New guy, '91 Turbo

[Apex3]

I've been looking around on here for a couple days, looks like a great place. I'll probably be around for a while My old BMW 325i was pretty bad in the snow, and over in Pullman, it snows a lot, and I like to ski, so this works out perfect for me.

Just picked up a '91 Turbo earlier today, it's got 136k on the clock, and everything is in really good shape, it has a few minor issues, like a cracked windshield, but runs and drives great. All stock except a WRX 6-disc changer. Bought it from a guy that purchased it in the summer from the original owner, who kept all maintenance records since it was new, even has the original window sticker. It's a 5 speed, but was swapped from Auto, so I'm not exactly sure what parts he changed.

Here's a pic from the ad, when I got home it was dark, so I wasn't able to get any of my own:



I did have a couple questions though, I searched around but couldn't really find a good place to buy OEM parts? My headlights are yellow, and I'd like new lenses. Are there any projector headlights you can buy for these that aren't terrible quality? What about mudflaps? Kinda lame, but I want the big floppy rally ones, I don't care what anyone thinks, haha. And then I guess is there anything special about this specific car? ie, is the color uncommon, or are there any parts specific to the 91 that I would have? I know it has an LSD in it, I think the PO put that in since it was an auto but I'm not sure. Also, what sort of free things can I do to improve it? Or cheap things. There was a lot of like $5 mods I did on my e30, not sure what's out there for these.


Here's a pic of the car I'm replacing, if anyone cares. Loved it, but got tired of it, I've only had e30s for the past 5 years, which is also when I started driving. I'll miss it, but it's time to move on

[kimokalihi]

Welcome to the board! Nice cars you got there. I'm diggin the BMW.

I buy all my OEM parts from 1stsubaruparts.com but there's other places. It's a dealership up in renton, WA which is only a couple hours from here so I get my parts pretty quick and the prices, for some reason, are far cheaper than the local dealership. The parts catalog is a bitch to search through and it's really picky so try key words and only use one or maybe two words at a time. It helps to have part numbers. There's a parts catalog on here somewhere. I think it's in the "things you need to know" section. You can download that and get part numbers to paste into the search thing and that helps a lot.

I'm not sure of any cheap mods off the top of my head.

As for the lenses, you can sand them down and use acetone to remove all the yellowing and then clear coat them to seal them. Works for a while but mine were back to yellow probably a year later. I just put a wanted ad up on ultimate subaru message board and found a guy who had a clear set for $60. You can also search the junkyards for clear headlights. Anything 90-91 will fit your 91. 92-94 are different. There's a tutorial here somewhere on the sanding the lenses thing too.

Get some good snow tires on that car and you'll be unstoppable!

[Legacy777]

Welcome to the board.

I use www.subarugenuineparts.com They're based in Bellvue, WA. Most of the time if they have the parts, I can have them to me cheaper and faster then if I were to try and get them from a local dealer. 1stsubaru is good as well.

As for the headlights, see my post here.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=739

The big thing you have to do to keep them clear is to do the clear coating to seal everything up.

Other option is get a set of european glass headlights. The pre-face lift legacies 90-91 had HORRIBLE lighting. The EDM spec lights are freaking amazing compared to the stock US lights. Here's some pics from my project/conversion.
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... edmlights/
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... dmproject/

The rear VLSD diff is specific to the 91 MY turbo legacy. That was the only year to get the rear VLSD. There's some other small things mechanically and cosmetically that are unique to the 91 turbo legacy compared to the 92-94 model years.

[Adam West]

Nice car! Always liked that color...

As far as cheap mods go, here's my fav...

15 minutes and roll of electrical tape to black out your chrome strips on the body and window trim.

Why I waited 2 years to do this I'll never know.

Cheers and welcome!

~Adam

[beatersubi]

Welcome.
Nice find. E30's are good handling cars, as well. But for your usage, the subie will do you right.

Search 'coffee cup mod' for a cheap upgrade.

[Apex3]

Awesome! Both of those places are pretty close. I keep forgetting how popular Subarus are in Washington, so that makes sense. I went to Walker Renton Subaru on the way home today, they wanted $200 per headlight, $150 per motor mount, and $150 for the plastic cover on the intake manifold

Surprisingly the stock headlights are brighter than my stock e30 headlights, at least you can see these on the ground but they are pretty worthless. I can't figure out how to turn on the fogs either...Doesn't seem to be any switches.

I assume the EDM lights aren't projectors? I changed the lights on my e30 so the swap would be pretty easy...Maybe I'll just sell my e30 projectors and use the money for headlights for this car.

I actually blacked out all the chrome on my e30, but I might leave it on this car, I don't think it looks bad.

I saw the Coffee cup mod, sorta, i heard about it at least, and the snorkus thing.

EDIT: I took apart my intake, and I don't see anything that looks like the pictures I'm seeing, there's just a hole in the airbox going to the filter, and in the hole it's just the inside of the wheel liner, does that mean the snorkus was already removed? Or am I missing something here?

The white thing sticking out, isn't there.

