Roamer

When the car is sitting at idle does it loose coolant? Sounds more like a cracked radiator to me. Try to get underneath and inspect, in my opinion and eperience when Subies overheat the radiator cracks fairly easily under a fair amount of pressure.

It could be a list of a hundred things, you need to have the code(s) pulled instead of guesswork. The guy that did your oil change if he is a real mechanic he should have a OBDII code reader. You can reset it but if the problem is not dealt with the check engine light will just reappear.

I have owned many many Subarus and have been through many many mechanics b/c I find that no one mechanic besides the dealer can competently work on a Subaru. However, I hate the red tape involved with dealerships, have to make an appointment 3 weeks in advance and drop the car off for a couple of days. So I need a decent recommendation for a Subaru Mechanic, I live in Queens, so preferably here or in Nassau County LI would be real helpful..Thanks in advance

Well I am about to take my car in b/c it has several problems, the first being that the ABS system is leaking brake fluid, so I have ordered a used unit from a junkyard rather than pay $1085.00 for the part at subaru. Also the water pump seems to be making noise, sounds like I have a gurgling engine, so I am assuming that previous owner never changed it. So now I am trying to search for online sites that sell genuine SUbaru parts. I basically need a water pump, timingbelt and alternator belt, and anything else that you guys on here mught suggest. But when I do a search for my 1996 Subaru Legacy LSI wagon, I keep getting different water pump models it seems? I dont want to risk buying the wrong one, I cant afford the loss in time involved. So if anyone can direct me to the correct water pump and a good subaru site I would greatly appreciate it. And lastly is there any danger for me to keep driving the car with a messed up waterpump in the meantime?

Well to update on my issue of leaking brake fluid I have traced it to the ABS unit itself, has anyone here ever had this problem? Is there a fix or must the entire unit be replaced? If so I would welcome any good places to search for used parts or if anyone happens to have one here please send me an offer:) Thanks in advance.... 1996 Legacy LSI wagon

My 1996 Legacy Wagon is leaking a lot of brake fluid, it has been leaking for about a year but it started out very little, maybe had to top it off every month. Now it is every day. I notice that the leak is coming from the passenger side front tire area. Has anyone ever had this issue, if so any suggestions on what it might be and the parts involved. Can I attempt to do it myself? Thanks in advance...

I dont know the specs however if the car keeps stalling while driving then your MAF sensor is def. shot and no use in checking it out if the CEL code says thats what it is. During the many Subies that I have owned I have had to replace this sensor 2x, I belive I paid 75 buxx at a local junkyard v. buying a new one. Also from experience the stalling will only get worse to the point where your car will stall every 5 minutes.

Sounds like the starter, to be sure it is the next time it doesnt start take a baseball bat or metal pipe and tap the starter a couple of times, then try to start the car if it starts up right away then most def thats your problem. You should replace it as it will only get worse with time.

I like yourself have the same care and same issue, however I have never needed to replace my headgaskets and my car has 166k miles on it? Are the OBW notorious for this problem? As far as I can tell my cars engine runs great, perhaps the previous owner replaced the heads at some point, nonetheless with regards to the heat shield rattle I have come up with my own personal solution:) I took some soldering wire (whatever it is called), the kind the plumbers use to solder copper pipes together and basically wrapped it around wherever the heatshield were loose. The stuff is real flexible and tough in my opinion and so far resistant to heat. It has been 2 mos and no rattle and mind you I live in NYC so dealing with these pothole/craters takes a beating on the car.

To give you an honest opinion thats not cheap at all. Was all the stuff that you added stock? Any performance upgrades?

On my 96 legacy wagon LSI, the air ducts wont seem to move. For example when I want the A/C or heater on it will only blow from the defrost position. If I press on any other vent option other than the defrost one, I can hear some mechanisim clicking and wanting to change the directional blow of the air but it never does. Was curious if anyone knows where this thing is located so that i can unstick it? any suggestions hope this makes sense b/c I am not mechanically gifted here...

I am also like you not mechanically inclined however all your symptoms are a bad head gasket in my opinion. I suggest you drain the oil pan and actually feel and take a look at the oil and see if there are any visible signs of water in it. Usually if its a really bad head gasket the oil will have a creamish color to it. From your post you did not mention any over heating which usually accompanies a bad head gasket, I would run the car hard with the A/C on and watch your needle for any change in temp. If this also happens I would assume its a bad head gasket somewhere. I had a 92 legacy with this issue however my legacy had almost 150k miles on it from NYC driving. Your car seems to be failry low mileage to have such an early problem and it really makes no sense for bad heads at this time but it can happen. With my legacy back then I never fixed the problem I continued driving the car for about another year and half until the tranny died. maybe you might want to take it in to another Subaru dealership for a compression test?

Hi guys this is simply a repost of a post that I posted but I never recieved any post feedback hence, this repost because I need any advice that I can get:) "Ok well 2 days ago I picked up my 97OBW from my mechanic, as mentioned before my crankshaft pulley was shaking and my belt fell off. Upon initial inspection my mechanic told me I need a key and pulley, then he calls me and tells me that the crank was bent. This might as well be a foreign language to me because even though I can do my own oil changes, tune ups replacement of alternator I am really not anywhere close mechanically as you guys here on the forum. Long story short mechanic told me to get a used engine, I have had terrible experiences with used engines in the past and would rather not bother. I know my current engine is strong and mechanically perferct except for this problem. So then he tells me if I dont get used engine 90% chance the crankshaft pulley will get ruined again. SO I just decided to roll the dice and have him install the key and pulley and told him to TORQUE it properly. So when I picked up the car he told me he torqued it till he couldnt move it no more around 120lbs. So now I have a car for sale:) hahahaa just kidding, I love all my soobies rather drive them to the grave than sell. But I am worried about this damn crank issue, it seems totally fine now, are there any post precautions that I can take here? I.E. every week re-torque or tighten the damn thing? I live in NYC and to find a well versed Subaru mechanic is not that easy and for the 2 dealers that I know of are always booked solid for weeks. Has anyone gone thorugh this headache here and can throw me some advice would be really appreciated as all your comments in the past have been. thanks"

I dont know if they do this anymore but if you just call corporate Subaru customer service and give them the vin they can give you info on service records and mileage if the car was ever serviced at a dealership. They can also tell you how many titles have passed at times. Of course a carfax vin check is much more thorough and in detail.

