mrCharlie

Thanks everyone for the input, that advice was pretty unanimous, and definitely helps make the decision easy. Given that my commute is mostly highway, I'm leaning toward performance snow tires so I don't compromise the dry handling/safety too much. I'll keep the chains in the back just in case things get really bad. We put a set of Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3Ds on my wife's FWD Saturn Astra last year- pretty impressive even in 12" of snow, and better than the OE Hankooks in the dry. Probably will go with a set of these mounted on cheapie steels from the Tire Rack, probably in the OE size to maintain decent dry performance.

Hello again everyone, it's been a while... Recently moved from my 99 LGT up to a 05 WRX Wagon, shortly after moving from Ohio to Rhode Island. I've run snow tires in the past back when I used to have BMWs, which turned them from undrivable in the snow to pretty decent. When I got the GT, it was good enough to get by with all seasons in the winter (at least as far as not getting stuck). Ohio snow tended to not be too terribly deep or too terribly frequent, though the part of Ohio I was in tended not to clear the roads very effictively. Now, I'm commuting from Pawtucket, RI to Worcester, MA, which is about 35 miles, mostly on a divided state highway. As a former Ohioian, the amount of snow we get in this area (especially Worcester) is a bit intimidating, though I've been told the roads get taken care of up here. So, my question- should I invest in a set of snow tires for the WRX, or is it an overkill? The car came with Continental performance all seasons of some sort, which rate 7.6 on Tire Rack for snow traction, and I have a set of chains if things get too bad. Anyone familiar enough with this area too confirm the roads are actually taken care of? And should I expect this car to be similar to my old GT when it comes to winter driving? Thanks for the advice!

Well, here's what killed my engine: That idler pulley also explains why things were getting so loud up front. I ended up having the mechanic put a 108k 95 2.2 in the car. They found the engine, checked it over thoroughly, completely resealed it and did a full tuneup plus timing belt. They also put a clutch in while they had the engine out (which it needed), and radiator, which it also needed. It also seems like he fixed a few other little things that didn't make it on the bill, which I always appreciate. Total bill came to $2900, with $700 of that being labor. Expensive, but seems reasonable for everything. And now I have a great, solid car that should last at least another 100k. So far, the 2.2 feels great. It doesn't feel like I lost much power, but i think having a nice new clutch helps that (other wouldn't always grab right away). The only time I notice less power is on the highway, where it seems like I have to shift it a little more. Not a big deal though. I'll be driving to Chicago next week, so I hope to get a good idea of the gas mileage improvement then. I'll update when I do.

You guys were correct. The timing belt failed. I was glad to have been prepared for the news once I heard from the mechanic, it would have come as quite the shock otherwise. I'm not sure exactly what failed with it (I talked to the mechanic briefly.) The belt was supposedly replaced about 50k ago by the person I bought it from. I would guess the lesson to be learned here is not to trust that the previous owner did what they said without a receipt, or at least not to trust that they did the work correctly. He could have said the belt was done, and not have been dishonest by not replacing the pulleys, water pump, etc. It looks like the next step, as I determined by looking through the board and suggested by the mechanic, is to install a 2.2 in the car. The old engine used oil, so I don't think it's worth bothering with. The 2.2 should also (from what I can determine) get better gas mileage, which addresses one of the biggest reasons I was considering selling the car. As long as everything is good with the new engine, I'll look into fixing the rust in a few months so I can get a few more years out of the car. I should be getting an estimate today from the mechanic, who also suggests replacing the clutch while we have the engine out. He is looking for a good junkyard engine for it. Do you guys agree that is probably better than going for a rebuilt? What is a reasonable amount for all of this to cost? Thanks again!

Thanks for the help and advice everyone! No, I haven't been able to restart it at all since it initially stopped. Not really even a hint of restarting, just cranking. I'll try it again this evening. As for the fix or replace (if it was the timing belt), I definately have some mixed feelings. The car drove fairly well, but was starting to feel like it needs struts (getting bouncy) and the steering still doesn't feel right, like the JY steering rack I had installed isn't all that great. Some other issues too, like one of the connections on the radiator being cracked and leaky, probably needs an O2 sensor, and a bent rim that makes the steering wheel vibrate at speed. And the before-mentioned rust, which seems like it will need some attention before it gets out of hand. Plus some annoying but livable things, like a pitted windshield and headlights, and a drivers window that doesn't seal well. Obviously there are a ton of miles on everything, which makes me worry that I could install a rebuild engine only to have the transmission fail, or need a clutch, or whatever else I'm not thinking of. There is also a lot right with the car, like new and good tires, interior comfortable and in nice shape, AWD system that seems solid. It's also still winter and having AWD would be nice for a few more months. I really like the car, but I'm guessing replacing the engine will be kind of pricey, and getting other issues sorted out will be pretty expensive as well. I do have a lot into the car already, and would hate to not get (as mentioned) as much as I can out of what I've already put in. And a rebuilt engine would certainly take care of the oil consumption, and might help with the MPG. This will, of course, really only matter when I have a diagnosis from the mechanic of what actually went wrong.