[ScottyS]

Beautiful car! Sounds like it's in fantastic shape, I'm jealous.

If you are going to put a TMIC on, then you won't need the manifold cover, but if you want my old one, I have it listed for $20 shipped in the Parts form.

[Adam West]

Access to snorkus and removal takes place under fender liner...wow, red engine bay! So used to be a red car?

[kimokalihi]

You don't have fog lights buddy. Haha! Those are you turn signals in the lower bumper.

Some people get the JDM fog lights and corner lights with the turn signals in the corner lights and the fogs replace your turn signals in the bumper.

[SILINC3R]

what did you get rid oh the BMW. i found a real nice 1989 325i right next to my house same color and miles as my subaru for like 2000 almost bought it that day but it had a bad transmission and someone already bought it or something but i am still going to try and buy it.

really nice buy on that Leg though. i now the BMW is rwd drive, 6 cylinder and has like 165 hp but that Leg got AWD fun and a turbo so im sure it is faster or atleast quicker than the beamer. i dont think you will be disappointed

if i get that BMW i might be bugging you about it. just a heads up

[Apex3]

Oh, no, that's from the DIY, paint is OE, I was just showing you the piece that's missing, i don't have that white tube.

And that would explain why the fogs don't work! lol, kind of a wierd place for turn signals.

I've owned nothing but e30s since I started driving, I got bored of them...Plus this is better in the snow, and it snows a lot in Pullman, and I like to ski, the BMW couldn't go to any ski areas except Snoqualmie. And no the Legacy is not faster, AWD means it loses more power to the drivetrain, plus my e30 wasn't so stock Not heavily modded, but I took a half second off my 1/4 mile time with bolt ons, not to bad for an NA car. It also handles better than the Legacy. They are close in both respects though.

Feel free to bug me, I know tons about e30s, way more than any normal person should.

EDIT: UGHHHHH, I think it has a bad tranny. I was driving with my friend and decided to let it rip, and it kinda just stopped going after 5k rpm, wasn't sure what it was, so I just drove normal for a while. I dropped him off later that night and took it out, did the same thing in 2nd gear, got out on a faster stretch of road, and in 4th and 5th, it just revs up without accelerating above about 3k. The clutch grabs just fine in normal driving, so I'm thinking it's the transmission itself. I am NOT paying to fix this, I just bought the car yesterday and was told nothing was wrong.

[ScottyS]

What do you mean "stopped going"?

If it revs without accelerating when you add torque in higher gears, that points to the clutch wearing out.

Usually transmissions make bad noises when they go bad.

[beatersubi]

Out of curiosity, why not a 325iX?

[Adam West]

Sounds like a clutch to me too!

[ScottyS]

Plus, if it's as clean as it looks, if you decide to forget about it you will make one of us do a road trip......!

[kimokalihi]

I'm pretty sure the whole car is worthless now and you should probably just give it to me. Heh heh.

[Apex3]

What do you mean "stopped going"?

If it revs without accelerating when you add torque in higher gears, that points to the clutch wearing out.

Usually transmissions make bad noises when they go bad.

Stopped going=ignition cut out

I took it to the shop I always went to with the BMW when I needed work done, he drove it, said the hesitating at 5k isn't transmission related, it's ignition related, someone on another forum suggested spark plugs, he agreed that could be it. I'm fairly certain the clutch is gone, and not the transmission. I've never had to deal with a bad clutch before, I always thought when they went bad it was apparent at any RPM, and it isn't for normal shifting, apparently that isn't the case though.

No 325iX because I'm tired of e30s.

[ScottyS]

Good for you - go fix it!

The plugs might not be the best ones, NGK are what you want, and make sure and gap them yourself. Mine was doing that a little too, and I tightened the gap a little with excellent results.

Yeah, a clutch wearing out will initially just show in higher gears when you hit the throttle. If the car records show that the clutch is recent, then it might not have been broken in, in which case a few hard slips/launches will burn off the glaze and embed material in the plates correctly.

Otherwise, a replacement clutch is not a big deal.

[Apex3]

I just don't like the idea of paying $500 or so to replace the clutch on a car I just bought. But oh well, that's one of those things that once it's done, it's done, and I won't have to do it again.

[ScottyS]

Right, that was bogus on the seller's part. Hopefully that's the only surprise.

EDIT: make sure you know what kind of trans/clutch in in there before you order the parts, since it was swapped.

[AWD_addict]

Before you replace the clutch, try bleeding the clutch system if it's hydro or adjusting the cable if it's mechanical.

[evolutionmovement]

Clutch isn't nearly that much if you do it yourself. As for projectors: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 90mm+hella

But, I recommend going with the EDM's if you can.

[Apex3]

Turns out I had a vacuum leak, a small hose was disconnected, replaced it(it was old and hard) and now it doesn't cut out, and the clutch doesn't slip(wtf?)

But anyways, I took some pictures today. Pardon the filth, I'd say it's appropriate though no where to wash in here.

[ericem]

Sweet pics! first gen front end ftw

[ScottyS]

Such a clean car.....