a97obw

Now just how would them power windows edumacate that rain?:-\

I received the same recall notice from Subaru years ago. I'm the second owner, the original owner bought the car in PA and it has spent most of its life in the Gulf Coast region. Well, I went to the local dealer at the time, and they claim they "looked into it" but deemed the recall NOT necessary on my 97 because I didn't live or drive the car in "the rust belt/salted road conditions", which I thought was a bunch of crap. My VIN is included in the recall, so I might look into it again with the current dealership, or at least get the "rust belt/salted road conditions" opinion signed off on by the dealership so if and when it does fail Subaru would have more problems then they want out of this customer.

I'd limit the use of the degreaser chemicals to only the metal parts in the engine compartment....simply because all of the hoses and other rubber components have a coating of protectant like cosmoline that is there for a reason, and you'd better price the cost of replacement A/C hoses before you clean them with degreaser.

Interesting enough, Audi thought about the top seals and wind noise on the TT roadster. With the top up, when you open the door the electric window goes down about 1/4 inch and stays that way until you shut the door and after about a second or so the electric window goes back to the full up position......all on its own!

A dremel tool and a buffing wheel oughta take that "T" or "S" right off the sidewall of the tires. Then it might go faster than.......uh, hang on, ok, you meant disable the speedometer gizmo. Never mind. (Thats 2 self induced raps across the knuckles from "the golden ruler"! WAP WAP YEOUCH!)

I've used a 300W inverter routinely to charge my survey instrument batteries while the car is not running. Never been a problem plugged into the cigarette lighter on my 97 OBW.

I'd consider it a "stupid limiter" rather than a "speed limiter", but thats just my opinion. Yours could be wrong.

Don't know about the struts, but I done took care of that "dancing bannana" for you. I 'spose you could check the strut part numbers against each other at a dealership, but on the other hand (this is just me thinking here) since you are replacing the 95 with the 98, use the fact that you have new struts on the 95 as a selling point, then go ahead and purchase new struts for your 98. No labor swapping them out, and you only have to have one car aligned after it is done. On second thought, if your 95 has the 2.2 engine that runs well, and the struts just happen to interchange, keep the 95 under a tarp in your backyard.......you just might need the engine for your 98.

"the water pump on the BMW is about the size of your fist and cost almost $200" Ha!! How about a replacement water pump for your Porsche 928---about $1300 (one thousand three hundred) IF you got a discount! So your daugter drove your 928 with the water temp needle in the red while on the cell phone for how long? Count on $100/hour labor and get this......48 (forty eight) hours to replace the head gaskets! Those old 928s have to be the all time "money pit" cars on the planet where the used ones are now very affordable to purchase, but the owners can't afford to maintain them. When my 97 Outback wagon head gaskets failed, the cost of just the parts to replace the head gaskets, all seals, one idler,T belt, water pump, t-stat, clutch, ad nauseum was just about $1200 from one of the internet discount Subaru dealers. Add another $160 for the shop crain, $75 to clean and redo the radiator, enough O'Riellys carb cleaner to make the ozone layer put a big hole right over the back of my head:eek: can't forget the sparking plugs at $45 a set..........but compared to buying a new car and making payments? Priceless!

Older bro that owned an SVX predicted the Baja to be a "dud" from the get-go. If you were to put a camper top on that thing, you'd have an Outback wagon anyways... I bet GM isn't selling many of those goofy Z-66 Avalanche things these days (for the life of me I could not understand why you would want a half sport ute/half pickem up truck with a divider between the cab and the bed that you could leave open and drive down dusty back roads...cause you're gonna have to stop at some point---and fill the cab with dust---not to mention the water leak problems ad nauseum), and are you really surprised to see the demise of the Hummer? Could it be the end of the "sport utes" and the return of the small sports cars? I could only hope!

Take it to a Subaru dealership and talk to the service manager about it. It is my opinion that Subaru is very sensitive about rattling heat shield components--my local dealer put my 97 OBW wagon that was waayyyyy out of the warranty up on the rack and did the rubber mallet bang bang twist here job on one of the heat shields that made the car sound like it was going to explode right at about 3200 RPM---and sent me on my way no charge.

Wayne, Check your PM. Thanks!

