have been offered a 94 wrx to swap with a mitsi fto i have.after checking the car out i have found a few probs with the scooby.1) abs light constantly on 2)check engine light is constantly on 3)found what smells like rad weld in the header tank and around the cap ,and a residue of it in the overfow filler neck.i ran the car up for a good half hour on the spot,no visible leaks,fans running constantly,temp gauge does not move from the half way mark.checked oil on the cap and dipstick and is clean and clear.cant see any visible stains on the rad to point the finger at a split rad. took the car around the block seems to boost up fine and temp gauge seems stable.im guessing the abs light could be a sensor problem not an issue really.just the cell light that bothers me! whats the worst it could be? im wondering if it could be a good deal as the fto only sttands me in a grand and would be selling the wrx straight away for £1500 or there an abouts,do you think its worth a gamble?

 

The CEL could be caused by any number of issues. If you look up "black plugs" you can query it and find out which error(s) are responsible.

Fan on constantly is wrong too, it should switch on automatically when the coolant temp hits 97 celsius and off again at around 91. This might point to the coolant temp sensor being (one of) the causes for the CEL but it's far from guaranteed.

 

yeh i guessed the temp sensor maybe faulty causing the fan to run constantly.was not sure that could cause the cell to come on.i could check the codes but obviously i have to make a decision to do the deal or not.does the the fact that water has been presant overflowing via the overflow filler spell bad things

 

Swap cars for an hour an check the fault codes only takes 5min to do is it rad weld or that k bar sh@ that "mends" head gaskets ? Is it worth the hassle or is there someone lined up to buy it ?

 

Coolant temp sensor open circuit will definitely cause a CEL, no doubt about that at all. What I'm not sure about is whether the ECU will stick the fans on as a result.

If you mean it's peeing out of the cap by the nearside headlight, then that could be a sign that the coolant is getting pressure through the cylinders via a head gasket, which isn't good. But it's unfortunately going to be impossible for us to do any more than take some very rough guesses as to what may or may not be up with this car. If in doubt, keep your money in your pocket like.

 

no one lined up but generally thought at 1500 notes it wont be long before sold,and not sure about the k-seal,it looks/smells like radweld but cant compair

 

avoid the impreza.

 

I would have a look at the prices of em first there is a lot of cheap imprezas about if it was me i would keep the other car dude