SevenSisters

ABS is not as good as a professional driver that can keep the brakes from locking up during a panic stop. For the rest of us they're great because the stopping power of the pads rubbing on the rotors is greater than tires burning off rubber in a skid or just sliding on a slippery surface. Rain or shine, snow or no snow, ABS is NOT a low traction condition aid. ABS is meant to be mashed to the floor when you have to. DO NOT PUMP ABS in a panic stop! REPEAT: DO NOT PUMP ABS in a panic stop! As for your ABS issue, one time in 14 years of braking the '91 'ru, I had a similar experience. One winter day, as I was leaving work, I backed out of the parking space and no brakes. I did some additional stopping with no issues and drove home. I had no further problems and chalked it up to ice on the rotors or pads. Your post has me thinking that was not the case. Thanks for the post. Unfortunatly, your mechanic may not be able to duplicate the problem, but check on the recall.

You need more than a checklist. One of the major "news/commentary" shows, eg.: 20/20, 60 Minutes, or the like (can't remember) , reported that about half of casual used car sales are actually done by "professionals". The cars can be wrecks, flood victims, etc and are fixed up for the least possible money and then sold off the street, through a used car ad in the paper, etc. I know what you're thinking. 20/20 (The Most Trusted Name in Journalism) are the bastards that rigged a GMC pick-up with explosives when they couldn't get the gas tanks to blow-up on their own in a crash, so they could make their anti-corporation news point. Be careful. What I'm trying to say is make sure the little old lady with the cherry Legacy is really who she says she is. Check the paper for multiple listings with the same phone number, get a carfax history on the car, etc. Good luck.

Dirty fuel injectors are something people overlook. What type of cars does your buddy service? BTW, no wizard here.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45210 This may do it. No guarantees. Take a look at it. Someone else had a post for this item. Try a search for HubTamer.

You really want to keep close to the same diameter (rolling radius may be a more accurate indicator)) as the OE tires so your gear ratio, speedometer reading, ABS performance, etc don't change. Look on tire manufacturers web sites to compare your OE tire values and various available replacements. Tell us what you find and someone may be able to give you a more informed opinion.

Could be both tires pulling the same way too. Tough to track down without rotating one by one to the rear. Often called ply steer or conicity. Take those Michelins back to the dealer and get new ones.

Advance Auto Chinese rotors and Wearever pads.

I'm very impressed with the photograph of your car. Better technical skills than most pictures I've seen in Subaru brochures.

A two hour drive to the nearest Subaru dealer? Have you considered moving closer?

A good tire for the price. Expect poor wet traction after a while. I've run Coopers for their price/value relationship, but there are better tires.

Always use the parking brake and lube it when the brakes are done. At least in Ohio, if you always park on a nice level spot and don't use it, it will rust up. When you park on a hill and use it, you have the strength to apply it, but it won't disengage easily. The fuel pump motor is cooled by the gas in the tank. Keeping your fuel level above 1/4 will add life to the pump.

Good point on the cooling line SEA#3. Matty, did your sister ever pull the dipstick and check the level? How low did the dealer say it was. The transmission should operate between the "low" and "full" lines on the dip stick.

BFG Traction TA's and 2 ounces of weight! Not a well made tire. On the other hand, the tire may be OK but most tire dealers don't know how to mount the heavy spot of a tire to the light spot of the rim or at least take the time to do it. You might ask the dealer to rotate the tire 180 and see if it helps.

The rear rotors on the '91 Legacy exhibit some rust on the braking surfaces. The rust is chewing up the pads. I swear I didn't notice anything 6K ago when I rotated the tires. I know the fronts do most of the work (and look great, clean and shiney), but is it common for the rears to junk up or could there be a problem with hydralic pressure? A metering valve seems to be about $300 so I don't want to go there yet. Is there an inexpensive brake pressure gauge out there somewhere? Any other recommendations are welcomed too.

