Comes 'round again! Hello all. In a few days I will, once again, be the proud owner of a Subie wagon. Wagon apeal to me because I play bass in two bands, one here in Fresno, and one in San Diego (2 or 3 times a year), and I need to haul lots of equipment. I have had two Subie's before. The first, purchased in 1992, was a $400 dollar, 5 spd, 4wd, 1980 wagon, complete with "passing light". The cars' nick name was cyclops .) It was a true $400 car complete with a few blown head gaskets, probable worn piston rings, and an oil leak that droped oil on the catalytic converter (stinkey). But I'll tell what, that little heap managed to take everything I threw at it; driving back and forth from San Diego to Fresno, and from SD to Lancaster and back again! I would have kept it longer and fixed it up, but the fact that it was so rusted, and that I was a horirbly lacking funds, I finally junked it in '95. The next Subie was an '87 GL 5 spd, 4wd wagon, with a dead engine. Bought it for, you guessed it, $400. Dropped a used imported engine into it, replace both cat's, and we were all set. With the exception of a broken timing belt (idler gear bearing froze up, a 60 cent part) It was a great car. When I started my pool business five years ago, I needed a truck for work, and swapped it for a '94 Toyota pick up. If not for that, I'ld still have it.
Now to the present. De-za-vu all over again!! I will be getting an '87 GL wagon in a few days. But this is not another $400 car... I'm paying $500... and it's a turbo. The engine is shot and the tranny leaks. Interior is immaculate. Exterior is good but will need a paint job. Amazingly, the OD is showing only 101k miles. I've never worked on an automatic before, and I am wondering if I should replace the tranny or just get a new pan gasket? Also, what should I look out for with a turbo?
