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rmb2485's 98 Legacy GT


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New to the forum and just picked up a 98 Legacy GT to take over daily driving duties from my Jeep. The Subaru will remain stock for now, but will most likely end up as a toy, like the Jeep did. Build threads are always fun, so this will be the build of my Legacy GT. Any and all comments / advice will be appreciated.

 

 

The car has 170,600 miles on it, needs brakes all around and probably new front axles (or at least new grease and CV boots) and has a few dents and scratches in the ugly green paint but runs and drives like a new car. I spent an hour with the car on a lift, inspecting every inch of it before I bought it and am amazed at how clean, dry and rust-free it is. The carpet needs to be cleaned and all the climate control buttons stick because of eleven years of spilled drinks from the stupid dash cupholders, but the interior is otherwise in good condition.

 

Anyways, here's how she sits today...

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/Legacy%20GT/IMG_0331.jpg

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/Legacy%20GT/IMG_0330.jpg

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/Legacy%20GT/IMG_0333.jpg

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Took apart the cupholder, climate controls and center vents today and cleaned off eleven years of spilled drinks. Before, the climate control buttons didn't release, the vents didn't adjust and the cupholder didn't open. Now, everything works like new. Just used warm water and dish soap and some q-tips and rubbing alcohol and it took about an hour. Taking apart the climate control unit wasn't bad at all if anyone is thinking about doing it.

 

Also found a great deal on Raybestos organic pads and rotors, so I ordered everything for front and rear.

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welcome, and im fairly new to the forum too. i did the whole cupholder and climate control thing too lol. and ill acually be comming to allentown next spring for rallyX. since you already have your offroading toy, once you do start modding the lgt, build as a kinda "fast daily driver." i would recommend starting with the tranny first. dont be like my buddy who has a 2.5rs and build the engine to 350hp with a stock 130k tranny. it now sits in his garage waiting for tranny parts. lol. i use mine for offroading. im not too much of a track racer anymore, i lived in fl all through my late teen yrs so i got that out of my system. this is what i do now

picture.php?albumid=310&pictureid=2189

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Haha...I don't know that my Subaru will be seeing much offroad action. It definitely won't be seeing any mud; one minute playing in the mud means at least an hour of cleaning mud out of places you didn't know mud could reach, so I try to avoid it at all cost and stick to the rocks.

 

My Jeep's build thread is here if anyone is interested. And the obligatory photo...

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/P3160073.jpg

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nice traveling suspension. bypass shocks i assume. and yes, cleanin mud out of places i didnt know it could get indeed. i "thought" i cleaned everthing. and then i put it on a lift and once it was 6ft up. we cleaned out another 20lbs of mud. haha. well, thats not gonna stop me from offroading. i live in ohio and i cant wait to go to my spots when theres 1 to 3ft of snow on the ground. cause plow truck dont go where i go, lol
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I never pass on a chance to show off my toys, so since you mentioned it, here's a nice frame twister flex shot for ya...

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/IMG_0020.jpg

 

 

 

So the next Subaru project is to fix the sunroof shade, which seems to be off the track with some parts rattling around too. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm assuming I'll have to take down the headliner. Anyone ever do this?

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^ nice. lol. when i was little my mom had a wrangler as a dd, a cherokee as a mild offroading adventure vehicle, and a built cj7 as a.......well i guess a sorta rock crawler, but street legal so we didnt have to trailer it to spots. thats when i live in sacramento CA and we live in the hills. sooooooo much fun. as far as your sunroof problem, i just need to vent a bit. the 5 speed ob didnt have that option and im pissed, cause i have this stupid sunglass holder thats too small for sunglasses, it just bends them. so im working on an alturnative use for it. im thinkin about ripping it out completely and putting something "cool but usefull" there
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I only got one alarm remote with this car and the plastic on it is broken, so I ordered one of the inexpensive aftermarket replacement remotes from ebay. Took all of twenty seconds to program it and it works great.

 

For reference, this page has instructions for most (maybe all?) Subaru factory alarm systems, including the CODE system used on my car.

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Nice car! Plans for any mods?

