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Both belts on my 95 Legacy FWD look pretty cracked. A local shop wants $100 for parts & labor. Back when I was doing all my own work (as in, when I had my NEW 1974 Subaru GL wagon ), replacing a belt was a no-brainer. Now, I see a tensioner on one of the belts--and the other belt must have some way of loosening the tension but I don't see it, it's probably under the metal shield that covers the top. I don't have a service manual or torque wrench--just a metric socket set and some wrenches. My wife is driving this car from NY to Maine in two days and I want it to have new belts. Is this a piece-of-cake job I can figure out just by looking at things, or are there any issues I need to keep in mind? Actually I don't remember replacing a belt that uses a tensioner, so I'd be feeling (no pun intended!) my way through this--though it seems pretty straightforward. TIA for any advice!

So sorry to hear about your engine trouble. For the edification of a new owner of a '95 Legacy L (2.2 engine), could someone confirm whether these are interfering or non? I've owned a 91 and 92 and always thought they were non-interfering. There's no year or engine model mentioned in this thread (or maybe I missed it?) but from what I've read it seems like this particular model DOES have an interfering engine. This has big inplications for me since my car had almost exactly 60K miles when I got it, and I'm quite sure the belt hasn't been changed.

I thought of the compression test too, that would tell me if the engine was a litle worse for wear. If the compression is low and the car really has only 60K, that would mean that the previous owner(s) beat on this car pretty hard, I would think. Thing is, the interior is CLEAN...sure doesn't have any kind of high-mileage or "worn" look. I wish I was more knowledgeable/experienced with this kind of stuff. Tomorrow the dealer is going to drive it to a service station to get checked out (we picked the station but it turns out he does a lot of business with them--he offered to drive it there--now I want to take it somewhere else but I don't really know where <sigh>...)

Yea viceversa I think I agree with you. I paid $3400 for the car 4 years ago and did nothing except tires, brakes & oil changes. The car doesn't owe me a thing, it's just a shame since I think that with a timing belt I might have gotten another 50K+ from it! If I had the resources & time to fix it up myself I might but my plate is a little too full with other things right now...

As you may have seen, I have another thread going at http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=69249#post69249 talking about a '95 Legacy I'm considering to replace this damaged '92. I didn't expect to come back here and see all these replies telling me I should fix my '92...but to tell the truth I just can't do the "DIY" thing anymore. I would have to have a body shop do this (I haven't heard from the one place I asked for an estimate). I'm a full-time stay-at-home dad for a 3-year-old girl, and a musician on nights & weekends, so I'm lucky to have time to read my email much less start trying to do auto-body work (which I've NEVER done) in my driveway! Now, my FIRST real car was a '74 DL wagon...I remember being a broke college student, blowing the head gasket & seizing the engine (those engines didn't do too well if you let them overheat!). I pulled the engine while it was parked on a NYC street (after hacksawing the exhaust bolts I called up three of my buddies and we lifted it out of the car...I replaced it with a used engine). I also pulled that engine myself in my mom's garage (rented a hoist that time) and did a clutch job. Anyway I'm rambling...but the '95 Legacy I'm considering has only 60K on it, which is toddler-hood for a Subie. I guess I'll know more about both these situations in a few days but in the meantime I want to say that I really appreciate all the replies, they've given me great info & advice. Thanks again everybody!

Wow, I just saw all the new responses to my other thread here (about possibly fixing up my '92 Legacy that was damaged in the accident). Well I suppose there's more to ponder now (since most of the responses there seem to say that I should fix my '92). Still, if this '95 checks out OK, I think the price is right enough to tip the scale.

Thanks bebebob & alias! I did get to look at the car recently...just posted a novella over on alt.autos.subaru telling of my qualms. Basically, the car is being offered at a very attractive price--$3500, yet it has only 60K on it--that's what has me a little nervous! It's pretty clean (one very small dent in the RF quarter-panel, a few scrapes elsewhere), tires & brakes are good, suspension seems good, it drives straight...but the engine seems to lack power. Also, popping the hood & looking at it made me think "beat on"...although the oil filler tube showed no evidence of water...didn't smell any oil burning either. It could be my imagination but I think my '92 Legacy FWD with 133K has better acceleration! Alias, I hear you on the lower resale for sedans & fwd cars, but checking on cars.com showed some of these same models with almost twice the mileage going for near $6K in my area!! Also, my last two Legacys were FWD and I have no problem with that, and I require a sedan since I carry equipment and need to have it be hidden in a trunk sometimes. BTW the seller is not private, it's a dealer. He claims to have no maintenance history on the car at all, says that he sells these at a good price and lets the customer deal with any possible work. I suppose he still has to offer some kind of a used-car warrantee though.

