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Whoops, sorry, meant to mention that it's an '02 Outback 2.5L The shop just called back and said they replaced the axle and everything seems fine. The CV boot was leaking, and it's possible that I cut it when I was getting the old strut out. I'm very relieved now. It's an expensive day, but I didn't think they were going to work on it until later, and I was worried it was going to be far, far more expensive than it turned out.

Yesterday I attempted to replace my struts. Had a *************** of a time because my air compressor couldn't keep up with the impact wrench, so I wound up compressing the springs with the coil compressor tool and a breaker bar. It took all afternoon but finally got the left front replaced before it was dark and it was time to stop for the night. This morning I drove the car an immediately realized something was wrong. Got it to the shop, and he called and said that I managed to pop the axle part way out of the transmission, though the strut looked good. So how much damage did I likely cause? Is there any way to know? I drove about 3 miles to the shop, never more than 30 mph. The vibration caused by the messed up axle was worse under acceleration and turns to the right, but went away when turning to the left. I'm waiting for a call from the shop, and going stir crazy while I wait.

Thanks guys, I'd finally figured it out and then came back here and found that you guys confirmed it. I can't seem to find any source that's consistent. One parts catalog lists the smaller PCV (the one I have) as fitting all '95-'01 2.5L engines, another one lists the same part as fitting all 2000-07, and yet another one shows that the larger PCV is the right one up to '05. I found the right part anyway, and my local dealer happened to have one left, so now I'm a happy camper :-)

Went to replace my PCV yesterday and found that there's no valve in it, it's just a straight pipe. Does this mean that someone replaced the wrong part in the past, or what? The replacement I got from the parts guy is the wrong size. Mine uses a smaller diameter hose, while the one he gave me uses a pretty big hose. Mine is an early '02. All the parts catalogs I've looked at say that the same part should fit '01-'08. Cany anyone help me out? How do I find the right PCV, and should it have a valve in it?

That looks like it. I'll call the junk yard tomorrow, and try to see if I can repair it somehow before I spring $85 for that little thing. Edit: I searched on that part number and ran across a thread on NASIOC where folks posted that they fixed it with JB Weld. I'll give that a shot first.

2002 OBW, 2.5L... I tried to pull this hose out of the way and the lower fitting broke off. It attaches to a plastic piece that's underneath the ignition coil, underneath the intake manifold. I've tried identifying it in the Intake/Induction system diagram and can't locate it. It draws a vacuum while only the upper end is connected, and with the lower end disconnected my idle is a little high. Can anyone help? I'm guessing I'm going to have to go to a dealer to find the part. Thanks in advance for any help!

I just paid $5900 in a private sale for clean and well-maintained '02 with the all weather package and 106k miles. Timing belt, water pump, and head gaskets had all been replaced. That was the low end for a car like that in my area. Anything lower in price was older, in rougher condition, had problems, was a lower trim level, had more miles, or was a combination of those.

I'm curious to know what causes that trademark Subaru engine clatter, and how much is okay. I've heard that it's pistons, I've heard that it's valves... My 2.2 in my '98 Impreza only does it when it's very cold, and the sound goes away when the engine is warm. I test drove an '02 Outback last week that was doing it on a 40 degree day. The seller told me that it's normal for a Subaru, but it seemed excessive.

"I read it on the internet, so it must be true!" :-)

Please don't take this as a sign of disrespect, but when you have access to a factory trained mechanic who has worked on literally hundreds of these things, you'd be wise to follow his advice. This is also the first time I've heard of this job being described as "relatively easy." Doable, yes... but it would probably take me far longer to do than I can really make time for, which would mean paying someone else lots of money to do it for me.

So I'm shopping for a Gen II Outback, and found that my local dealer's service department has been very helpful in looking up the service history on prospective targets for me. There's a real sweet '02 Outback LTD for sale, but no history of the headgaskets being replaced. I asked the service guy "Am I making too big of a deal about this? Would you buy one that hadn't already had the headgasket replaced?" His answer: an emphatic "NO." Doesn't get more cut and dried than that. To hell with Phase I vs. Phase II. His experience is that if the factory headgasket hasn't already failed, it most likely will.

Didn't the 2000 models have the Phase I DOHC engine with the headgasket problem? I'm getting conflicting information everywhere I read.

The 2000 model has the DOHC phase I engine, which is almost guaranteed to need a head gasket if it wasn't done already. If I found a really clean one really cheap I might look at it, but my experience with 10+ year old cars is that even if the drivetrain is good, everything else is getting worn out. Doors don't seal, windows get a little wobbly, they rattle like a maraca going down the road... That's what my '98 Impreza is like now, and it's how my '96 was in 2007. Trying to get something a little newer.

