mrCharlie

I replaced the filler tube and shut-off valve. It was a pain, even getting the parts was a pain- the shut-off valve was on national back order, after the guy filling in for Jason at Auburn had to call Subaru to even get a part number. Once I got all the parts, it took a few hours to install. I had to drill out all of the completely-rusted screws. The old filler tube seemed to be a little longer than the new one where it went in the rubber hose for the tank, and I couldn't get it to budge enough to get it out of the rubber hose. My car does have a dent in the corner behind the filler, which might have made this harder than it would be normally. I ended up having to cut the old filler tube to get it out. I broke through the rust to plug the tube (so I wouldn't end up with sparks or metal filings in my gas tank). All I have is a dremel tool, so the cutting took some time. Anyway, I really don't want to have to do this again, ever. As soon as I confirm that everything is working right, I have the idea to maybe fill the everything under the plastic shield with expanding urethane foam. Anyone think this will work, or think I might have problems because of it? It might make it a pain if I ever have to work on it again, but if it's filled with foam instead of mud, I might have to work on it again... Thoughts?

I'll check out the fluid and belt this evening. I'm not sure what kind of condition the pump is in, but I'll look it over. If it does look like the rack is the problem...how hard is it to replace? Is this something I can do myself, or should I stop being cheap and pay someone to do it? Since I have a junkyard rack, the only real risk is my time, as long as installation doesn't cause collateral damage. My skill level=novice with decent set of ratchets and wrenches, and I usually do okay if I have instructions. The only big hesitation I have is that I live in a small town, so if I break anything it's at least 50 miles to the nearest dealer, and I'm kind of on my own during the process.

My car has been having an odd problem for the last few weeks. 99 Legacy GT 2.5 Limited Sedan, 5MT, 170,000 mi. Since I bought it back in March, the steering has always been very light for about 1/4 turn each direction off center. It works fine, just it's very light with little resistance, before it gets to a point that feels "right" to me. The guy I bought it from said he replaced the steering knuckles, which didn't help, and was going to next replace the rack. He actually gave me a used rack so that I could have it installed, local Subie mechanic wants $200 or so to install, but so far I've spent most of my car maintenance budget trying to track down a stalling problem. Lately, it seems like the steering effort keeps changing while I'm driving. It goes from the overly-light on center it has been since I got the car, to almost feeling like I have no power steering at all. It changes back and forth within a matter of minutes, and sometimes stays one way or another for a while. Speed does not seem to make any difference in how it acts.. It also seems to be exaggerating road imperfections, the wheel sometimes pulls to one side or the other. Is it time to finally have that rack installed, or should I try looking at the joints and bushings in the steering column first? I've had the odd theory it could even be the speed sensor, since I know some cars will vary the boost or ratio depending on speed (plus it's a long-shot for my stalling problem). Any thoughts from those much more knowledgeable than I? Thanks!

It wouldn't surprise me if it was rusted through, at least a little- parts of it definitely looked damp. I think I'm going to make a point of replacing the fuel filter too, who knows what kind of crap has made its way into my tank from this.

Took the shield off this evening. Looks like a call to Jason at Auburn tomorrow-I think I might need a new filler pipe This is from right behind the filler door/cap: View from under the car:

Thanks- must have missed that thread when I searched before posting. I'll definitely check it out. Anyone had this problem in connection with drivability issues?

