Flapjack and falconquest,
Thanks for the heads up on the Subaru and specifically Forester problems. I will keep an eye on those issues and some other ones I have heard about. I have had two Hondas and one Toyota and really like those brands as well. I think it can be helpful to share stories and experiences about cars without bickering.... such sharing can be useful.
Always check the ground wires on the older subarus. Always change the batteries out due to a lightweight level of alternator assist.
What happens is that the revs drop, the car draws from the battery instead of the alternator, so every drop to idle is like a start cycle pressure on the battery. This causes premature wear on the battery.
the not perfect ground wiring, combined with the pressure on the now weak battery/flow system... causes a electrical potential differential to arise in the antifreeze and causes a shift in it’s ph.
It’s a wet sump motor type, so it is always sitting in it’s fluids. The altered pH of the anti-freeze will begin to dissolve the seals.
also, the slight bit of slippage of carbon (burnt fuel) around the rings will change the acidity of the oil, and the engine, unlike most others out there, sits in it’s oil, when not operating. So the oil goes acidic, like all oil does in time, and then you get the oil eating it’s seals. In this case, it eats the lower half of the head gaskets. (where the sitting oil contacts it)
So, check grounds, change batteries, make sure idle is good, and change oil as often as the maintenance schedule asks you to.
The motor is fundamentally air rated, so it’s not all bad. But air rated engines need to survive in the air and have severe maintenance schedules and testing, not sit around and be essentially ignored.... and do 300k miles over 10 years, like in a car.