['98 OBW needs major engine work - advice?]

Originally posted by alias20035

If you got a good deal on the car I would spend the money to correct it. Even a good working Subaru of the same age and mileage as yours is likely to encounter the same problems as yours shortly, so trading in for a new one that might have the very same problems shortly is not wise.

I was thinking something similar

 

Cam, crank and valve cover seals are common failures.

That is what I was wondering.

 

Your misfire could be due to the head gasket, so do that first and do both sides!! Driving with a blown head gasket is very bad!!!

It wasn't even a question about not doing this. If any work was to be done this would be first. I had actually expected this. The other parts and additional labor (however minimal) did start to add up though and I wanted to be sure if I went all out I wouldn't be making a mistake.

 

The coilpack has two banks and fires spark plugs in pairs, 1&2 and 3&4, so it is likely that the 3&4 bank is bad.

That is what I was thinking, but I guess I'll need to get everything else taken care of first.

 

A clutch that doesn't feel quire right is Subaru normal cluch behaviour, is this your first Subaru?.

I had seen some reports about clutches but not many. I'm not really that worried about it now but I was just curious if it could be a common problem.

 

This is my first Subaru, but my family has three and two friends have four more. My previous car was an '85 Saab 900S with the 8V engine. I did all the work on it myself and even kept the body in pristine condition to go with mechanical condition, but a back injury is limiting my ability to do this now.

 

The throwout bearing is probably bad, but my old 93 Legacy had a bad throwout bearing for more than 100,000km. I was going to change the bearing when the clutch started to slip, but it never did. I am not sure why the dealer would mention transmission case, unless the pivot point of the release fork is bad. In any case, deal with the clutch later, since an eminent failure is unlikely. Be sure to adjust the clutch free play, since this can often correct the feel of the clutch.

My Saab had over 200K miles on it, of which 60K (mostly local/city) were put on with a failing TO bearing. In the past 10K I started to get significant clutch chatter so it was only a matter of time before it went. On saabs the worst you'd get (unless the bearing siezed!) was scoring around the shaft from vibration, but usually not enough to warrant replacement. I was curious if there are other common failures in Subaru clutches that I should be aware of.

 

I've got a hydraulic clutch (I thought this was standard on OBWs?) so adjustment isn't possible. I do know of the service campaign for the master and on other hi-mile vehicles a reuild here always helped. It's already on my list of TODOs when the weather gets warm again.

 

Any engine you find in a scrap yard should be rebuilt with new head gaskets, seals, etc. Not because they are bad, but because the condition is unknown and replacing the parts is so easy with the engine out. So unless you have a bad lower end, which I agree with your dealers assessment that it is unlikely, I would fix the engine currently in the car.

That's likely what I will do. Other than for the head-gasket failure I wanted to be sure there weren't other common problems that pop up as a result. It doesn't sound like coolant typicaly gets sucked into the cylinder, or folks at least catch this early enough before damage is done.

 

Labour and part costs seem to be much higher in the US than in Canada for some reason.

Part of the reason I used to do my own labor. Then again, I also enjoyed the work and knew it was getting done right.

 

Thanks for the info.

[Outback Road Lights]

Originally posted by electryc_monk

I like the properly aimed(and personally modified fog's) with the 55W lowbeams i got thank you very kindly. as well as the relay design that it runs on. As for Fog's and high beams simoltaniously?

Your darn right I'll have them both on. Reasons for such a non-standard opperating condition?

The problem is that in the US, especially in populated cities and suburbia, there are far too many drivers that always turn every single forward-facing light on that is possible, regardless of environmental and road conditions. On a two lane opposing-traffic highway with endless stream of cars in both direction? Doesn't matter. They'll have 1500watts (sometimes I wonder if that is really an exageration or not) of HID lighting poorly aimed and won't care. (You have heard of how some folks are converting their fogs to use HID ballasts and lamps since they don't like the fact that the stock lamps are a different color than their HID headlamps!)

 

Irresponsible use is what drives such legislation.

['98 OBW needs major engine work - advice?]

I picked up a '98 Outback Wagon about a month and a half ago. The original owner had no service records but claimed it was serviced on schedule at his local dealer. I was able to get a good price because of the unknown state.

 

CEL came on last week and the engine ran very poorly. This was diagnosed as misfire on cyl 3 & 4. I had planned on getting the car checked out anyway (this wasn't possible before the sale, which helped with the price as well).

 

First, Head gasket(s) blown. I actually expected this and was ready to accept this additional cost. There appears to be no oil contamination yet. Lower-end damage is unknown but the service department doesn't expect any.

 

Front seal leaking - I would have done with the head gaskets, along with the water pump.

 

All four camshaft seals are leaking. Valve cover gaskets leaking (I didn't see this, but I didn't check the underside that well where the leaks would be noticible).

 

The spark plug wires are not in great condition, despite the fact that a "major service" had been performed only two months (or so) earlier. This was the service that the seller claimed the timing belt was changed in - but I seriously question that and the service department is recommending I change it (I don't think it is worth the risk and I agree). Plugs & Wires should be replaced based on their condition (Service dept quoted almost $300 for plugs/wires - IMO Ridiculous price and I should be able to do better on my own but should I bother?)

 

The grand total is roughly $1700 plus tax. I was figuring no more than $1500. :boohoo:

 

The clutch doesn't feel right and the service dept. is claiming that it is an early sign of wear from TO bearing (They mentioned the transmission case and not the shaft which seemed odd to me). I don't need to do anything now but I shouldn't expect a tremendous amount of mileage from it.

 

[*]Do I spend the $$ on the engine now and worry about the tranny when the time comes (I don't expect to put more than 8-10K mi on it each year but there will be some long trips)?

[*]Do I abandon all work, accept the loss, and sell it cheap (I'm not the kind of person that would dump this on someone unsuspecting)?

[*]Do I find another engine from a wreck (or something similar) and work with that?

[*]Something else?

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I'm leaning towards the first option but want to make sure I'm not headed down a long path of dumping fundage into a lost cause. Can I expect another 5 years/50K miles without additional major expense?

 

While I'm undertaking this major endeavor, is there anything else that should be done?