 

Right now, the only work I'm doing to this car is to fix the problems it currently has and to keep it a reliable daily driver. I got it pretty cheap so the plan is to take care of it and try to get a few years of service out of it with only scheduled maintenance. At that point I figure it won't owe me anything, so if it somehow turns into a track toy I won't be upset. :lol:

 

My work list right now includes:

-Replace front and rear brakes (new pads and rotors are sitting on my work bench)

-Replace front axles, or hopefully just grease and CV boots

-Flush and refill all fluids

-Replace plugs and wires

-Fix / replace power antenna motor

-Fix sunroof shade

-Replace blown HVAC bulbs (new bulbs are sitting on my work bench)

-Restore headlight and foglight lenses

 

 

 

 

Any advice on fluids and plugs that these cars do and don't like?

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All I know is that you will need an additive for coolant. Or just buy Subaru OEM coolant. IIRC since the block is aluminum it is very sensitive about coolant. As far as plugs goes, I've heard of people having issues with iridium ones but I'm not even sure if that's true or not.

 

I only got one alarm remote with this car and the plastic on it is broken, so I ordered one of the inexpensive aftermarket replacement remotes from ebay. Took all of twenty seconds to program it and it works great.

 

For reference, this page has instructions for most (maybe all?) Subaru factory alarm systems, including the CODE system used on my car.

 

....You might even be able to help me with my alarm/keyless. I bought two remotes (an alarm and keyless one) and I can't find the "button" under the dash so I can program it. Any chance you could grab a pic for me?

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Here's where my alarm button is; attached to the dash frame, behind the hood release lever. That black box above the fuse box says something about keyless entry on it, so I assume its the alarm 'brain.' If you can't find your button you should be able to follow the wires from the brain and find it somewhere.

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/Legacy%20GT/IMG_0340.jpg

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Beautiful car! I got my 98 GT back in June and have done alot of cleaning up with it, but yours looks like it's in way better shape :D

Have you checked to see if it still has the 2.5L in it? More times than not that engine had headgasket issues and was replaced (mine was over the life of my car) with a 2.2L usually from the same year. Good idea to check and make sure everything's been reconnected properly; my check engine cable and a couple other hoses were NOT connected, and I had to fiddle a bit to make sure everything was ok.

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Have you checked to see if it still has the 2.5L in it? More times than not that engine had headgasket issues and was replaced (mine was over the life of my car) with a 2.2L usually from the same year.

 

Hmm...I know about the head gasket issues but I never thought that this car may not have a 2.5L in it. What's the easiest way to tell the difference between the two?

 

edit: The block has "EJ25" stamped on the top, so its definitely a 2.5L. Whether or not its the original motor, I have no idea.

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Here's where my alarm button is; attached to the dash frame, behind the hood release lever. That black box above the fuse box says something about keyless entry on it, so I assume its the alarm 'brain.' If you can't find your button you should be able to follow the wires from the brain and find it somewhere.

 

 

Wow you're quick. Thanks for the picture!

 

I'll have to go out this afternoon and see if I can find it.

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Oh and for the record, I'm very jealous of your car. You are very lucky to find one that is in great shape and with a manual transmission.

 

We can trade if you'd like... ;):lol:

 

http://www.mysubie.com/user_images/v1/galleries/555/v1_galleries_555_9737794824_7026_604.jpg

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Oh and for the record, I'm very jealous of your car. You are very lucky to find one that is in great shape and with a manual transmission.

 

We can trade if you'd like... ;):lol:

 

Thanks, but I think I'll keep mine. :lol: I only wish this thing wasn't hideous green. As far as I'm concerned, forest green is the third worst color for a car; right behind gold and silver.

 

The funny part of this car is I wasn't even looking to buy one and it pretty much just fell in my lap. Back in January I was all set to buy a 2002 Audi A4 (2.0T, 5 speed, fully optioned out, beautiful car) but the day I was going to pick it up my company announced that layoffs were coming, so I canceled the deal. Since then, I've stopped looking for a car but have kept an eye on craigslist just for kicks. Saw this thing advertised on a Saturday and it peaked my interest, researched these cars all weekend, drove it on Monday, put it on a lift and checked out every inch of it on Tuesday, decided it was a stupidly good deal that was too good not to take on Wednesday and bought it on Thursday.

