I am a regular on the Old Gen list, and thought I'd drop by, since I may become a regular here too. I may have found the steal of the century... well, for me anyway. While at the Yard today looking for a 5 speed D/R tranny (found none) I ran into a guy who wants to get rid of a Subaru. It is a 94 Mi (?) wagon, not running, 152 k miles. for $200. He thinks its the clutch (its a 5 spd:) ). I went and looked at it and, except for the eight months of dust accumulated on the body, it looks very good. Interior is very clean and in very good shape. He couldn't find the key, which probably doesn't matter since the battery is D E D dead, so it probably wouldn't start anyway. So before I decide to buy said beast, I would like someones help and run the vin on car fax for any needed info.

 

Here is the VIN: 4S3 BJ6336 R6957256

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

PS. Dude is leaving town for a week so I will have time to think this through.

 

PPS. What mods do people do with these 94's. Engine Swap? Tranny?

It's one of the "special" model wagons in 94 that had the raised roofs.

 

I'd recommend checking out www.bbs.legacycentral.org for more info on the first gen legacies and mods, etc.

Out of curiousity, what will CARFAX tell you about the car that would influence your buying decision?

Out of curiousity, what will CARFAX tell you about the car that would influence your buying decision?

Probably not a damned thing... except maybe if its a salvage or stolen???

GRRRRRR!!!! Just got off phone with dude. Apparently his wife wants $300 for the wagon, $100 more than he wanted before. It's still a steal for the price, just not as much as before. I wish I was better at haggling!

What the heck are you complaining about, buy it.

"Red" is in my drive-way.

 

Cost so far :

 

$300 for car.

 

$60 for tow to house.

 

Who knows how much the expired tags and reg is gonna cost. But I'm into it now.

 

It's driving me nuts. Dude never could find the key so I can't crank it yet to find out just what I'm dealing with. This morning I pulled the lock out of the tailgate to take it to a locksmith. Last night I put the battery from Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag-with-a-blow-headgasket, into "Red". At least I know the dome lights and door locks work .

If you can prove ownership, you can take the VIN to a Subaru dealer and they can cut a key for you from the VIN.

I solved the key problem. I pulled the lock assy from the tailgate and took it over to the local locksmith, and got three keys made for $29.

 

Progress so far:

 

Front passenger speaker not working. Of coarse the stereo is the first thing I try.

 

Car won't start... the starter is either out or just frozen. will take a hammer to it and give it a few good taps to see if it will budge it loose. My other battery might be low on juice so I will try and jump it.

This is like a soap opera for sub lovers. I will need an update in the AM.

This is like a soap opera for sub lovers. I will need an update in the AM.

UP - UPDATE!!!

 

Did a little more diagnostic. I decided that before I fire up the engine I would prime the engine since it hadn't run in God knows how long. I tried to turn the engine a few revolutions by hand using the crank pulley bolt and a breaker bar. The engine won't budge at all. Frozen. I'm thinkin' I'ma gonna have to throw in a new engine. I'll check the timing belts to see if one is broke and jammed up in the... oops, wrong year, that would be singular. Belt.

 

Also, the radiator fans keep cycling on and off in stand by mode. Anyone got any clues?

i don't know about the fans, but i'd remove some / all of the plugs and see waht turns.

do you have an engine?

 

UP - UPDATE!!!

 

Did a little more diagnostic. I decided that before I fire up the engine I would prime the engine since it hadn't run in God knows how long. I tried to turn the engine a few revolutions by hand using the crank pulley bolt and a breaker bar. The engine won't budge at all. Frozen. I'm thinkin' I'ma gonna have to throw in a new engine. I'll check the timing belts to see if one is broke and jammed up in the... oops, wrong year, that would be singular. Belt.

 

Also, the radiator fans keep cycling on and off in stand by mode. Anyone got any clues?

Wait a second, if your starter is frozen the engine will not hand crank. Pull the starter off and try to hand crank with a socket on the bolt holding down the harmonic balancer.

Feeling like a Sucker Yet? did you drain the oil and remove and open the oil filter to see what that all looks like??? not to make you feel bad but I got my 97 OB that went into a ditch for $500. got it to run briefly yesterday, still need to get some parts though...

DJ

I tried running the carfax for you, and it said the VIN was incorrect.

I didn't think of the possibility that the starter could be frozen on the flywheel. I'll check that. Someone on the old gen list pulled a car fax already. I might have trped it in wrong here.

Today I went through the engine looking for external things that might cause it to be frozen. Timing belts are OK and not broken. Starter is out of car. I am pretty sure it is the motor itself. So now I have to search for a new(er) one. There is a place in town called All Engine Distributing that sells all sorts of engines, auto and ag. I will check with them to see what they sell a new motor for.

Today I went through the engine looking for external things that might cause it to be frozen. Timing belts are OK and not broken. Starter is out of car. I am pretty sure it is the motor itself. So now I have to search for a new(er) one. There is a place in town called All Engine Distributing that sells all sorts of engines, auto and ag. I will check with them to see what they sell a new motor for.

Remove the spark plugs, it could have blown a head gasket and filled a cylinder with water. If so, and it has been sitting awhile, that cylinder is toast, you'll need to get another engine or have that one rebuilt (if possible).

or the rings could be rusted inside the cylinders

 

either way great score! (bad engine or not)

 

Is it AWD?

Any updates? Pics? How is it going with it? -SQ93

Uuuupdaaaaates!!!!!

I thought it was posted somewhere on here that you can spray penetrant in the spark plug holes and the try to work the crank back forth once a day and possibly break it loose.

Can I get an update please!

This is like a soap opera for sub lovers. I will need an update in the AM.

 

 

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