andrewcox047 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Greetings, from the broke highschooler again, and now that I have the information from my other post I have come to the conclusion that I am going to need another vehicle to do what I want to do. Like I addressed in my post, I am not trying to break the bank but still have a vehicle that is reliable for these idaho roads/winters and as a daily driver. If you could give me suggestions and a price to ball park to that would be awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 best starting point here is ... what is your ultimate goal? what do you want out of the car?" if you simply want reliability for a daily driver, the one you have is perfectly fine for that. Get all maintenance up to date and keep it there. This includes a full timing service with cam and crank oil seals, timing belt, pulleys, possibly tensioner & water pump. And while all that is going on, check the radiator hoses carefully - replace as needed. Also of note - most aftermarket thermostats are not recommended for a Subaru - get OEM for that if you need it - cost is a little bit more, but well worth it in piece of mind. Basic tune up would include new plugs (basic NGK copper cores) and maybe wires (either OEM or NGK only - do NOT use parts store brand wires, they do not work well on a Subaru), new air filter - please keep that stock, the car will be MUCH happier that way. Older Subies benefit from new vacuum lines as well - buy it by the foot, 2-3 ft worth if possible of, i believe, 2 sizes, and cut to fit one piece at a time. There are a couple of small ones under the intake on the passenger side that get very hard/brittle - kind of a pain to get at, but worth changing them. Get the brakes up to snuff. You do not "need" to get fancy here, the stock brakes work fine if things are in good shape and lines properly bled. if the brake fluid is dark, you will want to do a full flush - dark fluid = moisture... moisture = bad. as mentioned before, the only real "upgrade" i would do to this car is a small lift. this can be accomplished with Forester struts, or a proper lift kit. I went the Forester strut route on a 95 Legacy I had and loved it. You mentioned your current Subie is an LS model - does it have the air suspension? if it does, things are a little more complicated, but nothing you could not handle if you are even remotely mechanically inclined. It would simply include disconnecting the air system (the pump lives in the drivers side front fender in front of the wheel well - would have to pull the inner liner to get it out, or simply leave it there like i did, lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewcox047 Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 21 hours ago, heartless said: best starting point here is ... what is your ultimate goal? what do you want out of the car?" if you simply want reliability for a daily driver, the one you have is perfectly fine for that. Get all maintenance up to date and keep it there. This includes a full timing service with cam and crank oil seals, timing belt, pulleys, possibly tensioner & water pump. And while all that is going on, check the radiator hoses carefully - replace as needed. Also of note - most aftermarket thermostats are not recommended for a Subaru - get OEM for that if you need it - cost is a little bit more, but well worth it in piece of mind. Basic tune up would include new plugs (basic NGK copper cores) and maybe wires (either OEM or NGK only - do NOT use parts store brand wires, they do not work well on a Subaru), new air filter - please keep that stock, the car will be MUCH happier that way. Older Subies benefit from new vacuum lines as well - buy it by the foot, 2-3 ft worth if possible of, i believe, 2 sizes, and cut to fit one piece at a time. There are a couple of small ones under the intake on the passenger side that get very hard/brittle - kind of a pain to get at, but worth changing them. Get the brakes up to snuff. You do not "need" to get fancy here, the stock brakes work fine if things are in good shape and lines properly bled. if the brake fluid is dark, you will want to do a full flush - dark fluid = moisture... moisture = bad. as mentioned before, the only real "upgrade" i would do to this car is a small lift. this can be accomplished with Forester struts, or a proper lift kit. I went the Forester strut route on a 95 Legacy I had and loved it. You mentioned your current Subie is an LS model - does it have the air suspension? if it does, things are a little more complicated, but nothing you could not handle if you are even remotely mechanically inclined. It would simply include disconnecting the air system (the pump lives in the drivers side front fender in front of the wheel well - would have to pull the inner liner to get it out, or simply leave it there like i did, lol.) I do not believe that it is air suspension, but ive been convinced to not do anything to it. but to get the main point of this post what would you recommend to save up for? i was thinking a forester or a sti wagon but im not sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 as much as i like my Forester, I would rather have a Legacy/Outback wagon again. lol gonna be honest here, and i know this is not what you want to hear, but as a young person, stay away from the STI/turbo/high performance stuff. They are expensive to purchase, expensive to maintain, and expensive to insure. keep it simple. maybe something a little newer, sure, i get that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 1998 and earlier 2.2 outback or Impreza OBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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