BB's93LegacyL

I have had good results wet-sanding with 800 followed by 1200 grit paper. Then Meguires plastic cleaner followed by Meguires Plastic Polish. I agree it is a temporary fix without the proper sealant, but in the short term, the lenses look great, and the light transmission through them is greatly improved.

Well, it's time for me to join the club. I just became the 2nd surrogate father (owner) of an '08 Impreza. While transferring plates, it became obvious that the screws were rusted junk, the wrong length and diameter for the plastic grommets they thread into, breaking the plastic grommets. Comparing the typical standard thread stainless steel screws available at the home improvement stores, I counted the threads per inch, and it was not a match. My car had a missing plastic grommet, so I ordered a new one and a spare from Subaru. The Subaru grommet looks like it would take about a #10 sheet metal screw. The grommet is only about 1/2 inch deep before the screw would bottom out or punch through the grommet. I have just a rudimentary education as a machinist. It should not be hard to find out the OEM license plate mounting screw thread pitch, diameter, head design, metric vs. standard, etc. Any machinists out there who can take out an OEM screw and gauge it for us? Hah, I know, "What year, and model?" The sad thing is, we could probably solve this quest by just ordering the damned screws from the dealer. (Or stealing one from the new Sub in the dealer's lot ) OK, I'll say it here. My name is Bob, and I'm addicted to Subarus.

It looks like the reason the salvage yard listings show only 2008 and newer is because tire pressure monitoring systems became the OEM standard in '08. I found a helpful link that lists OEM tire & wheel specs for all models of Subarus going back a number of years. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/tiresandwheels.html#impreza

Looking into it a bit, it looks like the base Impreza sedan came with 15" wheels through the 2001 model year. From 2002 through 2011, while the Impreza still used the 2.5 engine, the base model came with 16x6.5 wheels and 205-55-16 tires. In 2012, when they started using the 2.0 engine, they went back to 15x6" wheels with 195-60-15 tires. The car is running with the stock wheels and tire size. The wheels are 16x6.5JJ, and the stock all-season tires are 205-55-16. I just don't want to go through the trouble of buying used rims only to find out there's something about the wheel profile that doesn't fit, even though I have the dia, width, and bolt circle right. The steel wheels available at tire rack are the same size except for the offset (50mm vs 55mm), and it appears from what you say that there would be no problem with the wheels sticking out about 0.2 inch more to the sides. Thanks for your help.

I had thought of using a 195-65-15 tire/wheel combo but was concerned about clearance around brake components. You're saying that works, so that's another option. I found a set of 16" tires on OEM aluminum wheels for sale that are from a '05 Legacy. Will Legacy rims fit? Looking at the Subaru website tells me they are 16x6.5JJ 55. How could they not fit? The "what this fits" tab lists various Legacys from 2003-05 using this wheel.

I will likely be buying a 2008 Impreza 2.5i 5sp manual sedan from a family member. I'm looking for an extra set of used wheels for mounting dedicated winter tires. The car has OEM "10-hole" steel wheels, 16X6.5JJ:ST, 55 mm offset, 5x100. I went to the Subaru website to see what other years and models used this wheel, part # 28111AG170. Under the "What this fits" tab, it shows this wheel was used only on the '08-'11 Impreza sedans and wagons. Looking up steel and aluminum wheels for this car on car-part.com, they show salvage yard listings for only the '08-'11 Imprezas (consistent with the Subaru site) for the '08 Impreza. On another thread someone commented that many year/model Subarus will accommodate the same wheels. I know that if the steel wheels are not exactly the same, there can be a problem with the wheel covers fitting. I ran into that with the rims I bought from a junkyard for my '93. I will consider used aluminum wheels too. Tire Rack has aftermarket steel wheels w/50mm offset vs. the OEM 55mm. Can someone shed some light on what year/model OEM wheels are the same fit as the factory originals?

