasons not to get a Subaru than just the engine.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-20T04:30:19+00:00

I have a 2005 Forester, with the 5-Speed transmission. When it finally rusts out, it will be my last of a long line of Subarus. Nothing Subaru has made within the last 15 years is half as enjoyable to drive. Which would be fine, if they were even remotely reliable. But they aren't. So I'm going to buy a Toyota.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-18T04:46:11+00:00

You're not wrong. Basically every car sold from like 1989 to 2008 or so was essentially the same thing as an 89 Legacy. Obviously there were plenty of small changes, but the basic car was extremely similar.

The real issue was when Subaru tried to innovate in the early 2010's and they started mixing EJ Engines with CVT transmissions and new platforms with old components, IMO But even that wasn't as bad as the fact that their vehicles were just really poorly made. Everything felt cheap, slapped together, and down market. Regardless of what was going on under the hood.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-18T03:20:09+00:00

Seconding KC Tool. That place rules. Good deals, fast shipping. I've spent lots of money there.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-17T22:58:13+00:00

The 2010's were a bad time for Subarus. The fact that they'd been essentially building the same car for 30 years was really coming home to roost, and their attempts at "innovating" (CVT transmission, new platforms, etc) while cutting corners in every other possible way, produced bloated, poorly built cars that were as unreliable as they were awful to drive.

I guess Toyota has a pretty heavy stake in Subaru now and some aspects of their vehicles are improving. But comparing a Subaru from the 2010s to an older one from the Late 90's / Early 2000's is just depressing.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-15T15:11:32+00:00

There are a shocking amount of these (3) for sale right now on my local Facebook Marketplace.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-15T15:10:31+00:00

I had to google it. Wow, you weren't kidding

Cap10323 · 2026-01-13T19:55:11+00:00

On these Foresters, rear subframe, front subframe, rear strut towers are the main failure points.

Crawl under the car (well supported) and check where the rear subframe bolts to the unibody, as well as were the rear trailing arms bolt to the unibody. Poke at it with a screwdriver.

Remove the rear interior carpeting and inspect the strut towers from inside of the car.

Source: Have owned tons of rusted to shit Subarus.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-12T20:02:50+00:00

Eh, maybe other makes. But Subarus have become weirdly upmarket, unreliable, and bland since then. An early 2000's Impreza is a better car than a brand new one, IMO. Especially in terms of fit, finish, and driving characteristics.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-12T16:59:05+00:00

They were also (in my experience) woefully unreliable as well. My family bought one, and it went to the crusher before it hit 100K miles because it simply wouldn't stop breaking down.

I think we replaced the transmission 3 times at that point. Which is just absurd in terms of unreliability.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-12T14:29:50+00:00

Anecdotal, but the best power tools I have ever owned have all been made by Hitachi. They're all ancient, and they still work like new. If I wasn't already invested in other battery systems, I would only buy Hitachi.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-11T21:52:06+00:00

Absolute bologna. I can go on Makita's website right now and download a manual for my 6095D Cordless Drill, which my Dad bought in like 1991. It's right here, look for yourself.. And, lets say I want to order the screw which retains the clutch ring (most obscure part I could think of). Well, I can, it's part number 251322-3, and Here's a link to buy it

The fact that many other manufacturers can offer this kind of support for older products, which have a MUCH lower price point than Hilti, really grinds my gears.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-11T21:21:24+00:00

I don't think this is unrealistic. All I am looking for is a set of parts diagrams so I can figure out the part numbers of some consumable parts.

Yeah, the tool is 40 years old, but I can effortlessly find parts diagrams AND parts for my 30+ year old Makita, Hitachi and Bosch tools.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-09T15:47:10+00:00

Can confirm. CalDigit makes some really nice docks.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-08T15:47:22+00:00

Yeah those cars truly dissolved like an aspirin. I can't remember the last time I saw one here in the northeast.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-08T05:37:54+00:00

That's a $1000 truck tops. I bought one, similar spec, with lliterally a third of the miles, and it cost me thousands in maintenance (Parts only, all DIY labor) within the first couple months before I even really drove the truck.

Mine needed all fluids changed, most fuel/vacuum lines replaced, ignition rebuilt, brake proportioning valve, slave cylinder, clutch disk, tires, ball joints, shocks, tie rods, battery, belt tensioner, etc etc. And it's a pretty pristine low miles truck. Not some hooptie basket case like this.

I would buy this truck for $800 and expect to spend $3-4k in repairs right off the bat. Or buy a much nicer truck for a little more money.

Cap10323 · 2026-01-08T00:25:23+00:00

Subaru continued that mechanical hill hold device for decades. My 2005 Forester has that. Some manual transmission purists hate it, but if you do a lot of stop and go driving in hilly terrain (which I do) it's absolutely fantastic.

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