Terry in Australia

Thanks guys, I've emailed the seller to see if I can go and take a look this weekend, but haven't received a reply yet. I suspect that it's still a "Twin Turbo" with later model differentials installed, but I guess all will be revealed when I see it in the flesh. If it needs crank and conrod bearings it'll be a good warmup for my Honda Goldwing engine rebuild I'll be doing in a month or two........ Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Guys, here in Oz, our version of Craigslist is "Gumtree". I've recently become a Gumtree convert, and bought my $450.00 1995 FWD Liberty (Legacy) from Gumtree in July. I'm interested in buying an AWD Soobie, and this one came up a day or two ago, which I find interesting: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/camberwell/cars-vans-utes/subaru-legacy-gt-b-twin-turbo-wagon-wrx-sti-v8/1025768626 The seller texted me some pics of the interior and engine which don't look too bad, and I'm waiting on a reply as to which bearings need replacing, (I'm guessing Turbo, but I don't know for sure) do you guys know what goes wrong with these things? The Legacy wasn't an official Subaru import into Australia, so I thought I'd throw this open to the wider Subaru community, I do my own mechanical work, so I'm interested to know what goes wrong, and what to look for? Cheers, Terry.

I'm with you, Heartless. I bought my '95 Liberty (Legacy) FWD sedan with a new windscreen, timing belt and pulleys, new battery and 4 months registration and insurance for $450.00, as a non runner. With help from the collective guru's here, I re-did the cam timing and drove it home from the sellers place. I replaced the water pump ($68) radiator (100.00) left rear hub ($80.00) oil, filter, coolant ($50.00)new "Gates Racing" alternator and power steering belts ($26.00) and wasted another $200.00 on a genuine radiator cap thermostat and crank position sensor. None of these were needed, except to confirm that they weren't needed. I took it to my local "Roadworthy Inspection Station" yesterday for the Roadworthy Certificate that's required here when you buy a car, and apart from me needing to replace the belt guards, clean the underneath of the engine and flush the brake fluid, it passed with flying colors. I really like this car, it has a "Sports Exhaust" which makes me feel like I'm really driving a sports car, and my only regret is that I've got a bad case of "AWD Envy". No biggie, there's a '99 Liberty AWD wagon with leather and woodgrain everywhere, with a 2.5 litre that's overheating, for $2000.00. Now that I know what the fix is, I think I'll buy it and give mine to my brother in law who needs to experience Subaru ownership. He's gonna love it! Cheers, Terry.

Yep, I'll bet it's a burping issue. I installed a new radiator in my '95 Liberty (Legacy) yesterday and I'm going through the air lock/overheating problems all over again. Cheers, Terry.

I had the same issue (95 Liberty/Legacy) last weekend after I replaced my leaking water pump. I thought I'd "burped" the cooling system correctly, the temp gauge needle slowly climbed to the halfway mark and stayed there, so I went for a drive. The needle remained in the middle of the gauge for the first 20 miles, then suddenly climbed up to the "Hot" mark. Bugger. I parked and waited for it to cool (middle of winter here, so it didn't take long) and then lifted the hood. To my surprise, the coolant overflow tank was full, and actually overflowing, judging by the coolant that had been sprayed over the engine and battery, etc. I siphoned the coolant back into a 1 gallon jug and then slowly poured it back into the radiator. I checked the hoses, both were secure, but whereas the top hose was hot, the bottom hose was cold. I assumed that the thermostat wasn't opening. I'd checked the thermostat in a pan of boiling water the previous day so I knew it was good, so I realised that it was probably still a "burping" issue. I drove it home (it overheated again after around 20 miles) and once back home I let it cool down for a couple of hours. Once again, the overflow tank was full. I drained it again as previously described, and slowly poured it back into the radiator. I then started the car, and with the radiator cap off I continued to slowly pour water into the radiator. There were lots of air bubbles again as I did this, but this time, the thermostat opened, and as the thermo fans came on, the coolant would suddenly drop, so I'd add more water, and the thermostat would close again. Once the coolant in the block heated up again the fans would come on, and the thermostat would open, and I could get another pint or so of water in before the thermostat closed again. This happened another few times until there was no discernable drop in coolant in the radiator, and the temp gauge needle stayed in the halfway position. I've driven it all week in peak hour Melbourne traffic, and the needle hasn't moved past the halfway mark, so I'm confident that it's now fixed. It was very frustrating though, and each time I "burped" the system, I was sure that I had all the air out, but until that bottom hose got hot, I hadn't. Re: your leak around the hose, the hose fittings on my radiator (and yours, I presume) are plastic, and a PO destroyed the fitting for my top hose by over-tightening the clamp. I've bought a new radiator which I'll be installing this weekend as I'm not confidant that my top hose is as secure as it could be, on the broken remains of the fitting. I bought mine on eBay for $100.00 including delivery, so I'm betting you can get a new one (if needed, of course) for less money in the US. Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Reidy, I live in Mill Park mate, and coincidentally I've just been looking at upgrading the suspension on my 95 Liberty. I found this site, and in the "Kings Springs" catalogue, there's a listing for a conversion kit for your car, to convert it to conventional shocks and springs. here it is here. Cheers, Terry. http://www.wholesalesuspension.com.au/products.html http://www.wholesalesuspension.com.au/pics/products/catalogues/kings_master_catalogue.pdf

