JGromada

I had the original head gasket go up on me at 120K, the car now has 170K. I had a real good mechanic do this for me so I am sure what ever made sense he did. I really need to get the car up on jack stands and take a close look which i will do shortly as it has a code requiring a new Oxygen sensor. Thanks for the great advice. I would like to see this car continuing to be used because despite its mileage, the body and paint are in great shape and the interior leather is great as well. If i can just resolve these series of small problems: oil leaks, tailgate jamming, occasional hard start it is a great car to own. I don't owe anything on it, its never nickel and dimed me to death and come winter it is always superb. I have really come to appreciate Subaru for building a fine auto. It seems funny that there is always a large contingent of people that love the quirky 80s cars while I am really liking the new stuff they are doing, but can't necessarily afford that. This board is great and has helped me immensely without any pompous personalities that I see on other boards. (I belong to a couple of BMW boards as well)

Hatch on my 98 OBW is getting stuck. Ok this has happened twice now. First time i removed enough of the door panel so i could see the latch. Then i used a screwdriver to push down on the latch and the wagen hatch would open. Any advice? I assume this will get worse. Any lubrication recommended? Or a pre-emptive replacement? Thanks in advance. 3 of 4 minor issues going on right now. I guess to be expected as car has 170K!

I saw this on a Harley Davidson T-shirt once: My Harley doesn't leak oil, its just marking its spot! Ok then my 98 OBW (AT 170K mi) is marking its spot! (OIL) Any advice on where these 2.5 L engines tend to leak from, any easy fixes or is everything a major job? Thanks in advance.

hi sorry i was away this past week. But it was cool out and my daughter was using the car. No problems encountered. i had cleaned the battery and starter terminals. I will report back when i have some more information. thanks everyone!

so let me make sure I understand. its the contacts inside the starter that go bad within a year? But these can be replaced right? let me search and see if there is a procedure written up in here someplace. It seems kind of crappy if a starter gives out within a year.

thank you everyone, you've given me some stuff to go look at. the last thing in the world i wanted to do was have a mechanic just throwing stuff at it when these are all things I can personally deal with.

My only question is why when it won't start will jumping it get it to start right away?

I think this falls in line with the majority of other Japanese cars in terms of styling. I think Subaru has gotten more conservative if anything in their styling. The horse collar design of a few years back seems to have been abandoned (thankfully). That being said I think the front grille area is very attractive. I know some may find it bland and it is a matter of personal taste. I'm still not a big fan of the interior center console design. Way too gimmicky. I much prefer most BMWs in this regard.

Wow i would have thought a rebuilt starter would have new contacts in it. There is less than 10,000 mi since i replaced the original starter with a rebuilt one. When the car doesn't start I don't hear anything, no click from the solenoid or anything. Its not like I hear the starter either. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ my only question about this is why does it start up right away then if i do a jump start? Where is this inhibit switch located? thanks btw

one little tidbit i forgot to mention. Car has 170,000 mi on it and currently has a code for Oxygen sensor that i need to deal with. Don't think the Ox sensor is related.

This board has been great to me so let's try again. I have a 98 OBW (AT). I had a problem with starting which i eventually solved with a new (rebuilt) starter. I have an occasional starting problem which seems a little different. Last year when i had my problems I replaced both the starter and battery (Sears Diehard). Up until recently its been fine, but recently it seems to have a problem if i try to restart. I went to an autoparts place and they did a starting/charging analysis for me. i attached the printout. It basically told me a few things: The battery has good voltage and proper CCA The charging system is working ok There is nothing that is draining the battery Battery voltage does not drop down too far when starting So i am left with a slightly defective starter, but i tried to see if something else might be the problem. I noticed that the non-start seems to be more common if the car was just driven. Too much heat for the battery? BTW even when it won't start battery voltage seems ok. But no click or anything. Now here's the thing the car will start if i jumpstart it! go figure Anyone else with any ideas? or if you have another question let me know and i will try and answer it. thanks Right now it seems like this car is not totally reliable although it will always start with a jump or if i let it sit long enough. On a cool day it seems like i can run an errand and it will restart ok. But if its hot like it has been much more of a problem.

