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Looking for some advice 1997 Subaru Legacy GT


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Ok so my brother has had enough with this car. After he repaced all 4 tires and a coupe sensors in the engine the clutch went out. Now he wants to sell it but doesnt know how much to ask. He is thinking 3000 without the clutch fixed and 4000 with it fixed. He did have the cooling system checked for a blown HG and all is good. I told him it might be worth it to fix it since the HGs are still good but he doesnt want to mess with it. So i guess im offering this for sale but whatever you guys think something like this would be worth fixed or unfixed. Car has 140thousand miles. Would you try to dump it or would you fix it.

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Cheapest car is typically the one you own. If it seems good for another 100,000 miles then it's probably worth fixing. If the head gaskets have never been replaced that sucks though.

 

Any 10-15 year old car is going to have issues. Stuff like tires are rather benign and easily inspected when bought.

 

$3,000 is insanely high though for a car with a bad clutch. Unless you find a really anxious person that wants that exact car it'll probably take a long time to get that much for it, if ever. You'll always get better return selling a car that's running.

 

Is he sure the clutch is shot? These things have notorious issues with the slave cylinders and hoses for the hydraulic clutches. Make sure he checks those first.

 

I got at 97 Legacy GT for $1,500. In mint condition and that was 3 years ago. 80,000 miles, mint condition, new tires, no rust, needed head gaskets. head gasket job is about $1,500 and clutch job is $1,000-$1,500 so the work needed was about the same. I would have never paid that much except for the low mileage and excellent condition I knew it would flip easily.

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He paid 3k for it as is. Then he put brand new tires on it and then replaced a couple things preventing it from running. Then the clutch problem happened. The mechanic is a reputable one and one we have both gone to before. He did say he would pull the motor to replace the clutch, and while the motor was out he woudl do the HGs, timeing belts, and water pump and valve cover gaskets. all that for 2k if he did that he would have a new car.

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I would tend to agree with Gary. That car has a reputation for HG's, and it's now 13 years old. I would say the most the car is worth in excelent condition is $3000 for a quick sale. With bad clutch probably around $1500 or less. Clutch jobs are surprisingly expensive on Subaru's (though I only charge a couple hundred for labor typically).

 

Why not just rent a cherry-picker and do it yourselves? $200 for a clutch kit - in an afternoon it's done. Then sell the car for $3000 as-is since the head gaskets are good right now.

 

GD

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if you get a garage and cherry picker, i can come help with the clutch replacement. It will probably need the flywheel resurfaced, so plan on having that done, Mick has a guy he gets those resurfaced from, so the turnaround on that will be the holdup on getting it back together.

I did the clutch job on my 92SS like 2 years ago, when i had it.

I am pretty used to EJ engine pulling. Have pulled at least 6 or 7 out of the cars. I can have a EJ out in about an hour from the start. There are a few tricky nuts, bolts, etc.

 

You also need a hog pan to drain the coolant in.

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Ok he was told clutch but when i drove this the clutch was fine. This is the exact problem he is having.

 

When he shifts it does not go into gear. There is some tension in the peddle but it will not go into gear. There is no grinding when he can get it into gear. The only way to get it to move is to put the car in gear when the car is off. You can hear metal on metal grinding while its moveing. Not really loud but noticeable. Clutch peddle has tension but not as tight as it was.

 

Discuss.

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Sounds like the clutch either has air in the slave cylinder or a bad cable..... don't know which style it has.

 

If it moves fine when you start the car in gear then the problem is that the clutch isn't releaseing - not that the clutch is worn out. The good news is that all of that is external (unless the fork is bent/cracked or the pressure plate is seriously damaged).

 

The metal-on-metal while in gear is disturbing - that could either be the aforementioned pressure plate damage, or - more likely - a bad rear input shaft bearing. That's not uncommon on the EJ 5 speed's it seems. I've replaced a couple for that now and I know of other's.

 

See if you can fix the clutch by bleeding the air from the slave or by replacing the cable.

 

GD

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How do you bleed air from the slave cylinder.

 

It's just like bleeding a brake caliper - loosen the bleeder screw and have someone pump the clutch pedal.

 

If the slave cylinder is leaking it may need to be replaced - that's not an uncommon problem with those years of hydraulic clutch slave's.

 

GD

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The slave - is that where you're asking?

 

Look at where the engine and trans meet. Basically under the air box and dogbone. You can follow the line to the master cylinder on the firewall to it as well.

 

They can be a bugger to bleed.

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Yeah you're gonna love this place.

 

I maintained my old gf's 95 legacy for a few years, then bought my 97 with 140000 that drove like it had a bad axle, turned out to be a tire, for 2500. ran it to i think like 320k, and scared of overheating probs so sold it to some poor neighbors for 350 to be nice to them, with warning about heat etc, and they promptly got it fixed and sold for like 800.

 

just recently bought a 95 wagon with 130000 cause i was kind of stuck with no car for 3500, and the guy let me make pmts.

 

the only question about whether to fix that or not for me would be the body and interior quality.

 

If the 2.5 (it has 2.5, right?) runs well, i'd keep it on running.

you could always just get a 2.2 and replace at some point if necessary.

 

at 140 the legacy just begins...

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Ive tried to explain this to him but hes kinda excentric because hes only had it for a few months and its had nothing but problems. The mechanic said he would pull the motor and replace the clutch or fix whatever was wrong with it. But he said he woudl also do a timeing belt job, hg job and reseal the few oil leaks he had for 2000 bucks. After that he pretty much would have a reliable vehicle. Hes moving to colorado so i told him the awd woudl be superior in that type of climate but he doesnt think so. I think hes just going to have them fix whatever is wrong with the tranny then try to sell it. Hes going to be out of money but hes paranoid its going to become a money pit.

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Well, in my experience I know those sensors going cause a kind of panic, but I think they kind of go mostly around 140 or so, and then no more.

 

But you never no. Yes, the AWD is great, one of the best low cost vehicles, in snow. Kind of one of the first SUVs, at least the wagons.

 

I was rereading your first post, and actually getting new tires is one thing I look forward to on these cars. Cut the rotors/brake job all around, all struts sound, and new tires?

 

Woo-hoo!!!

:lol:

 

Of course, have always been a fan of michelins, particularly the hydroedge,

WHICH I KNOW OF A GREAT SET FOR CHEAP BUT WILL POST NOTHING AS TO THEIR WHEREABOUTS ON THIS VULTURES NEST!!!

 

:grin:

 

Good luck for him.

Lotta miles ahead.

Maybe for the next person.

 

'97 (now 95)

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Hes going to be out of money but hes paranoid its going to become a money pit.

 

And he's probably right. That's a bad year for engine's, early EJ trannies were not real strong, and the interior, etc is cheap as hell on those Gen II's. I only buy them for resale myself - people are morons and pay more for the things just because the body looks cooler :rolleyes:.

 

If it were me - I would fix whatever it needs *right now* - as cheaply as possible (himself if he can) and get a 90 to 94 Legacy, or something in the '00 range and up with the phase II engines.

 

There's about 6 years in there that you want to totally avoid unless it's a model with the EJ18/EJ22. And even those can only claim a decent engine by way of the ancestory of the EJ. They screwed up the EJ25's something aweful and even the '95+ EJ22's got some cheap plastic junk swapped on in place of the rugged components they had in 90-94 years (Plastic A/C tensioner nut.... WTF!?!?).

 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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