Friend wants to "give" me early '90s Legacy, do I want it?

[Dogbone]

Actually, a friend of a friend, who knows I am a Subaru fan, has an early '90s Legacy AWD wagon he wants hauled away from his property.

 

All I know, without seeing it, it is "rusted out", hasn't been started or ran in about 7 or 8 years, but was running good when parked due to cracked windshield or something, it has a 2.2 liter motor, and is AWD.

 

My current Subaru is an EA82 powered Loyale, and honestly I do not know if I would even have a use for this car. :-\

 

But I would hate to see it scrapped if it does have any potential, or would be useful to any local Virginia members of this good forum.

 

Looking for some feedback, I'll try to at least get a look at the car, or go ahead and pick it up in the next week or so.

 

Thanks.

[LegacyBrad]

Im a legacy fan boy, so of course I would say keep it. If anything why not tuneup and/or rebuild the 2.2 and put it in you other Subie. Its a fantastic motor imho.

[idosubaru]

really isn't worth much. rust absolutely is terrible, i've parted a lot of cars and rust makes it totally not worth it. a rusty car that has sat that long is going to be even worse.

 

but - it is a free car. unfortunately next to nothing is the same as your vehicle. the PCV valve is the same and the clutch retaining clips if they were both manuals. that's about it and neither of those are worth reusing

 

you could haul it to a scrap yard and get $150-$200 for it rather than him hauling it away for free. i'd say that's the most value it has.

 

if it's a manual trans and someone wants to do a manual trans swap this is a great donor vehicle, so might want to put that out there.

 

and i've lived my sentiments - i was offered a free 1993-ish era generation one legacy and passed on it as well - and the struts from that car even fit mine but i passed, just wasn't worth my time. that's what it comes down to, what's your time worth?

[Fairtax4me]

If nothing else get that 2.2! Rust gets to cars pretty bad around here, especially if they sit for a long time. Even if the body doesn't have much potential, I bet the engine is still worth keeping.

[1982gl4]

Rust is bad down there!? Haha, the one you are getting for free is probably better than some of the ones I have driven ! Free Subaru with a 2.2 I'd take it, of course I usually part them all out, use what I need on my (several) projects and sell all the other parts to people on craigslist, and take the rest to the scrap yard.

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

I personally would take it, but I'm into tinkering, pulling motors etc. From reading your posts I can't tell if that's your thing. I am in Virginia also. If you decide you're not interested, I would be. Even if the body is eaten up with rust, the engine is worth trying to save, possibly the rest of the drivetrain. If you want to see if the engine is something you want to mess with, take a battery with you and some starting fluid. Check the oil first and make sure it has enough and is not milky looking. Put the battery in and disconnect the intake hose at the throttle plate and spray in a little starting fluid. Put the intake hose back on and try to start it. If it cranks over and fires up briefly, it's probably ok. If not, the engine may need some work. If you get the car, try to get the title too. It makes disposing of/ recycling the body much easier.

[Dogbone]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I was offered this Legacy because I put the word out locally that I was looking for a cheap/free donor wagon for my Loyale for a backup EA82 motor and parts and some interior pieces.

 

Of course as mentioned, being a Legacy nothing fits.

 

Thanks for the suggestions regarding the motor. I am most interested in saving it, as I understand it was relatively low mileage (@ 100 k) when the car was parked, and as I learn more about Subarus I understand the 2.2 was (is) highly regarded.

 

Thinking out loud at this point, I DO intend to purchase another Subaru or two in the next few years, as my oldest son is in college and will either be commuting or be relocating, and youngest son will be driving age next year.

 

Most likely candidates, older model AWD Legacy or Imprezza, so a backup engine/car is not the worst idea I suppose???

 

But am I just really trying to justify having another "project"? :-\

 

Worst case, I get the car to the house, and decide not to keep it or do anything with it. If that happens it seems there are at least one or two local USMB members in Virginia that may want it, so maybe it wouldn't decorate my yard too long.

 

Good point about the title, I'll be sure to ask for it.

 

Thanks again for the replies. I'll post an update if I get it.

[GeneralDisorder]

That EJ22 Legacy is like the space shuttle compared to your EA82 - which is more like a horse and buggy.

 

EA82's are total crap compared to the EJ series. Get the car, put the engine in your Loyale. That's a 45 HP uprgrade and better reliability.

