mulcheese

So I went to check my oil the other day on my 97 OBS and noticed that it had become fuller. Now this engine has 190k on it and I regularly, every month, have to ad a quart or so. This seemed a bit odd to me and the oil is up there in miles so it is time for a change yet the oil is not very black. All this seemed odd so I decided to give it an oil change and I pull the plug and the old oil pours out like water? my first thought is that there is atifreeze mixed in with the oil so I check the rad. and it is full but the overflow is empty. Now the overflow does not contain very much to start with. I filled the overflow and will research further. If the coolant is leaking into the oil is that a headgasket issue?

One more question. Is the piston seal a dust boot or does it actually keep the brake fluid in the caliper. To put it another way if it does go bad and fail/crack will my fluid leak out?

1997 Impreza OBS Do I need to remove the entire caliper or am I able to replace the pads by removing one pin and rotating the bracket up? I have searched and some indicate the calipers may need to be removed.

I guess I should have mentioned that the timing belt and everything associated with it was attended to some time back so all that is of concern now is at the back. From what I have seen so far and from the searches I have done Im thinking the seperator plate is the culprit. What do I look for to be sure? What I mean is where should the oil be leaking from to indicate the seperator plate?

I think it is time to do some re-sealing on my 97OBS. I have noticed over the years that the engine leaks a little but not much for a car of 185,000 miles. Over the recent holidays I took a trip which was the first for this car in many years. I was traveling on the highway at speeds of 75mph. The car has not exceeded 60 for long periods of time in a loooooong time. When I reached my destination I thought the car was going to start on fire because there was so much smoke from the oil on the exhaust. It actually leaked less than a quart but I think it did it all within that 4 hour trip. As I said the car has leaked a little for years bit this time it was all at once. Typically the car is driven to and from work with a mixture of highway and city driving. Now that I havent taken another trip in some time I have not noticed much leaking other than the typical. On average I lose 1 quart every 1000 miles. My question is, this summer I plan on cleaning up the car so that it can make it a couple more years. What should I be looking at re-sealing? Right now I cant see exactly where it is leaking from but it is mainly coming for the back of the engine down to the oil pan and maybe even form the oil pan itself. I already plan on doing the oil pan, and valve covers. What else should I do?

I purchased some Monroe rear struts from my local FLAPS. When I picked them up they werent quite sure which ones were the correct part #'s. I ended up purchasing the 71608 amd 71609 because these were listed for a "sport wagen". The others 71445 and 71446 were the other choices and are speced the same so I figured what could be different. I Installed them and they seem to be just fine except they are close to rubbing on the tire ( within a 1/2 in. ). I then decided to contact monroe and found out that installed the wrong ones. The parts store has ordered the others but my question is does anyone know what the difference is between these and am I able to run the 71608? If I dont have to I really dont want to change these out again. 97 Impreza Outback Sport.

My fuel guage is acting up. It works fine until it reaches about 1/4 left. Then it will drops below empty, maybe sometimes to recover but still not accurate. Using the odometer works for now but I would like to fix the issue. From what I have read this is a common problem and cleaning the contacts may solve the problem. I have pulled the carpet and pulled the covers leading to the tank and my question is if it only drops off near empty which sender do I want to check and clean, driver or passenger side? Or am I wrong and there are not two senders and only one is? Or does anyone have a better/different solution? 97 Outback sport

Thanks for the reply. I will have to check that out as soon as the car is home when I am. It sounds like a possibility since there does not seem to be a fuse or relay specific to that light.

After following my wife home tonight I noticed that the rear window brake lights dont work, all of them. I checked and they are not burnt out. The r/h and l/h ones work just fine. I tried to find a fuse which controls this light exclusively but no luck. Did I miss something? What are the possibilities? This is on the 97 OBS.

Before I start chasing my tail I thought Id ask here. The light on the fog light button, the one that lights up when the button is turned on, has burned out or something. I guess that is my question. Do I have to replace the switch, replace a fuse, just a bulb, what am i looking at? I know it isnt a big deal since the lights still work but it is nice to know if the lights are on without having to push the button on-off-on all the time. This is mainly during the day, at night I can see if they are on. 97 OBS, OE fog lights

You can buy these things to cut out exactly that. Yakima sells one for there racks. It looks just like an 8 inch wing that snaps on to the front crossbar. If you look at some truck hauling racks they have something on there to cut down on the noise. It is a common problem with all racks. As far as a stock suby rack I dont know but I bet there is something out there that will do the trick, maybe the Yakima one will work. Also the fairings made by Yakima or thule are designed for exactly that. That is what I have and it cuts out the noise 100% but I also have Yakima rack on so not quite sure if it will fit stock. Do a google search.

Well did the job yesterday. Went very smooth without any issues. I used a hack saw for the hose bracket, just bent it away slid the hose in, bent it back and put the retaining clip on and looks as if it was never cut. The longest delay was takeing measurements of the position of the bolts in reference to the strut and then transfering them to the new. Hopefully this will give me some time till i can get alignment. The only issue I have is that I was not sure where to place the sping in the new strut. I know where the end of the spring is placed but you are also able to move it horizontially (side to side) while the tip is still positioned correctly. It dose not sit in there snug against both sides. I centered it. Other than that no problems. Sure is nice not haveing the wheel bouncing in my hand as I hit every crack in the road.

I want to replace the front struts on my 97 OBS. I am trying to find a manual for this vehicle in order to do the job but they are not in abundace. Is there anyplace for me to get the technical info (proper steps) if I run across issues? I have the general knowledge just never done this vehicle.

