rlsimpso

Thanks for the info. I thought the tube sticking out the back of the ribbed tube was supposed to compensate for the resonance I am just annoyed by it. I have done a lot of work on the car this year and everything is good except the whistle. It is getting cold now, so I am not driving with the windows open. I suppose I can ignore it for the winter.

Have you been able to resolve this? I am getting a similar whistle above 3500 RPM at WOT on my 98LGT. It started after I rebuilt the engine. I did have the entire intake disassembled so maybe it is the boot as Gloyale suggests. I have replaced all the vacuum lines, breather hoses, and most of the clamps. I am getting tired of pulling the intake manifold off and replacing gaskets chasing this

Don't waste you money on a cheap welder. You will end up spending more when you realize it is crap and have to buy a better one. Lincoln and Miller and both very good. I am partial to Miller, mainly because the pros I know use them. I only know few pros though, so that may not be saying much. You might look at a Hobart Handler 140. I got one about 4 months ago and am very happy with it. Northern tool has them for about $500 usually will free shipping and a free cart. The cart is a bit crap, but what do you want for free. It is a 120 Volt MIG. It comes with flux core so you can weld right out of the box. (I wouldn't do auto body with flux core. The heat required to melt the wire can cause a lot of burn through on thin metal) It has infinite wire speed and four current settings. It would be nice to have infinite current, like on a more expensive Miller or Lincoln, but for the price, I can't complain. You just have to watch the puddle a move the torch faster to keep your bead from spreading. It comes with a regulator so all you will need a is bottle. I bought a bottle from Airgas as they exchange them when you get a refill. I spent about $220 on the 120 (i think) bottle, which is supposed to be good for 4 hours of continuous welding. The price of entry is higher, but the refill price is only $5 more for twice gas. There is an exchange/upgrade deal, so you can change sizes when you need to. I went to the larger one mainly because I managed to run out of gas twice with smaller ones. Also, the larger bottles have nicer valves, and they look cooler then the little ones Hobart is owned by Miller and the torch is a Miller, which is nice because consumables are readily available. I run .023 wire for sheet and .030 for thicker stuff and it works very well. It should handle .035, but only being 120, it may not have enough power to get good penetration on metal thick enough to need wire that thick. Be sure to switch the polarity if you start using shielding gas as is it set up positive out of the box. Also, get an auto dimming helmet. It is so nice to see what you are doing before, during, and after a weld. Just to say it again, like other have said already, good preparation is essential for a good weld. Make sure the parts are clean before welding. Check your fit up and make sure it is even. It really makes a difference in the quality of your welds.

Do you have regular ventilation controls, with a knob for hot and cold, or climate control? I had a problem where the damper was not closing all the way, causing hot air to mix with the AC air. This is a long shot, but are the fan that pull air through the radiator working correctly. I ask because I had a 87 GL with a similar problem. It had one engine driven fan and one electric fan. The electric fan was replaced one winter. The summer after that the AC was not as cold and barely worked at high speed, high for a GL anyway. I found that the electric fan was blowing hot air out the grill instead of drawing in. The wires on the connector for the eletric fan were reversed, so it was yellow to black and black to yellow. I switched the wires around the fan worked correctly. This fixed the problem with AC.

I recently did a cam belt on my 98 Legacy GT. Here are a few things I noted. Take the radiator out. This makes a lot more room. Loosen the bolt on the AC pulley before turning the adjuster bolt. Mine was plastic and I broke it. If you aren't taking the crank bolt off with an impact wrench, have some one hold the brakes to keep the car from moving when you wrench on it. I had a 4 foot pipe on a breaker bar and was able to move the car easily. Supposedly there is a place to insert and pin to stop the engine from turning, but I didn't see it. If you have an auto, an impact wrench would be better. Clearing the condenser may be a problem. Get a good universal joint and it should work. It worked on my Mitsubishi van anyway . Be sure to check the cam belt tensioner. You may want to replace it and the water pump since you have everything apart. Watch the your don't get your hand under the cam belt on the sprockets. They have move suddenly if on the top of a lobe. It is an uncomfortable sensation. Be sure you tighten the crank bolt. They can come loose and crank pulley will wobble causing problems.

update: I had my version 1 scanguage updated to the new version of the software the supports PIDs and it still doesn't work with my 98 LGT. It does work great with my 05 Impreza. Go figure. BTW: It works really well in my friend's Lexus. We got the instant MPG to 300+ while playing around with it.

The servo throttle on the automatic subarus I have driven make them feel like diesels to me. Very slooow to respond compared to cable throttle. The advantages are fewer parts. No separate solenoid for cruise control, no cables and linkages. I even want to say there is no throttle position sensor, since the servo should have that built in. I want to know what the servo is going to cost to replace when it fails. If you have a servo throttle subaru with an auto, try quickly flooring it and them immediately let off while going about 40 mph. Almost a second after doing this the 07 impreza I am driving at the moment will downshift from 4th to 2nd and sit in second gear going 40 for almost 2 seconds. Then go back to back to 4th. It is amazing how slow it is to respond so quick input compared to me 98 Legacy.