 

GD

[Dogbone]

That EJ22 Legacy is like the space shuttle compared to your EA82 - which is more like a horse and buggy.

 

EA82's are total crap compared to the EJ series. Get the car, put the engine in your Loyale. That's a 45 HP uprgrade and better reliability.

 

GD

 

 

I hear you.

 

However, I really had zero interest in ditching the EA82 in my Loyale anytime soon, since other than the slightly sewing machine sound the car runs like a top.

 

Tonight I was reading the excellent .pdf file on the EJ conversion, but pretty much lost interest when I got to the "ditch the A/C" part. :-\

 

 

 

But speaking of projects, here's a question for your Legacy gurus!

 

I found a pretty nice '98 Legacy GT, 2.5 (I think?) liter with blown/leaking head gasket, I can get real cheap.

 

Will the 2.2 from the early Legacy drop in that car with minimal fuss?

 

If so, I may have found my answer.

 

Thanks again for all your helpful advice.

[idosubaru]

I found a pretty nice '98 Legacy GT, 2.5 (I think?) liter with blown/leaking head gasket, I can get real cheap.

that's a great way to end up with a decent subaru for cheap. don't look at it like winning the lottery, it's more like seeing a rainbow, blown EJ25's are easy to find.

 

the early motors are not direct swaps for the EJ25, the wiring is all wrong since it's OBDI instead of OBDII. but that's easy to work around - pretty sure you just get a 1995-1998 EJ22 intake manifold with EGR and bolt it right on top of the older gen EJ22 (91-94) and then it'll be plug and play into the EJ25 vehicle.

[Fairtax4me]

I know there's a wrecked 96 2.2 MT Legacy wagon in CAP. I think intake manifolds are like $25 plus core (couple dollars). Subaru manifolds aren't generally on the wish list for most people so if the engine is still in the car it usually has the manifold. That one was wrecked in the left front and the drivers side head was buried in the core support.

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

Food for thought regarding the GT 2.5. Pulling the motor to do the swap is almost half of the repair job to fix the 2.5. I know there are some members that say the 2.5d is a problem motor, but once the original head gaskets are replaced properly with the updated design gaskets, they are good to go. Granted the cost of all of the recommended parts (timing belt, water pump, gaskets, seals, etc.) can set you back a few hundred bucks, however the 2.5d powered GT is going to be a rocket ship compared to the Subaru you currently drive. Unless the engine got cooked by running it too long too hot, its probably worth trying to fix. If you can't tell, I really like the 2.5d engines. I have had 3 cars with them (one was a 97 GT 2.5 sedan which I sadly had to sell when money got tight), I still have 2. I bought one of them (96 Legacy LSI) with bad headgaskets, cheap. I fixed that one. Now I am finally having to do my 97 outback for the first time with 230K miles. Yes, I opted to fix the high mile motor that I knew (bought the car in 98 with 34k), rather than buy an unknown history motor and put it in.

 

If you do the headgaskets right, you could have a nice sporty car. If you have to pay someone else to do the job, It's going to cost you a lot and you are looking at potentially putting near as much money into the car as its worth.

[Gloyale]

 

the early motors are not direct swaps for the EJ25, the wiring is all wrong since it's OBDI instead of OBDII. but that's easy to work around - pretty sure you just get a 1995-1998 EJ22 intake manifold with EGR and bolt it right on top of the older gen EJ22 (91-94) and then it'll be plug and play into the EJ25 vehicle.

 

Even easier.....

 

Just bolt the 2.5 throttle body and all the 2.5 sensors, and intake wiring onto the 2.2 intake manifold.

 

All you're wiring and sensors from the 2.5 stay, just mated onto a 2.2 intake. Injectors, evap solenoid, etc. all stay.

[GeneralDisorder]

I know there are some members that say the 2.5d is a problem motor, but once the original head gaskets are replaced properly with the updated design gaskets, they are good to go.

 

That's not always the case - the 25D is a gamble with blown head gaskets - this routinely results in bottom end failure down the line due to repeated overheating and not changing the engine oil.

 

They are also more expensive to maintain - valve adjustments, timing belt kits, etc all add to the cost of ownership over the 2.2. An EJ22 with torque cams (less than $200) is a good comprimise.

 

GD