r/SubaruBaja

I’ve had this beauty for 13 years. About 194000 miles on it now. Timing belt snapped on Sunday and after replacing timing belt it seems engine is severely damaged. I’m thinking I have to part ways with it as I don’t want to pay for an engine swap and am not a mechanic myself to take the time to work on it. Has anyone done it themselves? And also, is anyone looking to buy a Baja in need of an engine swap? I’m thinking I can get a couple grand for it? What do you guys think? It’s in good condition otherwise.

Currently located at a garage in bee cave, Texas outside Austin.

Hi guys!

Now, I know she's a rusty girl, but she's got a pretty face and she's mine. I'm working on it along the way, and I swear one day I'll do something better than a little rust converter. Just trying to buy some time until I can get something else to daily and give the Baja the makeover it deserves. (or find a manual with less rust and this be my parts car. lol)

Anyway, The Check engine light came on about a week ago in my '03 NA Auto with a small EVAP system leak. (code P0442)

I generally understand that that means the gas tank and associated plumbing has an air leak somewhere, so I put it on the ramps and took a peek at said plumbing. There was some rust and flaking on the filler tube, but nothing that felt bad enough to leak air, so I sanded it as best I could and hit it with some rust converter. There was another metal piece that joins a smaller tube to the larger one that goes into the mystery box on the passenger side that was similarly rusty, but still felt pretty solid. (What is that box for? is that where the EVAP sensors live, maybe?)

What I did find were a fair number of crusty flexible hoses that I'm more willing to bet on as the problem.

It's still running great and AFAICT it's not leaking fuel, so while I plan to fix it this summer, I'm not super worried about it, but I wanted to see if someone smarter than me or who's been here before knows a reason I should take care of this more urgently, and if I'm likely on the right track with the hoses being the issue.

Buying a Baja from the west coast….

I’m in PA

I absolutely need to have a 2nd car so that’s why I’m getting the west coast Baja. I love this car but not sure if I should hold onto it and slowly fix the bad, part it out, or sell as whole? However, I also don’t need 3 cars!

This is a 2004 Turbo automatic with 206k miles on the body and 6k on the rebuilt motor

GOOD:
Great seats, only slight tear on drivers seat
No rust except for rear bumper beam (replaceable part)
Replaced engine has only 7k miles on it (turbo)
Tires less than 8k miles
Currently inspected (June 2026)
Runs and drives but unsafe because of brakes
Came with most of the options — heated seats,

BAD:
Undiagnosed brake system problem (fluid leaking) and will need new calipers/rotors/pads
Needs suspension work
Sway bar links, bushings, control arms, trailing arm bushings, etc
Rust on rear bumper beam

I am not mechanically savvy and my husband isn’t confident in his ability to fully deal with the brakes and replace what’s needed for suspension. I only took it to one shop so far but they wouldn’t give me a quote because they couldn’t buy parts needed w/ insurance as required (bumper beam)

Should I hold onto it and slowly fix, then keep it or sell whole? Part it out? Sell as-is whole? Let me know if anyone is interested in anything as well

Recently “upgraded” from an 08 Legacy to an 06 Baja.

Sunroof worked fine when I bought it. Then I took it through a car wash, and now it won’t close (wil open).

Gonna replace the motor switch, but wanted to see if this is normal for the Baja sunroof to not be flush with the roofline when closer.

The left is my Baja. The right is my Legacy. The Legacy sunroof sits flush for-what looks like a tighter seal. There’s almost a quarter inch gap for the Baja (but it looks closed).

Is this normal?

I don’t know what to do :( says it in the title, I really love the car but I don’t have the time or resources to fix her. She really is a beauty though, isn’t she? 2003 automatic, blew a head on the intake side open to selling in Virginia