northgeorgiaroo

I assume you've already hit it with a ton of PB blaster and let it sit overnight? That stuff has saved my butt a bunch of times!!!!

Thanks for the link, johnceggleston, Now I know my wagon isn't kindof light shiny brown, It's "Sandstone Metallic"

What I always do (My old soobs, my old Jeep, my old VW Rabbit... everything except my old Camry - Yotas have too much resale to give away:grin: ) is drive it until it breaks, then fix it until it can't be fixed by me. Then give it to someone, preferably a teenager, who has no idea what he's getting into, but is excited to get the free vehicle! Never Sell a Soob!

I think cookie had the point, but it got overwhelmed by the engineering and number-crunching going on. If you want a higway runner, don't buy an outback. It's not only evidently geared low, it's way too high off the ground to run at 80 comfortably. When you design a vehicle with off-highway performace in mind, you lose higway performance. It's that simple. I'd rather run at a little higher rpm on the interstate than stall out the first time I try a nasty hill on the way to camp. A dual-range 4wd would be the ideal solution, but Subaru seems to have given up on that.

Yep, that's what I was afraid of. There goes my "great deal" -- $800 for a great-looking legacy with 210k miles. I will definitely fix it. -- now I can fix that leaking rear main, too. With an engine this old, do you think it would be worth a total rebuild, while it's out? I would think at least a total head job, but once I am looking at that much $, taking care of the pistons, bearings, etc. seems cost-effective now. Time is as much of a factor as money for me, so I am contemplating a used transplant instead of taking this engine out and tearing it down. Anybody seen a 2.2L w/ less than 100k mi. for sale? Any other ideas? Thanks for your help, guys, I will probably need more before I'm done.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Here is an update: I still haven't had time to replace thermostat, but went ahead and changed the oil, something I wanted to to immediately after I bought it, and I thought I could make sure no coolant. Oil looked fine, coolant level looked fine, so I went for a short drive, watching that temp the whole time. about 5 minutes, including mild hill, everything seems OK -- needle rose slowly to 1/2 point on guage and stayed there the whole time. Heater still doing the same thing. Then I stopped, and looked at the coolant overflow tank. It looks like a Starbucks cappucino!!! About 1 1/2 inches of foam on top. What does this mean?

Thanks! I probably overreacted after reading all the horror stories on here. Coolant level was low. I walked to a Walgreens and bought a jug of water to add, but it was after that that I noticed the heater issue. (works only when engine revs climb). I don't know where it went, but I will check all the hoses and replace the thermostat. I will let y'all know how that goes. I hope it is just a thermostat. Failing that, just a radiator or a water pump.

Hi all, I am another newbie to this forum, having recently bought a 90 Legacy Wagon after about 10 years since I gave up on my 84 GL wagon. (Man, I loved that thing). I have already read a lot about the 2.5L engine and its head gasket issues, so I aimed for a legacy with the 2.2L. I was pretty happy with my purchase until today, when the car overheated for no apparent reason on my lunch break. Following the overheat, I noticed that the heater would work fine while I was moving (engine above 2,000 RPM seemed to be ideal), but would then quit when I stopped. (engine at idle). This sounds suspiciously like some of the problems I have read from ppl with 2.5L engines. My legacy has about 210K on it, so I wouldn't be too surpised if the engine needed a little help, but I was wondering if the 2.2L head gaskets have been known to fail the same way as the 2.5L? If a compression test won't show it, what is the lithmus test for a head gasket? Thanks, y'all.

Thank you. I think am looking at more like $400 for all four struts, unless you know somewhere cheaper than tirerack.com. I was curious about the OB struts tho. Anybody done that swap on a 90 legacy wagon? Did you have to modify/replace mounts?

Hey, after a long time w/o a subie, I found a great rust-free 90 Legacy wagon AWD in Dalton, Georgia for $800. Yeah!! But now, I need to get it going good. Does anybody have a shop manual for this year/model they don't need anymore? I saw some CD ROM "shop manuals" on ebay for $10, but don't really trust them. Anyone tried? The struts are shot, leaving me bouncing up and down after every bump, so I am also looking for good struts. Ideas? Have heard of Outback struts to gain clearance, but wary of having to do mods. (I live in an apartment w/ no workspace whatsoever.) Used struts in good shape would be ideal, if anyone knows where to look. Also, rear main drips pretty bad. No subie mechanics nearby that I know of, (not that I could pay them anyway) so any DIY tips would be appreciated! Thanks, Dan