Common Forester rust spots

matdaymon

matdaymon

Forum Member
Joined
May 16, 2015
Messages
86
Location
New Zealand
Car Year
NA
Car Model
1997 SF5A Forester T/TB
Transmission
4EAT
Hi,
Firstly apologies if this has been covered already - I couldn't find anything that seemed to cover it in a quick search.

Anyway - It's been a while since I've owned a Foz (too long) and don't have any experience with rust in them.
Are there any common places to look out for rust? I already suspect the boot hatch area at the top but other than that where should I be looking?
Here's the car I've got my eye on and it looks pretty good in the pics.

Cheers in advance.
 
Gidday Mat

Looks like a nice clean unit.

Check in the spare wheel well ... look for signs of submersion/water entry there.
Has the car spent its life in a snow prone area?

Grovel under the car and look for signs of misuse - dings, bent seams, sump.

Check all suspension bushings.

Rock each wheel vigorously horizontally and vertically checking for movement or clunking noises.

Check ownership and service history very carefully, specially with a turbo.

Check that the auto performs flawlessly, and for oil colour/level.

Potential big ticket items (apart from rust/paint work ... ) are turbo, engine and auto tranny.

Get them checked by an expert if in any doubt.

Check what's under those seat covers ...

Hope this helps a bit. Looks like a lot of car for a very cheap price ... :poke: :biggrin:.
 
Thanks Ratbag,
I'm lucky to have very good contacts and friends (one is a Subaru mechanic so will see if I can bring him along) so should be ok on mechanical stuff - EJ20G turbo motors go for around $500 here in NZ, same with the auto box. :biggrin:

Thanks heaps for the inspection advice - if I'm lucky I can russle up the cash before someone realizes what a potential good deal that Foz is!
 
It does look like a good deal. Almost too good to be true ...

That having been said, when I bought Roo2, the dealer gave me $2,000 for Roo1 (93 Impreza 5 door AWD) then put it back on the market for $6,000!

Glad you have some expert mates. See if you can arrange purchase subject to inspection by one of them.
 
Look at bottom of rear quarter panels as well
 
So far, after 330000 kms and 13 years, no obvious rust yet apart from some small stone chips.
It gets washed about once or twice a year, if lucky, and rarely used on a beach, except for Fraser twice a few years ago.
In comparison my old MY80 was a rust bucket at 250000 kms and 13 years but it did get a fair bit of beach use in the NT.
Subarus have come a long way with rustproofing methinks.
 
Kevin said:
Look at bottom of rear quarter panels as well
Click to expand...

Would that be around and under the rear bumper, Kevin?

@ateday - seems so, my last Subaru was an 89 BC5 Legacy I'd picked up for $500. Looked good until I pulled out the headlights and popped off the A-pillar trims... don't know what was holding the roof on on that thing.

I remember my Foz (oh-mighty DeForester how I miss thee) was mint and the only place it has any kind of rust was where I'd reversed into a tree and scraped some paint off.
 
Mat, from the '93 Impreza and similar models onwards, Subaru went to extreme lengths to get rid of the rust problems that the L series were and are renowned for ...

These included:

All structural elements galvanised where possible;

Skin/panels made from rust-resistant steel;

All internal components heavily rust proofed and painted;

Sprayed high melting point wax into the interstices of all body components.

The only place where my '93 Impreza got metal moths was around the windscreen where the idiots who replaced the screen at around 10 y.o. damaged the paint ...
 
matdaymon said:
Would that be around and under the rear bumper, Kevin?
Click to expand...

Yes, on the sides and look inside the car into the rear quarter panels as well. If you can't see anything, feel in there with your hand and you'll soon tell if it's wet or rusty or if they have a pet snake! :lol:

Mine have been wet before but no problem.
 
Kevin said:
Yes, on the sides and look inside the car into the rear quarter panels as well. If you can't see anything, feel in there with your hand and you'll soon tell if it's wet or rusty or if they have a pet snake! :lol:

Mine have been wet before but no problem.
Click to expand...

Haha thanks Kevin, thankfully no snakes on this side of the Tasman :cool: just creepy crawlies like Weta and spiders *shudders*.

Hopefully it'll be dry - my BF7 I bought post Forester was filled with vile brown smelly water in those quarter panel cavities :puke:


All booked in to inspect it with one of my handy mates on Saturday so I'll let you guys know how I get on with it.

Thanks for all the advice.

Mat
 
Bottom of rear tailgate, little holes to let water drain clog up and rust out from the inside. Don't get an sf with a spoiler it will have rust around this area
 
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