just another Suby nooby

[TurboBob]

Well after a whole 5 minutes of lurking, I know this is the place I was looking for. So I joined and decided that this looks like the only place to introduce myself as I didn't see anyplace dedicated to that purpose.

So hello! About the name, TurboBob, it's a carry over from other forums I've participated in, but it started with an 86 Saab 900 Turbo, carried on with twin turbo Audi allroad(the EX got that dammit) and I've used it at a few other forums too, so why not here? I Am very mechanically inclined and in fact after 22 years in construction I'm trying to get back into mecahnics as a profession. No I don't have faith in the new administrations stimulus package, or I'd wait for construction to come back, but that's really a discussion for another forum.

Anyway I joined here to help a friend who is buying a '94 Legacy wagon. Found a lot of forums for newer (95 up)Subs out there and finally stumbled on to a link for this forum. Now I have a place to get my questions answered. Looking forward to making some new friends here and get some education at the same time.

[entirelyturbo]

OG Saab 900 and its bass-ackwards engine ... but hey, that's when Saab was actually an interesting and forward-thinking car company.

If you read some other recent off-topic posts I've made, I feel the stimulus package is simply borrowing against progress to fund stagnation. But, as you say, that's another matter.

Anyway, as always, searching will yield you volumes of answers on many common questions. But don't be afraid to ask questions. We try to steer clear of n00b-bashing around here.

Welcome to the board.

[TurboBob]

Since all the forums here seem to be very specific to areas of the car I guess this is the place to ask general questions about these cars. I am helping a friend with only $4000 to spend and needs a reliable AWD car for Montana driving. She is looking at buying a '94 Legacy low roof wagon with a 2.2 and 5 spd Mt. It looks to be about as loaded as a car came in those days save for leather or turbo. It has 76,000(YES!) original miles, and is a 1 owner car. It was carfax varified and is at the original selling dealer who took it in on a trade for a new Outback. Apparently there was never any warranty work done on it and all maintainance was done by a local indy shop. I got to look at it while it was on up a rack. I can't believe this car is a '94 it's so clean underneath. Anyway from the outside all I can see is that both headgaskets are seeping a little coolant externally, which is the reason the dealer had the car in thier shop. They are changing out the headgaskets, and now that my friend is interested in it we negotiatied to have the TB, Idler, WP changed while they are in it. The fiinal price including the work is $4600, which is around book value, but mechanically I can't imagine a Montana car this old in anywhere near this nice condition. Outside it has some doordings, scrapes and scratches, interior looks amazing and the drivers seat actually feels really nice too.

So I'm wondering what I should look out for on this car? I understand the 2.2 is bombproof. What about the 5 spd mt? I believe the AWD is through a clutch pack and not viscuous coupling, is that correct and is there any concern there? It has ABS and 4 wheel discs, kinda thought it would have drums at the rear. Anyway I couldn't drive it for obvious reasons, but they will have it ready for Saturday, and if she really doesn't like it she can get out of it. So anything specific I should look for while testdriving it? Any help/info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Bob

For those unclear on Montana driving, it's looong distances on very lonely 2 lane roads with 8 probable months of snow. Year round snow on some mountain passes. Lots of animals of varying sizes to avoid too.

[TurboBob]

Thanks for the welcome DerFahrer. Wrong language for this place isn't it? Yes the Saab is in bass-ackwards, but it's the easiest clutch change you can ever ask for. Put 360,000 miles on the original engine, replaced 1 5spd MT and 3 turbos. Too bad they don't build'em like that now.

[skid542]

Welcome to the boards Bob.

Hehe, you're going to find that a lot of us have run the Saab 900 TMIC on our cars, so we can't really say a whole terribly lot .


To answer a few of your questions, that's a lot of money for an old car. But if it's as clean and pristine as you say, I can't say it's not worth it if that's what you're looking for.

With regards to the 5spd's, they're pretty solid at stock power levels. Going after the power can bring some problems, but I don't suspect that's anything your friend has to worry about. The AWD is actually a viscous and at only 76k it should be plenty fine. You will find that there are a lot of options for replacing the open rear diff with an VLSD from other Subaru models. Your friend's car will be sporting a 4.11 : 1 ratio drivetrain.

As far as things to watch out for - the original knock sensor was a bit of a faulty design and Subaru changed it in the mid/late 90's. The new ones are a direct replacement. The knock sensors just have a tendency to crack, it won't stop you on the road but it will retard the timing and reduce power and mileage. The other big thing is the CV joints. The relatively high angle of these cars tends to go through CV's. But if that happens, just get a shop to put in a replacement with a lifetime warrenty and you'll never have to worry/pay for them again. Not everyone has troubles with them, but it is semi-frequent. Along those lines, make sure you inspect the CV boots before buying the car - if they're ripped you're going to need new axles.

You're going to like the braking system on these cars. Subaru really did design the old cars based off their rally heritage and are actually pretty sports cars for their era.

Being in Mont. you will really appreciate the ability of these cars to take a beating and keep going. The suspension is pretty strong and not easily knocked out of alignment.

I'm sure others will chime in with some more suggestions but that's what comes to mind immediately.

[beatersubi]

We try to steer clear of n00b-bashing around here.

Well, most of us do.
I also think that is a bit much for that car, even in good mechanical condition. If your friend is set on a Legacy, and who could blame her, craigslist might yield a similar result for less money. For example: I picked up my last Legacy wagon off the list for ~$150. It needed a head gasket (and a thorough cleaning), but if you're going to be doing them anyway...

If you really like that one, pay attention to how the transmission shifts when its cold. With that low mileage it probably won't have a problem with worn synchros, but if it does it'll be more apperent before the tranny warms up.

[ultrasonic]

I would expect any Subaru that old, even if low miles, to leak some oil. I figure if it's not leaking some, there's just not any in there to leak out (reference radial aviation engines).

Valve cover gaskets, front and rear main seals, and cam seals are the typical sources of oil leaks.

You may also find some nuisance issues related to age:
- shifter bushings can go bad
- power antennas get sticky
- sunroof can leak
- sun visors break
- check of evidence of coolant leaks, plastic radiators can crack
- struts may already be shot.
- Does it have air suspension? That can be flaky.
- check for rust behind the front wheel, in front of the door
- check for rust around the rear wheel wells

$4600 sounds a bit steep.

Hope this helps.

[TurboBob]

Thanks for all the feedback. The car actually books a little over $3000, but it gets $1450 credit for such low mileage. That and used reliable AWD cars in Montana are getting really hard to find under $5000. In fact good used cars seem to be drying up everywhere. I even checked for small wagons and SUVs in Phoenix where my parents live and was blown away by how few cars showed up in her price range. It even looks like book values on used cars are actually going up right now because the demand is so high. She actually works for a state agency that oversees auto salvage/recycling yards, so she deals with car values everyday. She also knows what cars are getting abandoned and crushed in Mt as the paperwork for everyone of those cars crosses her desk. So she has definite opinions on what's junk and what's reliable. I feel it's a bit of money to spend on a '94 Sub myself, but after spending a week shopping here, searching online, and seeing the crap that's out in the market right now, it actually looks pretty fair at that price. I think you guys would be surprised by what's left out there right now in this economy.