Whole or Parted

[camdeklerk]

Hey All

I hope I'm not scewing this up but here goes:

I have a 1988 Subaru GL with 226xxx miles and dual range 4x4.

In short, it doesn't run very well and before I owned it, wasnt' taken care of very well.

It still does run with some tender love and care. But its only a (short) matter of time until it craps out.

The two big problems are clutch and headgasket. CV joints were just replaced but are still making clicking noises and it sounds like the rear rotars are starting to rub when I step on the brakes. On top of that it leaks just about everything into everywhere. The coolant has to be refilled (not just topped off) every 2-3 days.

 

Bad news bears.

 

The good news bears is that Bart (the Soob) still has a lot of working parts. Dual range 4x4 is solid, as is transmission, power steering, front brakes, cv boots, radiator (for the most part), whole interior, wheels, automatic gadgets, heating/ventilation, interior lights, headlights, e-brake, alternator, internal thermometer etc. And the really good news is that it has a clean title and I have every shred of evidence of any work ever done on Bart from his beautiful youthful beginning.

So

My question to all of you who know more about Soobies than I do is this:

Do I part out Bart the Soob or is there someone who might want to buy it?

 

Any advice is welcome

Thanks

[tractor pole]

It would probably be worth more if you took the time to part it out. The problems you describe are all pretty easy to fix. It would be worth a lot more to fix then sell. I wish I had room to have another one! Just have to ask yourself how much are you willing to spend?

 

My .02

Ben

Edited January 26, 2012 by tractor pole

[idosubaru]

parting out cars sucks, but if you're bored tear it up.

 

if you can part out the car i'd say you can also fix the headgaskets. i'd put my time there and get a decent price for the car verses parting it out myself, or just fix it and keep the thing!

 

properly repaired it shouldn't cost all that much if you can do the work and last.

[Yo'J]

My first car had bad headgaskets. I would never have the (albeit, minor) faith in my abilities to fix a car without the experience of fixing it. I just did it in a parking space, left the motor in it and did it the hard way. If you can pull it, it will be so much easier. I had no lift. I was 26 I think...... I won't take a car to the shop for much now unless I don't have time.

[man on the moon]

A pair of head gaskets is $35 or so, a full gasket kit is just over $200. I bought a full gasket kit and did just the heads, intake manifold, and valve covers. I'll do the water pump next as it's started leaking, and the oil pump at the same time while I'm in there. Another time I'll do the oil pan gasket...point is you can keep the gaskets you don't use until you want/need them later. Mine are in a little flat cardboard box (like a mailing envelope) under the rear seat.

 

If you take the heads to a machine shop and just ask for them to be milled it will run under $100. They will probably want to rebuild and test them, but that runs closer to $300 so be specific. They will also (probably, if my experience is 'average') probably tell you the head is shot because it has a hairline crack between the valve seats in each cylinder. THIS IS NORMAL. There is even a dealer notice stating it's fine to drive with from Subaru itself. I have yet to see a head without this pair of cracks; just make sure the crack is only between the valves and not the cylinders.

 

A clutch kit is under $200.

 

Both jobs are fairly easy to do and don't require removing the motor from the car (though you have to jack it up about an inch and slide it forward for the clutch).

 

You should be able to do both jobs and a tune up (replace hoses, plugs, wires, filters, etc) for $6-700 if you do it yourself. And you can spread the work out and drive in between if you need to for financial reasons.

[man on the moon]

Forgot the axles! Axles are cheap or good--sounds like the PO put the cheap ones, they can sometimes click right out of the box. Send a PM to ShawnW as I believe he has some good rebuilt ones in his shop (mechanic), and can point you in the right direction. Price is still reasonable for good ones, though more than cheap ones. As long as bolts aren't stripped, they are easy to replace. And yes, I speak from experience on that one

 

Anyway, good luck and have fun! And don't be afraid to look around the board for local help, lots of guys up in the NW--some enjoy helping out, others don't, but it can never hurt to ask.