Entering the highway, as I tried to get up to speed on a gradual incline, the engine became unresponsive to throttle. After coasting awhile, the engine surged once more, then stalled. As soon as the car coasted to a stop, I turned the key and it started right up. I drove across town on city streets with no sign of the problem. I thought it must be a fuel delivery or electrical problem. I did some checking and came to the conclusion that the fuel filter was likely the original from the factory 23 years and 166K miles ago. If so, it had about 7,500 gallons of gas run through it. Since it was way past due for replacement, I decided to replace the fuel filter, hoping that was the problem. The installation took only 10 minutes because of the convenient location in the engine bay. The lines came off easily, probably because the OEM filter was stainless steel. I have not had further problems, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that this was the solution. I recall now that the car had a slight surging in RPM at warm idle. That problem has disappeared too. After the new filter was installed, I was curious about what the inside of the filter looked like. A friend took it in his shop and broke it open. This was not easy because of the heavy gauge steel. The filter medium looked pretty bad. I held a piece of it up to a flashlight to see how much light passed through -- barely any. I have attached photos that show how bad this looked. I hope this was the cause of the stalling problem, and not some other intermittent bug. It's been running fine since the repair 2 months ago.

If you find a temp threshold below which your car won't start, you might have to set an alarm to drive the car up to operating temperature about every 4 hours, even during the night, so it never cools to the outside temperature. I think once you experience serious cold weather you will decide that sleeping in the car is a no-go. Falling asleep at that temperature puts you at risk for frostbite, hypothermia and death. Using a space heater in the car carries its own risks of failure or carbon monoxide poisoning. Your body will not be acclimated to cold, making this adventure even worse. If you park it outside, your car will get much colder overnight than if it is garaged. According to the thermometer in my garage, parking in an unheated garage leaves the car about 20 deg warmer than outside temp in the morning after being parked in the evening. There is a big difference in starting a car whose components have cooled to -5 vs -25F. All of the suggestions above are excellent. If you do replace the battery or purchase a back-up, look for the highest CCA that will fit in your car. I bought one last year that is rated at 640 cold cranking amps. If you have to park the car outside, you might not have a place to plug in any heating accessories mentioned above? If you have access to electricity and want to use a trickle charger overnight, I recommend the CTEK MUS 4.3 Polar (the one with the orange body). Other chargers I've used have plastic cord/battery lead insulation that becomes brittle and breaks when flexed in serious cold weather. This charger has thick rubber cord insulation that stays flexible. It is expensive at about $110, but it is worth it. It can be ordered direct, but is hard to find locally. http://smartercharger.com/products/batterychargers/ctek-mus-4-3-polar/

First, be sure the bolt that looks rounded off is actually a hex bolt. There is a guide pin that looks like it should be a bolt, but it has no head. Not sure what year/model you have, but on my '93 Legacy, the pin I'm referring to is part number 8 on the exploded view. Removing the single bolt allows the caliper bracket to pivot on the guide pin and out of the way.

Here's a link to starter solenoid rebuild kits for OEM Nippon Denso Subaru starters. Once you get the starter out, it's a pretty straightforward procedure to replace contacts and plunger. Watch the videos for the how-to. http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/densoparts.html

You're welcome. I drive on 14" wheels and I love them. I have two sets of wheels and tires, winter and summer. I drive Firestone Winterforce studdable dedicated winter tires. I have FWD only, and the Winterforce tires get me through snow that all-season tires just can't handle. My summer tires are a discontinued General all-season model. All of my tires are 185/70-14. If I were you, and wanted to stay with the original wheels with just one set of year round all-season tires, I would concentrate on getting the best rated tires within your budget. You will probably find that you don't need more width in order to have good traction and performance in all weather conditions. It's not like this is a performance car. Right now, if I was in the market for all-season tires for my 93 Legacy wagon, I'd be looking at the General Altimax RT43, based on the tests done by TireRack http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=207 They run about $60. each for the 185/70-14 OEM size. When I first acquired my Subaru from my late father's estate, it had horrible tires - Goodyear Integrity. Check THEM out here http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=AS Making the switch to good tires that are suited to the seasonal conditions changed the whole personality of my '93 Legacy Wagon's performance and traction. It went from scary to fun. Just curious, what make/model/mileage tires are you driving on now? Best regards.

