edrach

What's the mileage on the car? For a 1990, water pump or radiator failure would not be out of line. It could still be a bubble in the coolant. But you need to do more testing.

Environmental spray is BS. What happened to your car is that it was scraped on the carrier and then repainted and not a good job at that. Firstly, go back to the dealership and get his opinion in writing so you have paperwork to back up your claim. Next, check with a quality body shop and get their opinion; also in writing if they can do it. Go back to the dealership and see if they will correct it. Again, get it in writing. Options: Certainly report to the BBB. Write to Subaru of America and tell them how you've been treated and you would like to have the issue resolved to your satisfaction; suggest remidies: new car, repair at a quality body shop, etc. If all else fails, small claims court is an option. A lawyer won't do you much good since it's not worth his while. Good luck and keep us informed.

Cool, I didn't know you were so involved in the event. Best of luck in November. Give my regards and congratulations to Max; I met him when he came out to Oregon two years ago for the National event in Hillsboro. A real stand up person.

Results: http://www.oregonrally.com/files/rx_10_11_2009.pdf

http://www.shutterdriven.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=17938

Final results: http://www.scca.com/newsarticle.aspx?hub=2&news=3801

Anyone have any results for info from the first day. Here are some: http://www.scca.com/newsarticle.aspx?hub=2&news=3798

Best tires for the conditions are always best. I've always been a proponent of mounting snow tires on a spare set of rims and installing them before the snows start to fall. This is actually a less expensive option since the only extra cost involved is the spare set of rims. The extra miles you get out of your summer tires when the winter tires are on the car tend to even out the costs. I personally favor studless snow tires since the Seattle area doesn't have snow on the ground three months of the year and studded tires are actually a disadvantage on dry or wet roadways; not to mention the extra wear on the roads. But get a set of quality tires regardless of whether you go studded or studless. Hakkapollittas, Hankook iPikes, Michelin Alpins, Toyo Observes are among my personal preferences. You are not only protecting your car, you could be protecting your life.

That sounds like the one I bought; fortunately I bought the extended replacement warranty and when they could never get it to work properly, I just got all my money back on it (including the extended warranty cost). I gave them two years to get their act together and tried buying another one. Same experience; couldn't get one set of tire changes out of a fully charged battery. The tipoff was when they didn't have replacement batteries for it. I returned that one too for a refund. Oddly enough the one I bought 5 or 6 years ago is still working like a champ. I did have to get one battery pack replaced but I consider that normal wear and tear. Anticipating that the original HF wrench will die someday, I added a Dewalt Kit and found it has more torque than the HF ever had. It came with a charger, two battery packs and case. I bought it new on craigslist for $200. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001LQLE2

http://www.oregonrally.com/rallycross.cfm Next RallyCross RallyCross #8 : Oct 11 Organized By : ORG (Oregon Region) Looks like nice weather for the weekend too: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Hillsboro,%20OR&wuSelect=WEATHER

Unfortunately, it's not cordless. But an extension cord is certainly easier to deal with than an air hose.

If you have a manual transmission almost any R160 diff will work for you; check the transmission chart in the USRM to see whether you have a 4.111 or 3.900 version and what models/years have the same as you need. I can't help you for the automatic transmissions. Transmission type can be found on the VIN plate in the engine compartment or the label on the transmission located on the bell housing near the starter motor.

Considering your situation, try a local wrecking yard for a replacement alternator. Much less expensive than new (our Pull a Part yard charges under $20 for an alternator) but make sure you get a 30 day return warranty so you can be sure you get a chance to test out your replacement.

Online auctions can be fun. But I would never bid on anything unless I could inspect it "up close and personal" first. Also, nothing beats in person bidding. The auctions I've been to where they have on-line bidding drive me nuts. On-line bidders generally bid higher than people who are on site (like me) and they over-bid items more often than not. Best of luck with your Legacy. It looks like it has plenty of potential for what you paid for it. Keep us advised on what you got and how it's coming along.

Yikes, if you have to drop the fuel tank, let a shop do it! However, doing the fuel filter that's located in the engine compartment is more than do-able by the home mechanic. However, fuel going into the filter is under pressure and you need to eliminate that pressure. I use a long nosed vise-grip with rubber hose around both noses to squeeze the incoming fuel line to minimize spillage without damaging the fuel line. After that, prying off the lines from the old filter can be a PITA. I haven't found a solution to making that easier and would be open to suggestions there. I just did my Impreza and am holding off on doing the Forester until I have a better solution to prying off the lines to the old filter.

Welcome to the Board. You'll find lots of company here. Also, monstaru and baccaruda are local to you. Nice to have a Pull a Part yard and Spalding's in town too!

I have an early (4 or 5 years old) Harbor Freight 1/2" drive impact tool that still works great. I just recently retired the original battery pack since it no longer held a charge. I have tried to replace it with the newer HF version twice now; neither one seemed to work at all and I returned them both (not sure what is wrong, but I can't be that unlucky). Since I couldn't find a good one at HF, I found a nice Dewalt with two battery packs, charger, etc. in new condition on craigslist for $200. Works better than the earlier HF and I love it.

Make sure you have a new fuel filter installed. Not the vapor separator in the engine compartment, but the fuel filter at the fuel pump underneath the car. For the Hitachi distributor only: If you find that the times you can get it to turn over but it won't start, check for spark. No spark and I would replace the ignitor module inside the distributor. You're having the perfect scenario for an ignitor going out.

Transmissions and rear diffs are a good idea. 5MT has a 4.111 rear and the automatic has a 4.444

I've got a 4.11 rear on my '97 Imp and I'm turning 2700 rpm at 70KM/hr in 4th. Tires are 195/60-R15 snow tires.

70KM/hr is 42mph and you're at almost 3000 rpm; that doesn't sound right. I have a '97 Impreza with a 4.111 gearbox and diff and at 3000 rpm in 5th gear I'm going about 60 mph (100 KM/hr). I'll check on that tomorrow when I'm back out on the highway.

On my Impreza the rubber booty was on the right (passenger) side of the car. Worst problem is that unless you remove all the connectors at the end of the cable (near the tail-light assembly) you can't pull the cable back up the hatch pillar (or get it back in after you've made the repair). I dread having to go back in there again later the next time one or more wires break.

Per the transmission chart in the USRM, the '04 and '05 XT Foresters have a 4.444 transmission along with the '04 Turbo Baja. A fair number of JDM transmissions come with a 4.444 ratio.

Nice write up Log1call! You should submit it to the USRM so it doesn't get lost.

I did this recently on my '97 Impreza when the rear lock no longer worked. Everyone who posted about looking under the rubber boot in the upper rear corner was right on the money. In addition to that I found a total of 7 wires already cut and a few more about to go. A bad piece of design since I couldn't see any fix other than to splice and insulate. There should be the ability to replace the harness in its entirety, but I don't see that as a possibility.