Heh how messed up is my 96' Legacy GT?

[kirbyy]

So, I finally picked up my Legacy GT today. I'm surprised it came w/ the orginal sticker tag + original invoice of the first owner, and the 2nd owner what he did to it as well as a copy of the old owners title!

But theres some issues, one of them is the ABS light is on...it's prolly an ABS sensor, right guys?

But another thing, is my Temperature gauge in my instrument cluster fluctuates, it's usually at the middle to all the way to High. I'm not sure if it was because today was abnormally hot? Or could it mean headgasket is about to go out on it? I know I have the prominent 2.5L model.. :( what can I do to see about that?

Besides that, and my brake pedal being a bit weak..it's so far a wonderful car! :D

[GTDrifter]

dude, hate to say it but its your head gaskets...no denying it

mine did that 1 week after i got the car

mine went from halfway to up above the guage itself...as high as it could go....

i pulled over once and my engine was clicking and it wasnt even on cause it was that hot

[Huffer]

Check for bubbles and oil in the coolant overflow bottle... if you have that, it's bad news.

Brakes can be improved by bleeding old fluid out, and the ABS light is usually a sensor - but check your fuses first.

[kirbyy]

Also another thing, when I turn the car on..the "AT OIL TEMP" light keeps flashing, this means tranny needs servicing? :(!

But blah at headgaskets...

[Huffer]

flashing AT Oil temp usually means the fluid is low... if it stays solid you have a serious problem.

[kirbyy]

Alright, thats not that bad!

I just dropped the car off at the mechanic, I didn't want to attempt to do anything myself yet..

I did find out the cooling department of the car (Radiator, Thermostat) is original from factory, it says manufactured in 1995, so hopefully no head gasket issue!

Thanks guys

[Wiscon_Mark]

Manufactured in 95 doesn't change that it has a 2.5L engine and the early ones all had head gasket issues.

That being said, you mentioned that the guage fluctuates? Does it rapidly (impossibly) change temperature, or does it just tend to go to H rather often? My guage tells me all sorts of goofy things until I tap the cluster with my hand, then it goes back to normal. But it's pretty obvious when it's screwing up that it's not really showing a cooling problem with the engine. I'm not trying to give you false hope, I'm just trying to consider the options before you spend 2000 bucks on a head gasket job.

[kirbyy]

Manufactured in 95 doesn't change that it has a 2.5L engine and the early ones all had head gasket issues.

That being said, you mentioned that the guage fluctuates? Does it rapidly (impossibly) change temperature, or does it just tend to go to H rather often? My guage tells me all sorts of goofy things until I tap the cluster with my hand, then it goes back to normal. But it's pretty obvious when it's screwing up that it's not really showing a cooling problem with the engine. I'm not trying to give you false hope, I'm just trying to consider the options before you spend 2000 bucks on a head gasket job.

Heh, it's the gauge. I just picked it up from my mechanic, and it's only a sensor. The old owner, what my mechanic told me pretty much alrdy replaced the valve cover gasket.

Heh, the only things wrong with my car is an ABS wheel sensor, to a possible ABS conduit and someone used teflon to fill something up?

I'm going back there next week so he can fix all the parts up! but yay, no overheating!

[kirbyy]

Hahaha my Subi is awesome.. the car security system activated.

:( it's some non-OEM ATS system, and it sucks so now trying to bypass it. I got the ignition cutoff disableed..but theres also a shift locker.

Blah My luck haha

[jey]

You'll have to go to the dealer to get the ABS problem diagnosed. They can read the code off the ABS computer and determine if it's something as simple as a wheel sensor (and it'll tell you which one) or something horrible like the ABS computer is fried.

[kirbyy]

Heh I see, alright guess I'll see a subie dealer soon.

But question, does a Technical Service Bulletin = free warranty or what with the dealer? Because theres a ABS TSB out for my year/model.

[Huffer]

TSB = warranty repair usually but it depends on the individual tsb

[kirbyy]

Heh, thanks I just called the dealer near me and they said call tomorrow to confirm!

:)