WoodsWagon Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Should I buy a 1998 Outback Wagon for 2,200 with blown head gasket and a rapping from the engine? I can't tell if it's a valve out of adjustment or a conn rod bearing. The headgasket is so blown you can hear each compression stroke out of the radiator bleeder screw. It was total'd because of an engine fire, all wiring fixed, and it starts right up. new radiator too. I can't run it long enough to find out whether the noise will go away when it warms up. The wagon also has evidence of off-roading under it, dented up rear floorpans and the undercoating is rubbed off in areas. Other than that, the body is straight. Only thing that doesn't work is the rear wiper. 2.5l with auto tranny, 118k miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Should I buy a 1998 Outback Wagon for 2,200 with blown head gasket and a rapping from the engine? I can't tell if it's a valve out of adjustment or a conn rod bearing. The headgasket is so blown you can hear each compression stroke out of the radiator bleeder screw. It was total'd because of an engine fire, all wiring fixed, and it starts right up. new radiator too. I can't run it long enough to find out whether the noise will go away when it warms up. The wagon also has evidence of off-roading under it, dented up rear floorpans and the undercoating is rubbed off in areas. Other than that, the body is straight. Only thing that doesn't work is the rear wiper. 2.5l with auto tranny, 118k miles It looks to me like this deal would hinge on price; likely it will need a replacement engine. Just my 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgambino Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 It looks to me like this deal would hinge on price; likely it will need a replacement engine.Just my 2 he mentioned that the asking price is "2,200" personally...I would stay away from it at that price(unless you already had an engine available)...who knows what abuse the tranny also took...sounds like kids were off roading with it...plus the fire damage albeit that it was repaired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 he mentioned that the asking price is "2,200" personally...I would stay away from it at that price(unless you already had an engine available)...who knows what abuse the tranny also took...sounds like kids were off roading with it...plus the fire damage albeit that it was repaired I was referring to the walk away price which could be considerably less then the $2200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 The offroading looked to be a one time event. The dried mud was still stuck in the fresh dents. I think it was the last trip before it went to auction. There were starbursts melted under the back seat, as well as young child toy packaging found in various parts of the interior. These kinda point to the previous owners being parents, with young kids, and unlikely to beat on the car. Mabe the guys at the aution house went hotdogging in the car? I'm proficcient at tearing into the engine. I also have a good used parts source. The car is fairly loaded, CD, AC, Power everything except seats, cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 Walkaway price is likely to be close to asking. The guy has the fire repair work and the radiator above what he paid for it at auction. I don't think he has much wiggle room. His plan is to rebuild the moter and sell it for $5k, which with winter coming is doable. I think that for $3k including parts, We could have a decent car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Walkaway price is likely to be close to asking. The guy has the fire repair work and the radiator above what he paid for it at auction. I don't think he has much wiggle room. His plan is to rebuild the moter and sell it for $5k, which with winter coming is doable. I think that for $3k including parts, We could have a decent car. If you really like the car, it could well be worth it, especaily since you can do the work yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 My way of looking at it is when I'm finished, I'll have a car with 1k worth of new parts in it. If you bought a good one off the street, you'd have 4k worth of 10 year old parts. But, I'm buying the car for my mother with her money... And she likes to test drive things, which isn't possible with the motor in this state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 The offroading looked to be a one time event. The dried mud was still stuck in the fresh dents. I think it was the last trip before it went to auction. . All it takes is a one time event to seriously damage the car. i bet that was not a pleasant ride for the car nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 It didn't look to bad, but then I'm used to the damage my Loyale sustains in the woods. I can get another engine with a toasted headgasket for 100 complete. I should be able to build one good one out of 2 bad ones. Right at the beginning of winter is a bad time for finding cheap subies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Run. You can do better for that amt of $. