As I've mentioned in a previous post, I had to get four new tires for my '90 Legacy auto AWD wagon. I had them installed by a local tire discount place, and had them do a 4-wheel alignment. Afterwards, they told me they were unable to properly align the left front wheel for camber (spec is -.5 to +.5 degrees, best they could get was 1.3 degrees. They suggested that either the frame or a suspension member was probably bent. Unfortunately, I suspect they are right - there has been uneven wear on the outside of the two tires which have been rotated to the left front. Additionally, I know that the car was involved in a fender-bender on the left-front shortly before I purchased it. Oddly enough, the car has always driven fine (no vibrations, doesn't pull to left or right) and is driving even more smoothly with the new tires and alignement.
I spoke with the Subie dealer I trust, and the service manager thought the most likely possibility was a bent strut (although until I bring the car in he obviously can't do more than guess). The struts are original with over 150,000 miles on them, so I guess I can't say that they aren't overdue for a change.
The problem is that although I love this car and it is very reliable, it's really not worth much more than the $2000 I paid for it two years ago. Car ownership is a luxury for me -- I don't actually need to own a car -- and it's difficult to justify putting a great deal of money into maintenance.
Two questions:
1 Given the age of the sturts, I assume that if I replace the left front I should also replace the right front. Can I get away with just replacing the fronts, or would it be a bad idea to have front and rear struts which don't match (they'd all be Subaru OEM struts, but with a signficant age difference between front and rear!)
- The dealer quoted me roughly 0 per strut, including labor and (I assume) alignment. I am completely confident that they would do the job right. The local Sears auto service center quoted me 5 to replace both front struts, and 3 to replace all four, including alignment. Sears also mentioned that there would be an additional charge per strut if the mounts need to be replaced, I'm not sure if new mounts were included in the dealer's quote. Do Subie struts require any Subie-specific skills to install, and would you trust someone who doesn't do a lot of work on Subies to do the installation?
I'm bringing the car to the dealer next week to determine if in fact a bent strut is the problem. If difference in price turns out to be less than $100 or so I'll just have the dealer do the work, but if the difference turns out to be several hundred dollars I'm not sure what to do. And of course, I suppose I could just live with the camber mis-alignment and live with the accelerated tire wear...
Thanks in advance for all advice!
Zack '90 Legacy auto AWD wagon 155,000 miles