mtbe

I have my records of talking with the dealer in 2000 about this issue. Of course, they couldn't duplicate it. I now have a 99 Forester with 113K and of course out of warrenty so they will not replace it even though I started this one year into my having the car. Go figure..... How much should I expect this to take out of my pocket?

Pressure in tires in Indianapolis was slightly above 30lbs. This is when we heard the noise the second time. The Subaru dealer did say the pressure was low in the tires, filled them up and did not hear the sound the first time. But the pressure was above 30 in Indy and we heard and felt the same noise. It did not seem that the transmission was 'bogged' down either.

Thanks again cookie. Looks like I'll be needing to replace it soon anyway. Even with the clutch in all the way (sometimes even needing to 'double' clutch), it will 'catch' in 1st and reverse. Maybe just tightening the cable will fix this for a shoort period of time?

Not really a grinding. More like a 'umph'. 99 Forester S. Driving from Chicago to Cols, Oh, stopped in Indiana for lunch. When starting in motion with wheels turned, there was a definate 'umph...umph...umph' sound from front pass wheel area. We could also feel it in the steering column. I did not hear this when wheels were straight. Only heard when turning, forward and reverse. I was only in first gear and was to nervous to drive it fast. It was like the wheel got stuck and then would 'give'. Went ahead and got it towed to the closest Subaru dealer and they took a look at it. Nothing. Wouldn't you know Murphy's Law would interfere? Drove it around for them and everything and still nothing. Went ahead and drove to Indianapolis and and soon as we slowed down (and turned into a parking spot), we heard and felt it again. Drove around the parking lot, and heard and felt the same noise again...only when turning. Again, did not drive fast. By this time it was very late in the evening so we decided to press our luck and continue to Columbus. In Columbus, we did not hear it. Will take to dealer, but have not heard the sound today. Any ideas? Only when hot (driven for a while)? Ball joint, CV joint, tie rod, bearing??????

So: Was this a problem with all of them? Did Subaru have a recall that I missed? Did they improve the clutch and it's up to me to replace? Thanks cookie for all your responses

Hey Cookie, I started another posting about this. Had the problem since day one and the dealer could not duplicate, so no fix. There use to be a Subaru posting page where I found others with the same problem and they could not get Subaru to fix. MTBE

A looooong time ago, in an internet posting site, far far away.... There use to be a Subaru posting site several years ago. One posting (several acutally) about problems with 98-99 Forester Manual transmissions, "bucking" when cold. Several people had this problem that had posted. I had (still have) the same issue. I've been gone the last several winters, so haven't kept up on any issues. Anybody else have the same issue? Any fixes out there? I did try the dealer route but the dealer "couldn't duplicate the problem". Of course.

My 99 Forester S Manual sucks in the winter. It bucks in 1st and 2nd, and sometimes 3rd, when cold. Usually the first 30-45 minutes of driving. The first 30-45 minutes suck of each day. After that Winter's a blast.