caught the subie bug

well looks like I got bit hard by the subie bug, a few weeks ago I picked upa 93 legacy for my gfs sister did some work on it and have been driving it while she is out of town.. love the car, love everything about it except the auto trans

so I have been combing craigslist and autotrader looking for one for myself and came across a pretty nice 97 legacy 2.5gt, exactly what I was hoping to find looks like I am going to be dragging home another subie pretty soon as soon as I get down to go pick it up. if I end up being able to grab this one (waiting to hear back from the seller) will spend a couple days cleaning it up and doing to basics new fluids check for leaks probably change out valve cover gaskets, etc and daily it for a while

Welcome

be sure to check the coolant overflow bottle for black ''gunk'' and exhaust smell.

the 96 - 99 ej25 will blow head gaskets at some point.

given its age, it has probably already happened and been repaired.

but do not buy blind, check it out.

Welcome! The Subie bug hit me back in 07, when I picked up my then brand spanking new STI! Now...I've got 3 Subies and loving my Wagon L.

 

These cars rock and are just a joy to drive. But you know that now ;-)

 

Again, welcome!

thinking that gt got sold. still looking for another subie really want a 5 speed but im finding mostly autos

welcome to my dilemma...

same issue here.

seems like most people don't give theirs up until the head gaskets blow. which I don't mind fixing but even those are rare, I found one for a really good price but the dude hasn't answered his email and the other is just barely out of my price range... in quite the pickle. found a decent first gen impreza waiting on info about that. I may end upw ith another first gen legacy but I really want a gt or impreza

Welcome to our world. I was bitten by the Subie bug last year and bought three of them in one year ('98 Legacy wagon, 2005 Impreza Outback Sport wagon, and last month went back into debt :-( on a brand new Impreza sedan.

Subaru's litter the craigslist postings here in VT - Unofficial car of VT, don't you know... lmao. Almost had a 2001 Outback Sedan with full Leather interior for $500 in awesome shape, but they just sold it. Don't know where you are, but I can't drive more than 2 miles without seeing a Subaru for sale here.

people around here hold on to them pretty well, very few come up for sale with less than 225,000 miles and the ones that do are trashed, Subaru is the official car of Mt Hood, im right next to Portland OR in Vancouver wa so Portland is my home craigslist page.

looks like I may be picking up a 96 legacy wagon w/5 speed. has some pretty bad "looking" body damage but I don't see any reason I wont be able to get it taken care of, looks like it rear ended a small truck at one point. only looking at $600 for the car and can probably knock it down to 500.

for what it is it isn't bad needs a hood a grill a little bit of tack welding and I should be golden, apparently the core support is a little floppy but the hood latches so I just need to get it real straight and weld it back up.

heres a pic of it, it really doesn't look too bad, couple hundred on parts at the most, can probably hit up picknpull for most of what I need and grab a can of the oe color rattle can paint

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/ridered972/01717_iwFnNRMtRPG_600x450_zpse0b05377.jpg

well that one sold but I found another almost immediately after in much better shape.. lets try this again lol will be going to look at it tomorrow, sadly its an auto but one of these days I will take the time to gather up the parts to drop in a 5 speed or maybe go nuts and get a 6 speed. but for now probably gonna be rolling a 95 wagon

well that one sold but I found another almost immediately after in much better shape.. lets try this again lol will be going to look at it tomorrow, sadly its an auto but one of these days I will take the time to gather up the parts to drop in a 5 speed or maybe go nuts and get a 6 speed. but for now probably gonna be rolling a 95 wagon

That's odd you're having a difficult time finding a manual. When I was looking there was no shortage of manual transmission Outbacks. Perhaps you're referring to manuals at a specific price point?

specifically looking for a 94-96 2.2 sedan with a 5 speed and NO wheel well rust since I know how to stop it before it starts but no welder so once it has..... price, rust free is priceless around here. NH

Here in Virginia, most everyone wants automatic over manual (likely due to the Northern VA traffic congestion). That is why I got a good deal on our 5 speed OBS which had been sitting at a used car dealership for over 6 months before we found it, and the guy admitted he just wanted to get rid of it because it was a manual.

