ccrnnr9 Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Hello all. I recently purchased a 1990 Legacy LS Wagon from a couple who used it only to drive back and forth from their condo in Salt Lake City to Alta Ski Resort and back. At the time of purchase it had only 113k miles and they were the original owners. The car is in great shape and I hope to make it last for miles to come. I don't drive often but do plan to use it for highway trips and occasional times when AWD is required. I'm fairly mechanically inclined and feel very comfortable working on older Japanese vehicles such as this one. This is my second 1st gen Legacy. A couple questions regarding the Auto tranny: Even though they took good care of the vehicle and serviced it regularly I don't know that they knew much about the vehicle. I have most of the maintenance records. The previous owners stated they had the transmission replaced about 20k ago. I have the work receipt and I don't notice any problems. The power light did a flashing routine and after some searching found the diagnostic routine that someone here or on another Subaru forum posted. It also prompted me to check the atf fluid levels according to the manual. A couple questions regarding the Auto tranny: 1. The atf fluid is a bit harder to check than other fluids (I presume because of the angle of the dip stick and lower viscosity fluid?). I followed the routine for a hot fluid check. The dipstick had a solid line of fluid well below the 'low' mark on the hot side of the stick. There was a thin barely noticeable line a good way up the stick though. I don't think this 'counts' as being at a full level though. Thoughts? 2. I went to our local Napa (I live in a small rural town with only one auto store) and given that Dextron II has been gone awhile he recommended Max Life (full syn) multi-vehicle ATF for dex/merc, Mercon LV. I bought it and followed the procedure to top the fluid level off. Rechecked the dipstick using the recommended procedure and it seems to be a full 'line' on the dipstick that after drive a mile or so is a solid line of fluid the width of the stick and after half quart is up to the full line with only a small barely noticeable thin line extending past 'full'. I presume this is normal? 3. Is the fluid I used an okay substitute for Dextron II? All results I can find on various forums indicate yes but I know auto transmissions can be a finicky bunch. 4. As I mentioned I do most of my driving on the highway at cruising speed and make a couple 8 mile round trip runs to town for groceries or to take the dog hiking. It does not get heavy use. Exceptions are I occasionally take it off road for photo shoots where clearance allows. I'm keen to keep the underside washed afterwards but for this reason I feel I should probably change the atf fluid a bit more often than every 30k as those 50-100 mile stints do put a heavier strain on the transmission. Apologies for the long first post. I just want to make this ole girl last as long as possible. Interior is nearly perfect and the car really does drive nice. Emissions passed with flying colors, well below the CO & CA state limits. I live in CO for three seasons and CA in the winter months so the car does not see true winter temps. Any other advice or recommendations are appreciated. ~Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcmaxx Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Dont forget the lil filter mounted on the inner drivers chassis rail (located next to the engine valve cover. I switched to royal purple full synthetic atf, I think it took about 11-12 liters in total. if you did just a dump and fill theirs only about 4 liters synthetic mixed in with the rest of the old atf. another great idea is doing the grounding/power mod on the tcu to crisp up the shifts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrnnr9 Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 I haven't changed ATF at all. I just checked fluids and added until it was at the appropriate level. According to the dip stick all is good and within 1 start of doing that the power light no longer blinks when I turn the engine over. I still feel like I need to thoroughly review the codes and much sure nothing is overlooked but the car is running well. I threw a new air filter and pcv valve (the old filter and valve weren't terrible but they, especially the pcv, were pretty well used) in yesterday, along with an oil/filter change, front differential lube change and cleaned up the engine bay. It's running quieter and seems that all is good. I checked over the records I have. The new (rebuilt) transmission was installed just over 23k ago (total odometer is 117K). Fluids haven't been changed since it was installed. I'll probably just flush and refill the system some time later this month. I'll get to draining and refilling the rear diff later this week as time allows. I'm not interested in 'mods' unless it is going to add to the longevity of the car. I'm not interested in performance gains. I simply want a vehicle for getting me to various jobs that require off road capabaility. I want to get as many miles out of this car as possible. It's very clean inside and seems to run fairly problem free at the moment. Low miles for it's age and I'm only the second owner after 26 years. If it is near as reliable as my last '90 I should have it for awhile. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcmaxx Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Id consider the grounding mod easier on the clutches. Its how they are in japan. They are dumbed down for slushy comfy shifts for gandmama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.