The "electrically charged wind storm" won't have any effect. If there was enough electricity in the air to disrupt your alternator, you'd be feeling like you were about to be struck by lightning. You're getting low voltage out of your alternator. This can be caused by bad connections, bad cables, bad belts, or a bad alternator. On a car that old, it wouldn't be at all uncommon if the negative battery cable is badly corroded where it connects to the frame. It's always best to diagnose the problem instead of guessing at solutions. So, either do like Mike said and test it your self, or do like Rooster said and have the parts guy do a charging system test. Personally, I like option B better because it's a more thorough test.

Thanks for updating the info, and I promise that I won't hold any mistakes against you So here's what the Service Campaign says: 1999-2002 2.5L engines may experience a leak Only Phase II engines are affected by the campaign (1999 and later) In 2002 they fixed the problem at the factory So... if I buy a late '02 or later model, it shouldn't be an issue, right?

Whether it's manual or automatic, the differential will automatically reduce power to any wheels that slip and redirect to the ones with grip. Remember those Judge Reinhold commercials? I'm relatively certain that the AT switches to 50/50 when it's in low gear and reverse.

It looks like I was going on some bad info about when the 3rd gen started, and there's no way I can reasonably expect to get into one on my budget. There's an '05 listed that would be in my range if I can get them to come way down, but it's got 162,000 miles already. *If* it were perfectly maintained and those were all highway miles it might be okay, but I'd be leery that it's going to need a lot of expensive maintenance very soon.

I'd seen that link before. Thanks for the info. It looks like a 3rd generation Outback is going to be out of my price range, then.

I'm in the NE, and I'm finding Foresters older than about 4 years old are listed at about the same price as Outbacks. Since the economy tanked, reliable used cars have been holding their values more because people haven't been able to afford as many new cars. Higher demand on the used market means higher prices. In 5 years when they're giving money away again and most people can get low interest rates on new car loans, the used market will get flooded again and you'll find better values on the used market.

I'm seeing some sources that say that 2003 or 2004 was the first year of the Gen III, and some sources (sometimes the same sources) that say that 2004 was the last year of Gen II. Was Gen III introduced midyear? I'm so confuzzled. :-\

I'll answer the one part of your post that I really know... On a Subaru, manual transmission does not save gas mileage. The reason is that the MT cars split the power 50/50 front/rear full time, which costs fuel efficiency. The auto cars are a 90/10 split, which is better on gas. The EPA MPG ratings for the Forester and Outback in those years is the same, so you're not really saving anything by going for the smaller car, except that the tires on the Forester are a size smaller and will be a few bucks less. Whether the Forester is big enough... you'll be surprised at how much you can cram in there if you can fold down the rear seats. If you're taking 3-4 people and a bunch of stuff... you'll probably want the Outback.

Thanks for the info, afterbang. So the 2000 and later models had the Phase II EJ25? And the head gaskets are not as problematic on those? I like the looks of the 3rd gen a little better, but it may work out a little better to go for a late 2nd gen model with more options. Any other issues to look out for? How about transmission issues? I know about the potential binding issue and how to detect it, but is there anything else to look for?

Hey, everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted here, mostly because I've had the good fortune to have kept my Impreza running pretty well. It's getting to be time to say goodbye to the Impreza. I need something bigger and want to get back into an Outback. The top of my price range is going to be around $6500, which appears to put me in reach of either a later 2nd generation model or an earlier 3rd generation model. What are your opinions about the pros and cons of each? I have a slight preference for the 3rd generation, based solely on looks, and have a slight preference for an automatic transmission. Those aren't dealbreakers, though, and I'll jump on the first one that seems to be a really good deal. Any help and opinions here would be much appreciated!

Hi, everyone. I've been trying to spend more time away from the computer, so it's been quite a while since I've posted and I'm sure most of you don't recognize me. It's time to ask a question of the experts, which is why I'm here. I took my car to the shop to get some brake work done and to get an estimate for the exhaust. I like to do as much work myself as I can, but I don't have a garage and it's cold here, so it went to the shop. The exhaust diagnosis was that it needed everything behind the front catalytic converter, for a total of $660. My first question is: is this a job I can do myself when the weather warms up? Second question is: who's a good source for the parts? I'm looking for cheap and functional, not necessarily the best quality. This car probably has only 2 or 3 years left in it for me. It's a 98 Impreza 2.2L. Any advice is much appreciated!

Rotors are about the same price, but the OEM caliper is more than twice the cost of the most expensive one that Advance has.