Warranty or not, I like to know what is causing a problem. I tried pressing on the passenger seat and was able to get in passenger airbag light to come on. You have to push very hard and I got bored holding it down, so I don't know if it will start beeping, but I expect it would. It takes a minute or so. I remember reading something about 45 or 55 pounds being the cutoff. Check the connectors under the seat. They may have come loose. Try sitting in the seat and bouncing up a down. The contacts on the switch might be corroded from not being used enough. I haven't seen what the switch looks like, or know what it is made of, so that is just a guess. I was going to try and find a part#/price for a seat switch, but 1stsubaruparts.com seems to be down.

Don't forget the hand cleaner. I keep a tub of permatex blue (don't seem to freeze) along with jumper cables, gloves, paper towel, plier, 3/8 socket set, accessory belts, volt meter, breaker bar, can't remember what else.

There are switches in the seatbelt buckles for both driver and passenger. Are you talking about the light on the for passenger airbag? There is a weight sensitive switch that is supposed to shut off the airbag for the passenger on that side. I found I can make my dad's 05' OB do what you are describing if I lift myself off the seat with the seatbelt off. Did you have something heavy on the passengers seat? That could have set the switch so car though you had someone in the front seat with no seat belt on. Try connecting the passenger seatbelt and see what happens. My 07' impreza has that now too. I'll try to remember to play around with it when I go for lunch today and see if I can get it to go off with something on the seat.

SPEEDO BAAD!! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Be sure the retainer pin is removed when the new tensioner is install. Don't less this happen to you: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60261

I can second Sil-glyde. Be sure to get all the old grease of the slides and clean out the inside of the boots. Those brakes get hot:Flame:

This may help: http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/traction/tech_traction_4wd_2.htm and this: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=0920

Have you tried "re-sycning" the remote to the car? I had to do this when I got a replacement remote for the 98 LGT. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#code%20alarm Is your battery good? I have lots of strange problems when mine failed. Most notably was the radio and wipers cutting out unexpectedly. Both are a bit of a stretch, but easy to check.

I forgot about the turbo Forester. Other then being the ultimate lesbaru, they are impressive. Get one with a 5 speed and you will have something.

Talk to these guys about 5 speed SVX: http://www.smallcar.com/ A Legacy GT might be slightly less expensive because it is considered a family car. If you look at WRX's again, get an '05 or newer. The front end was changed in '04, but still has the old interior, with the single cups holder. The '05 has a revised center console with two cup holders:) Have you considered doing a JDM turbo swap? I am looking at that for my 98GT. There are all sorts of issues to consider with that, but at least the insurance should be cheaper then an WRX or gen3 GT.

I agree the clutch is probably going. 160K is a lot. Don't new generation Subarus have hydraulically actuated clutches? If it is hydraulic check that the slave cylinder isn't loose. It is stretch, I know. I had to remove it when replacing the knock sensor on my GT.

The slight torque split combined with more tire pressure in the front end balances the car. That is great. So? I'm an expert because I have some idea of how to control a car in a turn? Where is my merit badge? I guess I should just make one sentence statements without demonstrating any knowledge about the subject. Here is a link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJemif6bSCQ Notice the mild understeer. This vehicle is actually accelerating in the turns. The SVX has the VTD too, BTW. Flames are for ricers. Lighten up:-p .

I was able to get a key made at the dealer based on the VIN. They have a computerized key cutter. They should be able to do any subaru VIN as long as it is on the system. The only problem is that the lock may also have worn, so the new key may not work. The copy I had made works fine in the doors, but it drags in the ignition. I had a copy done at a lock shop that works like the original old key. Find a good key shop. You can set a key machine up to take a little bit more or less off a duplicate to compensate for the wear. I had this problem on a land rover. My locksmith went through 5 keys before getting one that worked. Then made a copy of that, which worked fine. He only changed me for the two that worked:)

I hope your friends are thin. I couldn't image sitting two people in the 60 split side for very long.

I have some with head gaskets. I am in need of a second replacement. Probably going to do it myself. I'll take lots of pics. From my experience, check for oil leaks at the front and rear main seals. If the head gaskets have been done, look in the over flow and see if there is oily sludge. Be sure to do a timing belt. The DOHC EJ25 is an interferance engine, so bad things happen in the belt breaks. Supposedly the new version of head gaskets fixed the problem with failures. I got 80K out of a set of head gaskets. There is a good chance mine were not replaced with the new version. My GT is great other then engine issue. If you can get it cheap and get a few years out of it, go for it.

The only problem I know if with the VCD is the transmission. Automatics are a problem in general, nugh-nugh:brow: Manual is better:grin: Just kidding. The only problems I know is slightly more cost then a 4, as in lower mileage and 2 more platinum NGK plugs to replace. I don't want start a thing about plugs, so just ignore that. I also remember a post about a recall but search isn't finding anything.

I do remember seeing a lot of Subarus in Montana when I drove through there in the BRAT a few years ago. Big Sky for sure.

I wouldn't be suprised is they don't do an 07. The dealer by my house said they only sell 4-5 a month. Metro Detroit is not a hot bed for Subarus. I am still not sure about the Baja. I love my BRAT, but the Baja just doesn't do anything for. That said, I would take one over a Tribeca:)