Thats a steal at the price you got it at, even if you have to spend another thousand buxx you have yourself a reliable and fun to drive car. BTW if you dont want to keep the car I'll be glad to take it off your hands:)

Ok well 2 days ago I picked up my 97OBW from my mechanic, as mentioned before my crankshaft pulley was shaking and my belt fell off. Upon initial inspection my mechanic told me I need a key and pulley, then he calls me and tells me that the crank was bent. This might as well be a foreign language to me because even though I can do my own oil changes, tune ups replacement of alternator I am really not anywhere close mechanically as you guys here on the forum. Long story short mechanic told me to get a used engine, I have had terrible experiences with used engines in the past and would rather not bother. I know my current engine is strong and mechanically perferct except for this problem. So then he tells me if I dont get used engine 90% chance the crankshaft pulley will get ruined again. SO I just decided to roll the dice and have him install the key and pulley and told him to TORQUE it properly. So when I picked up the car he told me he torqued it till he couldnt move it no more around 120lbs. So now I have a car for sale:) hahahaa just kidding, I love all my soobies rather drive them to the grave than sell. But I am worried about this damn crank issue, it seems totally fine now, are there any post precautions that I can take here? I.E. every week re-torque or tighten the damn thing? I live in NYC and to find a well versed Subaru mechanic is not that easy and for the 2 dealers that I know of are always booked solid for weeks. Has anyone gone thorugh this headache here and can throw me some advice would be really appreciated as all your comments in the past have been. thanks

Thanks dude for your input, I am going to roll the dice and just have the car re-keyed with a new pulley, I mean I drove the thing for awhile and the engine was running normal and smooth no noise or anything. Is it possible that the crankshaft is slightly damaged but still mechanically will work?

Well unfortunately I received some bad news that my 97 OBW fell ill to the Shaking Crankshaft pulley which eventually bent the crankshaft. So my mechanic tells me that he can just throw in a new key and pulley but there is a 90% chance that the pulley will come off again, and in the alternate its probably better to just throw in a used engine. My current engine has 165K miles on it but I know that it is a decent and strong engine otherwise from this crank problem. I am skeptical about used engines (I live in NYC), and a remanufactured one simply put is not worth the money given the year and mileage of other parts on the car. So what would you guys here do if you were stuck in my shoes. Take the risk and drop in a used engine or take another risk and just drop in a new pulley and key and just drive it till it dies even with the pulley shaking. Man todays a bad day for me.

On my 97 OBW I have some dim headlight issues, it is not because of the bulbs but from what I can tell its from the fact that the headlamp unit casing itself is just old and dirty. I was wondering if anyone here has any tricks on how to clean these things? It has become quite annoying lately because at times I have to drive with my high beams on. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Thanks in advance:)

Thanks. I was afraid of that:)

Hmmm so where is this flasher unit that you speak of located?

Well the switch doesnt illuminate at night, so lets say the switch is disconnected would the dash need to be pulled to replace it? Or is it as simple as popping out the current switch for a new one? Thanks for the help....

No, my hazard lamps do not work when the turn signals are off. They have never worked as long as I have owned the car. I am thinking its a bad switch possibly?

My Hazard lights on my 97 Outback wagon have never worked. But my directionals do work. But when the Hazard switch is in the on position my directionals wont work. Any thoughts? I checked all the fuses and they seem to be fine. Thanks guys:)

I am new to this forum however, I am not new to Subaru ownership. I have owned over the past 10 years of driving 6 Subarus for either myself or my family. Currently on my 1997 SUbaru Outback wagon I am experiencing a shaking crankshaft pulley. Last week I was driving and all the warning lights on the dash lit up, my belt had fallen off so I drove to the nearest mechanic and he installed a new belt. Now a couple of days later I was just checking my tranny oil and noticed that the crankshaft pulley shakes ALOT. To the point that when the care is idling it feels rough. But when I reved up the engine I noticed that the shaking lessens or goes away. Now I am not a mechanic by any means so excuse me for my ignorance, but can anyone direct me on what the issue could be here? I took it to my local mechanic whom I do trust but I doubt his ability to work on subarus, but this has never been an issue before because aside from regular maintenance I never needed a "Subaru know it all Mechanic". He told me that I need a new pulley, of course this seems to be the obvious answer but I am perplexed on why my pulley would shake to begin with? I did have this mechanic change my timing belt 5 months ago so I am assuming that he had to take this pulley off to get to the timing belt. So my question is could he have wrecklessly done something wrong in reinstalling the pulley? It just makes no sense to me how a pulley can need replacement or would start shaking out of the blue? I am contemplating taking it into a Subaru dealership however this car has over 165K miles on it and I do not want to be bothered with a huge bill. But any suggestions from you professional folks would be appreciated. For instance if I buy the pulley can I just have my mechanic install it? Is there some special Subaru knowledge or trick that he needs to know before installing it?