Ok I thought I would post this to let you know how this turned out. After I read Nipper's response I took the car over to my local Valvoline Quick lube place. (I like them BTW because they never oversell, the mgr tells me they are not on commission which is the reason) They had a free checkout which essentially means they take the existing refrigerant out of the system and measure it. In my case there was like .1kg left or basically nothing. My refrigerant was gone and the Mgr who did the work was real familiar with Subarus and he tells me that the AC on Subarus are generally quite good and this is probably a leak. End of free test. The next step is to put a vacuum on the system and see if it holds for 5 min. It did. So that means nothing major wrong. (he had done a quick visual first as well) Next he put a measured amount of refrigerant into the system along with a fluorescent dye. The dye allows it to be checked with a black light. Started it up and the car started getting cold (Compressor is good!) , but right away a leak is visible at the high side of the Compressor (didn't even need a black light for that) He did black light test the rest of the lines, but didn't find anything. So he replaced a little tiny O-ring and showed me the old one that had split. Charged up the system and then did a temperature test. Ambient air temperature and the criteria is at least 20 degree differential, but he said a good system will do much, much better than that. Sure enough mine got down to 48 degrees(!) So I was out the door for a grand total of $110. Kudos to the Valvoline place (Ellicott City) for not only fixing my Subaru's AC, but also explaining the process every step of the way. (I can be such a pain in the butt). He also mentioned that a small amount of refrigerant dissipates from the system every year. So I learned my lesson, unless you have access to a machine like that it is cheaper and easier to have someone else take care of your AC.

thank you , i will look for a qualified shop

but wait nipper based on what legacy777 said doesn't that point to an electrical problem since the it appears there should be power to engage the ac clutch yet nothing happens. I mean unless if there is no freon then somehow the clutch won't engage. I just am not sure how this works.

Thanks. Ok i just did that. No it does not appear like the clutch is engaging. BTW I did check the 10A fuse for the AC while i was in there and that looks ok. and i guess there are 4 relays as well. Ok where do I go to next to troubleshoot this? thanks

never properly closed this out. I finally did replace starter. A rather simple job I might add. and everything has been perfect since. thanks all!

First i did search though old threads and didn't find the answer to my questions so i will post. My AC just died, blows warm air. Here is what I know: The dash light come on. Does this necessarily mean the switch itself is ok? or is this a bad presumption? The belt for the AC is intact. I don't know how to tell if the ac clutch is engaging. I see the connection on top of the compressor (3 connections) . Are there any voltage checks i can do to see that the AC clutch is engaging? can i probe directly on that connector? I am thinking that if the clutch is engaging and there is no cooling then i have one of two problems; a bad compressor or a leak on one of the lines. Is there some way to verify a bad compressor? (without gauges) I read about a technique to check for leaks with soapy water. I have done that with propane gas lines. Any particular places to look first? Assuming i have a leak how much time do i have roughly before I need to assume the drier will need to be replaced too? Recommendations on types of repair places. ie. avoid the chains for instance Too many questions? thanks, this site has helped me immeasurably. Joe

I never did a proper followup email on this. I removed the fuse and the problem cleared up. Went and changed fluid twice and it was a BIG help with the torque bind. Had the transmission flushed by Dorsey Transmission in MD. (highly recommended) and now I have not had a problem in over 6 months! Thanks for all the excellent advice I received. All right on the mark. BTW Dorsey Transmission checked out the levels in the rear differential on the lift and found it to be low. They topped it off for the cost of the fluid.

hey great photo on that last post! I checked it out yesterday and that boot is very loose and the terminals look really dirty. i will pull out the starter and clean it all up and see what happens. Thanks all! Just one other question: That interlock switch that ensures that the transmission is not in gear in order to start; where is that located?

With the battery based on a previous mechanic who looked at it I bought a battery so it could not be any question about it. So battery and its terminals are good.