This weekend is when I will have time to complete the " tune-up", plugs wires, pcv, ...... and fuel filter but where is the filter? One problem I have is that I have not been able to locate a manual for this specific vehicle so beyond a a tune-up I am at a loss. Can some one tell me where I can find info? I have been told to but legacy manual and Im sure that will work but I would like to find a OB sport manual. The adj. to the IAC that I performed may not be an actual adj. Some people have said that it is adjustable and some say it isnt adjustable. What I did is on the top, the magneto has sloted holes so that you are able to turn it to some degree and this did seem to effect idle speed. I found a adjustment that returned the idle to 750 rpm's and its been fine all this time. It probably isnt an actual manufactures method but it seemed to make a difference for the better. After this weekend with some cleaning up I will know more.

I have been using the correct VIN#. I checked it more than oncew. It was manufactured in 12/96 as per the badge on the door jam. There is a period of a few months in which similiar vehicles ( year) may have a cable or a sensor and subby, even with the VIN, is not abel to determine what should be in each vehicle. The dealer said the only way to tell is to look at each vehicle individually. That is what I did. Im almost positive that the cable is what is in 96 and prior. I believe that is what the dealer said. The cable is installed and working. Everything is back to normal.

My parts guy had to take a couple of days to figure it out even after using the vin# and taLking with subby. We actually came to the conclusion that it was this part because it had to be. It is actually the same as a 96. Well here is the part#, speedo cable: 37410AA061. Hope this helps.

I can't remember the part #, I have it somewhere but am at work now. It is a common part on pre-97 vehicles. The dealer will know what part it is from a description. I can write back tonight with the #.

Another thing that I realized is that the codes I get ,P1540 P1507, both say idle speed control on my print out yet looking at a previous post http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41218&highlight=P1540+P1507 they are show for different codes. The print out does say OBDII. Which are correct?

I will admit that it probably does need a tune-up (pugs,wires,cap,.....) but other that that yes i am like most people and do not fix something until it breaks. On the other hand I have done some smart preventitive maintanence to the extent of T-belt, water pump,...... so I do understand the preventitive part. Now tell me what preventitive maintanence are you refering to? The "maybe " I through in is because the CEL went on 2 weeks ago, speedo stoped, I fixed it and the light went out. When I had the codes read at that time the P0500 came up but the light went out and I have not been able to clear/read the codes until now. So other than that code (P0500) all others are new. "Messing with the IAC" was taking of the magneto, disconnecting hose, spraying carb cleaner in there, and reassemble and adjust. As far as for what condition are the others components well that is why I started this post to ask for suggestions as to what should I look for. Should I clean somthing? Should i disconnect/reconnect somthing? This way I can do some diagnostic work and come back with more info.

The CEL came on the other day when the car was going through one of it's bucking fits and the codes are these: P0303 cyl 3 misfire, P0304 cyl 4 misfire, P0500 VSS A (i think this is from last week, the speedo cable broke but CEL went out after replaced), P1507 Idle speed control, P1540 idle speed control. Now the car started bucking last summer and has become much worse now that it is colder. It only bucks in the morning when the car is cold and stops after a few minutes when the car starts to warm up. I originally thaught it might be in need of a clutch replacement but now with the codes I dont know. I did mess with the IAC this last fall because the idle would not drop below 2500. A little gum-out and fiddling with the armature and the idle was back to normal. Any suggestions? 97 Impreza OBS, manual, 140k

Well I found the problem. I have a 2 piece cable and the shorter cable, coming out of the trans., had a bad female end. It had broke loose from the cable so the cable would spin but the end would not turn the long length of cable, to the speedo. New part is ordered. After I install the new cabe will the CEL go out or will I need to clear the codes? Can I clear them or do I need a OBII? (97 outback sport)

Here's a little info http://http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/ethanol.html As far as ehtanol affecting mpg's, that is a myth, a theory, none at all. We have had ethanol in the fuel here, Mn., for so long that I can't even remember not having it. There is now legislation to increase and with that there are no complaints only praises. It is made from corn and what can this country produce in abundace. I have driven my subby across the country many times and not once has the mpg's increased or decreased because of ethanol. I'm sure you can do the math and read into the science behind it but in all reality if there is a difference you will never know.

It is a 97. Title says so. I hope that isn't wrong it came from the dealer. Besides I gave the dealer the VIN # and that is what they are basing thier info on or should I say lack of info. He sayed that there is a window of a few months that Subby does not know what is in those cars it could be either. Mine falls in those months. I have determined that it is cable it just seems odd that everyone states that cables are gone after 96 yet here one is. I guess there are always exceptions to the rules. I just need to test the cable and go from there.

just talked with the dealer and they weren't able to tell me anything valuable. They said that form my VIN it could be either way. I thought 96 was the last year for the cable? So I've determined that I do indeed have a cable. It is the two piece cable. First, if I do have a cable then why do I get codes P0500 and P1540 which deal with VSS? Next I have read that to test the cable just disconnect it and use a drill to spin it. Since this is a two piece how do I know which part of the cable, short or long section, is bad or is it the cluster? I will try to test it later today since the car is not here and maybe it will be obvious once I have the cable out.

One would think something like that but considering that I'm the second owner and I bought it at 35k I would think it was original. The dealer is going to call me back this morning with some answers from Subby. We will see what they have to say.