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I'm a terrible horrible person and drove my '98 Outback into the grave by ignoring serious engine problems for 6+ months. With no garage (some things about living in the city do suck) and a dead, smoking engine, it was easier at the time just to sell the carcass. Winter's coming soon, though, and I'm gonna need a winter beater for Tahoe trips. How do Loyales stand up? Something like this seems ideal for mashing around in, and I wouldn't have to worry much about parking it on the street in the city. I just have an apartment now so I'm pretty limited for maintenance options, but I could always spend the weekend at my dad's house cranking on it if I needed to. Beater Loyale, or beater Legacy wagon?
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Oct 8, 2008 09:40
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If i end up with another Legacy/Outback wagon what's my best option for dirt cheap mashing car? Someone mentioned the 1.9l engine being solid, but I forget if the wagons have them or if they're all just 2.2/2.5l. I can spend more, but I'd like something I can just drop like 1500 bucks on and not care about.
idiotsavant fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Oct 8, 2008 |
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Oct 8, 2008 10:37
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8ender posted:If you dont mind me asking, what engine problems did it have? Headgasket? I didn't look too far into it, but headgasket may have been one of them - there was definitely a slow (sometimes more than slow) leak of oil coming from somewhere. The biggest issue was that the car would totally miss on acceleration, generally at lower speeds - not really like an engine stumble I guess where the engine would be knocking around and choking, more like when you're going up a hill with a full load in too high of a gear. When it died the engine was smoking pretty bad, and the car had absolutely zero power - I couldn't even get the key out of the ignition. No garage plus weekly street sweeping made it easier to sell than fix.
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Oct 8, 2008 18:12
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/910780157.html 6 month winter car candidate - the tranny thing sounds sketchy, but assuming it test drives without horrible, horrible sounds would it be something to worry about? KBB fair condition is $2000, hopefully I'd be able to knock a little more off the price with an upfront cash offer if the car seems ok. Yes/no? Colawa: Here's an easy REI site, dunno if you have 'em up in Canada. If he has a factory rack you can probably fit whatever racks you pick up on it without a problem - I got some Yakima Big Powerderhound racks for like 170ish with the lock cores, and the box incudes mounts for them that worked fine on my '98 Outback.
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Nov 8, 2008 19:53
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Looking at an 01 Forester this weekend, it has 147k on it and the guy just replaced the timing belt, water pump, and head gasket after said gasket blew. It's a manual - should I worry about the condition of the clutch as well? How well do most manual clutches stand up in Subaru models?
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Nov 14, 2008 04:27
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TurboLuvah posted:Not to be a creeper, but if you're anywhere near MA I have a very nice 5MT 99 Forester S for sale. Nope, I'm in SF. That said if anyone in the area has something, let me know! 
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Nov 15, 2008 01:29
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So I have a hot date to look at http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/969336526.html on Sunday. It looks super clean in the pictures, but the guy is "selling it for a friend" which sounds pretty sketchy. Should I worry too much about it as long as the pink slip VN matches the car? Apparently the timing belt and water pump were done around 100k which is good, but do the 98 Foresters still have an issue with head gaskets? Lastly, KBB Excellent is $5k, Good is $4500. Assuming everything's ship-shape and I'm paying cash, just how low should I try to go?
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Dec 26, 2008 22:04
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all i really want is a cheap winter beater for like 3k but craigslist is honestly being a pain in the rear end. WA WA WAAAA CHECK OUT MY '96 OUTBACK I WANT 6k FOR IT BECAUSE IM DUMB argh
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Dec 26, 2008 23:49
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uugghhhhh so I'm dumb and didn't take the '98 Forester to a mechanic before I paid for it, and found a lovely empty radiator coming down the hill from Tahoe on Saturday. Someone had a liter of water left over and that got us to the next gas station where I refilled the radiator. Are there any easy tells to figure out the issue? The car isn't leaving big leaky drip puddles everywhere. I looked at the oil on the dipstick and it looks due for a change, but it just looks like dirty oil, not milky or weird like there's water mixed in. When I run the heater inside the car it smells a little like anti-freeze or something, so I'm not sure if there's an issue there. What are my options now? I paid the guy in cash and I already paid the DMV to transfer the title, so I assume I'm pretty much screwed there. If it's a major issue (please god not the head gaskets) I can't re-sell the car in good conscience without taking a hit for the head gasket repair. Also is there an easy way to tell if the previous person was using synthetic or normal oil? Some previous oil records indicate synthetic, and I don't want to end up with a crankcase full of gunk from putting the wrong oil in. Oh, and this poo poo is all because I was dumb enough to buy from some dude selling the car for a friend... NEVER AGAIN!
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Jan 6, 2009 04:20
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So now it looks like the leak may be from the heater core - I was driving to work this morning and noticed steam coming from under the steering column. Turned the heater off, no steam. Heater on, steam. How much of a pain in the rear end is it to replace, and should I get a new one or just a $40 clunker from a pick n pull?
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Jan 6, 2009 20:24
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ab0z posted:It may be just a hose cracked and leaking, or the valve that controls the flow of coolant through the core. Usually it's not super complicated to fix those kinds of issues, just annoying because you're working upside down under the dash, or you have to remove the dash.   I assume I'm gonna be pulling the dash. Oh well, at least it isn't a head gasket.I live in the city and I'll have to drive out to my dad's to change the heater out - how much time should I budget to fix the thing, about a day's worth of work? Also I'm not sure if the topic's been raised yet, and it might be a decent addition to the OP - what are some decent online sites to buy Subaru parts from? Cheapest, most reliable, best service?
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Jan 10, 2009 03:07
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Last question on the heater core - will I need to yank the AC to get the old one out and the new one in? If it's just time pulling out the dashboard and putting everything back together I'm ok, but if I gotta mess with the AC unit too I think I'll just get it done at a shop.
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Jan 13, 2009 21:48
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Similar question - definitely have a blown head gasket plus a bad radiator on a '98 Forester with 185k miles. I'm already looking for another car, but just in case, would new gaskets even be worth the effort? I have the time, but I'm not sure that I have the space or the expertise.
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Jan 25, 2011 03:15
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:36 |
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So... '98 Forester with a bad radiator, busted head gasket, and 185k on it. I don't have the time, space, or inclination to fix it. a) Is it worth anything? b) Anyone in the SF Bay interested in taking it? It's still running although it's definitely going downhill - I'd guess you'd be able to drive it where you're going, but between the head gasket and radiator the thing leaks water like a seive.
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Mar 10, 2011 05:32
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