wahoo

Did a little searching and found this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60255&highlight=speed+sensor There are some nice pics there of the VSS on a 98 Outback -- will the VSS location be the same on a 98 Forester?

Similar problem in my '98 Forester... except instead of being pegged at 40mph, my speedometer just sits at 0. I pulled the check-engine code, and apparently I have a faulty "VSS 2" (vehicle speed sensor 2). Anybody happen to know where VSS2 is on a 98 Forester, and how likely I am to be able to replace it myself? Thanks for any help you all can provide!

I've been to lazy to tackle the problem... which is silly, because I'm sure I've spent more time walking around to lock/unlock passenger doors now than it would've take me to just investigate the problem in the first place. Maybe I'll finally try to fix it this weekend, using the "divide and conquer" strategy. Anyone know where the door connectors I should unplug are?

Any ideas?

Thanks for all the help you folks have provided in the past. I've got a new problem for you all. My 98 Forester's power door locks stopped working a week or so ago. I replaced the fuse, and the next time I hit the power lock button it worked, but blew the fuse once again. I know very little about the electrical components of cars, but I do have a little experience with multimeters and wiring. Any suggestions on how to go about fixing this problem? Thanks!!

I was afraid the $39 price was too good to be true... Guess I'll try to return it, and think about getting one of the $88 ones you mention. Thanks for all the advice.

I've tried it both ways... first I tried plugging it in after the car was on (per the instructions that came with the code reader). When this didn't work, I tried turning the car off, plugging the reader in, and then turning the ignition on. Both ways produced the same result.

Hi all, I recently ordered the cheap $39 OBD II code reader from Harbor Freight, and it just got here today. We have two Subarus, a 98 Forester and a 96 Legacy, both with the Check-Engine light on, so I giddily went out to the car and plugged the reader in. The code reader is very basic, and is just supposed to pop up with 4 numbers, repeat the numbers 4 times, and then clear the CEL. Unfortunately, this isn't what happened. I inserted the reader, turned the ignition on (also tried in the reverse sequence just in case), and waited for the codes to appear. Instead of getting a code, the reader just read "--- " paused for a second, read " -", and then read "E " (error?). The same exact thing happened on both vehicles. Am I doing something wrong? The reader's manual makes no mention of what the "E" might mean. Thanks for any help!!

Happy Holidays everyone. Does anyone know if an OEM keyless entry/security system taken out of a 98 Outback will work (and be simple to install) in a 98 Forester S? Are the keyless entry wiring harnesses in the two vehicles identical? Thanks for any help!

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to the board, as I just purchased my 1998 Forester a few weeks ago. I wanted to say a quick hello, tell my funny (now that it's over) Forester story, and give a great big thanks to everyone that contributes to this board. Before coming across this board, about a month back, I purchased a 98 Forester on eBay. I'd never purchased such a high $ item on eBay before, but the seller was a dealer with high feedback so I figured I'd take the risk. I live in the San Francisco area, and the dealer was in LA, so I scheduled a one-way flight about a week later to pick up the vehicle. In the interim, I found this discussion board, and read all the nightmarish tales about the 98 2.5L DOHC engines and their head gaskets. Needless to say, this made me slightly worried, but I felt that even if I had to overhaul the engine on my new Forester I would have gotten a decent deal. A week later, I'm picked up at the airport by the dealer and we go back to the dealership. I check out the car, everything looks great, so I take the keys and begin the 7 hour drive back home. I've already paid (right after the auction) anyway, so I figure unless something is totally amiss about the car I'm stuck with it. Everything is going wonderfully, until about 20 miles into my trip. The temperature guage quickly rises into the red, and then pegs all the way off the scale. I'm in the middle of the highway in LA traffic, so I figure I'll wait for the next exit and investigate things then. Before the next exit comes, a huge "bang" rattles the car, and smoke starts bellowing from the hood. I quickly pull over, and find coolant fluid sprayed all over the engine. There is some 'gunk' in the coolant reservoir, and all the symptoms sound exactly like what I've heard you all describe as head gasket failure on this board. What probably happened, in my uneducated non-mechanic opinon, was an exhaust bubble clogged in the coolant system, and when the pressure finally built up enough it caused a spray of coolant across the engine compartment. The bang was probably the bubble bursting out of the radiator/hose, and the smoke was the hot coolant evaporating off the engine. I call the dealer, he picks me up (takes him almost 2 hours to get to me in LA rush hour traffic), provides me a loaner car, and promises to get the Forester towed in the morning. The next day I call the dealer and tell him my suspiscion of head gasket failure, with lots of facts to back me up thanks to this board. He has already replaced the radiator and thermostat, but agrees to look into head gasket failure. To make a long story not quite so long (it's already pretty darn long, sorry!), the dealer's mechanic discovers exhaust gas traces in the coolant, agrees there's a head gasket failure, and replaces them. He also replaces the water pump, and sends the engine off to a machine shop to get the gasket edges resurfaced (or whatever it is the machine shop does when you're replacing head gaskets). Tonight (about 3 weeks after the "incident") the car was delivered to me, and the loaner car was taken back. The Forester runs superbly now. I am totally grateful to you all on this board--if not for you, I would never have known about the head gasket problems and would not have told the dealer to check into it! I am really lucky to have found this board, and a dealer with such a high sense of integrity--he had no legal responsibility to pay for any of this work, but he did, and he delivered the car to me, 7 hours away, for free. Thank you all!

I recently purchased a 98 Forester (on eBay, and about 20 miles after picking it up I deduced the head gaskets were blown, but that's another story... with a happy ending thankfully). I can't seem to get the foglights to come on. I have the lowbeams on, but when I press the foglight button on the dash to the left of the steering wheel nothing happens. In the owners manual it looks like the button itself should light up, and the foglights should come on, but neither happens. Is this a wiring problem, do I simply need a new bulb, or is it something else? From what I understand the OEM fogs are pretty worthless anyway, but if it's a simple/cheap fix I might as well do it. Thanks for any help!

You won't need to take the head unit out to connect an FM-modulated changer. Or am I missing something?

Paladin_W was right--it's the factory keyless entry programming button, not an aftermarket switch. Subarus with the "code alarm" keyless entry all have that switch somewhere hidden under the dash. The vehicles with that system are: Impreza 1996-2001 Legacy 1995-1999 Forester 1998-2000 For a small diagram of the button location and instructions on how to program the keyless entry to it, go here: http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#code%20alarm

Wow, thanks for all the advice everyone! It definitely sounds like the resistor pack; I'll probably try to change just that first, and if it fails again I'll replace the whole thing. Now if only there was a Chilton's or Haynes manual for the Forester, I'd feel a whole lot more comfortable attacking this repair... Incidentally, is the resistor pack a part of the blower motor? For example, if I were to replace the whole blower motor would this take care of the resistor problem as well, or am I looking at two distinct parts?

I recently purchased a 98 Forester (I'll keep my fingers crossed that the gasket won't blow...). The only noticeable problem is that the heater/AC fan only operates when turned to the '4' (highest) setting. Do you think this is a problem with the fan switch, the blower motor, or something else? Does anyone have any experience fixing this problem? Thanks!!