Since you said you are not looking to replace wheels, first I would check if 205s can be mounted on your current wheels, which are probably only 5" wide. The '93 L came with 14x5.0jj steel wheels. The LS and LSi came with 14x5.5jj alloy wheels. The wider tires will add about 3 lb extra un-sprung weight on each wheel. (I am just using specs for different sizes of the same Michelin Defender tire model on the TireRack.com site) If you get snow where you live, you will see poorer performance with a wide low-profile tire in snow. The section width of this tire is about 8.2" vs. 7.4" on the stock size. The diameter of the stock tire is 24.3" vs 25.4" on the 205. I don't know about clearance from suspension and brake components, someone may have that info for you. The only alternate wheel/tire combination I've seen recommended for this car is P195/60-15.

Try this site. If your starter is made by Nippondenso, they probably have what you need. I've bought from them. http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/densoparts.html

If you look back on this forum, there is a post titled "98 Legacy Wagon, rear latch parts?" (link below) On that thread I posted a video I found on Youtube that shows how to replace this handle. I replaced mine too. In your photo, the red arrow points to the actuator rod end, which is threaded to allow adjusting the length of the actuator rod where it attaches to the handle. The metal actuator rod end is just press-fit into the white plastic part. You can just pry the metal part from the plastic part with a small flat screwdriver. (Note: the threaded actuator rod end does not have to be removed from the rod in order to replace the handle if you just pry the parts apart with the rod end still on the rod.) Start watching the video at 04:40 to see how it comes apart and reassembles. When you are ready to install the new handle, first put the threaded actuator rod end back on the rod to the same number of threads it was before. Then insert the new handle through the hole in the door without the white plastic pressure-fit piece on the handle. Insert the white bit through the handle, put the actuator rod into the white bit, and press the white bit onto the rod end with a channel-lock pliers. Then tighten the two 10 mm bolts holding the handle on, and check that your actuator rod end is adjusted to open and close the latch mechanism properly. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/95722-98-legacy-wagon-rear-hatch-latch-parts/

Reviving this thread for a useful link (not my video) on how to replace the tailgate / hatch latch / handle. Yesterday mine broke on the right side. The left side is where the actuating rod and spring are located. The right pivot pin is what rusted and fell off. Turns out the spring was gone too. As seen in the video, the OEM part number is 062150AA211. The same part number for his '99 is listed for my '93 Legacy in my parts manual. The part is available on eBay for about $25. I was in a hurry, and the dealer had it in stock, so I paid $45. Installation is very straightforward, once you watch the video. The best part was that everything came apart easily, even with all the rust. Here's a list of tools etc. Phillips screwdriver for loosening interior panel fasteners. Flat screwdriver for prying the 2-piece interior panel caps off, and for prying the actuating rod out of the plastic grommet. My car had two types of interior panel caps -- phillips head along the bottom of the panel where it's not seen, and smooth caps where they show from inside the car. Remove the cap, then pull out the plug that resembles a drywall anchor. 10 mm box end wrench for removing the nuts that hold the handle to the body panel. Wire brush/sandpaper for cleaning up loose rust under old handle, and maybe some rust converter for that area. Channel-Lock or Robo Grip type pliers for squeezing actuating rod back into handle grommet. In case the video isn't working, the steps are, Remove the interior panel Remove the two 10 mm nuts that hold the handle on from the inside.. Pry the actuator rod apart from the handle. Remove the plastic grommet from the handle (where the rod attached.) Remove the handle. On the new part, remove the grommet, and put it all back together. Use the pliers for squeezing the actuator rod end back into the grommet in the handle arm I'd rate this as a pretty simple project. My photos show how bad the old handle was when it failed after 23 winters of heavy road salt. Hard to believe it was still working at all.

