January 31, 201115 yr 1993 Legacy Sedan Auto transmission 167k miles Clean title *although hood was replaced* New $200 stereo and brand new alternator Recent oil change Driven no more than 15 miles daily for last 2 years. Whats wrong: Engine shakes badly (or so they say, I havent personally driven it yet) It will idle very rough, shaking the car, and especially at stop lights. No smoke. Then it will just die. I think it will start back up, but I never asked. She hasnt driven it in almost a month. Things to check: Injectors Plugs and wires Coil pack Anything else?
January 31, 201115 yr Tune-up first. Plugs, wires (NGK or Subaru OE), PCV valve, all filters, check for vacuum leaks. CEL on?
January 31, 201115 yr Author What is a CEL? I thought timing too, I will have to check that as well Can you run coverless on an EJ22? I have no covers on my EA82
January 31, 201115 yr "What is a CEL?" Man, are you serious? CEL = Check Engine Light Leave the covers on. It's not like the ea82's. Once set up correctly, the EJ belt hardly needs any attention for miles and miles. Besides, the EJ looks odd without the covers.
January 31, 201115 yr Author "What is a CEL?" Man, are you serious? CEL = Check Engine Light I apologize... I have seen people say "What are the CEL codes" and I had always assumed that was something to do with the computer.
January 31, 201115 yr It's your first line of defense. Always start there. Search the procedure and learn to use the CEL system.
January 31, 201115 yr Driven no more than 15 miles daily for last 2 years. That's bad.... real bad. Doesn't get to proper operating temp with such short trips. Puts very hard miles on a car. Whats wrong: Engine shakes badly (or so they say, I havent personally driven it yet) It will idle very rough, shaking the car, and especially at stop lights. No smoke. Then it will just die. I think it will start back up, but I never asked. She hasnt driven it in almost a month. The last few I've done with this problem have either been bad injectors or burnt exhaust valves. Very unlikely for an EJ belt to slip teeth without other symptoms. Possilble bad coil pack or ignitor as well. Did they say if this happened suddenly or came on over a number of miles? Things to check: Injectors Plugs and wires Coil pack Anything else? Check the usual - compression first. If one cylinder has wildly different compression that the rest - head job or find another engine. If that checks out then start pulling plug wires while it's running. When you find the dead cylinder check the ohms on the injector..... This usually narrows it pretty quickly. Being an OBD-I car you will have to take it through emissions to make sure the cat isn't burnt out (unburned fuel from ignition issues will kill them FAST). Can't sell it for much if it won't pass DEQ. The 90 to 94's just aren't worth much and are more headache with the OBD-I stuff and emissions testing, etc. There's no profit in them by the time you are done with major engine repairs and bringing the car up to selling standards. This is why I avoid them unless someone specifically requests one. GD Edited January 31, 201115 yr by GeneralDisorder
January 31, 201115 yr your going to dump more in it then its worth, you might as well keep it for yourself, find a newish model to fix up.
January 31, 201115 yr your going to dump more in it then its worth, you might as well keep it for yourself, find a newish model to fix up. I agree. It's not like these cars are super rare. I can throw a rock and hit two of them any day of the week and this is Tennessee.
January 31, 201115 yr This might be a good hobby car to learn how to fix on. Everyone needs one of those.
January 31, 201115 yr Author Update on the Legacy. So yes it is a 1993. Only FWD (Just plain Jane Legacy L) Definitely will need work. Not sure so much about the engine.. The bumper and hood and corner markers arent on right. Will get pictures in a bit. Sucks it has 14 inch wheels I was hoping it had 15s, people seem to want those. Symptoms: Temp gauge stays at 3/4 after about 20 minutes of running, then when accelerating it goes to the top and stays there even back down at idle. Left it running, touched all the hoses, warm but not burn your hand off hot. Does sound kinda rough but didnt die a single time (about 7.2 mile drive and quite a few stoplights) Smells pretty bad, smoke coming from center of the engine, looks like is coming out of the crank pulley... GD had a car that had an idler that stuck and kept running, it just sheered off the bolt and used it as an axle, thinking maybe this engine is doing that too?
January 31, 201115 yr Author Oh and CEL is on when car is running When car is not running but on the on position, light flashes, but I dont know where to start counting the flashes, nor do I know how to pull the codes.
