edrach

My three guys all learned to drive on "beaters" and occasionally on the "family" car for special occasions. They did okay, but I couldn't see it in me to have them learn on the "family" car. Anyway, back to our search. I looked on the USMB, nasioc, Craigslist, and autotrader searching for a 5 speed, AWD, Impreza wagon for my wife. Even planned a "getaway" weekend with her in Portland (190 miles one way) with three leads for Imprezas while we were there. First two were gone minutes before we got there; the third one was junk (IMHO) on a dealer lot---sort of like the one you recently saw; too much wrong with it and too high a price. Anyway, we enjoyed the weekend and kept looking. Finally, after about six months of looking I pulled up Autotrader (my search radius was 300 miles!) one Sunday evening and found a '97 with 118K on it for $3995. The dealer was only 4 miles from our house! I called the next morning at 8:30 and got the owner/salesman (small, independent car lot) who told me the car was still there and he opens at 10AM. I was there at 9:45. It looked pretty decent; just a cracked tail-light lens on one side. I took it for a ride to where my wife looked at it. She asked me what I thought; I didn't find anything major wrong and she liked the color; she didn't need to drive it if I liked it. I went back to the carlot, gave the man a small deposit, took all the information on the car and headed for the credit union. Came back at 2PM, signed all the papers, and my wife and I picked it up at four after she got off from work. And the rest is history. You'll find what you want soon enough. They are scarce but they are out there. Best of luck in your search and I hope it won't be a long one.

If the dealer refused to deal with those issues before putting the car up for sale, he's either clueless or has very little intention of following up within the terms of the warranty. Definitely not worth the hassle. There are lots of Imprezas out there with more potential and less price. It's just a matter of biding one's time until the right car comes along. We "looked" actively for over 6 months before finding my wife's current daily driver.

I can do that but I usually don't plan a special trip. I do most of my work in downtown Seattle around the U-district. So at quitting time I have a choice of crossing Lake Washington and heading up I-405 or taking I-5 north. When I take I-5 north I can always get off in Lynnwood and take a walk in the yard. It's sort of a last minute thing, but if I make a special trip I'll give you a call before hand.

Judging from the shock condition I'd give it a soaking with rust penetrant daily for a week before I'd even try to remove the bolts. This looks like the only way to remove them would be with a torch. If you break off the bolt you are hosed so take it slowly and easily when you replace the shocks. Better yet pay a professional to do it!

7/16 update: Three new Legacies (early '90's); two wagons, 1 sedan. One new GL wagon (red) No disk brakes except on the Legacies; no alloy wheels.

He has about 20 cars left in the back yard. Most of them are fixer uppers. He's pretty honest about the condition and what might be wrong with most of them. He's easy to find: Take Redmond Fall City Rd. and just as you come into Fall City look on the left for a yard with lots of Subarus. If you get to the intersection in town you missed him by 100 yards.

You can tell you live in the sunbelt. If you lived in the rust belt east coast you wouldn't say that the ball joint comes out so easily. However, there are lots of ways to get the hub loose enough to get the DOJ off the stub axle. Do what works best for you.

Good luck with whatever you purchase. However, a bit of advice from someone who's taught three sons to drive: Teach him to drive a stick! You (and he) will be happier for it. He'll be able to drive any car in the future, stick or not. Gas mileage is about 20% better. More control with a stick than automatic, especially on "challenging" surfaces like snow or ice. And best of all.....It's more fun!

EJ18's get a bum rap. Only real difference is you need to shift more often. I rallycrossed a '94 Impreza last year and was beating most of the EJ22 cars on a regular basis. Out of 26, I finished 5th for the season. Only reason I didn't finish higher is my inexperience and not the EJ18. This year in my '97, I'm running fourth for the season. Not much of a difference. Comparing the EJ18 to the EJ22 in my '97 is that the EJ18 revved more freely and needed 4th gear up the longest, steepest hills on the freeway rather than 5th. Don't make the mistake of putting 15" or 16" tires on an EJ18 (it'll become a "stone"); leave the 14" tires on it and it'll be fine. Besides, an EJ18 in the hands of a teenager probably makes a lot more sense. The other difference between the two engines is the EJ18 gets significantly better gas mileage. In any event, check out the engine; if it is an EJ18 it's all the more reason to negotiate a significantly lower price.

Boy that's a surprise since the EJ22 showed up in most Imprezas in '96 maybe earlier. Certainly something to check for.

