The good news: I can have a 92 Legacy wgn awd 5sp w/ 170k for free.

 

The bad news: It has rust above the windshield that leaks water through when it rains and the last time I drove it the windshield actually shudders above 70mph. The rust isn't so bad that you can see through.

 

Q: Can this be fixed? Can the windshield ever be replaced...it has a chip?

 

This is my father's car that we bought for $2000 about 40K miles ago. I want to sell it...madison has a VERY favorable Subaru market. There is a 92 awd 5sp w/ 230K in the paper for $1500.

 

Side note: Is the clutch in the 92 swappable with my 98?...much stronger than mine.

Is the rust under where the windshield seals, or above it?

 

You could probably remove the windshield, clean the rust and put in a new windshield.

I have the same problem with my 97 OB. It appears that whoever changed the windshield during the first 2 years of the car's life nicked the paint in a couple of spots. When I cleaned up the rust last summer, I discovered I had holes. I patched and painted, but one of them leaks a little bit now.

 

I had 2 shops quote on it. They wanted $750 - $1000 Cdn to fix. About 1/3 or more of the price was to remove and replace the windshield. I'm glad I didn't do it, since I now have a cracked windshield. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about it, but since the crack is starting to run into my vision area, I will have to address it. I hope to find someone less expensive, as I really don't care about the cosmetics much these days. The car is almost 10 years old. (One of the shops wanted to get a few of the rust spots (from stone hits) back of the windshield... which would lead to having the whole roof done... I said no thanks!)

 

Commuter

Your large bodyshops won't want to tackle a job like this, where you aren't as fussy about the final paint, as much as you are about the structure underneath. Find a small independent, 2 or 3 bay bodyshop. Since you're replacing the glass anyway, they can take out the old one (who cares if it breaks?). Get them to sandblast the window channel areas where the rust is, and replace any rotted metal. They should then prime the areas and paint match as well as they can to match the body, without going overboard or getting terribly fussy. With that done its off to the Auto glass store for a new windshield. Good Luck!