Thanks for the help and advice. I have no way to know if the idlers and water pump were replaced with the timing belt. The car definitely seems to have suffered at the hands of previous owners, so it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't done correctly, or if it wasn't really done at all. I'm going to wait until the mechanic takes a look at the car before I really start to worry, but it seems like the feedback on here is pretty unanimous. I've had this weird feeling the last few weeks my car might be on its way out. Maybe with a bit of luck it will turn out to be something stupid like water in the gas. I'll keep this thread updated on what I find out, I know it really helps for people troubleshooting. The next issue is...if it is the timing belt, I have to decide if it's worth fixing. It's got a ton of miles on it, which wasn't a problem when I bought it. I only drove 5 miles to work, and had lots of time in the evenings to fix anything that went wrong. Now I drive 50 miles to work, and don't have the time to fix anything myself. I'm also getting rust in a few places, notably on the fender behind the filler tube, bottom of the driver door, and along the top of the windshield. I'm only averaging 22-24 MPG on the highway lately, and it goes through a lot of oil. So I don't see much of a future with the car, and I can't really see that I would get back the cost of fixing the engine if I fixed it and sold it. What do you guys think?

99 Legacy GT 2.5 5mt, 199,200. Worked fine on my 50-mile commute yesterday morning in the cold and snow, worked fine at lunch. Started normally in the evening, was okay for the first mile of start/stop on city streets. When I turned on to the highway entrance ramp, I heard some noise that sounded a bit like the brake rubbing or the tire hitting the snow in the wheel well. The car seemed to accelerate on to the highway without any problems, but as soon as I got up to speed (on an uphill) I very rapidly lost power, pulled to the side of the road, and the engine stopped. It cranked, though it seemed like it was slow after catching, but wouldn't restart. I rolled back to level ground (and off the highway), tried it several more times, but couldn't get the car to start. I keep a code scanner in my trunk, but it indicated nothing other than the usual P0420 (catalyst efficiency). I checked over the car, and nothing seemed out of place. Fluids were all okay, electrical accessories seemed to work as normal. I called AAA and had the car towed 50 miles to my usual indie Subie mechanic, which is near my house. This all happened after hours, and I still haven't been able to get in touch with the mechanic. I am kind of afraid they might still be closed for the holidays, which is definitely going to complicate everything for me. (Mechanic does okay work, prices are great, but they haven't proven themselves especially reliable for me). Anyway, since I'm stuck waiting until I hear from the mechanic, I'd like to see if anyone on here has any ideas of what could be going on with the car. All that I can think of is water in the gas. It only got up to around 20 yesterday, and I had just under 1/4 tank of gas. It's supposed to get above freezing tomorrow, so I think I'll stop by and give it a try tomorrow and see what happens. If it does work, is there any way to be sure that was the problem? What can I do to fix it? Other ideas from those who are smarter than me? Recent events with the car include an oil change two days ago (level looked okay, didn't notice low pressure light). I've also noticed the engine seems to be getting kind of loud (assorted groans and ticks, never consistently. Lots of noise in the morning), but that might have been pre oil change (old had about 9000 miles on it). Engine does use oil, top up every second or third fill up (have been experimenting with heavier synthetics, since I have a very long commute and don't want to change it every month- it also used dino when I used it). If it helps, my full maintenance log at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pzuC-awhzr19U9K-HqjMaIA&gid=0 Thanks!

My car is a manual, but yes, it likely is a long shot. Best of luck!

A very off chance that could help is the neural position switch. I replaced mine trying to track down a very frustrating stalling problem, and instantly cured my car of a lot of weird jerkiness and hesitation. It's not especially hard to replace or expensive (~$25), and easy enough to test (do a search or check a service manual for how, don't trust me--though my old one seemed to test okay). I don't suggest this as a first-line check, but it might be worth considering. My experience is that it was an obscure component which made no sense to be causing my problems, but apparently has some importance relating to throttle response and mixture, especially when the car is in open-loop mode (ie warmup and (I think) wide-open throttle). Before I replaced the switch, throttle response was very non-linear, almost like an on/off switch. Gas in and it would hesitate then surge, letting off the gas resulted in the RPMs falling too quickly, or stall if I was out of gear. When the car warmed up, all was pretty much fine. I don't floor it often enough to know how it behaved under those circumstances. Might be worth checking out- but I'm sure others will chime in with some more likely suspects.