Austin, I saw Tom in Fall City today and he says hello and would like to you call him and say hello. For those who don't know Tom, he's an avid collector and once had as many as 40+ Subarus in his back yard (he has a LARGE backyard). Anyway he is slowly weaning himself off his collection. Anyone looking for parts cars especially of the EA81 variety PM me for his 'phone number. He is not giving them away, but he's not asking much for the cars either. He's a great visit and will talk your ear off if you let him (I let him and he let me yak back at him too). He was saddened to hear of Bob Barci's passing since Bob used Tom as his personal pull a part yard; lots of Tom's pieces wound up in Bob's three project cars.

I'm taking a survey of '97 Imprezas. When you look at the car, can you check the VIN plate (drivers side inner fender) and look at the transmission number (if it's a manual only....not interested in automatics). If the tranny number is not TY752VA5AA would you copy it down for me and send me a PM? Thanks.

Sorry, I didn't answer your other question. Yes, the '97 model year was the beginning of the interference engine. I don't remember the timing belt interval (used to be 60K, went to 105K I believe). If there are no records of the timing belt having been done in the last 30K, I would play it safe and do it soon (certainly before the short warranty expires). Also, make sure the warranty would cover the engine repairs if the timing belt broke in that time frame. In either event, have the water pump replaced with the timing belt since it likely won't last until the next belt replacement and the labor for a water pump is almost the same as the timing belt replacement. I personally don't like automatic transmissions, but if it's a manual gearbox expect the clutch to need replacement in the next 50K.

$4295 is a bit high for that mileage. I bought my wife's '97 model L (one notch up from the Brighton which is the base model--if it has window cranks it is a Brighton) 1-1/2 years ago with 120K miles on it for $3995 with no warranty. It had some minor issues but nothing major until recently (transmission doesn't like to rallycross anymore ). I don't think you can go wrong with Jon's car. The Impreza is just too much fun to drive and pretty bulletproof. I think my wife's car's problems stemmed from poor maintenance on the part of the previous owner(s).

So why are you posting this? Hoping someone else will buy it out from under you? Or trying to get others to NOT buy it out from under you? Anyway, best of luck with it and happy pizza delivering.

There are 7 or 8 u-pull-its in the Portland area. Check the 'phone book, call them, and ask. Most of them have a pretty good idea of what they have in the yard. I've been to the Tigard yard a few times and they generally have a good stock of Subarus.

I'll look over the prints again tonight. Sometimes the automatics are wired differently from the manual transmission models. Which GL do you have? Wagon or Hatch?

No rear disks available at Lynnwood as of last Sunday. I don't know about Tacoma.

Also consider the difficulty of replacing the rear shocks if needed. The bolts extend through the body and rust out there. I've replaced a few in my time and it's never been easy. If you break off a rusted bolt you're pretty much hosed and will be unable to replace the shock.

Perhaps this should be posted in off topic, but I think it's a funny story related to this. My wife's former daily driver was a '93 Geo Metro (I know; but I finally got her into an Impreza:) ). Anyway, this Geo would periodically blow the 40 amp fuse that acts as one of the fusible links in the car. First time it happened, she called me to tell me the car had a dead battery and wouldn't start. I jump started the car and she drove out of the parking lot and 50 feet down the road it came to a stop again. To make a long story shorter, I found the 40 amp "fuse" and replaced it. but every once in a while it would blow again. The point of this tale is that the link fed the charging current from the alternator to the battery and when it blew, the alternator wouldn't charge the battery. And to make matters worse, the charge light was on the same circuit and never came on! The only tip off was the lights would start to go dim or the wipers would slow to a crawl in the rain. And when the battery got low enough the ECU shut down the engine. We carried extra 40A links in the glove box for about three years when the switch assembly on the steering column went bad. After replacing that, the 40A link never went again! I never did find the short but it was certainly in the switch assembly somewhere.

I think the reason for a fusible link instead of a fuse of the same current rating is cost. A hunk of wire with two connectors on it is much cheaper to manufacture than a fuse of a certain rating and 15 second delay. Especially since fusible links aren't supposed to "blow." They are purely a safety item.

It is confusing; I had to look in two different places to be sure I had it right.

I might have to amend this based on someone's comment about the rear axles. Oddly, I've never had to do a rear axle (lots of fronts however); and 3/16th is the size for the front. If the rears take a larger drift tool, I've learned something new today. Thanks.

Try 3/16"; 5/16th way too big.

FL1 (i.e. center fusible link) does not go to the ignition switch or alternator. FSM shows it goes to the headlamp relay and horn/hazard switch fuse.