Buddythedog

What a ripoff!!! The car alone is 29,000 +/- and that's not including the bone-me 7.9% interest they are charging on it. Buy a new one for less, with half the finance interest charge!!! People like this deserve to go out of business.

No idea, just take it to a reputable shop and you'll be ok (like a Best Buy or something like that, someplace that will be there a year from now, and will give you a warranty). I too had SUV's and sold my Expedition for my 3rd Subie Forester. I've taken it everywhere my Cherokee and my Expedition would go, and never had trouble. Put a good set of snow tires on for the white stuff and you'll get everywhere you need to go, on half the gas, and with twice the safety. Enjoy it.

I just bought an 03 Forester XS, and was wondering (no owners manual in car otherwise I wouldn't ask) what is the max towing in this car?? Is it 2500 lbs like I've heard? Also, any advise for this particular car r/t auto tranny fluid when it's time to change it? The car has 21K on it. Contrary to what I've seen on this site, and compared to my old 97 Outback 5 speed, the auto runs perfectly, not that mushy, rattling stick shift that I hated.

I had a 97 Outback Wagon, which was a dream in the heavy snow we get in northern New Mexico, and it always drove better than my Jeep Cherokee (4x4). I would get a set of real snow tires, had those and didn't regret the purchase. Just make sure to get all 4, any variance in tire size in any AWD vehicle will ruin your transmission. Some tire stores will sell you only 2 for the drive wheels, as most cars are only 2 wheel drive. DOn't skimp or you'll regret it. I used an engine block heater to avoid super cold starts in the mornings. They aren't expensive and plug into a house outlet. There shouldn't be any real difference in the Outback or Forester, Baja, etc. They are all relatively similar. Also, I'd stick to stock tire size, other sizes will mess up your speedo and odometer. Don't know about towing.

I would NEVER,EVER put an air suspension into my car. They are bags of crap, and when the air/crap mixture leaks out (they all do) if you fill it full of $100 bills, the height increases again. BTW, they always leak on one side so you look like a dope going down the road. Also reason for the police to stop you and (depending on your city/state/county) laws, can cite you for operating an unsafe vehicle. I've done it several times, including impounding the car.

For what it's worth, I think you made the right decision. I've read the posts about people ragging on a 22 year old, like he's a kid. Everyone is different, and has different values, but when I was 22, I had a college degree, and was a police officer in a major city. Looking back, that was kinda dumb (not the college degree ha ha) and I was/am responsible as a driver. You bought him a car he can be proud of, and it is nice to see a father take so much pride in his son to make sacrifices for him and the other kids. God Bless you for that. Instead of the "silver spoon" comment, ignore that and be proud of what you are doing for your family. Done preaching now. BTW, the only reason I didn't buy the WRX last week (I bought a Forester XS instead) is because of the big a** sunroof for the dogs and baby to enjoy.

I just drove the new Jetta Diesel Station Wagon. I didn't buy it, I bought a FOrester XS instead, really because I've had 2 Subie's already, it had awd, which I need here in the mountains at 8000 feet. That said, I fell in love with the VW diesel. It had plenty of torque (190 ft/lbs I think) yet only 100 hp. It drove beautifully, and got 43 mpg!! If only Subie would make one with that kind of mpg's I'd buy one and save several thousand a year.

As you have heard, this is normal in most/all modern cars. The reason (may be more than one) is that the AC dries out the air in the cabin of the car, which effectively is the defrosting action, you just need to move it to warm in the winter.

I have a 98 Outback wagon I bought w/ 101,000 on it. I know that these engine are prone to headgasket failure, but mine was ok. The valves do need to be adjusted at 105k (dealer recommendation) I didn't do it because it was 900.00, so at 120K, I spent 2000 bucks to repair burnt exhaust valves, which these engines are prone to. In fairness, in that 2000.oo, I got a new factory clutch, clutch upgrade, and ALL new seals. I love the car, it's peppy w/ the 5spd mt, and I do offroad it, and have all over New Mexico (home) Utah and Colorado. I go a little slower than I did with my Cherokee, but on the gravelly roads, I can really have some fun, more than my Cherokee. My dogs love it (VERY IMPORTANT), as it's lower to the ground, and it's reliable. What more can you ask for from a car.

If I had posted a question (and I have) about something that ultimately turned out to be obvious, using hindsight of course, and you treated me the same way with your reply, I'd certainly have a suggestion of where to put the switch.

I've found no metal shavings/particles in the oil. Good sign for me. I have been researching the previous posts, Redline website, et al., I think that I will try the recommended Redline oil for the MT, there are no dealers in my state though, I'll have to go mail order.

That's good to know, mine's been at it for about 10k, it just has been bugging me, if'n it ain't broke, don't fix it I guess.

I have a 97 Outback wagon w/ 127 k on it, new clutch. Problem is that when shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, it "crunches" a bit, like the synchros are going bad. I have filled the 5 spd with new gear oil (85w90 I think, whatever the manual calls for is what I put in) any advice of what to do? fixes, costs, shadetree stuff? Oils? :-\

$ 20 bucks from Pep Boys or Auto Zone, both are identical, but flip-flopped in there so they are close together. PS., in my experience, if one fails, replace the one right nect to it, since conditions are the same in that area.

Just curious, what are some common symptoms of a bad disty?