Update - I drove the car yesterday. The salesman was aware that the head gaskets have failed on this car as evidenced by overheating, and oil getting into the coolant. I looked at the dipstick and the oil looked clean. They acknowledged doing an oil change. I was able to bring the car into their shop to look it over, and while there, a mechanic familiar with Subarus explained what was wrong with the car and showed me the oily residue in the coolant overflow reservoir. After the engine was warmed up and shut off, there were bubbles coming from the overflow hose. The engine did not overheat while I drove the car up to operating temperature. At the time of trade-in, the previous owner told the dealer that the timing belt had been replaced, but there is no record, nor any way of knowing if pulleys were changed as part of that job. Car is listed by dealer for $5K. I was given a price of $3,492. as-is. The dealer quoted me a price of $2400. to do the head gaskets repair. I told the dealer I would get an estimate from my own mechanic and get back to the dealer on Saturday to let them know if I am interested in the car. My mechanic quoted $1,958. for the repair. The flat rate manual says this is a 10-hour job. I think the dealer made a mistake in their parts quote, because they listed both PT1 and PT2 head gasket sets instead of one set or the other. Their price for the two sets totalled $882. Looking at Rock, it looks like the sets by Felpro run between $130 and $140 depending on which set is called for by engine serial number. I am curious about the type of damage that can occur from driving the car in this condition? Even if severe overheating can be avoided short-term, what about the oil circulating through the cooling system? Based on the service record in the CarFax showing the cooling system checked at about 99k and the plugs replaced at 107 K, there is no record of when the head gasket failure symptoms started. I have decided against this car, clean as it is otherwise, because the price is too high, and I think this car would be better in the hands of a do-it-yourselfer who would either do their own repairs, or swap engines. Thanks to all of you for letting me know what to watch for. Moderators - now that I know the subject of this thread is turning toward head gasket issues, is there a way for me to to add new keywords to an existing thread?

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Does anyone know the chances of head gasket problems in this engine? In other words, is it one out of three engines that has head gasket failures, one in ten, one in 100, etc. I know any used car purchase is a gamble when you don't know how the car was driven/serviced. What years' engines are known for head gasket problems. Maybe I shouldn't consider those years. What are the symptoms of head gasket failure in this engine? Is it coolant in oil, oil in coolant, overheating? The dealer has changed the oil and filter since acquiring the car a month ago. I will look at the oil and the coolant. If the head gasket(s) has/have been replaced, does that end the problem for the life of the car? Anyone know why these engines had head gasket failures to begin with? What was the engineering mistake? Years ago, a friend owned a late 70s Subaru FE. When she took it to a reputable import car mechanic who is still in business, he said Subarus are great cars if you don't mind replacing every part at least once. That comment shaped my opinion of Subaru until I inherited my '93 Legacy FWD wagon from my late father's estate in 2006. Since then I have become a Subaru believer, and with only 157K on that car, I'm left wondering if I am really adding much of a "have to get to work on time no matter what" reliability factor by looking at a car that could need expensive head gasket replacement? I will be keeping the '93 anyway. The only thing that will cause me to let go of that car is a car/deer collision, or rust ruining the car beyond repair. I'm just trying to acquire a back-up car so I never have to worry about getting to work on time. I imagine you can all understand why I want to remain a loyal Subaru owner.

It has the 4 speed auto. Thanks for the ideas. I will look at those things.

I'm considering a '98 OB at a dealer asking $5K. 109K miles, 2 owners. I have scheduled a test drive. It was purchased new in Washington State where it was driven 42K miles in 6 years, then moved to SE Wis. There is a car-fax report that shows routine service at mileage intervals, or just "vehicle serviced". Plugs replaced by a Sub dealer at 106K. Went to auction at 93k, bought and sold by another dealer. No reports of anything unusual in the CarFax summary. My cursory view on the lot when I drove there on my way home from traveling on Christmas day revealed a car that appeared to be in nice shape, with no rust perforation, and looking underneath with a flashlight showed fairly little corrosion. I will try to find out if there is any record of changing the timing belt when I look at the car during dealer hours. Also, wondering what to look for as a sign of any head gasket problems when I have the chance to look under the hood. Is there a place on the engine where signs of an oil leak are considered routine and normal for this engine? VIN shows it is a "BG". Thanks for any suggestions on what to look for.

It would be very easy to look under the car to see if you have a broken stabilizer link. That would cause a clunk when the suspension compresses and the loose end of the sway bar hits something. It's an easy and inexpensive DIY repair if that's all it is. If it is the link, I'd think you would hear the clunk more than just on speed bumps, unless it takes that much suspension travel to cause interference.

