Yokosilver's 1995 Legacy L wagon

[Yokosilver]

I was recently given a car. The previous owner (my wife's brother's girlfriend's step-mom) was going to junk it. It has some wear, but it's 26 so of course it does.



The only thing I was told about it is that she used it to take her dogs to the park and it has an oil leak in the spark plugs. The check engine light was lit so I plugged in my scanner and it has a misfire on #3. I pulled the plugs and only found oil in #4. When checking #3, the boot came off but left the metal connector attached to the plug. The engine has 194k and I don't know what maintenance has been done. Just in case - it is an EJ22 Phase I.



Mod List: None, I want to get it running smooth first. I'm looking at getting some NGK wires and new plugs. My question before I start - since I can't pinpoint the oil leak, should I pull and rebuild first?

[Yokosilver]

I haven't had a chance to get any good pictures, it's usually darkby the time I get home. I'll get a few this weekend. I pulled out the center console all the way up to the air vents. The cup holder was crusted shut,made it hard to get out. The right screw is broken anyways, as well as the trim around the stereo. I'll have to hit up the junk yards and see if I can find anything.

[Muse]

This is a nice find... er... grab... er... gift? However you got it, I have to stare in awe. The body looks so clean.

[Yokosilver]

I was at their house and said, "ooh! You have a Subaru!"
"You want it?"
"How much?"
"Here's the keys."

Put 5 gallons in the tank. The fuel Guage doesn't work. I also cleaned up the cruise control button, it was stuck on.

[Yokosilver]

This is a nice find... er... grab... er... gift? However you got it, I have to stare in awe. The body looks so clean.

Thanks. The body is in good shape. I think a dog chewed on the front bumper, haha! Only dents I noticed were a couple of small ones on the hood and the front driver side fender. I'll try and get some better pics tomorrow.

[Odycee]

I have exactly same year and color with 205K miles runs like a champ.

[Yokosilver]

I have exactly same year and color with 205K miles runs like a champ.

Good to hear! This one has 194k.

[Yokosilver]

I promised them, so here they are.

The only stipulation on the free car is that the frog stays. I can live with that. Tail light works, just the case is cracked.


Only real damage to the car outside of engine issues. If you look at the lip on the bumper, those are either teeth marks or buckshot. Not sure which.


Missing the pull to lay down the seat on the passenger side. I tried using the one from the driver side, but I couldn't get it to thread. Maybe a retry is in order.


Trim around the stereo was busted up pretty bad and the right screw hole (that sounds weird ) was busted off the cup holder, so I will be checking junk yards for those.


Need to find some replacement seats. Any year/model suggestions? I think the 04 STI blue seats look sick, but I am not sure about the bench going with it. I saw some TS-Rs that looked killer, too, but I can't afford those. Champagne taste on a beer budget. Also, I'm 6'2".

[Odycee]

GD STi seats sit higher and you're 6'2", wouldn't recommend those but try GC/GF Impreza seats sit low same as your BK. Impreza wagon GF would be best with rear folding seats.

[Yokosilver]

Darn. I really like the blue.

[Yokosilver]

I ordered the NGKs and some new plugs. Should be here sometime next week. Hopefully that will clear up the misfire.

[peugoby]

If you're looking for some cheap seats I'd go with GC/GM 2.5RS front seats. They're comfortable and do indeed sit lower than the '02+ GD seats. BTW, Blue Iris Metallic is one of my favorite Legacy colors. It's so understated.

[Yokosilver]

If you're looking for some cheap seats I'd go with GC/GM 2.5RS front seats. They're comfortable and do indeed sit lower than the '02+ GD seats. BTW, Blue Iris Metallic is one of my favorite Legacy colors. It's so understated.

Thanks for the info. I'll look at those. And about the color - at first I didn't like it that much, but it is really growing on me. On another note, your 95 inspires me for how clean I can make this car look. Don't know if I will go JDM, but those tails are killer.

[Yokosilver]

Plugs and wires came in yesterday. Had a later shift than normal at work today so I installed them before work.



I also think I found out why my window sprayers aren't working. Lots of gunk on the connectors. I'm going to test continuity of the wires and hook up a 12v power source to test if the motors even work anymore. If I had an air compressor, I'd blow air through the hoses, too. Busy weekend coming up, so not sure when I'll get around to it.





I don't know if either will be salvageable.

[Muse]

As for beer-budget seats, I have a third-gen driver's seat. It sits just a tad higher than the 2nd-gen, and it feels about a thousand times more supportive. I'm 6'0, and have miles of headroom still with it. It's not a racing seat, but they are quite comfy and dirt cheap.

[Yokosilver]

As for beer-budget seats, I have a third-gen driver's seat. It sits just a tad higher than the 2nd-gen, and it feels about a thousand times more supportive. I'm 6'0, and have miles of headroom still with it. It's not a racing seat, but they are quite comfy and dirt cheap.

I was thinking of going with third gen seats, but I would want all of them to match if I do. I haven't started looking at yards yet.

I did find this, though... Very tempting.

98 subaru outback- parts car - $300

it is a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. I would also have to borrow a truck and trailer.

[peugoby]

98 subaru outback- parts car - $300

it is a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. I would also have to borrow a truck and trailer.