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I would partly agree with that statement. It's not that green is bad, it's that Spruce Pearl isn't exactly pretty. And I don't mind silver cars. Silver is a very good solution for people who don't wash their cars.

 

But if you were to find one of these in Rio Red or Black Granite Pearl I'd be in love.

 

Funny you say you were looking into an Audi. I'm looking at buying an A4 right now. Just in the previous generation (2001). While keeping the legacy of course. :)

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Jeeps are a very good solution for people who don't wash their cars. They look better covered in mud than they do washed and waxed. :lol:

 

I don't think there is a car in existence that doesn't look great in black. This car will eventually be black, when I get motivated to tech myself body work and paint.

 

My first car was a black 1994 Honda Civic EX coupe, 1.6L SOHC Vtec, 5 speed, power everything, etc. That car took me through high school and college, and I should never have sold it. RIP Civic...

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x265/rmb2485/Misc/1994HondaCivicEXCoupe003.jpg

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Jeeps are a very good solution for people who don't wash their cars. They look better covered in mud than they do washed and waxed. :lol:

 

I don't think there is a car in existence that doesn't look great in black. This car will eventually be black, when I get motivated to tech myself body work and paint.

 

My first car was a black 1994 Honda Civic EX coupe, 1.6L SOHC Vtec, 5 speed, power everything, etc. That car took me through high school and college, and I should never have sold it. RIP Civic...

 

Funny you say that as well. I had a 2002 Grand Cherokee Overland and a black 2001 Honda Civic Coupe EX 5 speed.

 

My jeep was more of a pretty, pretty jeep with the high output V8. And since I was still making payments on it at the time I had no interest in taking it out on the trails and breaking something. But it was a nice jeep no less.

 

I actually hate black cars. Only for the fact that they are so needy in terms of detailing. They only look good when they're freshly waxed and clean. Which in most people's cases, is never.....I miss both of them dearly.

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Yep I was just about to point you toward that stamping or the "16 Valve" stamp on the valvecovers (only for the 2.2L)

As long as it's running strong then you shouldn't have to worry; I'd imagine the head gaskets would have been replaced over 170k because it was such a problem. Maybe they did the job right and installed the better head gaskets subaru offered later.

 

I'm doing a build on mine right now too it's alot of fun :) I ordered new headlight housings because both had a pivot joint that cracked over time and now the stupid headlight can't align properly. By the way I put in four new Bosch Fusion spark plugs, and compared to the ones that were already in and in pretty good condition, the Boschs oust them big time. Throttle response went way up, and I'm getting a mile or two better fuel economy.

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Nice Scoobie! I live in Boyertown, outside of Reading. Not too far from you! As far as using the car for a daily driver, you won't be disappointed! I have a 94 Legacy L FWD that is sitting at 269,000-ish miles and still runs like a top and smokes the goofy kid in the civic at the light who thinks he has something cool because of a fart can and a primered body kit. Keep the oil changed and do the minor repairs as neccessary and it will treat you right. It might even convince you to invest in a second scoob like I did. My brobie is still driving the other one back and forth to Harrisburg daily and I drove that car all over the eastern seaboard. Hands down the best cars ever.
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Well, after less than two weeks of daily driving the Subaru, I can't stand not having a decent sound system (although, for an eleven year old stock system, I'm fairly impressed). Contemplated moving everything from the Jeep to the Subaru, but decided against it. Then decided to start building a new system for the Subaru, since I can always transfer it to another car anyway.

 

Got an amazing deal on a set of Polk db components for the front and am bidding on a set of db two ways for the rear (I can't recommend these speakers enough!). I'll probably move my four channel Alpine amp from the Jeep to the Subaru, since the Jeep has 5 1/4" speakers which can't handle the full power of the amp anyway. Also picked up an Infinity class D mono amp and am bidding on an Infinity 10" sub. Still undecided about a head unit and whether to use a standard sub box of build a fiberglass one thats molded into some area of the trunk.

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