heartless

1990 Legacy LS wagon, 2.2 na, 4 spd Auto, AWD getting an average of around 28.5 mpg (US) mostly country driving - 50 mile commute on 2 lane country roads - using cruise whenever possible set at about 62 mph (2500 rpm). have only had the car a couple of months now, but pretty happy with what I am getting mpg wise considering what it is. will have to see how it does this winter... the old GL wagon - FWD, 5spd - was getting closer to 34 mpg, but - sigh - those days are over. geez - guess i should really change my avatar...

on our 90 sedan the seatbelt control box is in the trunk - drivers side, towards the front of the car - have to pull the trunk liner away from the side to see it. the auto belts dont work on the sedan so the box is unplugged to keep the light from freaking - make sure they are in the right position, unplug the box and just buckle/unbuckle them to get in and out. no big deal. not real sure where the box is on a wagon - havent had my wagon apart enough to locate.

money factor shouldnt be that much - complete gasket set can be found on Ebay pretty reasonably.Dont forget the seals behind the cam sprockets on the front, also do the crank seal. not sure if those are in the gasket sets or not. My 89 leaked pretty bad from those and trashed a timing belt because of it (and me not changing them when i did the belts the first time!)time factor - welll...that can, and will, vary. depends on how skilled you are, how tough things are to get apart, and how quickly you get frustrated! :Dsuggestion - get a box of cheap ziplock baggies to place fasteners in and a sharpie marker to write on the bag what they belong to - keeps things from getting lost, and reassembly easier!timing belt cover bolts can be a REAL pain - especially the lower ones.good luck!

does it have ABS?? that can cause a pulsation thru the steeringwheel.if the rotors are warped you should get them changed as soon as possible. If you still have the same symptoms after changing them, then you will need to look elswhere.

Have the dual version mounted on the flat part of the dash in my GL wagon - blocks the clock, but thats ok - it doesnt work anyway!

have to agree that it probably is not the rack. it is also recommended that struts be replaced about every 50,000 miles (+/-). you say you get "oscilations"...hmmm, sounds a LOT like tie rod ends to me. You need to check them over very carefully very soon - having one of those fail while driving is NOT fun.

yupper, old Subaru's are great little cars!! paid $150 for my first one - 89 GL wagon, 5 spd, FWD, named Brumhilda - almost 7 years ago - put in clutch, both axles, alternator, battery, and new tires and drove the heck out of the ol girl. Had 142K on the clock when i got her, has 255K on her now. In 6.5 yrs of ownership she has only been "down" 4 times - twice for timing belts (i didnt reseal the first time - my bad), once with an ignition amplifier problem and once when we took an unexpected "trip" offroad. And she gets an average of around 33 mpg to boot! She is still running, altho doesnt get driven as much since getting the 90 Legacy on the road, i am really liking the Legacy - Shhhh, dont tell Hildy!

congrats on the new ride Connie! Havent done the timing belt on an EJ yet - but it is just one very large belt.... the rear struts can be kind of a pain if the car is a sedan (at least on the legacy they are) top strut mount is located behind the rear seat back - means removing the rear seat, kind of cramped space wise - wagons are much easier to get at. If it has a rear sway bar, unbolt the bar mounts from the frame - makes getting the bottom end out (and back in) a LOT easier. also, 10 times faster, and a lot fewer headaches, to cut the flange the brake hose goes thru and bend it out of the way. after removing the clip that holds the hose in place, cut to one side of the hole, and bend back the tab that is created. if you have them, bolt cutters make short work of this, if not, a hacksaw will do the job, just be careful not to cut the hose. pre cut the flange on the new one before installation. I can provide pics of this if you want them.

Connie - been away for a few days and come back to see this! Sorry to see the nasties - but yes, it can be fixed. Brumhilda is living proof of that. Sounds like you are getting some help from Backwoodsboy - and good for him for stepping up! Fiberglass can be used in this area as long as the structural parts are ok - I have done it - and it has held up just fine (even after my unplanned trip offroad & about 8 ft down!). if backwoodsboy is helping you get some metal patches put in there, that is great! but to seal everything up after the patching is done, throw a layer of 'glass in there - it really is easy to do, just messy. Good Luck, and dont give up on Bucky just yet!!

loving my 90 Legacy LS wagon, AWD, 4EAT. if AWD, you need to keep up on tires, all the same size, make etc, and air pressure! If it has the factory air suspension (LS AWD wagon w/auto), might think about doing the coilover swap. the early "climate controls" tend to have some minor issues with solder joints going bad, but that is usually an easy fix. if the price is right, go for it! they are great cars.

