goatman

Its awd actually. I'm jealous myself because when I was 16 my parents definitely didn't buy me a car. I had to buy one with my own money. So I bought an 84 4wd wagon for 700 bucks. Had that car till last year when I bought my 08 impreza. The middle brother has a 94 legacy wagon that he drives around while he is at college. Were kinda a subaru family. It all started with my dad having a subaru when we were younger and then it kinda made sense for each of the kids to get one with the winters we have around here and we are all big skiers so it made even more sense. I hope he doesn't trash this car since he will be 16 and dumb. But, both me and my other brother got cars when we were sixteen and neither of us has ever wrecked or trashed one yet, so maybe he'll be ok?

I guess I do know how to do it, here is some more....

Here are a few pics I took. This is my first time trying to post images on here so hopefully it works...

Well did most of the tuneup stuff yesterday. I got a few pictures of the 92. Whats the easiest way to put these up so you guys can see it?

I've got a receipt right here for a timing belt change at 57k back in 2003.That means the car had 11k put on it in the last 6 years. My parents got it from the old lady across the street that quit driving recently. I'll get some pics here soon. You should see under the hood, there is hardly any dirt or anything. It does look like both inner boots are torn but I haven't heard any noise out of them.

My parents bought my almost 16 year old brother a 92 legacy with 68k miles on it. The thing is in mint condition! I told my parents I would help him tune it up and get it all ready so that when he turns 16 he can drive it. My first car when I was 16 was a 84 wagon that I did lots of repairs on so I do know how to work on these cars a little bit. I was wondering what should be done on this car? I drove it and it runs like a top. Here is what I was thinking of replacing Plugs Air Filter PCV Fuel Filter Oil Change Coolant Change What about the rear diff fluid and Transmission fluid? Its an auto if it makes a difference. Thanks guys, I used the search function to look for stuff on tuneups but was kinda coming up with very little.

It is true no temp gauge....I bought the "stripped down" impreza that still has power windows, AC, CD player, cargo cover, power mirrors and cruise control. I guess most cars just come standard with this stuff now? Talking to the dealer they made it sound like the base impreza was a piece of crap with no options and I shouldn't waste my time driving it.... I drove it and didn't really care that it didn't have the 6 disc changer or 10 speakers since I will probably upgrade this on my own in the future. Also compared to my 84 wagon it had so many features I just didn't even know what to do. The stereo in the 84 was a boombox plugged into the cigarette lighter. It took me a couple of days to quit trying to look for the temp. gauge every few minutes like I did on the old car. Now I don't even really notice it. I agree though, at some point I should probably add a temp gauge but I don't want to make the thing look like some import racer.

I'm certain I checked the level properly and when the car was "hot." It has no temp gauge but the idiot light has never come on. Both times I checked the level I then later took the cap off to check that the actual radiator was full, it was....I guess I'll just keep on eye on it and maybe try and take a look every fill-up or something. Besides this the car runs perfectly and has had no problems, except that I need to keep close track of how fast I'm going otherwise I will get speeding tickets. This thing is a rocketship compared to my old 84 4wd wagon.

So I've checked the coolant on my 08 impreza twice since I got it in Nov. Both times its been low. The first time it was right at the low mark on the reservoir, so I filled it up to the full mark with official OEM subaru coolant. It didn't really take much if I'm remembering right. Then a couple thousand miles later I checked it again and I noticed it down a little from where I filled it up to. I'm not talking very much, maybe 6-8 oz of coolant to bring it back to the top mark. The coolant looks fine and smells fine (not oily) and the oil is clean as well. I doubt it would have headgasket problems this early (17k). But what else could it be? I never see any drops or anything. Anyone else with a newer Roo have this problem?

So since I've been back in Spokane I've been looking to replace my 84 subie wagon that I've had since I was 16 (this board helped keep that car alive for so long). Still not totally sure what I want but I'm leaning towards an 03 and up legacy or impreza sport. Suggestions? I've called on several cars but have only looked at a couple. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a 05 legacy wagon special addition. Its a 5spd with 52K. Hes asking 15 K for it, is this good? Seems to be about in the ballpark for what I've seen. I guess I'll know more about the condition tomorrow but it looks to be in great shape.

Thanks for all the input. I guess I probably need to decide how much I'm willing to spend before anything else. I'd be willing to pay up to maybe 6-7K cash for something or maybe 10-12K if I got a loan for a newer one. I really like the newer wagons (the last 3 years?) But I'm pretty sure that they want too much for them still. Do you guys think its better to spend a little more money for something nicer and needing less repairs or go cheap and then do what repairs I can myself (headgasket, timing belt, brakes, ...whatever else)? I have done lots of repairs on my 84 but I've never really worked on newer cars so I don't know how many of the repairs I could do myself.

I've had my 84 Subaru wagon since I was 16, almost eight years now. It was my first car and has been great. I told myself way back when I got it that I wanted it to last through college. Well I'm almost there now and I'm planning on upgrading to a newer subie after I graduate in the spring. I'm not sure what year to get or how much I'm willing to spend. I'd like to get something as new as possible but the early 2.5 liter engines scare me so I think I'm going to go with a later 2.2 model or maybe if I can afford it I'd like to get something newer. What year did the 2.5 motor start to become more reliable? A new subie sounds great but I'm pretty sure its out of my price range. Maybe 3-4 years old? What do you guys think?

