Recently picked up an old, beat up Legacy for my roommates first car. I honestly don't even know what engine/model the car is as we're still trying to get it to the point where she can drive it to work. Hoping to use this site as a good resource for information about it. I'd like to get it fixed up so it's actually a decent car to use.

Came to the right place. Welcome!

 

1996 Legacy would come with the EJ22 motor. (Arguably the best motor subaru ever made) It's usually good for 300,000 miles and more if well maintained. What's the mileage on the car? 1996 is an interference motor so timing belt & component changes are critical. Are there any records of when it may have been done previously?

 

Otherwise, let us know and runability/driving issues it may have. This site is a great resource on how to make these cars run forever on a very low budget.

I believe a '96 Legacy would still be a non-interference 2.2!

whoops. You're right.Got the wrong years in my head. 96 was single port exhaust but still non interference. 97 was the start of interference motors.