My car began to occasionally give me the P0440/evap control code about one month ago. I tried tightening the cap without success. When I had it in to the mechanic to give me his opinion on my ongoing P1507 saga (detailed at http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=61473&highlight=p1507), he cleaned up the rust around the filler cap a put little lube on it. That kept the light off for a couple of days, but it quickly came back. I replaced the gas cap with a new subie one about a week ago, which kept the light off until yesterday. Something I've noticed in the last month or so, since I began getting the evap cel, was that the car bucks and stutters during steady cruising for the first couple of minutes right after I fill it up. It does this almost every time, then it's pretty smooth until I fill it up again. It's also seems like the gas pump has been clicking off short of filling pretty often when I get gas. It usually ends up somewhere between 3/4 and full, but quite often it fills. I'm pretty sure it isn't just the gauge when this happens, and my MPG calculations usually confirm that. I never top off and I don't smell any gas. I've also noticed lately I can hear (I think) gas in the tank sholshing around whenever I stop hard or take a low speed corner. This might have always been like this, I really don't know. I' think I've seen it mentioned that I should be hearing suction released whenever I take the cap off- I do not. One odd thing that ties into my other CEL/ideling/stalling problem. I noticed when I replaced the cap that the car began idleing a lot better than it has. I've consistently had a problems with the idle dipping really low when I come to a stop, then bouncing back up- replacing the cap seems to have made that stop. It also seems smoother now when I let the gas off than it used to (instead of bucking). It does continue to stall on me sometimes when I come to a stop (and throw the P1507), and that has actually gotten pretty bad in the last week. Stalled earlier making a left turn and the again coming to a stop from speed. Since I've not been having much luck tracking that problem down, I'm going to try and slove this one and hope it could be related. Any ideas on what I need to look at? Thanks!

Every BMW I've owned ('80, '89 5-series, '86 3-series) or have been around has had a full spare. Usually a matching alloy for that matter. Of course, for what you pay for a (new) BMW... I'm seriously considering upgrading the donut in my Legacy, I've really grown accustomed to knowing I have a real tire back there if I ever need it.

Okay, so, lots more done to the car since last update. It's running pretty well except for the P1507 & stalling. I replaced the cold air intake with the stock assembly, and replaced the MAF & coil pack with used parts. I also cleaned the throttle body, and cleaned up most of the grounding screws that I could find (and coated the with di-electric grease). Since the problems have persisted, I took the car to a local Subaru mechanic. He spent a few hours checking it over, testing, etc but had no luck finding anything that could be causing my stalling problem. He did find my alternator had a failing bearing (loud!), and replaced the alt with a Subie rebuilt for around $125 installed. Anyway, the mechnic seems okay but I do wonder a little (he suggested Bosch +4 plugs and BP gas). Mechanic also cleaned up rust around the filler cap which was causing a code (P0440). As I said, it's running very well now except for the stalling. The CEL symptoms have changed a little. Now, the light generally only comes on when I push in the clutch when coming to a stop. It still generally happens about 5-10 minutes in, usually in the morning or when it's very wet out. Does not do it every time. I've also noticed, under similar circumstances when it does not stall or throw a CEL, the idle dips well below 500 with clutch in coasting to a stop. All I can figure out to do is a new battery (mine has been crusty around the terminals lately, and might be the original- so I am concerned). I've also seen here on the board (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63050&highlight=1507+neutral) that my neutral postion switch could be the problem. Any insight on this? How hard is this to install? Any other thoughts?

Gil, sorry for the delay, here finally is a pic of my car with the thule rack: As far as cost goes, I really can't be sure, I've had the rails and bike holders on two other cars over the past five years. The feet are different depending on the car they are going on (gutters, no gutters, etc), and each type of feet have a different fit kit to make them fit exactly on a given car. I'm lucky in that a good friend of mine owns a bike shop and I've gotten all of it throgh him, parts on barter. The parts I had to pay for were still pretty pricey, even at my discount. It certainly wouldn't hurt to check eBay.

I think there was a recall on the master cylinder for cold weather problems, although the description I can find says the pedal will go to the floor in cold weather. Might be worth looking into. You can register at my.subaru.com, which will tell you if the recall has been performed on your car (if you bought it used and don't know). If the recall hasn't been done on your car, well, free master cylinder and brake bleeding. More info at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/RepositoryFiles.cfm?module=RECALLS&IfsDocId=99V040

I found it suprizing, and I realize that milage is a really variable thing... but it was an immediate and drastic drop, and taking it off lead to my mileage going back up immediately where it should be. My car is a sedan and not a wagon, which could have made a difference. My friend had the same experience with the deflector on his BMW sedan, but it wasn't as drastic of a drop for him. The deflector came from my friend with the BMW, so there could be something about the particular one. Hopefully it was an anomaly, I might try again in the future.