The extra tools need tor replacinng the boot are snap-ring pliers and the band tightening tool. One of my other cars is a 69 Porsche 912, and from visiting the 912 Registry forums I've learned that those guys are no longer using the "banding tool" with the metal bands to secure the boots at the CV joint....apparently the "racers trick" is to use the heavy duty plastic "wire tie" fasteners like the cops use in lieu of hand cuffs. I tried them on my 912 recently after cleaning and re-greasing the joints, and they do work well. Just snip off the excess part that you pull through the connector and you are good to go. As for using one of those "split boot" types of CV joint boot, I don't know how that is going to hold up since it will be spinning with the axle. Remember, that "technology" was the brain child of VW on the old swing axle beetles, vans etc. that merely provided a dust boot from the transmission to the axle tube....i.e. the actual axle was spinning inside the axle tube. So that type of "split boot" does not rotate.

My neph up in East Glacier Montana that I gave my old 92 Legacy wagon AWD automatic---pristine condition with only 165k miles---reported to me that a few weeks ago he loaded the wagon up with his friends and they drove round trip to a wedding in Missouri and averaged 30 MPG, one tank they managed 33 MPG. Sincerely, a Subies uncle with a "paint shaker" of a 97 Outback.:cool:

Here you go, this is worth mentioning if you are going to replace the rear main crankshaft seal. Also make sure you have a digital camera handy and take lots of pictures. Mark the flywheel/driveplate and then make a matching mark on the end of the crank (before you turn it!) so you can put them back together in the same place for balance sake. A "paint pen" is a good way to mark it....available at the hardware store......the same type yellow marking pen that the junkyard writes all over stuff with..... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52957

Anyways, I bring it back to the dealer and after trying to diagnose the problem for a day, they tell me they need to pull the engine to see why the #2 exhaust valve was too tight. They quoted me a price of $1250 for R&R of the engine and a best- case scenario of another $200 to adjust the valves or mucho dinero if any machining had to be done. Uhhh....the valve clearances are supposed to be checked as a part of the head gasket replacement. Understand that in order to replace the head gasket, the camshafts must be removed to gain access to the bolts that mount the head to the engine case (or "block" in Volvo and Chevy speak). The clearances should have been checked before removing the cams and cylinder head to ensure they were in spec.---of course I have no idea if this is standard procedure with a Subaru dealership. Probably not since it makes sense to do it. The "good news" is that the engine does not have to be removed to check the valve clearances. Only the valve covers...just like your old Volvo. The "bad news" is that, in my opinion, your dealer is attempting to scam you by telling you the engine must be removed.....and trying to get at least another pair of Franklins out of your wallet for a valve adjustment they were supposed to do when they replaced the head gasket the first time! Do you really think they don't remember splitting the cost of the head gasket job? I didn't think so. Find another dealership/Subaru mechanic. And in the mean time, if the "check engine light" re-occurs, go to your local auto parts store and purchase, for about $150, one of the "code readers" that will plug and play with your Subaru. That way you can just read them and clear them. Like I did with my 97 OBW for the past 4 years. As for the low coolant issue...get that resolved by filling and "burping" the system as advised on this message board.

I'll agree that 1/8" "endplay" is waaaaayy too much. The air cooled VWs and Porsches typically get set via shims at .004-.006 in. endplay as measured with a dial gauge at the flywheel end. But I'd also suggest before giving up and removing the engine, you check all the vacuum lines and the hoses to the air box assembly and that one "big" hose that everybody seems to forget to attach to the air box assembly that makes the engine run like crap. Hopefully that is the problem!

If it is your first time to remove this type of engine, count on about 8 hours to remove everything that has to be removed before you lift the engine out. By far, the best "tip" I could offer would be when re-installing the engine, find a bolt, 2 washers and a nut that you can put in the chain that you bolt to the engine lifting eye on the back of the engine and one of the A/C compressor mount bolts on the front of the engine to put the engine in a slightly "nose up" position to match the plane of the transmission. It is a trial and error deal in where to put the bolt/washers/nut in the chain to form the loop that you place over the hook on the hoist, but you'll get it right. Without the bolt/washers/nut in the chain, the engine is going to balance slightly "nose down" which is exactly the opposite of the slightly "nose up" of the transmission and it is going to be a real struggle getting the engine to mate up to the transmission. As far as an engine stand, that would be useful to tilt the engine 90 degrees so that the head gasket you are replacing is going on vertical and not horizontal. During the procedure of replacing the head gasket, there is a point after initial torquing that you loosen the head bolts to where they are completely loose. If you have the engine 90 degrees to horizontal, the gasket would not be able to move any slight amount as if it were horizontal. But I did everything I needed on the pallet.