So when I graduate here in the spring I am thinking of upgrading from the 84. I have driven the 84 for 7 years and it has been a great car for the $800 I paid for it. Its really starting to show its age with the rust all the way through in a few places, and it doesn't have the pep it used to. The beast has 277K though so its been a trooper. I am trying to decide what I should get to replace it... Heres my ideas 90-94 legacy wagon 95-99 legacy wagon 9?-200? Impreza Outback sport or 2.5rs (the sport wagon one) 2002-? WRX wagon (I like wagons) What year did they fix the 2.5 motor with the head gasket problems and the clutch shudder? I would like to get something in the 2000s but don't know about the cost and the reliability of the newer motors. My brother has a 94 legacy that runs like a champ so thats an option. I'd really like to get a WRX but don't know how much more a used one would cost and I think insurance would be more. I'm kinda a cheap-skate but I'm willing to buy a newer vehicle if I know I will get years of reliable service out of it. So, what do you guys think? Even though I'm not purchasing for several months I thought I should at least start looking at what some of these vehicles cost.

The steering wheel doesn't move with the noise but sometimes its like you can feel the vibration through the car slightly...I guess I need to get out there and take a look at the axles, ball joints, and tie rod ends. It could be a wheel bearing maybe? I replaced the wheel bearings on the passenger side like a year ago but not the drivers side. It just doesn't seem like a wheel bearing though.

I have a 84 wagon. Lately when driving on bumpy roads I have noticed a rattly, loose, knocking noise coming from the driver side front wheel area. I looked under the car to see if it was anything obvious but I didn't see anything? What should I check? All I can think of is to look to make sure the lower ball joint is tight, both in the hub and to the control arm. Maybe make sure the axle nut is tight? Any ideas? Its cold and I don't want to spend to much time checking this out.

I haven't been on here in awhile since I've been gone for the summer. I get back in Spokane in a couple days and then I have one day to make sure my car is in proper running order before I take off on a long(ish) roadtrip to Seattle and Vancouver Wa. I tried the search function on the forum but didn't really come up with what I was looking for. Car: 84 4wd wagon Right before I left for the summer I took a look at my brake shoes on the back and noticed they were on their last leg. Didn't have time to do them right then but told myself I would do them when I got home. I've done plenty of other repairs to this ride including the front brake pads a few years ago but I've never done a set of rear shoes. I think I'll be able to figure it out. Can anyone give me brief lowdown on the procedure? Have any tricks or tips? Everything else was fine when I put her away a couple months ago so I'm hoping shes still good. Thanks a bunch.

I tried using the search function because I know this has been covered... I need to replace my drivers side axle and i was wondering what are the best brands of remans? I was just going to go to Schucks of NAPA. The axle I'm replacing was from NAPA and probably lasted 20K (a couple years).

Thanks for the advice. I got the vapor seperator on right. I just have the other two routed backwards (arrow pointing towards gas tank) . I'm not sure if this effects performance.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?? Maybe I'll just get another filter to see if the arrow is pointing the same direction on the filter.

I replaced both fuel filters on my 84. The one I replaced under the hood has the arrow on the filter pointing to the other hose (backwards of the old filter). Does this matter? It seems to not be running as well as it used to before, not as much power. But it could just be carb problems.

Yeah the radiator is like 3 years old and it was running at the proper temp until I decided to change the t-stat.

I've bought two different thermostats from napa for my ea81 and they both would stick closed causing my car to run hot sometimes. Should I just get a thermostat from the dealer?

So I cleaned the carb and changed both fuel filters, seemed to help a little. But it still wants to die sometimes when idling, other times it idles fine. Still drives good. I have know idea what to do now. What are my options with regards to carbs? I think my brother might have a hitachi I can maybe use.

About a month ago I asked for help diagnosing my car, it was hesitating and losing power when on the highway usually in forth gear, then when I would downshift to third and get the rpms up it would run fine again. It would do this for maybe five or ten minutes and then go away sometimes for a couple of days. I was told to change the fuel filters and then see if it got better. Someone said the carb is probably toast. I changed the fuel filter under the hood but not the one under the car (it was changed 14 K ago). Now it doesn't do the hesistating on the highway anymore. But I have a different maybe related problem. It starts fine and its cold idle is fine, usually its warm idle is good for a couple minutes. Once its all the way warmed up the idle falls from about 800 rpms to maybe 400-500 rpms barley running and sometimes dying. If you get on the gas it runs fine and driving around it runs great, it just doesn't want to idle when warm? I tried fiddling with the idle speed adjuster but the idle just jumps from barley running to about 1100 rpm. I'm going to change the fuel filter under the car to see if this helps but do you guys have other ideas? Its a hitachi carb and has about 168K.

Man I hope its the fuel filters. I replaced the one under the hood maybe 10K ago but the one under the car has been in there 30K, so I should replace them both? I won't be able to get under the car for a few days so we'll see. If it turns out to be the carb what are my options? I know you guys like to throw webers on to replace the hitachi but will it still pass emitions? What sort of price range am I looking at for a weber? Do you guys ever just get your Hitachis rebuilt? I don't really know much about carbs so any info you can give me would be great.