'90 Legacy L Sedan: What to Check?

[the_bard]

I'm gonna take a look at that "nearly abandoned" Subie that was around the corner from my old apartment. '90 Legacy L sedan, 5 spd AWD. 190k. Good shape body-wise, for NY. Front fenders are both rotted out on the bottom, so they're flapping, but the attachment points seem solid still, so I'd be able to pick up replacements. Right front headlight bracket rump roast'y is broken, so it flops.

 

Talked to the owner, and he "just wants it gone." Seems he hit a guard rail with it, and knocked that light loose. I can't see any other body damage, but he claims that the car started loosing coolant and overheating about that same time. I'm gonna grill him about how long he drove it while it was overheating, but I gather from our conversation earlier today that it wasn't long. He claims he ran it down to Pep Boys, who claimed it had an "internal coolant leak." It still runs... he's been driving it long enough to switch sides of the street to prevent the city from towing it.

 

I'd be able to pick it up for a "very lucrative (sp?) deal", or if I don't, he'd "like to know a junkyard where he could drop it off at." Seems to me it's worth looking at, so I set up to meet him tomorrow morning.

 

Besides the obvious bit about checking the oil for coolant, and watching the exhaust for white smoke, is there any other way I can watch for a bad set of headgaskets or warped heads? Or anything else I should be on the alert for, at least... the wife's giving me enough grief as it is, and I'd hate to prove her right on this one . 'Course, for a "very lucrative deal" (oh, I'm gonna haggle on this one, 'specially if he "just wants it gone"), I can't lose too much . I'd love to find out that he cracked a hose or the radiator...

[the_bard]

I took a look at it... filled the coolant reservoir, fired it up, and it had that telltale white exhaust. It wasn't billowing or anything, just a few puffs when the engine was revved. Engine wanted to intermittently stall after about ten minutes of idling. I noticed that it never sucked coolant from the reservoir, and the radiator was bone dry continuously.

 

Guy claims he burst a coolant hose, and drove it while it was leaking (doh! ), saying he "knew it probably wasn't good for the car, but he needed to get home." . About a block away from home, the car stalled, and he didn't attempt to start it up again. Got the hose fixed, and a week later it started overheating again, from what he claims.

 

So... how hard's it to change the headgaskets on a EJ22? Do I have to yank the engine, or is there enough room in the bay to do it? And what's your opinion on it not emptying the coolant reservoir?

 

Thanks, guys