Red92

I don't know about your area, but in mine, $800 will barely buy you a Subaru that runs and drives... and if it does, it probably needs major work. So for $800, you have to lower your expectations, and expect to sink some money into it. Are you the kind of person who says: "The car was only $800, so I can afford to put some money into it. Even if I have to put another $1000 in, it will still be a good used car for the price." ...or are you more of this type... "$400 to repair that?? Forget it! I only paid 800 bucks for the whole car!" ? I'll let others comment on the rest, but don't worry about the shifter. It's just some bushings underneath that wear out, and it's pretty common. As long as you can still shift it, it isn't a big deal, but if you want to fix it, there are step-by-step guides available.

His offer actually could help you out substantially, if you think about it. If you have a car with $900 of nearly new tires, and you're going to sell the car as a whole for $1100, then you're basically selling the car portion (not counting the tires) for less than scrap price. When you consider that alloy wheels are $50/each at the scrap yard, and not terribly much less when sold private party, then the car itself is basically free for whoever buys the wheels and tires! Here's the benefit: A swap+cash for some lesser wheels/tires would help you recover your investment in the tires, and then let you still sell the car as a rolling drivable car. YOU yourself don't need the BFGs - the future owner of your Legacy does. It might be an easy way to get more $$ overall, with a very low level of effort. That is, of course, assuming you don't get it fixed first.

Are you asking about 1996 specifically, for both engine sizes? ie: 1996 EJ22 Outback vs 1996 EJ25 Outback? Not necessarily... for example, the '95 Outback (North America), which had the same suspension height as the standard Legacy.

The radiator core itself seems to be the same size, it's just that inch of spacer at the bottom that looks different. But you reminded me... I should probably build up that inch of space at the bottom (instead of the top like I was thinking), so that the radiator cap stays higher. Otherwise, if I just make new top mounts, then I will make it a lot harder to burp the air out of the cooling system. :-\

Thanks for the advice. I'll look, but the bottom of my old radiator is a bit tweaked. This car looks like it had taken a trailer hitch straight through the grille at one point, bending the AC condenser a bit, and pushing the radiator out of the lower mounts. I'll see if I can bend it back though... (The condenser straightened out pretty easily with no apparent damage, for what it is worth. I had to straighten that before the radiator would sit in its place.) Otherwise, I think the top would be the easiest place to fab a custom mount, although I will have to see if there are any airflow impacts to doing that.

This one is from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I bought it from them because they could get it the next day, and their computer system DOES list the '94 GT as a separate model... Unlike, as you say, my local dealer. I'm not going to sell a car because the radiator mount is an inch off. That's a little extreme, don't you think? So this radiator is a one-year-only part for North America? I knew that the turbo models used a different radiator arrangement, but I didn't have any reason to know that the supports were different since I don't have a turbo. How would you change the radiator supports? Aren't they welded in structural parts? Does anyone have any pictures of what a "normal" first gen Legacy's radiator supports and mountings look like? Also, bheinen74, are there any other "oddball" parts for the '94 GT that I should be aware of?

Has anyone seen anything like this? It's a brand new aftermarket replacement radiator, for my '94 Legacy GT... everything "looks" right, it had the pin mounts in the bottom, the cap fit, it has the right style of mounts up top, etc, etc... but overall, it is about an inch and a quarter too short in height! The problem is the bottom - this radiator has the pins straight out of the bottom, whereas the stock one has little risers to space it up an inch above the pins. Was this one intended for a different model of Subaru? I was hoping to have the car put back together today... but now I'll have to take this back to the store tomorrow and see how quickly they can get another one in. My car is out on the street, and the city likes to leave tickets after 48 hours... wish me luck. :-\

It looks like a nice piece. I looked through your other thread... Have any of the 11 skid plates out there seen any genuine off-road abuse beyond just mud? Have you had a chance to give one a few hard impacts, and see where it breaks, see if the bolts hold, or see if it transfers any forces to places on the car that can't handle it? Many people here take "off road" pretty seriously.

The radiator has been ordered, and should be coming in tomorrow. I'm picking up new hoses, clamps, and those lower mount cushions too. I don't know if I'll get to it this weekend, but hopefully pretty soon here. zzz

Both of those are related - having a photo gallery here is a privilege you get when you donate to USMB. Otherwise, you can use Photobucket or another hosting service... But I recommend the donation.

I found another car for you. http://reading.craigslist.org/cto/2817942391.html

Whoa... I was just looking at that exact car earlier today on Copart! http://www.copart.com/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e2s1&lotId=11338572 The sales status is listed as "On Approval"... which I looked up: Seems like a sneaky way to put a hidden reserve on a car. :-\ What a bummer. How much did it sell for?

