powersr8810

Bro you are in Chi town as your sig says, take the time and see if 6 star motor sports, or boosted performance tuning can get you in to work on that car. they will be tuning my car. they might be a drive but it is worth your money.

 

They are the kind of people who will tell you what really needs to be fixed. Not just take your money.

 

if the car is running good now, take your time and save a bit and have them do it. they are very good, and trusted in work.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into a time to drive out there. I'm in the city so that's a bit of a trek.

The $10k was the dealership, which I definitely wouldn't consider. There is a shop near me that's done most of the work on my car that said ~$5k including a new clutch too.

I love the car, that's why I want to do the work and figure out what else I can squeeze in while the engine is out and the labor costs are already there.

Definitely not having the dealership do it, I have a shop half a mile away that does work on my car and is reasonably priced.

So if the GT's don't usually have a head gasket leak, how do I get them to figure this out without taking the engine apart etc? I'll admit I'm no mechanic and don't have the time to go through the process either.

Regarding the camber bolts, the dealership did an alignment for $100 while they changed the oil and that's what they told me, that they needed to do those specific repairs.

2005 Legacy GT in relatively good condition with about 150,000 miles on it. Chicago winters haven't been kind but its a great car nonetheless. I want to keep it running as long as possible and figure that putting a few thousand dollars into it is better than selling and getting a new car with money I don't have.

I usually get my oil changed at the dealership because its convenient and cheap. While there, they did some extra work and inspection at the 150k mile mark and found a laundry list of stuff that needs work. Dealership quote ~$10,000; local mechanic quote ~$5,000. Anyways, here's the list of things that need to be fixed:

1. Leaking head gasket. Repairs would entail water pump replacement, timing belt etc. (correct me if I'm wrong)

2. They also want to replace the power steering pump. It's leaked since I've had the car so I'm not worried about this one. I usually replace the O ring if its gets squirley in cold weather.

3. Rack and pinion leaking - they want to replace this.

4. Rear links loose with worn bushings. They want to replace sway bar links and bushings, which seems reasonable.

5. In trying to adjust my alignment, they found that the camber bolts are seized and they want to replace the lateral control arms.

My big question is: what is worth doing? (I figure all of it) and where is there an opportunity to make some small upgrades or do some things since the engine will be torn apart and out of the car?