Hunting a Legacy

[mountaingoatgruff]

my wife and i are looking into buying an early 90's legacy, maybe 93-96 range. we would like to find an awd 5speed wagon with around 150k on the clock and options are always nice (i won't hold my breath for an lsi, though)

 

my question is this: what should i look for in particular on this vehicle? do they have any common issues or especially expensive needs? i know the 2.2's are bulletproof and subaru stickshift trans are hardy so really i mean within the awd system but anything is helpful.

 

i'm just looking for suggestions on places to check besides the normal fluids, suspension, engine state, etc. is there a method to quickly diagnose the state of the awd system?

 

something that i always like to do is take the car on the test drive to autozone if there's one close enough. they'll hook up their diagnostic computer and pull codes for free. even if there's no codes it can be fun and/or informative to observe the owner on the way there!

 

no suggestions will be considered trivial. thanks in advance!

[screwbaru2]

There really aren't any big special issues that I know of with the cars your looking at. A 2.2 w/ a stick is going to serve you quite well. The high mileage means you'll have issues due to time / mileage, alt. / p/s / exhaust but that's the case with any car. My opinon I'd rather do those things to a soob than any other car. They are the easiest cars I ever worked on. Setup very well for ease of repair and maint. They are hard to find, nobody wants to part with them!

[nipper]

Make sure all the tires match. Drive the car in a tight circle. The car should be able to make tight circles under its own power at idle, or with a wee bit more fuel if its a manual. It should do it in a smooth motion. If it doesnt walk away, unless its a steal of a price.

 

At 150,000 miles or so dont be scared off by oil leaks, as they are all repareable. The 2.2L needs a new timing belt every 60,000 miles. Plan on doing the timing belt, water pump, cam seals, main seal, and re sealong the oil pump, along with the timing belt idlers. This may sound a bit intimidating, but if you do this you wont have to do it for 120,000 miles (every other timing belt change).

 

good luck.

 

nipper

[GeneralDisorder]

LS and LSi never came with 5 speeds, they were always automatics. So you are looking for an L, GT, or any of the other '94 special editions if you want the N/A 2.2 and the 5 speed. There's also the EJ22T Sport Sedan, but those are getting aweful rare.

 

2.2, AWD 5 speed is the way to go. 96 Outbacks are the most sought after as they have both and the lifted suspension as well. 95 Outbacks had the low suspension.

 

GD

[msmithmmx]

If you see a Legacy post 95 with a 2.5 be VERY VERY carefull that it does not have a busted headgasket. Take it for a good 30 to 40 minute drive and get the temp up. Make sure nothing overheats.

[mountaingoatgruff]

very good informtion from each of you. i'm not intimidated by doing the maintenance that should've been done all along cuz it never is and i always have to do it. i'm going to look at a 93 on tuesday, if all goes well my wife will be the happy driver of a blue legacy wagon!

 

edit:

 

how lame are the auto trannies in these cars? i always perfer manual in any car but after looking around, there's not too many here. i don't plan on 4 wheeling the car, but i want high gas efficiency and reliability. should i hold out for a 5speed or are the autos not that bad?

[Blue Whale]

The automatic isn't bad at all. I had always driven a manual transmission, and had one in our '93 Legacy. However, our '95 has an automatic, as does the '96 OBW we acquired last year to replace the '93. The 4EAT does a good job of deciding when to shift, the torque converter doesn't slip at cruising speed, and it's reasonably smooth. On the other hand, the five-speed manual for these cars isn't much fun: it's durable and gets the job done, but it can be a bit of a chore to shift. Mileage isn't necessarily better with the manual; if fact, the auto was slightly better in '95. The automatic is quite durable as well. One difference is the AWD: with a manual, there's a viscous coupling between front and rear, while with an automatic there's a computer-controlled clutch pack. They both work well, but the viscous coupling might be less fussy about slightly-mismatched tires. I would still buy a Subaru with a manual transmission if I liked it otherwise--almost did last year--but the 4EAT shouldn't be a disappointment.

[idosubaru]

that's a good assessment. the 4EAT transmission in this legacy is very reliable for an automatic. if you don't overheat the ATF or run them out of fluid they will last quite a while. the biggest detriment right now isn't the transmission it's time. there's 15 years for things like poor maintenance, mismatched tires, improper towing, overheated or lack of ATF....etc. it's not really that unheard of for an automatic to fail at 150k but they can certainly last longer. while very reliable for an automatic, they still aren't as reliable as a manual trans.

 

the positive side of the bad news is that they rarely just fail and quit working, you should have signs well ahead of time if it does. and they are very easy to find for cheap, at least around here they are. it's because they're reliable that there's plenty of used transmissions out there for sale, keeping the prices low. i picked one up last year for $150 with 100,000 miles on it.