Quick update... Today I finally got around to rotating the tires. Looks like the front tires have been causing the shaking problem. The front tires have been up front for about 6000 miles, and were in the back for the first 14,000 of their life. A few months ago one of the fronts ended up with a screw in it, which required getting it patched. So, I'm not sure if they died from wearing poorly up front, or from the screw and patch. Either way, I've ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S from Costco which should be in soon enough. At least a dying tire in the back seems a little safer than in the front, and it doesn't kill my hands.

I got these as well (based on suggestions from this board) for both my and my wife's car. My windshield is pitted enough to be practically sandblasted, and driving at night was getting dangerous- not any more! It's like taking a squeegee across the glass whenever it rains, but without much noise!

Looks like they listened to many of our suggestions... http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/FREE/70305003/1528

Rack was installed by small indie Subaru shop. Alignment was done at Firestone (mechanic's recommendation) the same day the rack was finished. I've had the car about one year. I bought the tires (Toyo Proxes 4) right after I got the car, so they have 20k miles/just under 1 year on them. I did a front/back rotation 6k/4-5 months ago, which at the time took some vibration out of the steering. They had a lot of miles up front, so that would make some sense about wear problems with the slop in the rack. Firestone did a courtesy check and measured the tires from 4/32-6/32. When I bought the tires, I did not have an alignment done as I planned to have the rack done right after that- but money and priorities delayed it until now. Additionally, one of the fronts was patched and rebalanced last month (screw dead center in the tread). The way the previous owner described the knuckles is more consistent with the parts that hold the wheel bearings. I've since learned the previous owner likes to buy run down Subarus, repair them, then sell them- so it is entirely possible he did replace them. He said there was a clunk in the steering and it needed a rack, but I can't say I ever felt it-just the dead band. The mechanic felt like the universal in the column was okay after he tightened it, and he thought everything else seemed okay. He also may not have taken to the highway, and it does feel fine around town. This is sounding more and more like the tires could be part of the problem, but I'm not fully convinced that they are the only problem. The rotors are pretty new (10k/6 mo) but I won't say they aren't part of the problem. What does strike me as odd is the "floatiness" I feel when I brake-almost like the car wants to rock forward. I've also had tires w/broken belts before and know they car be just plain weird. I'll try rotating and see if there is ANY change in the way it acts. Think I'll have the mechanic look it over too before I invest in more tires (thinking Michelin Pilot Exaltos this time, $500 installed at Costco).

99 Legacy GT 5MT, 176k, former rust-belt car. Earlier this week I had the steering rack replaced. The steering essentially had a 1-2" dead spot off center, low resistance and little reaction. The dead spot has been there since I bought the car. The car also felt sloppy in corners and would wander left and right on straight highway, and the dead spot required pretty big wheel movements to correct it. Hitting bumps, even squarely, would almost jerk the wheel from my hands. The person I bought it from included a junkyard rack with the car, which is the rack I had installed. He previously replaced the "steering knuckles" which I assume meant the universal joints in the column. My mechanic tightened some bolts on the u-joints, and fought with a lot of rusty bolts, but eventually got the rack installed. I then had it aligned. The steering is now very tight. Its comfortably heavy, at least in my opinion- right where I like it. The car responds to the smallest of wheel movements. However, additional problems have shown up in the days after the rack was replaced. These may have been present all along, but the dead spot in the steering could have been masking them. Most of my trouble has to do with vibration. I used to have a little vibration on a cold morning which seemed to go away when the car warmed up. Now it is ever-present and shakes the wheel constantly as I go down the highway. It's pretty mild up to about 55-60mph, and then gets very bad as speeds go up. The car tracks straight, but If I let the wheel go the car quickly drifts left or right. Tramlining is mild but I did find one bad section of highway that upset it. It also seems throttle sensitive- the vibration lessens when I'm on the throttle. If I let off the throttle, especially at highway speeds, the vibrations worsen. If I hit the brakes (pads/rotors 10k/6mo ago) it gets much worse. It used to stop so strong and true, now it's almost scary. Its weird, because it seems like the steering remains heavy but the car feels like its floating while I stop. First thing I will check is wheel balance by rotating tires and seeing if anything changes. After that, from what I've read here, I'm leaning toward dead control arm bushings. This car has seen a lot of salt and it seems to have been driven hard, and our brick streets can't be easy on suspension parts. I'll crawl under there this weekend and see how they look, and maybe have my wife help me with the parking lot test. Any suggestions from those more wise than I on what it could be, or what I should look for? I will probably be taking to my mechanic for the actual work, but I'd like some thoughts first. Could there have been something messed up installing the rack or doing the alignment? If it is the bushings, am I better off just buying new arms which have the bushings already installed? The price difference doesn't seem to be too much. Thanks in advance! <-- (how my steering wheel looks right now )

oops...stupid back button. Mods please delete.