scorch

The 96 Legacy Outback that we just bought with 107K miles on it has a little bit of clunking in the front end going over bumps. Can I assume that this is just the normal suspects - bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc? And if so, how should I proceed? Are these pretty standard DIY items? And also, are there poly bushings available for Subarus? What's a good source to buy these parts?

Diff oil is not filtered or cooled in any way, so it makes sense to me to be on the safe side. It is cheap insurance. I would do it at 100K and every 50K thereafter, and of course use synthetic oil for this application.

I have a new-to-me '96 Legacy Outback, and the bumpers have some serious scrapes on them that I'd like to touch up if I could. The bumpers have a gray metal flake coating on them of some sort. I can't even tell if it's regular paint or not. Is there a good DIY way to touch them up?

Expecting our first baby in about three months, my wife and I are now in the Subaru fold. It's going to kill her grandfather who fought in the South Pacific in WWII (and he's still fighting the "Japs"), but we like the purchase. It's a '96 Legacy Outback with 100K miles, and in great shape. We're not Catholic, but is there a patron saint for head gaskets? There are a few scrapes on the bumpers, and it looks like the bumpers are covered with a sheet material of some sort, not paint. Is there some way of touching up the bumpers? Also, I am assuming that the Haynes manual is better than the Chiltons, correct? I've seen several Chiltons manuals for other cars and they all pretty much bite. Too bad there isn't a Bentley manual for these cars. When I get the manual, I'll probably go through the car with a major tune-up. Are there any maintenance items that need to get done on these cars that aren't in the manuals? Such as re-soldering relays, dressing up grounding points, etc. I'm from the Volvo side of things so I'm used to doing a little bit more than is in the books to keep my ride on the road.

Thanks Josh. How big of a job is a head gasket R & R on this engine? Is it a reasonable job for a weekend warrior DIY mechanic with a decent amount of experience?

I'm thinking of getting a '96 Outback. It has the 2.5L engine that I understand has a concern about blown head gaskets. Can somebody tell me what exactly is the concern? What causes the problem? Is it the gasket itself? Can this be avoided by simply not overheating the car, or replacing the gasket? Or is it a random problem that cannot be prevented? And how common is this particular issue?

Due to junior arriving this summer, I have to trade in my beloved old Volvo 240 sedan for a newer wifemobile wagon with air bags, and am considering a Subaru. I'm looking in the neighborhood of $4K-$6K, and would like to find something that has a lot of the virtues of my Volvo - i.e., dependable, parts readily available and not too expensive, and relatively easy to work on. Are there any good Subaru wagons that fit that description in the price range that I'm looking for? Are there any good or bad years/models? Any specific issues to look out for? Many thanks in answering a question that I'm sure comes up often.