Impressions of a 92 Legacy Wagon Turbo

[Mikey]

I'm looking at purchasing a 92 legacy wagon turbo for my mother to replace her rusted out pontiac with a less rusted out beater. It has 152K miles (245k kms) on it. The turbo leaks a bit of oil (stinks after a hard run, oil seeps out of a rubber hose there?). Rear rotors need replacing. Is there anything else I should look for? The fella is asking 1500 CDN for it (about 1200 US).

How are these for mileage, breakdowns, parts, etc?

The transmission was replaced. It's a 4EAT

[tris91ricer]

Good choice, if you're here. Turbo Legacies are pretty good for modding, although you'll be hard-pressed to find certain parts, due to the fact that it's turbo. However, as with all subarus, if you treat 'em right, they'll give it right back to you. (read: good maintenace)
As far as things to check for.. I'd say really give a good feel to that tranny, you never know what you're gonna come up with when you go with a used AT like ours.
Other things to check for might include clunking in the rear, which may indicate some kind of rear-end failure.
Others can chime in on what else to look for.. I'm out of ideas
In any case, welcome to the board. Hope you stick around and learn a few things here, should you decide to buy that Turbo wagon. (rare car, btw. )

[scottzg]

Rotors for turbo legacies are a special vented piece. They shouldn't be too too hard to find but they're a couple bucks more than the standard non vented ones (which will eventually let the pads fall out, btw)

The replaced trans is a good sign, the legacy AT, like all AT's, is a time bomb. That should add considerable life to the car.

Check out the cv boots, esp. the front ones. They tend to go every 75k or so. They're not a horrible fix for the backyard mech.

Clunking in the rear is usually just a slightly loose top mount or some other loose bolt. The suspension is probably jello, if it's not, good chance its been replaced.

These cars are solid, durable, and easy to fix.

[greg donovan]

buy it. it will be loads of fun. but they are a bit piggy when it comes to gas. worse than the WRX. i think its worth it. the turbo wagon is one of the more rare turbo legacies from the 91-94 era. the wagon can swallow sooo much stuff.

[LaureltheQueen]

where's it located?






I could use another turbo

[Mikey]

It's in Ontario. I'm just looking to see if there are any weaknesses that I should be watching out for. Ultimately it will be my mom driving the sucker, I just want to be sure we don't get her this and then it cost a fortune to keep running.

[J-MoNeY]

Gas might be a hamper on your parade.

[LaureltheQueen]

look for rust i guess?

mine's been incredibly reliable, with my only necessarily replaced parts being suspension, brakes and cv shafts.

[Mikey]

This is good information. I know it's not good on gas, but she's just putt-ing around town so I'm not going to get all hung up on it. I just thought it was a good deal. I could also get a VW jetta 2.0 Auto with power everything for 5k (Cdn) with 147k kms. But if the legacy is decent at 1/4 the price, why not.

[professor]

Does momma need a turbo ? Probably twice the work to keep it running well compared to no turbo.

[tris91ricer]

Dammit, professor, we had him sold!
You do have a point though.. Turbos are work, just for the extra complexity of the turbo parts. But I suppose it's a fair trade for an enthusiast who'd enjoy boost just that much more..