muskalope

Hi all, Was looking for some advice on whether I should proceed on a clutch replacement at home, or just pay the $'s to Clutch Mart to have it done. I'm particularly asking how easy it is to back out the tranny while in the car, while working with the car on stands, etc. It's a 2wd version, so nothing going to the back wheels. Is there room to keep the tranny "in place" and just slide it back to get clearance to remove the Pressure plate and disk? Are there parts to avioid? Should I go with Subaru factory parts (the car has 155k on it0, or aftermarket OK? Thanks.

Wow - my 91 2wd wagon gets 25-30 ave, and on the freeway gets ~31-32 mpg, even at 140k miles. -D

Another issue I've faced. I had the wind whistle traced to the air flowing thru the slot of the "fold back" mirror on the drivers side. I folded a piece of scrap paper over a bunch of times, stuck it in the slot, and..... "viola".....the whistle went away. Just another place to check.... Dave

One other thing you might want to consider. Sometimes this is caused by a dragging brake pad. When you have warped rotors, you have runout on the disk (the lateral wander of the disk when rotating). If your caliper isn't in perfect condition, then the brake pad will get tapped each rev of the wheel/disk. So, since you know already that you have warped rotors, you might as well get them surfaced, or replace them, and you might get 2 fixes for the price of one. Another check for this, look at the brake pads. Is the inner or outer pad worn more than the other?? Dave

Thanks, gbhrps. I appreciate the kind words. I'm most grateful for my son's health, then the lessons. The condition of the car comes last, but that's the "vehicle" for the lessons. Dave

I just got back from the frame and alignment shop. Took the car in and had the guy look at it, and see if it was 1) easy to fix, or 2) how much to yank-it on the frame adjusted to square up again. Well, after examination, he said it was in pretty good shape after the replacement of the lower A-arm. All it needed was an alignment, and it's good to go. Of course there are a few other details, cosmetic related, that need some work. a) Left front fender is creased and bowed, but I saw 2 good fenders, of the right color, at the Pick-n-pull yard. need to do some work to the front grill area, and the square-tube cross-member where the hood latch is. The hood when latched, sits up about 1/2" above both fenders on the edge seam. c) need to replace the left front turn-signal and lens, since that broke. And have talked to the land-owner about the concrete sunk pipe. She talked to the county, and it's an unused pipe vent. She asked if we'd come out and cap it off on the pipe, and remove the concrete and pipe. Instead of hassling with her about it, I just agreed. I figured that would be easier, and part of a good lesson for my son. So far, I'm still under $100. Figuring fender and other misc. items, I'm thinking I'll stay under $150 for the total. Dave

Thanks for all the notes. We've had talks about what the best decision was for this deer incident. I've heard from others too that say brake straight and hard, and don't leave the road/lane. We talked this out, and he understands. With the low front-end of the Legacy, nailing a deer could result in the deer in your windshield. I've told him that I support what he did, he evaluated the situation, and made his decision. When nobody is hurt, then it was a good decision. With 10-20 years more of experience, he might have different results, but I'm OK with the result. I take the car to the frame shop tomorrow. I'm sure I'll find a reasonable cost in getting this straightened. Also, the tires on the car were virtually brand new.....2 weeks old, and good tires too! And it's great where I live....there's a pick-n-pull yard about 15 minutes away, with about 8-10 legacy's there in pretty good shape for parts. There are even 2 with good left front fenders of the right color if I choose to replace it. Heck, the lower A-arm only cost $28.....Pretty good, I thought, and I could shop a bit in the yard and pick the one I wanted. So, I think the car will become the local, around town car, and we'll leave the freeway stuff to the rest of the family fleet. I really like the car, and need it around for the next 3-4 years, while my boys are high-school drivers. Gotta have one of these older, but safe, cars to save on the insurance $'s when rates are so high. Also, you are right. I've had a number of sporty, fun-to-drive cars, and the Legacy fits up there in the handling and fun-to-drive. It's kind of a sleeper, with the wagon-look. Later, Dave

Thanks for reading the inference that my son came out unscathed. As my wife and I said to each other, he's used to getting crashed into from playing football...this was not nearly the toughest hit he's taken this week! I understand your choice of deer vs. swerve. The deer is probably a comp claim, while the swerve and damage is a collision claim. I would be most concerned with a deer coming in thru the windshield on top of me. He made his split-second decision, and I think he did a good job. The concrete pipe thing was just a wrong-place, wrong-time think. I'm sure hoping the frame shop costs are rather minimal. But hey, I've kept this car specifically for the kid to drive.....safe, dependable, reasonably fun to drive. His buddies at school have even given it a nickname....the shaggin' wagon. They battle to get a ride home from football in it....go figure?? Dave

Well, after 12 years of ownership (original), the 91 legacy finally met an immovable object. My 16 year old son was driving the car last weekend to a friends house in the country, when a deer appeared on the road in front of him. He swerved to avoid the animal, but went off the road, and hit a dirt berm on the shoulder of the road. The bad part....there was a water vent pipe sunk in concrete in the berm. Well, the concrete sunk pipe ended up being the problem. He hit the berm at about 35 mph, and the concrete went thru the left front wheel, blew the bead on tire, bent the lower A-arm, and sheared off the link to the sway bar. I went to the local pick'n pull and replaced these parts, but there's some unibody work to be done. Things are not quite straight under there. The A-arm mounts to a large stamping that spans the front end from side-to-side, underneath the engine/tranny. I think that got bent back from the impact. I also think the car is bent up in the middle front, since the hood, when latched, sticks up on both sides. Oh yeah, the oil pan has a fist-sized dent in it as well.....no leak, but dented quite well. I've got an appointment with a frame shop next week. Does anybody have any experience with damage like this?? Dave

Thanks for the advice. Tires are brand new, as well as the brakes. With this happening, I figured I'd taken out a few of the variables for the problem. I'll check the bearings and the ball joints this weekend. I'm figuring that since the car has 140k miles, and neither the bearings, ball joints, or tie-rods have not been touched since new, I may just do them all, and get them up to snuff. I'll give an update once I learn the issue.

Hi all - Looking for some coaching on my 91 Legacy wagon. It's got about 140k miles, original owner. I get some wobble in the front end at freeway speeds, which is annoying. It gets solid once brakes are applied, or below the freeway speed. Would this be probably ball joints, or would it be tie rod ends? I'm assuming whichever it is, the car would require an alignment after the part replacement, right? Thanks for the help!