I just found out it's true that California emissions models have a recommended timing belt replacement interval of 105K versus 60K for all other pre-2000 models. Who woulda thunk it? http://www.cars101.com/subwarr.html#90-99maintenance I guess I need to know how I can tell that the car is indeed a "california emissions" model...maybe a plate somewhere in the engine compartment? I'll be going to look at this car in a few hours!

Nick, to answer more specifically some of your q's: The tire was sliced on the side, that's why it went flat. I don't think the suspension or axles are affected at all. I'm driving the car a little now and it feels fine, except for a little "roughness" due to the donut being inflated to 60lbs (at least, that's what if feels like). The radiator is not leaking. The engine runs great. I don't care if the car looks bad when/if it gets fixed. I haven't investigated the yards around me for the quarter panel or hood, but as I said, the local body shop claims that it's not worth the bother to go the junkyard route. Unfortunately I have neither the experience nor the time to do any body work myself.

This car recently showed up for sale in my area. The price is pretty reasonable but I don't know the maintenance history yet. I remember hearing that '95 was the first year of the 2nd generation Legacy so I was wondering if there were any known issues with this particular year. It's a FWD with an AT (I would prefer a manual but I'm not gonna be too choosy right now). I saw that there were two recalls, one associated with the coil springs corroding and another about the front tow hooks needing to be removed. I hope I can find out the scoop on the coil springs. One thing--the person selling it told me that this car was a "California emissions" model and that the recommended timing belt change was 105K miles. Is this true? TIA for any replies! Rob Aries

Thanks Edrach & Nick for the replies. I've never been to a junkyard to find body parts, never heard of a "pull-apart" yard. Also I can't really do any body work myself (in my younger days I pulled the engine from my '74 Subaru and took the valve head off but that's way in the past!). Any kind of work in my area (NYC metro) is real expensive but I'll certainly listen to any advice about possibly fixing this car up. I do have a lead on a '95 Legacy with low miles so I'll be starting another thread now! Thanks again to you guys and anyone else with any tips on what I should do.

Last week I got into a car accident with my '92 Legacy. The car had about 133K on it, the engine is great (peppy, doesn't burn oil, loses very little). The rest of the car is in good shape too. After the accident I drove it home about 35 miles on the donut tire and it didn't pull to either side, also I didn't feel any wobbling or shimmy--in short, the damage seems to be entirely cosmetic (I did lose the coolant recovery tank). You can see some pics of the damage at my webspace at http://users.rcn.com/r.aries/sindex.html I had no collision on the car. The body shop I like said that the quarter panel & hood would need to be replaced, and that junkyard parts would cost about the same as aftermarket. That's my first question--is this true? He also said the radiator support pillar was pushed in and that, along with needing a new bumper, would probably push the cost of even a jimmy-rig "barely legal" fix to over 1K. Right now the car seems like a candidate for parting out, or maybe selling to a specialized Subaru dealer that fixes up older Subes (I just spoke to one in the Hartford CT area but I was asking about Legacys to replace mine). This seems a remote possibility to me, but I thought I would put it out here and see what the experts have to say. One major bummer is that the car was needing a timing belt and some brake work so that probably seals it for me. So--is the car worth ANYTHING to ANYBODY, or should I consider it junk? Needless to say I am busy looking for another Legacy...very short of cash now (wasn't planning on getting another car THIS soon!). I just found this board the other day and have read a lot of good stuff here. This was my second Legacy...bought it in '99 for $3400 when it had 65K and a new timing belt & cv joints, so it doesn't owe me a thing. This one replaced my '91 which lasted 179K (a few accidents cut its life short). Thanks in advance for any advice!! Rob Aries