shellface Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 hi I own a subaru justy...F reg...GL2 1.2 litre It chose to blow up on me on the M25 on sunday. The big end bearings went so the engine is shot. the car has a full MOT till july though and is still taxed untill may so my question is...as I can't afford to swap the engine or repair the car is it worth trying to sell this car for spares? if so any advice on how to go about it? or should I pay to have it scrapped? thanks very much I am new by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 If you're not going to fix it, either put it up whole, or part it out. The money you'll make will pay for hauling the cadaver off. If you put it up for sale as is, at a low enough price, someone will haul it off for you. Done deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellface Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 Originally posted by northguy If you're not going to fix it, either put it up whole, or part it out. The money you'll make will pay for hauling the cadaver off. If you put it up for sale as is, at a low enough price, someone will haul it off for you. Done deal. when you say put it up where do you suggest I do that as I haven't a clue where to start any idea what a reasonable price would be? the car is in good codition apart from the silly engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmCeeBee Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I got a postcard from High Wycombe last year, so I know where it is :-) (Jolly old...) Being as most guys here are from the states, we won't know the best way to advertise and get buyers in your area. Gees, if you found us, you probably can find a Subaru club in England :-\ But there are two USMB members hailing from GB. I hope they excuse me for dropping their names..... (These are from the USMB Who's Who page) Richard Hull richard.hull@lineone.net Michael Juniper juniper@freeuk.com Maybe you can drop them an email and ask about parting out your Justy. Northguy is right, you shouldn't have any problem clearing a profit on it. Anyway, don't go away!!!! Welcome to USMB, get another Subaru and come back. -- Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 In addition, there's been a guy from Scotland posting lately. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendodave Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hello Shellface http://london.craigslist.org/ you could probably sell it there. not sure what to ask, tho. Good Luck, and come back! David PS: have a pint for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellface Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 thanks every one I have posted on that craig listing thing so hopefully I may get some takers.........will try local free ads as well me thinks nice to meet you :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Shelly: I've got another take on your dillema... If you like the car - fix it yourself. The 1.2 should not be that difficult, and it'll be an excellent way to learn more about cars. You'll be able to get all your questions answered on this board, and perhaps someone local will even be able to give you a hand. First of all you need a Justy book that covers engine overhauls. You'll also need a basic metric tool set. You'll have to rent/borrow an engine hoist (or two strong friends) to remove and reinstall the motor. You'll also need some work space to dissasemble the motor, and to clean the parts. You can do it if you are motivated and patient. I hope you'll give this some thought if you have an interest in cars (and you must if you've posted on this board). good luck, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 John, if the mains spun the block is done. You may be able to find a cheap used engine and install it your self though. The 1.2 is the 3cyl and shouldn't weigh much. Either way you go, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellface Posted December 19, 2003 Author Share Posted December 19, 2003 Originally posted by thealleyboy Shelly: I've got another take on your dillema... If you like the car - fix it yourself. The 1.2 should not be that difficult, and it'll be an excellent way to learn more about cars. You'll be able to get all your questions answered on this board, and perhaps someone local will even be able to give you a hand. First of all you need a Justy book that covers engine overhauls. You'll also need a basic metric tool set. You'll have to rent/borrow an engine hoist (or two strong friends) to remove and reinstall the motor. You'll also need some work space to dissasemble the motor, and to clean the parts. You can do it if you are motivated and patient. I hope you'll give this some thought if you have an interest in cars (and you must if you've posted on this board). good luck, John Its a nice idea and I would like to learn more about cars.....problem I have is time money and space being a student plus I need something to get me from a to b right now!!! where do you suggest I get a manual from anyway? looked for a heynes manual but they didn't produce one for the justy! thanks for all the advice you guys are class xx no one calls me Shelly...thats kinda sweet !