Not that it answers your question, but I lost about 8-10mpg on the highway when I put a deflector on my Thule rack. It did cut the noise down and looked great, but that's just too big of a penalty for me. You mileage may vary...(sorry)

I have a Thule roof rack on my 99 Legacy GT sedan. I mostly use it for bike transporting. I rather like how it looks...downside is that it's pretty noisy, and I lost a sold 8 mpg when I put a wind deflector on the car. No drilling required, it has rubber pads and feet. Comes right off in a few minutes, but I leave it on. I'll take/post a pic when I get home.

I've been chasing this same thing for the last few months-and unfortunately, I don't have an answer yet. I think I've narrowed mine down to a MAF fouled by the cold air intake and new (crappy) cone filter installed right before the problem started. I've finally tracked down the factory intake assembly which I should probably have later this week, and I have a used MAF to install when the intake gets here. If you have a K&N type filter or cold air intake, you might want to look at that as a possibility. I've found a lot of info researching this problem, and that seems to be a fairly consistent cause. I have replaced the IAC, temp sensor, coil, plugs, plug wires in the process of tracking the problem down, but so far they haven't helped. MPG is also down on my car lately. I've found this to be a pretty frustrating thing to troubleshoot, since on my car at least, its intermittent enough that I think I've fixed it and then it comes back. Good luck!

Anyone know when they added these from the factory? I'm wondering if my 99 has one.

I just found out it's been sold. Oh well...feel free to reply if you happen to know, might help someone else with the same question in the future.

Stupid question-I suspect I know the answer, but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway- Does anyone happen to know if I could use the catalytic convertors from a 2002 OBW in my 99 Legacy GT 2.5? Someone on Craigslist local to me is selling the entire exhaust for $100, cats and all, and I was thinking I should check it out. Yes, I know that buying used catalysts isn't exactly legal, etc, but it's the only way I can afford to replace it. I am pretty sure the cat is bad on my car. I used to get P0420 all of the time, and the mechanic I took it to a while back told me the inside of the front cat was broken apart and rattling. P0420 hasn't come back for a while, but I also keep having to reset codes chasing another problem down, so I don't think it has had the chance to run the right number of cycles to test the cat. I do have a scan tool,I could reset it indefinitely so I don't have to stare at the light, and I don't like in an emissions-testing area. I'd rather make it right if I can do so affordably, and get rid of the annoying rattle from the broken cat I have now. Thanks!

I'm running a set of Toyo Proxes 4 on my 99 Legacy GT. I've been very pleased with overall grip and handling so far. I believe they are V or W rated. They seem really good for the money too, at around $350 for the set installed. Haven't had them in the snow yet- mixed reviews out there. I've run snow tires on all my previous cars, but they were also RWD BMWs which could barely move when it snowed. These might be good enough for the occasional snow we get when mixed with AWD, at least to get going.

I just got done installing PBR Metal Masters plus (non-slotted/drilled) Brembo discs all around on my 99 Legacy GT. I think it may be the best money I've ever spend on a car. I hated the brakes before- mushy pedal, not a lot of power. Granted, the old ones weren't looking or sounding very good, but my car went from mediocre brakes to having some of the best I've ever used, better than my Dad's M5. Lots of power, feel, and modulation- I'm very pleased. My driving is spirited at times, but normally I just want to be able to dodge the local wildlife if the need arises, and these seem to be great for both. Got them from http://www.autohausaz.com/. $250 for everything, free shipping, ordered Friday had them Monday. Was very pleased buying from them.