January 31, 201115 yr Seized water pump perhaps. Belt may have slipped a tooth or two from dragging. Seen it before..... Engine might already be cooked. CEL could be from it being cooked - melted sensors, etc. FWD, lots of short trips, poor maintenance, body damage...... part it out. You *might* get back the money you paid for it. Bad investment. You should have walked on that one. GD Edited January 31, 201115 yr by GeneralDisorder
January 31, 201115 yr Seized water pump perhaps. Belt may have slipped a tooth or two from dragging. Seen it before..... GD Had it happen. Had a weird noise, and like a noob I turned up the radio too drown it out... Hours from home going 75mph my car starts to run weird, shake a little. Look down and the temp gauge is all the way up. As I was thinking about pulling over the belt snapped and that was it..... Coolant EVERYWHERE! Until I had it towed to a dealer and spent a lot of money to get it fixed
January 31, 201115 yr I had a water pump fail on the interstate hours from home. Lost my engine. Replace those waterpumps.
January 31, 201115 yr Author Timing belt and water pump will be done soon, gotta order the kit and find somewhere to do it, apparently when I put the new wheels on Ned, someone told the landlord and he reminded my parents that although no fluids are involved, its still part of the rental agreement. Its a clanking noise in the engine... so Im thinking something along the timing belt line has gone south, so hopefully timing belt and water pump will fix that. Has coolant and oil, and neither are mixed, so... Cant be headgaskets right
January 31, 201115 yr Don't always have mixed fluids with a blown head gasket, I'm changing on that just dumped water out from between the head and block.
February 1, 201115 yr Clanking noise in the engine That's not good.... Timing belt idler/pully will just sound like a dying bearing. Clanking sound = really bad
February 1, 201115 yr Author I wish I had a decent camera or GD lived closer cuz this thing is puzzling :-\ I dont wanna do a part out of this car... Its at only 167k...its just a baby i wish people who actually cared would drive Subarus and those who didnt drove Hondas.
February 1, 201115 yr Coolant and oil don't mix on 90's EJ22/EJ25 head gasket failures. That just doesn't happen on Subaru's. I've never seen it so it's extreemely rare on the EJ's. I've done quite a few blown EJ25 and EJ22 head gaskets and it's always combustion gasses going into the coolant. Don't discount that possibility - I had a blown HG on a '97 not long ago. The fire ring seal failed on the #3 cylinder. In fact a blown head gasket perfectly matches your symptoms. After a short drive they overheat because the combustion gasses displace the coolant and cause a "pocket" of gas that the water pump can't circulate through. GD
February 1, 201115 yr +1 on headgasket, At the very least It sounds like you are going to have a lot of money tied up in this car, especially if you are going to have to pay someone else for the labor, unless you have a friend that is willing to do it for you for cheap. Most people who flip cars (well the selling type of flipping:grin:) do their own mechanical work to keep the cash outlay lower so they can turn a profit. If you are looking for profit, this car doesn't sound like the best one for that. Not to knock your car, but unfortunately it is just not the most desirable Legacy. Most Subaru lovers desire all wheel drive if its a Legacy, and it has been my experience that legacy wagons sell a bit easier (at least around here). A suggestion for a future flip would be to find a late 90s outback wagon with a bad engine, good body and interior, and do a 2.2l swap. It is a common swap and there is a lot of information on it on this forum. Outback wagons with bad headgaskets are becoming more common as they age and can be had relatively cheap if you are patient and wait for the right deal. Good luck on your flip! Hope you don't get into it for more money than you can get out of it, but if you do, you could always drive it for a while and at least get some use out of it, then sell it.
February 1, 201115 yr ^ what he said about flipping cars. I'm currently looking at a 98LGT that needs an engine, I've got one so it should be a quick turnaround and decent profit. The trick is to find a car with as little problems as possible, but it doesn't run. That way the seller has no leverage...
February 1, 201115 yr Author This was a cheap car. If it needs a new engine, so be it. Ive got 4 buyers lined up for S - 1100 M - 1000 J - 1400 B - 1600 (if I keep the stereo in it, but I think Imma put it in Ned and put Neds in this one as this one has mp3 and iPod hookup, Ned only has mp3)
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