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Shelly: As Ken correctly noted, your motor is damaged beyond repair. I didn't pick up that tidbit the first time I read thru your post. However, you can still go the fix-it-yourself route if you can find a good "rebuildable" 1.2 core. I don't know exactly where you are located, but those may or may not be easy to come by. As far as cost, an overhaul will give you the most bang for your buck. You would be paying for the parts, while supplying the labor yourself. Justy's were never that popular in the US, so it might be hard to find a manual written in English specifically for that model. I do know that Chiltons covered the Justy in one that covers ALL Subaru Models (85-94 I believe). Also, Justy's are covered in the big Chiltons Import book that a lot of professional mechanics use. There should be enough between those two to cover an overhaul. I have both of those books, and will be happy to photocopy what I have if you are interested. When I was in college (and dirt poor), I wrenched on cars out of neccessity, so I understand your situation. If you do decide to give this a shot, you'll be able to apply what you learn later in life - whether you continue to do your own work, or when dealing with sleazy mechanics. good luck, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 If time is a concern I think the fastest way to remedy this prblem is with a used motor. Where exactly is high wycombe? I'm assuming England or Scotland. That motor is a cross plant I believe. At least the block anyway. The fuel system may be different. All you really need is a good long block and a day to swap parts and install. A weekend would be a good idea just incase you have a problem or two. It would be much less expense than another vehicle. Anything reliable will be much more than the repairs. Depending on your location we may be able to find you some help and support. Ken PS, Hey John, there were alot of them sold. But, the biggest problem was the auto. Once people learned the cost of replacement they usually ended up in the junk yards. Except for those that got converted to 5sp's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Ken: I never realized they had problems with the A/T. (That was the continuous gear design right?). I had always assumed rust was the "Trusty-Rusty-Justy's" downfall. Subes are generally rare in OH anyway, but especially the Justy's. Shelly: If you can provide me a mailing address, I'll send you that info on overhauling the 1.2. Then you'll know what you are getting into. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viceversa Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 It is not cost-effective to fix it. Just part it out. Get another Subaru on ebay. Lots of good deals for a few hundred. Of course you do have the option of fixing it. Find an engine - where else - on ebay and have someone install it. If you have never done it, the learning curve is too steep. I have been fixing minor things on cars like alternators, water pumps but removing and installing an engine is a lot of work. This summer it took me 5 days to remove mine from Loyale. Then I payed $200 to a shade tree mechanic to install a parts car engine. I got a whole parts car for $200 with low miles. If the rest of the car is in good shape - no rust, dents, and you like it, you could fix it. Keep in mind all the money you invest will not pay off in resale value. Just too many variables which determine what to do, like mileage on the axles and tranny, etc. On my 92 loyale, I have an almost new tranny and a engine with 95K miles but the rest is closer to 190K miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Vice... Are you familiar with the Justy? Not much involved in replacement with a used engine of that size. It's an inline 3 cyl. Knowing the history of a car is invaluable, in my opinion. Besides, it sounds like she doesn't have room to part it out anyway. Given that fact the value for scrap or whole is next to nothing. Looks like you got a decent car with a newer drivetrain for an additional $400.00 investment. Do you know what that's worth in the long run? Engine replacement is more work than replacing an alternator. However, it is not that difficult with the proper guidance and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendodave Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Hi Shell, if you were to repair it, would you have to take it to get inspected again? most of the reason for keeping it is that you know the car, and it has been inspected... Ken, she is west of London, and the MOT is a beast, they are very strict on emissions over there. Of course, they also don't have belching beasts pouring out emissions, either. Good Luck! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Originally posted by viceversa It is not cost-effective to fix it. Just part it out. Get another Subaru on ebay. Lots of good deals for a few hundred. This is certainly one way to get some wheels together for not a lot of $$, and I'm glad it worked out for you. But I am not sure I agree that fixing this car is "not cost-effective". I believe that keeping ANY car in good repair is ALWAYS cost effective in the long-run. I used to go thru a lot of "$100 cars" for a variety of reasons - one of which was thinking I was saving big $$. I would fix them up a bit, do the easy fixes when they broke down, then junk them when the repairs got too hairy. I learned later (thru a friend of mine who is a fleet manager) that this is the wrong way to go about having economical, reliable transportation. The trick is to bring your car up to a certain "baseline" of reliabilty by getting up to speed on maintenance. Once you get there (and hopefully stay there) overall costs are incredibly low. Best of all, the cars stay reliable even as they age. If you accept this way of thinking, low initial price isn't what matters most any more. A good deal is getting more than what you pay for. