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I have a 97 Outback that I have a couple of questions about, since my mechanic can never seem to reproduce the problem.

 

First of all, the car has an engine vibration at around 65-75mph. Anywhere in that range, and sometimes even higher (closer to 80) the engine vibrates the car, and it seems to be accompanied by a slight loss in power. It goes away when I'm outside of this range, or sometimes when I've been at the same speed for a while. I know it's not the wheels because the ride is fine, and steering has no shakiness or anything in it.

 

I read somewhere this might be a torque converter. Is this true, and if so what kind of cost am I looking at to repair it? What will happen if I continue to drive the car as is?

 

Second question: How hard is replacing a front headlamp assembly? My passenger side assembly has become oxidized inside and is noticeably darker than the driver side, which is clear.

 

Thanks!

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Second question: How hard is replacing a front headlamp assembly? My passenger side assembly has become oxidized inside and is noticeably darker than the driver side, which is clear.

 

Thanks!

 

Not hard.

1) Pull on the plug

2) Remove rubber shroud

3) Unfasten the metal clip holding the bulb

4) Remove bulb

5) Put in new bulb making sure you dont touch the glass with your bare fingers.

6) Reverse procedure.

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Engine shake - check your mounts, particularly the transmission mount.

 

Frag - I believe he's talking of the entire headlight assembly, not just the bulb. There was a recent post here of someone who did this. It's not difficult, but I think you have to pull the center "grill" to get at one of the fasteners. Sorry, I don't have the details.

 

Commuter

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1. Engine shake - i get the same thing in my 97 Legacy. It's most noticeable between 60-75 mph. I think there is a TSB out from Subaru to fix this - install a dampener on a front transaxle.

2. Removing the headlamp unit - Unclip the front grill - the little clips on top and slide it out. There is a screw behind the grill you'll need to unscrew and 2 screws on top of the headlamp that mount to the frame. Unplug the headlight and corner/turning signals. You can slide the headlight unit out but watch out on the left side, there is a stud that is inserted into the fender/frame so you may need to wiggle the headlight out with a little force to get it to come out.

 

Good luck.

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Engine shake - check your mounts, particularly the transmission mount.

 

Frag - I believe he's talking of the entire headlight assembly, not just the bulb. There was a recent post here of someone who did this. It's not difficult, but I think you have to pull the center "grill" to get at one of the fasteners. Sorry, I don't have the details.

 

Commuter

 

Sorry, I should have read the post more carefully.

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Ok I have the headlight thing figured out. Thanks.

 

 

As far as the engine vibration goes, it's very hard to describe it. It's one of those things that you really have to feel to understand it. I'll do the best that I can with my description.

 

As I'm driving and near 70mph, the car starts to develop a steady rumbling noise that sounds like it's coming from the engine. The car vibrates as well, specifically from the engine and the floor area near the pedals. It's almost as if the car is having to work harder than it normally should to suck gas through the line because the line has developed a build-up on the inside walls decreasing the amount of gas it can pull through.

 

The car doesn't hesitate or jerk though, and the loss of power is hardly noticable. I've had a new fuel filter installed and the fuel injectors cleaned, to no avail, which leads me to believe it's not fuel related.

 

Also, and I don't know if it's related or not, the car has a hesitation at low RPMs. For instance, if I'm sitting in line a drive-thru and lightly press the gas to pull up, the car jerks and speeds up and slows down while I'm holding the gas at one point. I've done a test and at around 1000rpm, when I hold the gas steady, the car lurches forward and slows down, and the RPMs go up and down between 500-1500rpm.

 

Again I don't know if that's related, but thought I'd mention it.

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Also, and I don't know if it's related or not, the car has a hesitation at low RPMs. For instance, if I'm sitting in line a drive-thru and lightly press the gas to pull up, the car jerks and speeds up and slows down while I'm holding the gas at one point. I've done a test and at around 1000rpm, when I hold the gas steady, the car lurches forward and slows down, and the RPMs go up and down between 500-1500rpm.

 

Again I don't know if that's related, but thought I'd mention it.

Carbon buildup. I've been there... twice. A MotorVac treatment cured it the first time. (Note that if it is this bad, the off-the-shelf stuff will not be sufficient to cure it. You can try though. Maybe Seafoam would work.) Occasional premium gas or cleaner in the gas kept it in check for a few years. When it happened again, I suspected the O2 sensor was aggrevating things. Turned out I was right. It checked out ok, but was 'sluggish'. I changed it. The problem reduced considerably immediately, and gradually disappeared over the next couple of months.

 

Just noticed the "fuel injectors cleaned". What exactly was done? Was this an upper engine treatment/cleaning too, or not? These engines are noted for running rich and having some carbon issues. I recall Emily (of CCR Inc) saying that these engines look like they came from the 70's and the days of carburators when they tear them down (re carbon).

 

Commuter (97 OB)

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The Fuel Injection was the only thing done, not an entire upper engine check. I'm not sure if I've had an O2 sensor replaced or not...I know I had a sensor of some kind replaced. I always use Premium gas in the car, and that's not helping.

 

So with that information, is there anything I can do to fix the problem?

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