1990legacy

thats pretty beastly...I like it

cool, I think thats about what I need to know. I do have access to a welder, friend of mine does body work and random mechanical stuff. plus I know he's up for a project. so now I need a decent legacy for cheap. used to have one, loved it.

how much effort is it to just do what you described, rather than a normal lift like what you could purchase ready made?

The new grill looks awful...the B9 looked bad IMO, and this is like they took its front instead of making a new one for the impreza.

I personally used Crutchfield as well, although I didnt have to wait as I used to live near one of their stores in Harrisonburg VA. But even if you do have to get it shipped, its kind of cool to know that you can install the stuff yourself with the instructions they provide. I could have put in the bigger pocket under my cd player, but I dont really care about looks, so i just left it open...you can still look in and see wires

How much time and how difficult is it to do a headgasket change on a Legacy? Mine blew, and I'm losing compression, so its definitely the gasket. I was thinking about selling the car, but its not much use to anyone like that. So how hard will that be to fix?

Well, it runs fine other than overheating, so I dont know that its done anything to it...yet. It can go for about 10 minutes or so, long enough to get the engine warmed up to normal operating temp. And then the needle begins its nasty upward climb. The fans work too, so its not that. So the only other thing I can think of might be a clogged radiator. However, I have heard some noises from under the hood that could be the water pump...like a small rattling from a noisy bearing.

ok, so here's an update on the situation. Did all the right things, ie burping the system and whatnot. Replaced the thermostat and temp sending unit. Still overheating. So now the only real conclusion could be the water pump, correct? Is this something I could do on my own, and if not, what kind of costs am I looking at?

Well, I just did the one on my car, and since it would appear you have the same engine, the temp sensor on your car should be located below and to the left of your alternator, which has to come out to get at the sensor. But really, its a fairly simple task, just remember the order in which you took things out. And the sensor should run you like $7 or so at a parts store.

I know of one RX near me, and that would be owned by gravelRX...although he took the side skirts and part of the front bumper off, to keep the police from giving him trouble. I think they confused it with a riced out old Honda! Other than that one, I've never seen another, but I'd love to have one if i could afford another car right now.

yup, did that, but thanks for the reminder

So when I'm looking at the alternator from the front, its the one directly below it? And just a while ago, the stupid car started its overheating crap again...I think it was maybe the cheapo thermostat in it, but I'm not totally sure.

Did subaru make a 5MT in any of the FWD legacys?

Well, I know I changed the right sender, because now my temp gauge is working right, so thats not the problem. I just cant figure out how I knocked something loose for the oil pressure sender if its not near the temp one.

Ok, I'll double check it, but I believe all the wires are connected. The oil pressure sending unit is the one right by the coolant one, right? If that isnt whats causing it, what else could it be?

I replaced my coolant temp sender today, no big deal. I removed the alternator to get to it, and once it was done everything went back into place. So the car runs cool now, no overheating anymore. The only problem is as soon as I'd reconnected all the stuff, I started the car and the oil light came on. I had to disconnect the battery as a precaution when working with the alternator, so I'm wondering if its just something that needs to be reset. The oil pressure sender is intact, and the oil is at the right level and was just changed. I drove it a few miles and everything worked fine, no knocking, so I think its just the light being stuck on. Anyway, I'm at a loss here, so any help would be nice.

I'm thinking about doing a major parts swap on my 1990 Legacy wagon. Its currently front wd, auto trans. I'm considering, if the price is right, doing a swap of a turbo legacy engine, and a 5spd trans. I already know of a source for the awd parts, and I know that bolts up with a trans from an awd car. Is this crazy to consider, or should I find a better way to spend my $$?

I've never heard of that term...so yeah, I probably havent done it right.

Update on the situation...changed the hose last night, but its still doing trying to cook itself the same way it was. So I'm going to venture a guess that its the water pump contributing to the problem.

I asked around and I was told that it might be the lower radiator hose...but I dont know that for sure...any idea what a new water pump will run?

The other day, my car almost died, due to the oil being low...I knew it had a leak, but being the moron that I am, forgot to keep up with it like usual. Anyway, it overheated, so I stopped and added more oil and coolant, and made it back home fine. I changed the oil the very next day, and all seemed to be fine. Then last night, while I was sitting in traffic, the temp gauge shot up to hot, then went back down to normal after about a minute. I figured it was the thermostat being stupid, because the car wasnt low on fluids at the time. Then later on that evening, just a few blocks from home, it began running hot again, and after parking the car, I noticed that there was a puddle of coolant on the ground. The weird part is that the cap didnt come off of the radiator or the overflow container, so I'm wondering if there is a leak somewhere, and if the thermostat is possible gone bad. Any advice or suggestions would be great.

There are lots of upgrades for the newer subarus out there. Some are more expensive than others though. Cobb Tuning has a decent selection of upgrades for your car http://www.cobbtuning.com/main.html , but be prepared to throw down some $$ for it. Just do a google search and you should be able to find the parts you're looking for without too much trouble. Or there is the good old K&N filter which is easy enough to find. I believe they make intakes as well. For my car, I just cut a hole in the side of the filter box for more flow, and dropped in a K&N panel filter. Didnt feel like messing with an aftermarket intake.

So what you're saying is that if you have a nearly full coolant overflow tank after a drive, then thats indicative of headgasket problems? My Legacys tank has lately been above normal levels after driving... :-\

Thats rather odd for a newer (than mine) car to do something like that. From what I've seen, Subarus have usually had fairly durable paint. Heck, my car still has most of it, except where I've knocked it off, or a few pieces of trim that have faded. But then, my car is a 1990, so its been around longer. I have to say, thats not cool that its cracking, but I guess if you can't fix it right now, I dont know what else to tell ya. I'm suprised the dealer actually offered you as much as they did. :-\

How far into VA does it look like you might be going? Oh, and if anyone needs parts, gravelRX has a legacy wagon he's parting out in Roanoke VA.