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a cheap car that you can bring up to this baseline without spending a lot of time and $$. Many of them have been neglected for some time and you have to throw a lot of parts at them to know where you are at (not much of a bargain after all). The exceptions are the ones with excellent maintenance records, since you do not have to duplicate what has already been done. IMO, repairing the Justy may be a good option for Shelly if she likes the car, and it's in decent condition to begin with. Overhauling the engine brings up the "baseline" of the car almost by default. These are simple cars and Shelly can probably keep it going while she is in school, if not longer. To me this IS cost effective... John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaglu Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Shelly, Just need to get a few facts straight ! Right - you say the big end bearings went !!!, what exactly happened ?, is it just knocking ?, or has the engine let go ?. Because if it's just knocking and depending on whether you switched it off quick enough you may be able to just replace the big end shell's (no pun) and a new sump gasket - this will cost you approx £60-70quid for the parts (probably even less as it's only a three cylinder). You can take the sump off with the engine still in the car and will only take a couple of hours. Over to you ! Regards Dave H ps I live near Horsham, West Sussex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellface Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 Originally posted by Supaglu Shelly, Just need to get a few facts straight ! Right - you say the big end bearings went !!!, what exactly happened ?, is it just knocking ?, or has the engine let go ?. Because if it's just knocking and depending on whether you switched it off quick enough you may be able to just replace the big end shell's (no pun) and a new sump gasket - this will cost you approx £60-70quid for the parts (probably even less as it's only a three cylinder). You can take the sump off with the engine still in the car and will only take a couple of hours. Over to you ! Regards Dave H yeah there was a lot of knocking...I knew it was on its way out so tried to limp it back to my house in High wycombe to try and sort out repairs...unfortunately the engine blew on the M25...there was a lot of smoke and some small bit of metal was seen bouncing down the road in my rear view so I am guessing that thats no good really? Its still taxed and MOT'ed so I don't want to pay to have it scraped but all this engine re haul business really seems way over my head...the best I can do is change a wheel on a car not a whole engine!!! seeing as you are from my area (ish) maybe you could advise me on the best course of action maybe you know of somewhere that may give me a bit of cash to break the car down and sell off its spares maybe? or perhaps buy it off me and do the work needed to re sell it!? once again thanks everyone you are great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonOfScio Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Well, even if the block is bad, the rest of the parts of the car *might* be salvageable. If I've been able to tear my engine down to the block, the I would think the justy wouldn't be too hard. Find another good block, check out what pieces you have that are good, and swap 'em over for a good engine. This is what I would probably do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 you forgot 1 item , besides the tools ,manuals, hoist , is COLD BEER for who ever is helping , if you were not so far away i would help and the guys from the area would to :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaglu Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Hi, If I were you this is what I would do - 1) Try and get a mechanic to have a look at the engine just to confirm that it is "blown". Have you got AA or any breakdown cover because you could call them out for an opinion. 2) If it's confirmed that the engine is gone then the best thing to do is work out a "balance" sheet for the car ie "good and bad" - (this obviously depends on your own personal finances) - How much Mot remaining ..........? (got to be more than 6mths or not worth repairing) How much road tax left ..........? How long have you had the car - what did you pay for it ..........? How much have you spent already on the car ..........? How much would it cost to buy another car ..........? ((at least £500 for a cheapie) How much would it cost to buy a scrapyard engine ..........?(£150 if available) How much would it cost to pay someone to fit it ..........? (£100 . privately) Example 1) If it's got more than 6mths Mot, and you didn't pay much money for the car, haven't spent too much money on it since you've had it then it's worth spending £250 on it to get it back on the road. Example 2) If it's got less than 6mths Mot, you've spent loads on it already then it's not worth spending anymore - might as well put your money towards another car. Scrap yards are currently taking cars for free at the moment - the price of scrap iron has gone up - so now is the time if you want to scrap it because things will change and it will cost probably a couple of hundred in the near future when this european ruling comes into force. Another option is to look in your local freebie newspapers for traders looking for Mot failures - you might get £50 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauregaardhooligan Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 If I'm not mistaken there is a difference between the automatic Justy motors and the manual Justy motors, something about the crank shafts. One won't hook up to the other. But if it was me, I'd definitely put another motor in it, maybe even go for the 4wd 5speed swap. At the very least part it out as much as you can. They are fairly rare and *someone* out there needs it. Just my 1/50th of a buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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