I have a 1997 Legacy Outback, 139,000 miles. It is not running anymore and I was wondering what I should ask for it (for someone who knows how to fix it and/or wants it for parts). I think the rest of the car is fine, though it may have some rust. I just drove it cross country in June and had a new battery put in and a sensor (I think) for the transmission. It had the timing belt replaced at around 90,000. Here is what happened to it:
I knew that I had a small oil leak and that the repair shop had to change the gaskets so I had an appt for them to do so. The check engine light wason. Then I was driving home from Kayaking with four people in the car and four boats on top and all of a sudden the ac wasn’t working, the brake light went on (even though we didn’t have the emg. brake on) and the battery light was on (even though I had a new battery put in in
June). Then I went to go get off the highway and the powersteering was gone. I also know it needs front brake pads. The repair shop said the crank shaft bolt came loose and took it out of the engine. It was too much $$ to repair, just wasn’t worth it for me.
What is a reasonable asking price? I really have no clue. Running it is worth about $4,0000.
Thanks!
Somewhere between free and $500 IMHO if that diagnosis is really correct.
Your problem is very likely due to a bad timing belt install(did not follow direction) not the car itself. Unfortunately no real recourse now.
good luck
[b]You might want to get it repaired. The list of recent maladies (no a/c, brake warning light on, battery warning light on, no power steering) all likely stemmed from one cause–a broken serpentine belt.
If that is all that is wrong with it, you are looking at a relatively small repair bill. I just hope that your mechanic is both competent and honest, because he should have told you about the simple solution to all of those problems![/b]
Either of the previous answers could be correct.
I would recommend you have at least one more tech have a good look at it before you dump it.
Like VDC said, “IF …”.
I agree with VDCdriver. All these items going out are due to the crank pully belt missing, including the water pump which is also driven off it. Since the shop stated the crank pully came off it may have damaged the shaft keyway and some other things in that area. I would guess that to repair it may be between 500 to 800 dollars but really can’t say without knowing the full extent of the damage. Appearently the shop thought it was pretty bad going by your statement about having them repair it. You may want to have another shop look at it for an estimate but it will have to be towed there.
It’s not worth much as an 11 year old parts car.
If the crankshaft bolt came out this means it was loose for who knows how long. This in turn will usually wallow out the woodruff key and the crankshaft nose.
In a couple of words - engine rebuild.
On a normal engine it would be possible to replace the crankshaft only, but on the boxer engines everything must come apart so that means cylinder head work, pistons, rings, etc.
Yeah apparently the crank shaft bolt came loose and did some damage to the engine and needed a lot fixed. He said $1100 to start, then possibly more, not including the oil leak gasket etc. Now I’d just like to sell it to someone who can fix it but I have no clue how much to ask.