Methinks that's excellent, sound advice, before I muck up anything worse and set off more codes than NASA, a) I'll finish my coffee, pet the dogs, c) put their collars on, d) clear the codes, e) pray, f) and go for a drive with the dogs to see if'n any come up. Luckily, there's a junkyard close by with a healthy selection of GL's, DL's and Loyale's, and the owner owes my many favors, so I can get a replacement EGR solonoid if that's the problem. Thanks everyone

The dealer used a palm pilot sized code reader that accepts large cartridges (like the old Atari games--that big) and plugged it into a white plastic-of course- port located adjacent to the wiper motor, and the green test poles in the engine bay. His intitial thought was that the disty was bad. I don't believe in coincidences, and as I've NEVER had the CE light come on until I put different plugs (the correct ones) in, it has to be related somehow. I'll recheck the timing, and I did add some Techron after the light came on, because I saw some white deposits on the valves and the old Bosch plug when I changed them. So I think I have a lean issue, as the engine has never run hot at all. Anyone know how to adjust the leanness on a Throttle body Hitachi?

Although he is a dealer mechanic, he said that NO ONE takes Loyale's in to be worked on--to old. I'm hopeful that he knew it was an EA 82 engine, it took him forever to find the code reader for the machine. He said that the Loyale has 2 crank angle sensors, the thingy that is mounted on the top of the AC bracket, and hangs over to read a pickup on the clutch, and the one on the distributor, where it plugs into another connection. He said that the disty may be bad, which would lead to the pinging. Also, I noticed some white buildup on my valves, and on the Bosch plug (replaced with NGK---BIG DIFFERENCE), any ideas?? The car is still driving nicely, and the light goes off, but comes back on after 20-30 minutes.

I've been having pinging probs with my 93 Loyale. I did the "water treatment" and changed the Bosch plugs to NGK's. Runs much, much better. yesterday, the check enging light came on. Dealer read the codes and it was: EGR, and Crank Angle Sensor. He said it may be the distrubitor going out. The car still runs better, and no probs, just the light?? What to do?? Also, he mentioned there was a sensor on the AC bracked also, that has to be a certain distance from the ac clutch, but no one there knew much about Loyale's Please help.

I'll try the water method, carefully, but where do I introduce the water? Via the pcv valve??? Also, the engine spec is 20BTDC for the timing, regardless of altitude, I have it down to around 16, and slight pinging while driving, but it gets really bad when the ac is on, hmmmm........ what else, oh and I'll check the egr valve

I have a 93 Loyalw w/ 150k bone stock. It runs beautifully, full power (oxymoron) and good gas mileage (32mpg/29 city). Problem is I am getting bad pinging, pre-detonation, spark knock, whatever it's called, when I am going uphills, and under heavy load or acceleration, and always with the AC on. I retarted the timing to 16 BTDC, as the hood sticker calls for 20 BTDC, regardless of altitude. I live at almost 8000 ft. and the car had a fairly recent tune up with Bosch platinum plugs. What do I do about this?? Also, it happens with all gas grades.

I don't think the hood's been replaced. It says so on the tune up specs sticker on the hood at any altitude the timing is set at 20btdc +/- 2 degrees. It only goes away when I use 92 octane, which is a problem when I decend to less than 5000 feet which is often on my trips. I use Bosch dual electrode plat plugs, and they are fairly clean still after 15 k miles on them.

I use quality gasoline from Chevron, Shell, etc.. but according to physics, (which I know little about) living at altitude my car should require less octane, so I use 88 or 89 whatever the station offers. I was hesitant to lower my timing that much. According to the hood sticker, it said 20 BTDC +/- 2 degrees. The other problem is when I use 92 gas, it runs better, but when I drive to lower elevations, it pings like crazy.

Sorry to ramble on and on. Just to let you know, I fooled around with the engine codes, and trying to do tune ups, injectors, etc... for about 4 months before I realized it was my valves, then when it was diagnosed, I drove it from New Mexico to Mississippi and back. It drove ok on the freeway, because you have inertia to propel you forward, and use less hp and torque then to start out, when it would hesitate a bit, so it isn't an emergency, I probably drove 10,000 miles before my compression went to 60 or 65 I think. It should be around 120 or 125, and if yours is just starting to go, your compression may still be high, a cylinder leakdown test should confirm it though.

Well, I'll say a prayer for you, congrats on the house!! It's a lot of fun/work/happiness/frustration et al., Yeah, some people will laugh at the dollar bill trick, but it does work. They do have to pull the motor to remove the heads, and I'd do any maint. necessary to do with the engine out, as you don't want to have to pull it ever again (hopefully). All I'd say is maybe new hoses, although I didn't get them, and a new set of NGK platinum plugs or whatever the manual calls for, I forgot. The plugs should only be $15 or so, so no biggie there since the engine's out. I went ahead and got both cylinder heads done at the same time, as the labor is much less with the motor out, and I didn't want to worry about the other side going out. Just make sure you get a warranty, and it's done right and the car doesn't leak oil when it's all back together. I know it sucks, but if you have a nice car, and you like it, a grand or 1500 is less than a new used car, and I did some research when faced with this decision, the machine shop said they do a lot of Subie heads, old and new, but almost never do they do a bottom end (block, pistons, crank) as they are extremely durable and last a long long time, so good news there. Good luck ps. also have them do a compression test first before you tell them about the valves (in case we're wrong so they don't do your valves anyway--unless you really trust them, then let them know)., that's how mine was absolutely confirmed,