Sell 98 Brighton Wagon as is or part out?

[etc]

 

 

It appears that this 98 Legacy Brighton wagon reached the end of the road. The terminal illness diagnosis was pronounced today -- turns out the cause of it running extremely poorly (zero acceleration when cold, constant misfire on all 4 under throttle). Turns out the crankshaft went bad, it wobbles when running and something disintegrated inside. I looked at it in the disassembled state and it wasn't right. The timing is royally screwed up even though the marks line up under the timing belt covers.

 

The mechanic said the engine had to come out for this work, at least the radiator, or better yet get a new engine.

 

There is a major camshaft leak, on top of engine also, the timing belt needs replacement and the truth is, I don't care for the Brighton model, lack of power windows and other stupid stuff like no tach is getting to me. Now the rear hatch is stuck, impossible to open it.

 

As I said, with it running poorly, not sure how much I can get for it. 500 bucks maybe? If that, I would rather part it out. It does run however, you just need to floor it (and enjoy 15MPG that it gets). Probably just a question of time when it destroys the catalytic convert with the timing so badly messed up.

 

The other option is to tear it apart and sell the parts I don't need and keep lots of spare parts for this newer Legacy.

 

The reason for parts car, I found a 1999 "L" wagon, a step above Brighton with power locks and a real tach and much lower miles (90K versus 150K):

 

 

I wonder (assuming I buy the 99 wagon) if I should keep the 98 wagon as a spare parts car. It seems the 98 Brighton wagon is basically the same as a 1999 L wagon. I have a new radiator ($200), new windshield and some other parts installed on the 98 wagon. Also have timing belt, water pump (but not installed, they were intended for 98 2.2L but I would think they should work on 99 2.2L -- no changes were made, correct?

Edited November 3, 2009 by etc

[Fairtax4me]

Still fixable I bet. If I had any money to spare I'd probably pick up that thing for myself. (the 98 I mean) After having the sedan I wish I had held out for a wagon.

[etc]

The diagnosis is damaged crankshaft and keyway twisted.

 

I am sure it's fixable but I don't really have the skills set to do it reasonably fast, I will probably have it apart for months until I get it back together.

[idosubaru]

i'll be in maryland thanksgiving and christmas and might be interested in picking this up. you can keep the new radiator.

 

the 99 will be mostly the same - the engine is different though being 99 was the first year for Phase II EJ22 so engine doesn't swap...well, not easily.

 

personally i'd keep it as a back up beater, having two cars is really nice.

 

having a parts car is great, go snag what you need. and it's nice when you only have one car, having those parts readily available - some most prone to failure you can even stash in the spare compartment.

 

but it's also annoying having it in the way, killing grass, it rusts as it sets, parts get harder to remove, parts don't get better with age and weather. and if you only pull a few cheap parts off of it you lost more by not selling it for $500. almost every part can be bought cheap on these cars, it's usually more of a convenience thing than a financial decision. just depends on your space, time, etc.

[lewisd]

I'd probably unload it. as other said, it will take up space, continue aging. I'm in Maryland as well. eastern shore. I like my 99 brighton wagon, but it's testing my mechanical abilities. I bought it new in Norfolk and found out it's a California emissions model or something. some parts (air filter, O2 sensors) i need to order 2000 year model. your 99 looks in great shape appearance wise.

[etc]

May not buy this new '99 I saw... According to seller, the true miles are much higher than stated, the odometer was replaced. It's actually also at 150K miles. Unless I get really cheap (way under 2K) probably not worth messing with it as I will be back to the same issues I had with this one (Torque bind, timing belt, radiator, oil leaks, etc. and maybe even have new and interesting problems I never encountered before, like suspension work)

 

The 98 Brighton wagon is back together - the plan is to drive for a few months and look for something better. Poorly, but it's driving. I am not really sure I want to go for newer Outback post 2000 as they all seem to have 2.5L engine (though my 2.2L is not that good either as it turns out)

[idosubaru]

your crank keyway problem was caused by something. someone removed the crank bolt at one point and didn't reinstall it tight enough. very common problem, folks mess that up all the time. engine is not to blame.

 

that is also repairable. a number of folks on here have repaired that, i've done it twice.

 

150,000 miles is really rather light duty for an EJ22.

 

if you want no oil leaks, replace any leaking cam seals and reseal the oil pump when intsalling a new timing belt (i always do them all together since the belt has to come off to do those seals anyway).

 

replace valve cover gaskets.

 

torque bind is only an issue on poorly maintained cars - automatic transmission fluid never being changed, car improperly towed, running mismatched tires, spare, or not rotating them.

 

if i buy a car without torque bind - i have no worries about it every developing it because i change the fluid an rotate the tires.

 

done right a 150,000 mile 1999 EJ22 has a great chance of making another 100,000 miles. but expecting that with zero maintenance on a 10 year old car is a bit much and risky.

[johnceggleston]

the plan is to drive for a few months and look for something better. Poorly,

 

let's trade. i have a 97 outback limited, ~130k miles auto trans with piston slap, i've had it for 33k miles, timing belt, wp and seals done @ 98k; red paint, good leather, power antenna. runs great but the carpet could use cleaning, good body for it's age, one ding. i'll take $2500 your car. for another 1500$ i'll put in a good 97 (130 - 140k) engine 2.5L or 2.2L engine, your choice.

 

let me know.