HELLO...

I have a 99 legacy GT w/ 130k miles. The car overheated (pinned temp gauge) and stalled. I let it cool, it cranked over slowley and started but the temp shot up pretty quickly so I shut it down. The fans were working and the rad was full. I got the car towed to the dealership (it was close by). They said at the very least I've probably got head gasket problems, if not a cracked head.

SO...I was going to be looking into buying a new car anyway so here's where I need the adivce. What to do with the legacy? Do I swap motors (I should be able to do the swap my shelf), do I sell it as is or part it out? What's the demand for parts on these things? Does anyone want it??? I'm located in NY. Anyone have connections to get a new motor? There's one on ebay for $1650 (comes with 30k warrenty).

FYI...car is stock w/ 5spd and of coarse I recently put new tires and brakes on it.

THANKS
mike

 

Your head gasket is definitely gone. I've had a few of these on mine, and it took a while to find a place that would do it right. The engine can be salvaged if the heads aren't warped too much, block isn't damaged, or heads aren't cracked. If you can find a non-dealership place that's competent with subarus, i'd recommend having them look at the engine. It will probably take the removal of the heads to get most of these answers, so it depends on how much you want to spend to find out what the problem is.

If you're swapping in an engine with a warranty, you may want to check and see if that warranty is transferrable, then consider putting it on the market, if a new car is genuinely in your future. A running car is always worth more than one with a damaged engine in any way.

 

I agree. I got the car home. It still runs, but the radiator overflow is kind of milky, so at the very least the head gasket is gone. I'm looking into picking up a used motor.

 

Sounds like your water pump went out. Then you overheated the engine and who knows what's wrong now maybe nothing. I had this happen to me It pinned the Temp gauge I shut it down let it cool down for a few hours. Then drove it home which was close 2 miles and the temp was just beginning to peak again.

 

If you are neer denver I can get you a good motor eather rebilt or used

 

if your overflow is milky, yeah it's a headgasket. i just picked up a 99 legacy myself for $500, due to a cylinder sleeve problem. I guess what happened (and this is supposedly common) is that the sleeve shifted and cracked, which puts exhaust gasses into the cooling system

but, having said that, your problem seems like a headgasket.

 

It's worth getting the motor fixed. If you just do gaskets, consider returning to shop after 1500 miles or so to retorque bolts. I think my second gasket just went 30k after last one. iF you decide to sell it, though, let me know. My trans is wasted.