Having a rusty car and living in the rust belt seemed to do the trick for me. When I took my old Loyale to the shop, they always waited for the drive-on lift to be available before they would work on it. The tire shop was the same way - when I had a flat repaired, they offered to put it back on for me (switch it out with the spare that was on the car), then came back a minute later and asked me if it was OK to put it on a lift. I certainly appreciated it that they thought this far ahead, had some common sense, and would take good care of a car that wasn't a show car by any stretch... but I also can't help but think that each one of those nice considerate mechanics had probably punched a hole clean through a rusty car with a lift at some point or another.

Do the black plungers still have their rubber boot? If so, is the rubber boot crooked? I had the same problem with my '92... always thinking one of the rear doors was open. The boot that goes over the switch had shifted over to the side, and because the boot is thickest on the end (which now wasn't over the plunger), it just wasn't pushing the switch in far enough. I could push the boot back over to re-center it, and it worked fine... but after doing that a few times, I just replaced it with a used one that wasn't squished over crooked. :cool:

The paint will scare some people away... otherwise, I would say $1500 is on the low side. Start at least at $2000, perhaps higher, and go down if you have to.

A few more questions- When I replace the radiator, I'll probably take the opportunity to replace the hoses and clamps. Are these items that are on the "Get from the dealer" list, or are the parts store brands OK? Also, is it advisable to treat this as a 'flush', and replace the coolant while it is all drained out, or should I just get a funnel and put all the old coolant back in when I'm done?

Right next to the popcorn maker.

You wouldn't have to be under it to get hurt.... because a car on jackstands isn't going to fall straight down, it is going to fall sideways when the jackstands tip (side, front, back, any direction is possible). So you can pretty much look at the extended height of your jackstands, and figure that the car could come at least that far toward you if it comes down. If you're close enough to be handling parts of the car, you're within range. :-\

I think it's sketchy too.. but I absolutely wouldn't do it with the wheels off! If you have the wheels pulled and the car falls off the jack stands, then the ENTIRE CAR becomes a crushing hazard!

Here's an interesting video about the history of how worthless the penny is. http://blog.cgpgrey.com/death-to-pennies/ 50 cent pieces are pretty unusual now too. I had about 60 of them at one point, but I went on a camping trip and needed some money so I took those. What a nightmare. No vending machines would take them, the young cashiers at the stores thought they were fake, etc. At the campsite, I bought all kinds of small things with them over the span of a week, and they got really upset because they didn't have a spot in their cash register drawer for them, and other people wouldn't take them as change because they wouldn't work in the vending machines.

If that's the case, then there is only one option left... Those with weak stomachs, look away now! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sorry, I had to.

Also not a Brat, but here was another: posted in the 'Awesome Older Generation Picture Thread' by TheLoyale: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127197&page=57

So yesterday, the day I sold my Loyale, for the first time ever I heard the door chime. The sound! Absolutely hilarious! I about fell out of the car laughing! It's not a tick, and it's not a buzz... not even a click or a beep or some synthetic sound like modern cars. Nope, it's a freaking bicycle bell. Mine must have been a bit gummed up too, because it was all weak and irregular in its rhythm. I about died when I heard it. Poor little Subaru! "Wait!! Don't sell me!! Look! I'm still... alive... *cough cough*" Are these things hard to pull out of the cars? I might have to pick one up the next time I'm at the junkyard. To retrofit to the newer cars, or.. you know.. for my bike.

Try cleaning the battery terminals and the clamps on the battery cables really well. My Loyale had a similar periodic hard-start problem. It would always start with a jump, but sometimes would act like the battery was really low, even when driving. One time, it even gave the same symptom after I pulled the battery and charged it out of the car. At that point, I knew it wasn't a battery problem, and I knew it wasn't a charging system problem. I cleaned up the cables and terminals, and not only was the problem completely gone, but that's when my auto seatbelts started moving again.

For what it is worth, I tried cranking while the power was still connected (key out of the ignition though), and the car didn't fight me. It didn't make any difference though, because as soon as you opened the door, they would just zip right back up to the front and stay there. I needed to fix this before I sold the car, so I ended up pulling both trim pieces and disconnecting the motors, then manually cranking them back. Nice and easy, problem solved. :cool: Also, to correct my earlier post: I found the crank, and it turns out it is *NOT* located "under" the seat. It is actually in a pouch that is snapped onto the FRONT of the seat, right near the floor, on the passenger side. The pouch is made out of carpet material, so it blends in really well. But you don't have to lift the seat or anything to find it, it is just right there on the front.