Comment. Not a recommendation: I bought a wheel and full size spare and do a 5 tire rotation every 6K. I have not experienced problems with this method and always have a workable replacement in the event of non repairable tire damage. 8K isn't too much differnt than 6K and I don't suspect the rears are worn much. HOWEVER. Get a cloth sewing tape measure and compare the circumference of the rear tires with the same brand and model new tires. They must be within 1/4" if I recall correctly. If that fails, the tire dealer should be able or know some one that can buff or true the new tires to the worn tires' size.

http://autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1c/59/09/0900823d801c5909.jsp For $500 I'll do it, if you want to wait until January. It's under the plastic engine cover on the intake maifold on a '91. Your's should be about the same. Might want to grab a couple of beers as it will take about 5 minutes to change.

Sweet. Certainly looks futuristic. But let’s wait and see what JD Powers and Consumers Reports have to say before we all run out and buy one.

When I put a new filter on, I put one of those big, half inch wide or so, rubber bands over it, lube the gasket, and tighten it by hand to the recommended 3/4 turn after contacting the housing. Still, I normally need a filter wrench to get it off. Any type of wrench that works is fine. Dittos on the kind that fits on a 3/8" drive ratchet and closes up as you crank.

When I replaced the wheel bearing, everything was exposed because the hub was off. It was easy. As for the other sensors and tone rings, as I recall, even with the rotors off, there is just a little gap to get a brush (stainless tooth brush size) in and do a few teeth of the tone wheel at a time. Hopefuly, someone else will chime in that's done this more recently and tell what the gap between the tone ring and sensor for your modle year should be and the best way to reach it. It's a bitch being over 40 and having CRS. Can't hurt to pull off the wheel and see what you can see. Sorry I can't tell you more.

Not to worry. I suspect you'll smell this for a while as the rust proofing and fresh paint burn off components (exhaust, engine, etc) as they heat up. I don't think you have a problem, but if it persists, see the dealer.

You can hope it's a cheap $400 brake job, but search for "torque bind" on the board. Sorry I had to tell you.

Do the diagnostics, but it may well be a wheel sensor causing the MIL to illuminate. Could just be a mis-adjusted gap or it may be dirty (covered with metal or rust particals. I had a bearing/dragging brake problem that heated up the hub and tone ring/sensor and caused an ABS code. Fixing the heat problem and wire brushing the rust off the tone ring corrected the ABS situation. Good luck

Has this happened since the car was new? Was it a factory defect or something you or the tire dealer created? Low probability of a tire defect, but what's the brand and model? There are a limited number of things that can cause your air loss. By the way, don't wait 3 weeks or 15 psi to refill them. Get a big wash tub, fill it part way with water. Put in the properly inflated tire and wheel, hold it down and look for bubbles. An alternative is to spray a soap solution on all surfaces. Do you see bubbles? Bubbles coming out of tread: Puncture, fix it. Bubbles coming out of sidewall: Puncture or damage, may be repairable. Fix it. Bubbles coming from bead area: Corrosion of wheel, sand it clean and smooth. Bent, cracked, or dented wheel. Don't hit chuck holes and replace wheel. Bubbles coming from bead area: Damaged bead heel/toe of tire, bitch to dealer who mounted it. Bubbles coming from valve core or valve stem/wheel contact area: Replace or tighten core. Replace stem after cleaning possible corrosion from wheel. Replace with high pressure valve stem that tightens with a nut. Bubbles coming from surface of wheel: Cracked wheel or porous wheel casting. Repalce wheel if cracked or coat inside of wheel with commercial sealer. No bubbles: Could be bead area leak that only leaks when the tire is flexed through a revolution under the weight of the car. Clean bead area of wheel and tire. Look for damaged heel/toe. Could be a thin or damaged innnerliner of the tire. Repair or replace tire. There are commercial products to seal porous wheels and to seal the beads of the tires. Any competent tire dealer should be able to help you but it's good to do a little homework to locate the source if possible. You shouldn't have to use a tube but make sure it's a radial tube if you do Try to find a tire dealer older than 17 that doesn't own a boat. Good luck.

Got ABS?

An AMG MUTT! Cool. Be glad you didn't get one made by Ford. Search the site for torque bind. As I recall, it was a $100 part and some elbo grease.