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 The cheapest legacy wagon we've found so far is a 1996 with 171k for $3.5k, so... I'm not sure we can get better for the money. I'll talk to the guy tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Bought it. Trailered it home thursday, took a bunch of time today to get the motor ready to pull. 2.5 DOHC's and auto tranny's are a pain to dissasemble. All the EJ22's with manual tranny's came apart nice and easy. I'll have it out tomorrow morning, then up on the engine stand to rip the heads off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 you probably know this, but since you mentioned the auto/manual difference, be sure you're familiar with seating the auto transmission the last 1/4". it's easy to miss that and crush your transmission oil pump (very very bad). takes a little lifting/turning/reseating for it to finally engage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 I aint messin with that dang torque converter. I pulled the 4 bolts that hold it to the flex plate, so it's staying seated while I pull the motor. I had to pull the intake manifold to get the clearance I needed to loosen the flex plate bolts. If I had my 3/8" drive stuff, I'd be able to do it no problem. That and the drivers side lower bellhousing stud. had to shift the inner CV cup out on the spline to fit in to loosen that. Hey, it's stripped down to the long block now, so it's less work later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Shoot, it's too late for me to say "run away"! Good luck! BTW I always leave the TC with the tranny. That's what a really good engine builder taught me many moons ago, has always served me well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Less of a mess with the TC left on the tranny. The car is really nice other than the engine. I cleaned it up a bit while I was waiting for the gas fumes to get sucked out of the pit. You know how there's a shift interlock on auto's? Well, I needed to roll it out of the garage, and it doesn't have a convienient emergency release for the shifter, so I hooked the battery charger up to the car. Turned the key on, popped it in neutral, and wondered "what's that running water sound?" Well, it was more of a running GAS sound. I had forgotten that I had pulled the manifold and left the fuel line hanging. Only made a 4x5 foot puddle. Pulled the battery charger, turned off the propane heater, and shut off all the power in the garage. By far, the stupidest mistake I've made working on a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Less of a mess with the TC left on the tranny. The car is really nice other than the engine. I cleaned it up a bit while I was waiting for the gas fumes to get sucked out of the pit. You know how there's a shift interlock on auto's? Well, I needed to roll it out of the garage, and it doesn't have a convienient emergency release for the shifter, so I hooked the battery charger up to the car. Turned the key on, popped it in neutral, and wondered "what's that running water sound?" Well, it was more of a running GAS sound. I had forgotten that I had pulled the manifold and left the fuel line hanging. Only made a 4x5 foot puddle. Pulled the battery charger, turned off the propane heater, and shut off all the power in the garage. By far, the stupidest mistake I've made working on a car. *snicker* actually if you have removed the engine and everything else, convient is an odd term to use. It's ony a matter of popping off the trim around the shifter to get ta the release, and at most a few screws. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 On the old ones, there was a button or an access cover that you pop and stick a screwdriver down. lot easier. If i had just pulled the fuel pump fuse, I woulda been fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 Well, the cars back together and holding it's fluids. I should have used a different short block, this one's gonna have to come out again and I get to bite the 100bucks for new headgaskets to swap these heads onto the next block. The car should be going in for salvage inspection on tuesday, be regestered and legal in our name by wednesday. Redo the engine job late january, only a shortblock swap. I f'd my self on this one. Should have used a different short block. Hindsight is always 20-20. Other than that the car is wicked nice, Fast too. The ABS is fun too, first car I've been able to play around with hammering on the brakes and having the ABS do it's thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 Passed it's salvage inspection, retitled, and plated in our name. My mom got to drive it around a bunch today. Her main way of car buying is through a test drive. She said that, yes, if she was testing this car out, she would pay 3k for it, which is what we have into it. It has a couple of rough spots, but on the whole, it's a good car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 only a shortblock swap. Congratulations, 91 Loyale. Like your sense of humor! Forget the legal registration--since it passed the Mom Test, I'm sure it's gonna' be a great ride for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Less of a mess with the TC left on the tranny. The car is really nice other than the engine. I cleaned it up a bit while I was waiting for the gas fumes to get sucked out of the pit. You know how there's a shift interlock on auto's? Well, I needed to roll it out of the garage, and it doesn't have a convienient emergency release for the shifter, so I hooked the battery charger up to the car. Turned the key on, popped it in neutral, and wondered "what's that running water sound?" Well, it was more of a running GAS sound. I had forgotten that I had pulled the manifold and left the fuel line hanging. Only made a 4x5 foot puddle. Pulled the battery charger, turned off the propane heater, and shut off all the power in the garage. By far, the stupidest mistake I've made working on a car. Hey a least your still here to tell the tale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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