yeah I am not a big fan of automatics, just makes me feel really detached from what the car is doing , nothing at all like on my dirtbikes that I grew up on

going tomorrow to take a look at a 95 wagon, bone stock as far as I can tell even the stock steelies. one of the first things will be to find a decent looking set of wheels for it. found a couple options from later models or some aftermarket wheels from craigslist will see how it goes, will post up a few pics when I actually get it home not gonna get as far ahead of myself on this one lol

 

and im pretty sure the limiting factor on finding a manual second gen is just how low my budget is, the one im looking at is only 750, has minor damage near one taillight and needs a knock sensor so nothing serious wrong with it.

and NO wheel well rust

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

in new hampshire?????

 

you're kidding right?

heres the car im going to go look at tomorrow, its a stock as stock gets down to the steelies, 220k on the clock and just has one spot of body damage I can fix at home.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/ridered972/00G0G_7rrsQCPr6aa_600x450_zps04f4d7f8.jpg

 

looking at getting a set of used wrx wheels for it something like these, or something aftermarket depending on what I find a deal on, ballin on a budget XD

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/ridered972/01717_5ldlBB2S4QP_600x450_zps9a36e59a.jpg

 

going to do the basic maintenance when I get it home, tire rotation, replacing that knock sensor and running a diagnostic to see if anything else is faulty, diff and trans fluid, oil etc.. might grab a neon coil and get some different plugs.

not trying to go nuts with it and do an sti swap (yet) so for now its just the family wagon... I have noticed pretty much everyone goes for the sti or turbo builds I haven't seen much by way of people running a nitrous setup yet, have seen a few but not very many. the intake on the ej looks great for adding port injection

Here in Virginia, most everyone wants automatic over manual (likely due to the Northern VA traffic congestion). That is why I got a good deal on our 5 speed OBS which had been sitting at a used car dealership for over 6 months before we found it, and the guy admitted he just wanted to get rid of it because it was a manual.

 

Yup...traffic here just makes driving a manual a chore!!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

in new hampshire?????

 

you're kidding right?

 

no, not in nh, that's where I live, where I have to go get a car, don't really care as long as its rust free. I normally creep craigslist in the Carolinas for anything I need without rust.

well then,

you are much smarter than i look.

somehow this thread got taken way off topic.....

anyway i picked up that 95 legacy wagon today, drove it home, on the way stopped at autozone and grabbed that knock sensor, some castrol gtx high mileage, some dex 6 atf and lucas oil and trans additive bottles, poured some seafoam into the gas tank and the oil and drove it around for a while to let it do its thing

got it home changed out the oil and added the lucas, and drained 3+/- qts of the old nasty atf and added the new fluid and a bottle of the lucas trans stop slip (man is that some thick stuff). changed the knock sensor and the CEl went off. it seems to be running real good, the 1-2 shift is a little bit hard but not bad at all.

over the next few weeks I will do some more small things to it, valve cover gaskets etc, it already has new plugs and wires

 

thinking about the neon coil conversion and other small stuff like that once I can get some new wheels for it its on one spare right now and I really don't want it on there

Congratulations on your new to you Subaru

 

I've got the same year in Red and cough cough auto I've got all the required manual stuff ready for a conversion but i'm yet to find the time to do it...

 

I think you'll find it's a fun and nice car to drive

drained 3+/- qts of the old nasty atf and added the new fluid and a bottle of the lucas trans stop slip (man is that some thick stuff).

you do not need the lucas stuff.

i do not recommend any additives for the trans.

it should not hurt it but you gain nothing.

 

more importantly ,

you only changed about 1/3 of the fluid.

the trans holds over 10 qts.

do the drain and fill 2 more times with driving in between

and you will have replaced most of it.

clean fluid is much more important than an additive.

 

the 1-2 shift is a little bit hard but not bad at all.

all 90 - 99 subarus have a hard 1-2 shift.

they sacrifice comfort for durability.

and they are amazingly durable if you keep the fluid fresh.

do a drain and fill at least once a year when you change your oil.

by drain and fill, since I've had mine for 3 years and haven't touched it, theres just a drain plug in the tranny pan, like in the oil pan correct? just pull that and refill? any suggestions on which type of atf?