I'd take an 80k mile 11 yr. old OEM axle with a slightly leaking outer boot over one of the "remanufactured" axles from the usual auto parts stores anyday. If you are adept at changing your own oil, you shouldn't have any problem removing/replacing the axle assembly. The outer joint is a press fit, and I've never heard of anybody being able to remove one from the axle. What you can do, once the axle is out of the car, is to remove the inner joint, slide the inner boot off then slide the outer boot up and off the axle, "bomb" the #^%#$ out of the outer joint with brake parts/carb spray cleaner---do the same with the inner joint----then regrease and replace with OEM boots. Or if you'd rather not get greasy, you could take the axle and the new OEM boots to a CV joint repair shop....and even if it does cost a bit more than one of the "reman" axles, you're still way ahead of the game as far as quality goes. Remember, the parts stores sell them with a "lifetime guarantee" that doesn't cover the labor involved in replacing them every 10 or 20k miles. IF the OEM one you have is servicable, fix it and keep it!

Here's a pic of my 97 OBW after removing the engine to replace the head gaskets, clutch etc. The last thing I removed before pulling the engine was the fuel lines to the intake manifold. The next to last thing was to flop the A/C compressor over towards where the battery is supposed to be. Immediately after having the engine clear of the car, the first thing I did was to place a board into the engine bay and place the A/C compressor on that. When flopped over near the battery area there is a lot of twist to the A/C hoses...which isn't good and those hoses are BIG TIME expensive to replace! Were I to do it all over again, I'd definitely remove the engine. If you have any history of back problems, doing it in the car is going to be an absolute killer. Sitting on a stool (or the bottom part of the office chair that you leaned too far back in once upon a time!)with the engine on a pallet is the way to fly.

Yep, it is techincally called a "pitching stopper" and is the mount from near the top of the firewall to the top center of the transmission just aft of where it mates to the engine. Might have to remove the big intake box to see it. As for that #4 rod knock. Tell me more. Was it a very noticable mechanical sounding knock at cold start up (I know what piston slap sounds like) that went away after a couple of minutes...followed by a very very muted knock as the engine was warm? Reason I ask, I replaced both head gaskets on my 97 2.5 OBW and since then I've had a knock as I describe that seems to be getting worse. I'm thinking maybe its the timing belt tensioner (hoping that is!) and not a rod knock. But it did seem to occur after a treatment of the Seafoam stuff through the PCV valve when I managed to let the engine die while it was sipping, not guzzling, the stuff. Hate to hijack the thread, but if you can explain your symptoms here or another thread I'd appreciate it!

I've got a brother that works with the DOE in New Orleans, and yes, a few years ago I think it was Shell that turned out some "high sulphur content" gasoline that immediately killed thousands of fuel gauge senders. He managed to miss out, but said the local BMW dealer was absolutely swamped with cars that they were going to fix due to the fuel.

Definitely the pasenger side on my 97 Outback. As far as your statement about "lack of time to repair both head gaskets" I think once you consider.... 1) The intake manifold has to be removed...from both heads. 2) The exhaust manifold has to be removed....from both heads. 3) The timing belt will have to be removed and or replaced. 4) Cooling system flush and refill. 5) IF the one head needs machine work, such as surfacing the head a few thousandths of an inch, you'll want to machine the other head the same amount to keep the compression ratio similar on both sides of the engine. Of course, one may have to be surfaced a bit more than the other, and you won't know by doing only one head. I think if you consider the above, and the thought that the old one may take out the new one, you're really looking at a false economy by only replacing the one head gasket, and waiting "for the time" to do the other...if need be.:cool:

Here is what I found when I replaced my head gaskets. I think the stated 8-10% "failure rate" of the 2.5 engines is extremely conservative. But thats my opinion. Yours could be wrong.

Sounds like a possible brake problem on the corner making the "squealing" noise. Of course the ABS should only kick in if you "stab" the brake pedal hard. The ABS circuit is best tested off road...such as wet grass....to minimize any possible damage to the rest of the braking system. If you feel the brake pedal "pulsating" then rest assured it is working.