Foo - What should I do with this car?

What should I do with this car?

I have a 1991 Subaru Legacy wagon with 161,000 miles on it. I got it in 1999 with 113,000 miles for $5000cash, so it's long paid off. It has run well all along and only needed the usual things that wear out fixed. The body is mostly in good shape except for a big dent in the passenger side front door where a drunk driver hit it in the parking lot last fall. I got $2000 from the other driver for the damages. I didn't fix the door as it still functioned fine.

I drive the car once or twice a week and sometimes out of town. I've put 1000 miles on it since Jan 2007 when the oil was changed. I've been keeping an eye on the oil and I noticed that it seemed to be losing oil, up to a qt. It is parked in a garage so I can see there is no fresh oil on the floor. I had the cam seals done back in 2000, and the valve cover gaskets were done a few months ago. So it must be burning through the rings. No noticeable smoke from tailpipe though.

I bought this from the first owners and the folder of maintainance reciepts doesn't show any engine repairs.

Then the other day the muffler goes. It's embarassingly noisy to drive, so it's been sitting. Checked around and a new muffler is $125.

I'm wondering what to do. Researching online I could try putting in 5W-30 oil and a substance called Restore (this info from Car Talks website) to try to nurse a few more miles out of it. The engine may be on it's way out, should I go ahead and put a muffler on it if the vultures are going to be circling soon?

A quart in a K is not a problem with that kind of mileage. When you're doing a quart in 500 and billowing blue smoke out the back when you lift your foot off the throtle, thn it's a problem. :)

Some cars you just change the filter and add oil. :D

I have owned several subarus and they have all started burning more oil as the mileage gets higher, I think it pretty much burns up through the rings...none of mine smoked. also, those subaru horizontal engines are pretty bomb proof, you will find that they can get upto 300k miles out of them. I just carried extra oil!

oil loss could be worn valve guides, that's a cheaper fix than a ring job.

Restore is an awesome product, it is the stuff in the aluminum can in red/blue/black labeling I believe correct?

Will it quiet noisey lifters? I have this lifter that just ticks away like a cheap sewing machine,

What should I do with this car?

I have a 1991 Subaru Legacy wagon with 161,000 miles on it. I got it in 1999 with 113,000 miles for $5000cash, so it's long paid off. It has run well all along and only needed the usual things that wear out fixed. The body is mostly in good shape except for a big dent in the passenger side front door where a drunk driver hit it in the parking lot last fall. I got $2000 from the other driver for the damages. I didn't fix the door as it still functioned fine.

I drive the car once or twice a week and sometimes out of town. I've put 1000 miles on it since Jan 2007 when the oil was changed. I've been keeping an eye on the oil and I noticed that it seemed to be losing oil, up to a qt. It is parked in a garage so I can see there is no fresh oil on the floor. I had the cam seals done back in 2000, and the valve cover gaskets were done a few months ago. So it must be burning through the rings. No noticeable smoke from tailpipe though.

I bought this from the first owners and the folder of maintainance reciepts doesn't show any engine repairs.

Then the other day the muffler goes. It's embarassingly noisy to drive, so it's been sitting. Checked around and a new muffler is $125.

I'm wondering what to do. Researching online I could try putting in 5W-30 oil and a substance called Restore (this info from Car Talks website) to try to nurse a few more miles out of it. The engine may be on it's way out, should I go ahead and put a muffler on it if the vultures are going to be circling soon?

Legacy's rule.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee109/IslandRallyRacing/Targa%20Newfoundland%202006/subie3.jpg

I'll buy it for $15

I'll buy it for $15

Mine? Or his?:D

Both

Both

It's yours. Pick it up Monday.

Then Ima sell the crappier one to Pheard.
http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/7372/pheardhl8.jpg

Then Ima sell the crappier one to Pheard.
http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/7372/pheardhl8.jpg

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

God I love Photoshop!

You know the saying, don't crush it, restore it.:) They have fresher motors at the junk yard. They have mufflers too.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to put the new muffler on and keep the oil topped up and just drive it (occasionally). I'll look for the Restore product when I go to the store.

Try calling/going to a few muffler shops to see if they'll weld a used muffler they have on, shouldn't be more than $50. Instead of using restore, try thicker oils like 10or15W-40/20W-50, etc to see if that slows consumption. My pickup has ~230k+ miles on it and will burn a quart or two every 3k miles w/ a 30W, but is fine w/ a 40W.

161k is nothing on that car. old Scoobys are like old Toyotas and Hondas - built to last forever. wish there were car companies still building cars that way. i've got over 280k on a 1990 Civic, and go through about a quart every 3k miles. both the head and oil pan gaskets are original, and it gets beat on every day - past redline is not an unfamiliar place to be.

so yeah, pop a muffler on it and drive!

You should do this!
http://www.funonwheels.net/hirisesubaru/pages/home.htm