Grossgary is right - we dont need to flame here. that being said, it is common sense to check your tire pressure regularly - generally at least once a month to maintain proper wear, get decent fuel mileage, etc. BUT - if you have a KNOWN leaky tire - then you should be checking it much more often! as often as that tire requires to keep it inflated properly - be it every 3 days, or once a week, or whatever. Sorry, but i dont believe that there is a "lawsuit" here of any kind. You got lax in your care and maintenance, pure and simple.... Keeping up with things like leaky tires is YOUR responsibility - not the manufacturer's. The line "...severe mechanical damage to the drivetrain..." would be enough to keep me checking on things...cant afford to replace drivetrain components!

was thinking about this on the way home from work tonight... to check - pop hood and have somebody push the button so you can watch what is going on - you may see air bubbles entering the line going to the passenger side, or perhaps a drip or two... to double check - pinch off the line for the drivers side nozzle (after they "Y") to force more pressure to the passenger side and look for either drips or bubbles... replacing the line is definitely cheap - may want to go ahead and do it, just to see if that is in fact the problem

just a thought - but which side of the car is the washer bottle on?? if the bottle is on the drivers side, then it is a pretty simple case of the further the fluid goes, the less "uumph" it has...ie: not enough pressure when it finally reaches the passenger side. as for the direction the nozzles are spraying - if they are anything like the older ones you should be able to adjust the direction they spray by using either a small paperclip, or a large safety pin, inserted into the nozzle opening and moving it in the desired direction.

yup, the 93 should be 2.2 and non-interference... if it runs and drives, snag it up, give it a going over and turn it around for a tidy profit if you dont want to keep it. if it is AWD be sure the tires are all up to snuff and of the same type/size/wear - the AWD is fussy...

you mean to tell me they are saying 8.75 years??? also, the "wife's car" must not go much of anywhere to not be able to get 70K in 8.75 yrs...sitting around doing nothing isnt exactly good for them either...

yup, just needed verification that this was "normal" - just getting used to the the "new" ride is all. Thanks Skip!

just kind of wondering if it is normal for the cruise control to not want to "resume" after stopping at an intersection - will "resume" fine if i just slow a little - like for a car turning ahead of me, but if i slow below 25 mph, like to make a turn, or stop at a stop sign, etc, it will not "resume", i have to manually set it again... just thought it was wierd as every other car i have ever had with cruise would resume fine under any circumstance, unless it was shut off. car is a 90 Legacy LS wagon, AWD, Auto

you may be able to upgrade your sway bar from a newer model Subaru - Legacy Central has a list of parts and interchange-ability posted as a sticky in the suspension forum.

if you want to go the fiberglass route - use either a fine hardware cloth, or aluminum screen if you can find it, or some other such pliable substance, to creat the basic shape from, then lay your resin soaked fiberglass mat over that and work into the shape you created.

they show up on Ebay from time to time. maybe other plcaes as well the no factory rack look is ok - just saying it looks a little strange to me - out of the 5 wagons we have had out here all of them had the roof rack - just not real common to see them without one. as for being "more aerodynamic for better gas mileage" - maybe, but i still got 33-34 mpg out of Hildy with a heavy foot and a rack....

somehow i missed this ^ before... the black piece that you physically see between the windows is a trim piece - yes, it is soft - no, you shouldnt be trying to use a slide hammer on it... all trim needs to be removed, both inside and out, to get to the meat of the situation. I think that if you took trim off of the interior of that piller, you would see that it really isnt as bad as you think it is.... or it could be worse (but i doubt it)... :-p

nice clean looking wagon you have there. kinda strange to see no roof rack tho! :cool: and Gloyale is right about the 4WD shocks/struts - they will give just a bit more clearance on the FWD model.

Congratulations Connie!!! and a fine looking job you did too! See - you CAN do it! :banana: great pics of the little blue jay too! they are so ugly they are cute at that stage.

dont need bucks - just need time, energy, a parts car and tools - or a freind that has tools (and can weld if you can't) only thing that would cost would be getting the glass replaced - and even that can be done on the cheap if the parts car has good glass.

if you want a factory style grill you will need to get one from a model that had the four headlight setup - it is a different size than the two headlight versions. otherwise, if the metal mesh thing doesnt look too bad, leave it be. things to look at / be aware of: 1. Timing Belts - should be done on the EA82 every 60,000 2. Cooling system - make sure everything is operating properly, in good condition and there are no leaks - aluminum engines do NOT like to overheated. 3. Oil Changes - keep up with the oil / oil changes. there is something referred to as "Tick Of Death" or "TOD" but it is rarely fatal as the name would imply. keeping the oil level up and changed regularly should prevent any symptoms 4. Suspension / Steering components - things like tierod ends, ball joints, shocks/struts - unless you can afford to buy tires constantly, keep these in good repair (also check wheel bearings) 5. the little switch on the top of the steering column - it turns on the parking lights - if your lights are on with the car shut off, check this switch. One of the great things about Subaru's is you CANT leave your lights on accidentally - they turn off with the ignition switch (unless the parking light switch is on) These are great little cars that are usually VERY reliable, unless they have been neglected for a long time. I bought my 89 GL FWD 5spd (sister of yours) nearly 6 years ago (august) and still drive it - putting about 100 miles a day, 5 days a week on her - has 255,705 miles on the odometer as of today. She runs great, gets an average of 32-33 mpg on regular unleaded (now with up to 10% ethanol which has caused the mileage to go down slightly ) and, according to the other half, i dont drive nice (ie: grandma) "Drive it like ya stole it!!" Good luck with your new found obsession (yes, it IS an obsession!) any questions, this is the place to get them answered!