I'm a bit new to Subaru myself, so somebody correct me if I'm mistaken here, but shouldn't that vintage of the 2.5 have the head gasket replaced with the updated version? Is it recommended to be done preventatively, or only if symptoms start to show? The one in my car has been done, just curious... 85-325e: The waterpump on the e30/e34 is probably the low point of BMW engine design. One of them on my old 325es only went for a year after being changed before it decided to spit coolant all over the place, and parts/labor ran over $350. Not missing the 60k belt/waterpump interval, but missing the inline-6 smoothness...

Haven't cleaned the throttle body yet. I'll give that a try. Just use throttle body cleaner on it, right? Thanks for the tip on the coil, I'll have that tested when I get the chance.

That speaks well to the possibility of the correct intake fixing the problem, a number of those components are attached directly to it. Here's hoping, I'm getting tired of buying parts.

Well, I spoke too soon apparently. P1507 followed by stalling has hit me the last few mornings. To summarize so far: • Light comes on around five minutes into my morning drive. Car stalls as soon as I stop. I turn it off and restart, and it's fine the rest of the day. This happens every couple of days. I even tried changing my commute for a more gradual warm-up, but it didn't help. The problems are only every in the morning, but not every morning. If I start it in the afternoon, even when it sits overnight, it works fine. • I've lost a few MPG in the same time frame as the stalling. Was getting 26-30 mixed highway/city, at least. Now I seem to be averaging only 20-22 mixed. I'm not really driving any differently than I usually do. The car used to ping and now it doesn't (with all the work I've done) and has more power. • Car cranks longer lately, seems worse on the days the light comes on. Talking about 8 seconds of cranking versus 3. Still, it's a change. • Idle generally isn't all that consistent. On long trips (with no light, car behaving itself otherwise) it idles fast for around 5-10 seconds before going down where it should be. • Problem started after trip to Smokey Mountain NP. Right before the trip, we replaced the plugs (from dealer) and replaced the filter (which was clogged and had small holes rubbed in it) on the ghetto cold air intake with another AutoZone oiled-cloth cone. First tank got 18 mpg, but I had also installed an air deflector for my roof rack. After taking that off, car got 27-30 on the highway, not as good in mountain driving. No CEL the entire time. Light and problems after returning to Ohio. • Car uses oil, always has since I've had it. Used more on vacation, it was hot with a lot of lower-speed mountain driving. What I've done so far, unsuccessfully, to fix it: • Replaced plug wires with OEM. • Replaced IACV and gasket with OEM. • Replaced coolant temp sensor with OEM. • Ran some Techron through the car. • Cleaned the more easily-accessable electrical connectors under the hood. Many of these were corroded, and it seemed to help, but apparently didn't solve it. • PCV and plugs are newer, both OEM. • I finally tracked down the stock air intake, which will be arriving next week. I'm hoping replacing the cheap cold air intake and filter with the stock items will help, and might help the oil usage. • I'm replacing the pads and rotors this weekend. Maybe that's the answer! Anyway, I'm running out of ideas. The intake might help, but if it doesn't, I'm not sure where to go next. I'm thinking the next steps are to look for any electrical connectors I missed, replace the MAF, and replace the coil (probably junkyard on both). I was thinking O2 sensor, but according to my scan tool, the fault is always during open loop, which (as I understand it) means the O2 sensor isn't part of the equation. My current theory is that ghetto oiled cone filter contaminated the MAF, or at least let dust and dirt in during our vacation, but I really don't know. Whatever it is, it seems to be like there is some problem that is affecting the car all the time (lower MPG) and causing the CEL/stalling problem. Any suggestions on what to do next? I keep telling my wife I can do this, and it's cheaper than taking it somewhere, but no results to show for it yet. The nearest stealership is 50 miles, and we don't have a local indie that knows Subarus especially well (which is surprising with as many as we have around here). Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions. I posted a request with junkyarddog and brims and I'm waiting to hear back from them. I also tried car-parts.com, but most of the yards don't have what I need so far (several have the box, none seem to have the tubing). I think I might put this aside for now, my brakes seem to be telling me they need some attention first.