captainehh

I'd just like to add a quick note and say that I've been driving my 97 Outback in FWD mode for over 50,000 miles due to a torque bind issue and things have been flawless.

I'm not sure if they'll fit or not. However, i sure am interested in the possibility. I hope someone out there knows the answer!

Sweet man- How hard was it to set up the hood on your legacy? I like the look.

Referring back the the bulletproof nature of the 2.2L motor- Is the 2.2 still in the new Legacy wagons? If not, to what year did Subaru stop. For example- if i looked at a 99 Legacy wagon- will it have the 2.2 or 2.5?

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not planning on punting yet. Thought i'd get a consensus for what the options are out there though.

Interesting- So it sounds like there's not any variance in the 2.5's from 96-99?

Since nobody has really chimed in with a definitive answer, does this pretty much mean that no other engine besides the Phase I 2.5 were offered in 96-99 Outbacks?

Commuter- Please elaborate on your CCR engine comment. Are you implying that this is probably what my car has, or are you saying this is what I should look for? What's a CCR engine?

Hey all, I'm the current owner of a 97 OBW and thus far have been fairly happy with the car aside from a few repairs. However, I'm aware this car has the Phase I engine notorious for head gasket probs as well as sneaky leaks. I'ts also got the infamous 4EAT auto tranny. I must admit I'm a sucker for the Outback's looks. What I'm after is: If I were to sell my current rig due to a sneaking suspicion of expensive problems down the road; is there a more reliable Outback out there for under 10 grand? For example, were other engines besides the Phase I offered in these cars? I hope I'm not beating a dead horse with this one. Thanks!

If you do a search under "Head Gasket", you'll find a ton of responses and good literature on the subject.....and ultimately insight into your problem.

Thanks for the thought- I've done that actually. I recently re-measured with better equipment and they're all actually within a 1/4" of eachother. The saga continues.....

yep, swapped out the front diff fluid and it looked fine. All this is very intrigueing because the tranny was overhauled 15k ago and the normal culprits in the 4EAT were replaced.

Thanks for the replies guys- I've got a bit of an update on the situation. I'm a poor/extremely busy grad student that hasn't been able to get the time or money to address the torque bind issue until now. I drove my sube down from OR to the bay area just recently. I gambled and drove it in FWD most of the way. I did a little test and put it in AWD for a portion of the trip. The seat-of-your pants shudder is still there when making sharp turns at slow speeds. Also, after about fifty miles of 70mph driving, when I let off the gas to coast, a grrrphhwerrrrrggghhhh noise came from the tranny trunnel. This noise occurred only after driving for a while and only above 45 mph when coasting. Worrysome. The noise left when i reinstalled the FWD fuse. I'm not sure of accident's extent. The allignment couldn't be more perfect though. I'll re-check the tire circumfrence now that i'm in a place with better tools. Swapping out 4 quarts of syn ATF fluid for Mopar ATF + 4 helped somewhat. I was sorta thinking that too. The fact that i should get all the fluid flushed and replaced instead of just adding 4 quarts of the new stuff. Does this noise happening in a coast- -at-high speed situation give any more insight into the prob? I love the car and really hope to nail the bugs so i can sleep at night. Thanks and merry christmas!

Just wanted to throw this thread out there again. I'm a bit surprised I didn't get more feedback. Anybody have any final comments on driving for extended periods of time with the FWD fuse installed? Alias- you seemed to think that you shouldn't drive more than 30 mph with the fuse in. Whats the logic behind this?

Here's the attachment tranny text.txt