Yello

I had it pressure tested in Kaikoura and all was well (Kaikoura Auto Centre - great guys), they noticed a fair bit of coolant staining around the radiator which must have spilt there during the previous work. Drove from their down to Wanaka and continued to have no issues so confident we're all good. Keeping a close eye on the coolant levels just incase there is a very minor pinhole leak missed on the pressure test but looks fine at the moment. Surprised it lasted so long still giving off a bit of a smell but I guess coolant is made of stubborn stuff.

Sadly that was in Auckland, I'm now in Kaikoura! Going to see the local place here first thing tomorrow to look at getting a pressure test done before the rest of my drive (another 600km)...I could do with some peace of mind. It's possible I've lost a cm or so out of coolant reservoir but not 100% sure. If I've lost coolant out of the reservoir it's not an enormous amount. I've been keeping a close eye on it when the engine is both cold and hot. The smell is coming from the engine bay, I've had a sniff around the exhaust a couple of times and not noted it there, which fits with the exhaust/emission test coming back all fine the other day. Also still no change to fluid quality so a couple of plusses. My thoughts are as follows: 1) There's a slow leak somewhere 2) The coolant level is a little high and it's pushing out of the overflow tank, however I can't see evidence of this around the tank. The level looks to be a bit above the full line when cold so it's a possibility I guess, but the level in the tank has never been near the top even when the engine is at running temp. 3) It's still burning off spilt coolant, but as you say Raydeo, it's been nearly 900km now this seems extremely unlikely.

I believe so but I didn't watch them do it and it wasn't a trusted garage that I know well (not to say it was necessarily a bad one). So I'll say unconfirmed on that one. Demons indeed Percy! After the original issue I'm mr paranoia right now haha

Hey guys. I recently picked up a 3.0r 04 legacy. Shortly after picking it up I had a problem with the coolant system due to trapped air, car temp just ran into red but I got it off the road fairly quickly with no steam/smoke/unexpected shut down and I was able to naturally cool the engine. I had the system bled and refilled and run extensively at the shop to make sure there was no more air trapped. They also did an exhaust/emissions test and all was normal. Since then I've driven 700km (in two days) without any performance issues or unusual engine behaviour, no overheating etc so all seems good. No cross contamination of fluids and coolant/radiator levels have stayed normal. There doesn't appear to be any leak under the hood either or anything like that. However I'm still occasionally getting a sweet kinda smell. I've let it idle and I've walked around it and not noticed a smell, but a few times I've pulled up at lights and could smell it a bit so not much consistency. The most noticeable smell was when I was stopped on a slight incline and could smell it with windows closed, I also got a fair bit of steam coming from the exhaust at that point (it was a cold morning, engine had about 30mins running and steam stopped when I changed out of neutral to continue driving). Other times I've noticed it when I've opened a window or got out the car. I've got another 500km ish to drive in the next two days. Any thoughts?

Ok great, thanks very much for your thoughts guys. It seems I may have to reconsider my beliefs on the 3.0. I'll be potentially driving an hour to and from work each day on hilly roads, so with the fuel economy I think perhaps I was over simplifying it a bit. The 2.0 would probably have to put a fair bit of effort in during that drive compared to the 3.0! I'll most likely be looking imports in Auckland which will have a service history in Japanese. What kind of things should I be expecting to see having already been done for a car around 100,000km? Is there any major servicing work due around that distance? If I'm looking at the 3.0 at least there's no concern about a cam belt change!

I was going based solely on fuel consumption really. The 3.0 runs off a cam chain right? So yeah that would definitely be a bonus.

Thanks for the advice, would you base that on a simply a preference or because the engine is really tip top in comparison? Obviously I know it's going to have it's advantages performance wise, but combined with reliability, would the benefits outweigh the additional running cost?

I've earmarked the 05-06 Forester, and similar years for a Legacy/Legacy Outback with around 100,000km on the clock as a realistic price bracket for me. Specifically I've been looking at: 05-06 Forester, 2 litre auto 05-07 Legacy Wagon, 2 litre auto 04-06 Outback, 2.5 litre auto (aware the EJ25 engine might have head gasket issues at some stage) 04-06 Outback, 3 litre H6 boxer auto (love the car but appreciate higher running costs will be a factor) If anyone can give me any information on things I should be looking at when I'm viewing/test driving cars, I'd very much appreciate it. For example, for cars around 100,000km on the clock, what kind of major servicing work should have been done already or will likely need to be done in the very near future? I'm looking to buy around the Auckland area so if you know of any reputable second hand dealers and/or places to avoid feel free to let me know!