I bought my '95 Liberty (Legacy) on July the 28th for $450, as a registered and insured non runner. The PO had a "Mobile mechanic" come out and fix an oil leak (crank seal) and he replaced the timing belts and pulleys, but muffed the valve timing. With advice gleaned from the experts here, I re-timed it, and it runs like a champ. Sadly the water pump was shot so I replaced that last weekend, and using several methods (once again suggested by the collective genius of this site) to "burp" the cooling system, I think I've now got it right. The problem was that there was so much air in the system that the thermostat just wasn't opening, so the water in the radiator was cool, whilst the water in the engine was boiling. It wasn't until I stood over the radiator and watched the coolant level drop every time the thermo fans came on that I knew that the thermostat was finally opening and that the coolant was being circulated. I've driven it now for 2 days in "Peak Hour" Melbourne traffic, and the temp gauge needle hasn't moved above the half way mark on the gauge. It was really frustrating, but now that it's OK again, I'm enjoying driving my Subaru again, and looking forwards to my next project, replacing my rear wheel bearings. Cheers, Terry.

Hey thanks mate, that's really good information! I love this site, if I'd attacked my valve timing or water pump install (I'm only a Soobie Noobie, so that's the extent of my mechanical experience so far) using the workshop manual, I'd still be scratching my head, but you guys are brilliant! Cheers, Terry.

Thanks Guys, mine has an auto transmission, as does the 92 AWD I'm thinking of buying. I can afford to buy a decent late model AWD car, but I just like playing with this old stuff and I'm not afraid to take on a project, particularly if it's just a bolt up deal. Anyway, no rush, I've just replaced the water pump in my '95 today, and next weekend I'll replace the noisy rear wheel bearing, and clock up some miles as I day dream about AWD conversions. Cheers, Terry.

I had a leak from the "weep hole" on my water pump on my 1995 Liberty (Legacy) and there was a dull ringing noise coming from the front of the engine that sounded like a bad bearing. The PO had just had the belts and pulleys replaced (poorly, a mobile mechanic installed the belt and messed up the timing and the car wouldn't start) so I knew that they were good, and after having an overheating issue, I decided to replace the water pump. I found this article really good, and read it several times before I attacked it myself: http://lovehorsepower.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:1995-subaru-legacy-outback-timing-belt-and-water-pump-replacement&catid=10:subaru-legacy&Itemid=64 When I re-did the valve timing, I left the timing belt covers off in case I'd messed something up, so today it wasn't a huge job to remove the radiator and all the belts to replace the pump. As I intended to start the car before I put the radiator back on (to make sure I'd done the timing correctly) I connected the oil cooler hoses for the auto tranny to an old motorcycle oil cooler I had in my garage, to avoid losing a litre of transmission fluid all over the floor like I did last time. Oops.... Anyway, it was good that I replaced the pump. The old one was dead, the bearings were shot and the engine is much quieter now. I'm having a bugger of a job "Burping" the cooling system and it's still overheating though, (no water in the oil, or oil in the water, so I'm assuming I don't have a blown head gasket) I've tried to do it as per some suggestions I've read here, but to no avail, so I'm going to try this method tomorrow: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fill-and-burp-your-cooling-system-burpcoolingsystem-198487.html?s=be5680692cc9d8ce2f64d8fdaa046915& Anyway, bottom line is this is not a hard job, and not expensive, either. I bought a new pump on eBay for 68 bucks that came with the gasket and thermostat seal, I tested the old thermostat and it worked fine, so I didn't buy a new one, but I did buy new "Gates Racing" alternator/power steering and aircon belts, because mine were old and cracked. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have the cooling system properly burped, and take it for a drive! Cheers, Terry.

Thanks mate, I appreciate your input, as always. I'm going to look at a '92 Liberty AWD sedan that appears to be in really good condition, but needs a new transmission, so I'm tossing up whether I should buy it and just install a good transmission, or use it as a donor car (if parts are compatable?) for a conversion. I'm leaning towards fixing the transmission and keeping it, and giving my '95 model to my brother in law, who needs a good second car, but I like the style of the '95's bodywork, so it's a bit of a quandry for me at the moment? Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Guys, firstly I need to say that I've checked the FAQ's and wasn't able to find this topic, although I'm sure the question has been discussed here many times. I've got my wonderful $450.00 Oct 1995 build FWD Liberty sedan and as a recent Subaru convert, I love it, although I can't help glancing enviously at similar AWD models, and wishing mine was similarly appended. I see plenty of unloved AWD models being sold cheap here in Oz, and I can't help but wonder whether it is at all possible to convert my FWD to AWD, using a similar model donor car for all the bits I'll need, or is it just too hard? Any advice from the collective fonts of all Subaru knowledge will be gratefully received. Cheers, Terry.

Oh, OK mate, thanks for that, does that mean that mine may never have had a remote lock/unlock feature? Cheers, Terry.

Hey thanks mate, that's great. Will I need to just give them my key, or will I need to take the car as well? Reason I'm asking is my Soobie is off the road until my new water pump and radiator arrives, but I can drive my company car over to the dealer's if they don't need my car? Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Guys, my Oct 1995 build Liberty GX FWD 4 speed auto sedan came with only one key and what looks like an aftermarket remote. When I press the button (only one button) the side indicators flash, but it doesn't unlock the doors. When I insert and turn the key, it unlocks all 4 doors, so I'm assuming (and I could be wrong) that the car originally came with central locking, which would have been operated by a remote control? Can anyone tell me if this assumption is correct, and if so, where I can buy the remote? Thanks in advance! Cheers, Terry.