buying a 92-95

[seth3030]

i am thinking about buying a legacy wagon 92-95 and was wondering what i should look for as far as some problems people have had with buying them used. besides cv joints. any help would be great thank you.

[fnlyfnd]

they should all be 2.2L, so you dont have to worry about much. Autos can give you torque bind, but manuals can also.....autos seem to be a lil more frequent though....replace water pump and timing belt when you get it. Front and rear oil seals will prolly be leaking but this is easily taken care of when you do w/p and timing. Up to 1996 all the 2.2s are non-interfernce, but changing the timing belt is still a good idea.

[Manarius]

Any particular reason 92-95? The major blocks of Legacy history(Pre-2000) are 89-94 and 95-99. In 95, there was a major body style change and with that change came a new set of peculiarities.

 

With the 89-94 Legacies expect to look at these things:

Normal Wear and tear things (Timing, Acc, Alt belts, Plugs, Wires, Coilpack (not always), fuel pump)

A few electrical things surrounding the fuel pump, but nothing major

Crank Seals front and rear will probably leak a little

If it has a sunroof, it might leak a little

It may have a little bit of rust depending on where it came from

Rear Wheel Bearings go on occasion (not too often though)

 

95-99 I'm not so sure about. I have noticed there are a lot of similarities between my 91 and my friend's 97, but...there are some major differences.

[seth3030]

i want a 92-95 mainly because of the price range but if i could find a newer one for a good price then i would look into that. so basically just do a full tune up when i get it? i am not totally new to subarus i own an 82 but i am putting to much money in to it and i would rather just fix the old one up and be able to drive the new one. i heard if you get a 2.5 L that i should be werry about the head gaskets and possibly the head being warped? is this true?

[nipper]

i want a 92-95 mainly because of the price range but if i could find a newer one for a good price then i would look into that. so basically just do a full tune up when i get it? i am not totally new to subarus i own an 82 but i am putting to much money in to it and i would rather just fix the old one up and be able to drive the new one. i heard if you get a 2.5 L that i should be werry about the head gaskets and possibly the head being warped? is this true?

 

i think youll like the performance of the 95 better then the 94, especially if you get an automatic.

 

nipper

[firstwagon]

Try to avoid wagons with the air suspension.

 

When it's working it works quite well, good ride and handling and you can raise the car an inch or so at the push of a button. However these cars are getting old and when the parts fail they are very expensive to replace.

 

Regular springs and shocks wear out too but they go slowly and are cheaper to change.

[Manarius]

i think youll like the performance of the 95 better then the 94, especially if you get an automatic.

 

nipper

Ugh. My friend's 97 is a dog compared to my car. She has an autotragic as well.

[nipper]

Ugh. My friend's 97 is a dog compared to my car. She has an autotragic as well.

 

92-94 autos suck compared to a 95

Anything is faster when compared to a stick.

 

nipper

[seth3030]

alright this is all helping me thank you. so a 95 sounds like the best way to go?

[firstwagon]

92-94 autos suck compared to a 95

Anything is faster when compared to a stick.

 

nipper

 

They felt the same to me. My 91 2.2 auto jumps off the line really well and pulls strong right to the 6500 redline. The 95 2.2 auto I drove last year felt the same. That makes sense since theres no noticeable change in HP.

 

The only 2.5 I have driven is my sister 05 Forester with a 5 speed. It does feel faster but not a huge difference. Mostly more low end.

[seth3030]

oh alright sweet thanks

[a97obw]

Wow! Nobody mentioned what I would consider a MAJOR "buying point" being that the 92s and earlier use R-12 (unobtainium refrigerant) in the A/C system, and I'm pretty sure that 93 was the first year for the R-134A refrigerant change. So it's either no A/C because you can't afford/find R-12, or a $6.00 can of R-134A at the local parts store.

As for the R-134A "conversion kits" I wouldn't consider one, as the instructions say you MUST get ALL the old refrigerant/oil out of the system before you recharge with the R-134A spec stuff.......and you can bet your bottom dollar that the kit manufacturers attorneys who stand behind their product will tell you "you can't get it ALL out!"

 

Just some thoughts!

[ericem]

92-94 autos suck compared to a 95

Anything is faster when compared to a stick.

 

nipper

 

Wow, i raced a mercedes(looked like it was a 94), and i stayed with him the entire time. Ill head out to a used dealer and try out a 95 with low millage and feel the difference.

[ericem]

Wow! Nobody mentioned what I would consider a MAJOR "buying point" being that the 92s and earlier use R-12 (unobtainium refrigerant) in the A/C system, and I'm pretty sure that 93 was the first year for the R-134A refrigerant change. So it's either no A/C because you can't afford/find R-12, or a $6.00 can of R-134A at the local parts store.

As for the R-134A "conversion kits" I wouldn't consider one, as the instructions say you MUST get ALL the old refrigerant/oil out of the system before you recharge with the R-134A spec stuff.......and you can bet your bottom dollar that the kit manufacturers attorneys who stand behind their product will tell you "you can't get it ALL out!"

 

Just some thoughts!

 

My dad is in the HVAC buisness and has a different refrigerant in my 93 leg. Um i think it has r-something b forgot now, ill find out when my dad gets back, but it works great and 2 years still full of refrigerant. And r-12 is expensive, but im still using the orig ac the car has when it was new, and there were no leaks, just the valve has a tiny tiny tiny leak, and after 13 years well ya, so it was tightened up and now no issues.