Heartless, wow! We live in the same area, dealing with the same road salt, but holy crap, that's some corrosion! My brakes had been redone in '06, new rotors and pads all around. 69,000 miles later, I needed new fronts. I just did the job yesterday, or I should say a very savvy car-guy friend did the work after I did the background work to learn how the calipers work on these old ones, what to lube where, possible pitfalls, etc. But the installation of new pads on my '93 went very well. The caliper pistons and boots needed to be cleaned of brake dust & grime before the pistons were pressed back in very easily with my c-clamp. On a 22 year old car from Wisconsin, the caliper pin bolts loosened with no problems. The big surprise was a good one. After pivoting the left front caliper up to change the pads, the rotor fell away from the hub like it was installed yesterday. Maybe because of the Kroil I sprayed at the base of the lugs and at the hub 2 days before, but I don't know. I measured the thickness of my rotors to see how much they had worn -- only .64 mm, about a third of the way toward discard thickness. I've had no pulsations in the brake pedal, no vibration in the steering wheel when braking, so we decided to do pads only. I wish I had taken photos to show just how nice my rotors looked, mirror smooth. The new rotors I bought just in case I needed them are being returned tomorrow. The total cost of this front brakes job -- pads & clips, lube, and brake cleaner -- was $35.00. I suppose I should figure in the value of my time spent researching this project. And there is the cost of tools -- my friend's Snap-On torque wrench was $300. And there is the value of his expertise, which he donated to me as a friend. Anyway, now that I have replaced front brakes on a 22 year old Subaru, I would be very comfortable doing the job again myself. The important lessons I learned from this project are, 1. Do your homework, so you know what you are facing. 2. Shop around for better quality parts, use Subaru parts when possible if you are replacing highly engineered components such as calipers. 3. Prepare for what can all go wrong, so you have your bases covered 4. Don't underestimate the value of a friend who knows his way around cars. 5. Subarus are very well-built durable cars, in spite of what road salt does to them. Ya gotta love Subarus.

Thanks all of you. I am ready to tackle this job (hold my beer, watch this.) While waiting for parts to arrive I sprayed the caliper pin bolt and caliper bracket bolts with Kroil to let it work for a few days. I may just replace pads - measuring the rotor thickness tells me I've worn them only 1/3 of the way from the 24 mm new to the 22 mm discard thickness, and there is no warping. But in case I decide to remove the rotors, I Kroiled the seam at the rotor/hub, and the base of each stud where they pass through the rotor. If I do lube the upper slide pin, I will need to remove the caliper bracket. At that point I may want to see how hard it is to break the rotors loose if I want to re-face or replace them. Rotors and pads have been through 6 winters of heavy road salt, so rust is just a fact of life. As hard as conditions are where this car lives, I am impressed by the toughness and build quality of the Subaru.

Researching replacing brake pads on my '93 Legacy, FWD with 14" wheels, I kept running across instructions to remove the "two" 14 mm slide pin bolts. More research and I learned the single piston calipers before 1995 have only one 14 mm slide pin bolt (the lower slide pin.) The upper pin does not bolt from the inboard side of the caliper. Instead, it is a 12 mm bolt attached to the caliper bracket. When changing pads, videos show removing lower 14 mm bolt, then pivot caliper up, compress piston, lube lower slide pin, install new pads, pivot caliper back down and re-insert & tighten lower 14 mm slide pin bolt, and pump up brakes before driving. If rotors are not being replaced or re-faced it appears there's no reason to remove the caliper bracket. But if the bracket containing the upper slide pin is not removed, there is no way to check and lube the upper slide pin. My question is not so much about whether to re-face or replace rotors. I'm prepared to do either if needed. My question is more about whether one should always remove the caliper bracket from the car when doing a pads-only job to inspect and lube the upper slide pin on these calipers where the upper pin is bolted to the caliper bracket? I have attached an exploded view of the 1993 front brakes. The upper slide pin is part #8. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I don't see any rules about posting links on this forum. If I'm breaking a rule here, let me know--here is the link to FluidFilm http://www.fluid-film.com/

I happily defer to the opinion of Fairtax4me. If you have someone who knows how to detail a car saying they can buff this out for free, go for it. It's very unusual for green wood to scratch through the finish. You may be in for a pleasant surprise to see that this buffs out because the scratches are actually residue from the bark and sap. But as Fairtax said, if your fingernail catches on it, it needs a skilled detailer. I hope you are pleasantly surprised if all of this buffs out!