I have a 98 OBW AT w/ 143K. I have been experiencing starting problems similar to those noted by other people over past month. It Almost always happens early morning & when it is cool and when damp seems to be much more of a problem. Went to a mechanic early on and got zero help with him pointing me to the battery. It sounds an awful lot like that starter terminal clips problem that has been posted. Oh and btw the battery & its terminal is definitely ruled out (new battery plus it does the same thing on a jump). Generally after a few tries it would start so no big deal right? Here's todays issue. Today was chilly lower 50s and very damped as it rained last night. Went to start, almost immediately partially start and then stopped. Still heard clicking but would not turn over. Did this 7 or 8 times and then eventually got it to start. But the sound was horrendous!! It ran like this for 15 min and then eventually smoothed out to normal. Its almost like the starter did not disengage! So from this I am thinking starter solenoid or some other problem with starter. Any thoughts. When i first got it started this morning and I heard that terrible sound I let it run for a minute and then tried to turn it off. But car would not stop, it kept running with key off (dieseling) whats this all about? I think this is related to my starting issues (hope so). After this whole mess I got back home and let is sit half hour and it seemed to start normally and also no dieseling. I have not had any starter experience on this car but have had tremendous help on this Board. (USMB is terrific!) so i have a bunch of questions for the experienced: How hard is it to get to the starter/starter solenoid? Do i need to have it on jack stands? Can't find any good pictures anywhere to help me. Is the solenoid actually part of the starter? I tried looking about a price on it by itself and was running into a blank. Doesn't seem to make sense. Does it sound with my latest problem that the starter is most likely the culprit and the fact the problem is so serious mean I should definitely replace it. Is the dieseling related to all this? Did I somehow damage my flywheel today if in fact the starter was running continuosly? Any other posts/information I should be aware of? I am moderately mechanically inclined (repl struts for instance), but don't have indoor space like a garage to work. I am trying to balance limited time to work on this with the need to have the car available all at minimum cost. (dont we all?) Thanks in advance to the Board and all you helpful people out there, Joe

Someone mentioned on that torque bind problem about the fuse. Yes I had done that and it seemed to clear the problem which led me to getting the flush done. This board is amazing for getting suggestions & resolution to problems.

That looks exactly like my car! I have slightly less mileage than that but its funny how common these cars are. I have had mine for 6 years or so and I have learned first hand about certain problems that have happened to me. It has been a good car just hasn't lived up to the legendary Subaru reliability. 1. Has the head gasket been replaced? Undoubtedly it will have by this time or if not you will be looking at doing it. Mine went at 95k, even with good maintenance and I learned with this vintage Subaru and this particular engine (2.5) it is an issue. Evidently there were issues with the head gasket design that have forced the redesign of the head gasket numerous times. and btw when changing the coolant there is this special additive that needs to go in the radiator. 2. With an auto the ATF is also used by the transaxle and I got a slow speed shudder going around corners. The correct term is torque bind but it feels like you are dragging the car's inside rear whell through the corner (which essentially you are!). A power flush of the AT fixed the problem. 3. Make sure you get that camshaft belt changed or ensure it has been changed. Mine was done with the head gasket. I am going through problems starting at the moment which i think are due to the starter solenoid or starter itself. Not resolved yet. Good luck with your dealings! Joe

Thank you all for your very prompt and helpful suggestions! I think I learned quite a bit from these posts: First get some real penetrating oil rather than the WD-40 i had I may have the wrong bolts that i am trying to deal with. The Scooby mods instructions seem to be slightly different than my OB and another set of notes said 12 oclock and 5 so that is where i got the idea that these were the right ones (anyone got a definitive picture of an OB brake setup ?) I've done this before on an old BMW so i'm not a total newby but i got the impression the goal here was to remove the caliper so the pads would slide out. I may eventually opt for an electric impact wrench like Virrdog provided the link for (thanks) I think maybe turning the wheel might be a little helpful. I am still a little concerned about the rotor. i can feel a good groove on the rotor with my fingernail. Is this a real problem? and about rotors the local PartsAmerica quoted me $45 a piece for repl rotors. Junk or ok? thanks all! I went to Sears and got my 17 mm replaced. (they are good about that!) Joe

I was ready to go on a front brake pad repl. between the info here and a good illustrated how-to on scooby mods, but ran into some problems doing a brake job on a 98 Outback. At like the very first step you must remove the two bolts that connect the caliper to the wheel strut assembly. (these are 17 mm rather than 14 the articles i had seen said) . I spent half and hour getting the top one loose using a combination of WD-40 and a breaker bar. Well on the second one the actual socket (original Craftsmen) cracked ending my day. (luckily i was at a point where car is still drivable) I am coming to the conclusion I need something other than hand tools for some of these bigger jobs. (or other recommendations) First some impact sockets! but my real question is do i need to go for a compresser/air wrench or will and electric one suffice? I would like some input here from some of the more experienced members. As for the brakes it looks like the pads are a little thin. (i was planning on just doing pads) and the discs look pretty good although there are some concentric grooves (just have 'em turned?) thanks to the group. :-\YOu all helped me out when i was having a torque bind problem which ultimately cleared up with an automatic tranny flush. Joe