If you can swing it, I'd go get that Outback. You could use the wheels & tires, the hood, the whole interior including the wood grain trim, cupholders, door tweeter speakers, dash trim and leather seats. If you wanted to you could also use the front and rear bumpers.

[Yokosilver]

Had some family health issues come up, so not much progress.

The Outback disappeared before I was able to contact the seller. Oh well. I went to one of the salvage yards and they wanted $100 for the left tail light, center garnish (I think that is what it is called), and the stereo trim.

I also found my oil leak - the Oil Pressure Switch. When I pulled on the throttle cable, I could see the oil coming out of the top. I am still working on getting the rest of the oil off the engine, so the smell is still there.

I bought a cheap set of seat covers, I'll post a picture when I get them all installed.

[Yokosilver]

I got the seat covers installed. Turned out better than I expected for a set of generic covers.





I pulled the front seats out (because reasons), cleaned out under them and made sure the covers were attached better than blindly reaching.



I also took the broken stereo garnish to a band saw so that I could trim off the cracked pieces but still have a 12v socket to charge my phone when I drive.



For whatever reason, I didn't take a picture of it installed, but I am sure you all can imagine the glory.

[Yokosilver]

So I tested the window washer motors, and they work. I hooked up a multimeter to the wires that hook in and the front motor isn't getting a signal when I pull the wiper arm. The rear washer gets a solid 12v signal when activated. I have seen other legacies that just wire the rear washer signal to the front, but I would rather fix it right. Would this fault be the control module? I am having trouble finding a good diagram that shows a setup with front and rear wipers and washers.

[MannyMohawk#5]

Looks pretty good for free. Glad you saved it from the wrecker.

[Yokosilver]

Looks pretty good for free. Glad you saved it from the wrecker.

Thanks. I need to practice my wax and polish skills. For the most part, the paint is still decent and just needs to be buffed. I have a cheap dual action, so hopefully I don't do more harm than help.

[Yokosilver]

I still need to follow the wiper fluid lines to see why they aren't spraying, but what would cause the signal for the front sprayer motor to not send a signal? Multimeter have me 12v for the rear and not even 1v for the front. I'll swap the hoses for now so I at least get something.

[Yokosilver]

I attempted my first Subaru logo print.



It could use a little bit of work, but I think it will be fine for a grill emblem. I am not sure what else I could print for the car, though.

[Muse]

Print a hood scoop!

[Yokosilver]

Print a hood scoop!

Haha! I only have an 8"x8"x8" work area.

But maybe I will...

[Yokosilver]

Got my parts car in this weekend. It is a 1999 Outback. Couldn't do anything on Saturday because it was the wife's birthday (psssh). Anyways, here are a few of the goodies I got out of it. stock stereo not pictured, but I may use it because I like the look of it.


I am going to use the Outback's center console so that I can have a cup holder in the back seat.


I got excited and put the bench in the back seat. The donor has wood grain trim, but is missing the piece that goes around the shifter. I will be using the black one from the L.


The front passenger side seat rail was bent to hell. I was able to finally get it out and and take a hack saw to the bolts that I couldn't get a wrench to (that was a little scary for me - didn't want to ruin the bottom of the seat). I took the rails off of my passenger seat and the holes don't quite line up. Not sure if it is because the difference from the trim or because the bottom of the seat was messed up, too. Sorry it is a little fuzzy, didn't notice that until I got it on the computer.


Here is a shot of how badly this poor car was rear ended. Hope the people who were in it made it out ok.


I have pulled the wiring harness most of the way out - my L doesn't have the plugs for the heated seat. Looks like I will be doing some splicing. I haven't gotten the door panels off yet, either, but I know that here are not any tweeters on the front doors but there are tweeters in the cargo area. Will I be able to pull and mount those on the front doors or do they use different mounting?

[Yokosilver]

When pulling out the wiring for the heated seats, I cut some of the wrong wires.

Looks like I won't be getting those heaters installed before winter hits. Oh well. I can rebuild the wire harness myself, I just need to get some more wire cut. I think for now I will just get the door panels, seats, and center console moved over. I will save the wiring for later. I also installed the factory stereo and amp in my L. Better sound than the Kenwood that was in there. Only downside right now is no AUX input.

[peugoby]

How is the car coming along?

[Yokosilver]

Had a few things going on over the holidays - fire in my basement and a family member put into hospice - and the cold weather kept me from doing much with the car. Got around to replacing another one of the door panels. The wood grain window switch for the rear passenger is missing some of the tabs and there isn't much slack in the wires. I am not sure if I am going to glue the piece in or not because of how little slack it has, so for now (due to time constraints today), I have it taped into place. My daughter would totally play with it it was dangling and that would more than likely make it worse. I will probably just put the black one in there until I decide if I want to glue it in or not.




Looks super tacky, but better than letting it hang loose, IMO. Also, the clip on the lock side for the bar that attaches to the lock button (that sounds horrible, but I am not sure of a better way to word that) was messed up. There were times that I wouldn't be able to open that door with out cycling the electric lock from the driver's door. I removed the bar all together, which has alleviated the problem of the door not unlocking. I may fix it later, or just leave it how it is. I tried pulling the the lock mechanism from my parts car, but had no luck getting it out. I can't reach the rear 10mm bolt with any of my sockets, not enough clearance.