michaelbteam

Had exactly the same elusive issue on a used 99 OBW that I probably bought with the problem. Ran fine around town and as soon as I began my winter commute up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird, the overheating started. Took it to a radiator shop for an exhaustive test in the shop and we could NOT get it to overheat or lose fluid! I tried a good stop-leak solution but no luck. I finally deduced that a tiny head gasket leak was forcing coolant into the reservoir, under more extreme driving like 3000 vertical in 6 miles. Since the temp gauge never red-lined, the engine continued to run fine with no oil consumption. I continued to drive the car to Snowbird every morning, and every afternoon when the engine was cool I emptied the nearly full overflow bottle back into the radiator, driving a total of 40 miles a day all winter. After that I was not interested in dealing with a 2.5 anymore so I sold the car for 3 grand with full disclosure. P.S.-the buyer said he found some high tech stop-leak that fixed the problem! Any guesses about that?

How much is one accident worth on that one nasty stormy winter day? We make sure we have dedicated [sticky] winter snows on our Subies for city and canyon driving in Utah. [Michelin X-Ice's now] Sure, they wear faster, but you can switch to summer tires and get 3 seasons out of your snows. Or if you're lazy just buy a new winter set every fall. I know my teenage drivers were safer with them, gave me some peace of mind. I grew up in Schenectady and winter driving around there can be a bad as anywhere!

THANKS! I took a good look at the joints and don't see anything obvious yet. I'll see if the joints need tightening if I can get to them amidst the hoses. MB

My daughter's 03 LL Bean [85K] just developed "play" in the steering wheel, maybe 1". I jacked up the car and investigated the suspension which seems OK, and the tires have no sign of uneven wear, wheel bearings seem good, no shimmy while driving. Could this be a bad RACK, is it adjustable? Replaceable by me? All my experience is with older Subies, this is new territory for me, any help APPRECIATED!

Does the car have any accident history?

Do you know Kevin Jakob? SLC Call Michael 673-0773

When my 99 OBW was leaking and I did not have time to fix it [winter] I still drove it 20 miles each way to work, uphill, all winter, emptying my overflow back into the radiator [cold] before the next leg. Could only do this without the thermostat. Could have done this forever probably as long as it did not overheat and break it. Tiny leak was forcing coolant into overflow, just had to keep the radiator full.

For anyone who cares, I got my answer from Subaru. Very involved and expensive to change an 01 VDC --better to just buy a later model.

I understand the 2002 and up VDC's have an on-off switch for the VDC, but the 01 did not. Does anyone know if an on-off switch could be fitted on an 01? THANKS

Good stuff, I'll be looking. Thanks.

Does anyone know if there may be any way to tell if head gaskets have been done on a 2.5? Any external clues? Thanks.

ALSO--VDC has an "off" switch for 02--this seems like a good idea.[?]

Our quest for a used H-6 outback wagon has narrowed to a local 2001 VDC with 67K miles for $11.8, or a 2002 VDC with 57K miles for $13K, and I have to fly to San Diego to get it. The Cal. car "looks" a little cleaner, the SLC car has a few minor issues, one in-op window and maybe a small oil leak[??] but is a locally serviced one owner. Does anyone know of any changes between 01 and 02 in this model? We're down to the wire, any info appreciated!

Count the teeth, should be right on. One tooth off and I've had it run rough, two teeth off and it wouldn't run. Line up the marks and count the teeth like the book says.

My main gas gauge in older cars is my trip meter, which I always reset at fillup. A good way to keep an eye on fuel consumption, too. Since I ran out of gas in a light plane once, I almost never go below a quarter tank even in my car. I've heard also that sucking the dregs off a dry tank doesn't do fuel systems any good either!

Thanks for that! Even the ones that look good are still mystery cars. The 01 is a trade at Doug Miller in Lindon--I acually offered them $6K for it and luckily they didn't take it! Some wholesaler will clean it and make $$ and pass on most of the problem. My daughter has been considering a used Passat 4motion. I wonder what can of worms that might be?! We also found an e-bay offer, a 2001 limited outback, superclean in Florida with 118K miles for $7900. If it wasn't so far away we would have it already.[quote name=I'd worry about this one. Having identified those problems' date=' there may be others hiding under them that won't show up until they are fixed. For example, with the cat. converter AND the fuel sending unit bad, the vehicle is going to run rough. It will also run rough if there are other issues, but you'll not notice them until you fix these and it's still running rough. Buyer beware! Good luck! I live in Roy so if you need anything checked out in this area I'd be happy to help.[/quote]

I too was taken in by a "deal" on a 99 Outback with very subtle HG issues that were difficult to troubleshoot. The seller obviously knew and I learned the hard way. I remained bummed by that experience and am afraid to own another 2.5.

Would you care to elaborate on your H-6 problems? Please?

I have heard that runnning synthetic oil in an older engine will eliminate some of the emissions problem. Any agreement?

Can axles nuts be too tight, affecting the bearings?

1993 legacy, 143K miles, tranny still smooth. Replaced fluid with synthetic last year. How often should these have fluid changed?

I've scouted a variety of used LL Bean's--we'd like to spend about $10k or less which limits us to higher mileage or less clean cars, many far away from us. Found an 01 trade-in with 128k mi. needing windshield [heated], cat. converter, fuel sending unit, brakes, tires, and A/C work--dealer wants $7K. Considering a clean 04 h-6 with 99K mi. in Kansas for $10K, 35 anniversary model, not LL Bean, not leather or sunroof. Found a couple of "rebuilt" title cars locally--one was a "light rollover", totalled, and did not show it on Carfax! Watch out.

We're looking for a "good deal" on a used H-6 Outback wagon, probably LL Bean...any advice from 6 cylinder owners on situations to look for or avoid? Thanks for your tales of victory and hopefully NOT defeat.

1995, personal use, one owner-11yr., 5mo., New York, last mileage 103,374, clean history---that's all.

Michelin X-Ice for our Subys for all weather mountain driving. [utah canyons] Had Bridgestones also, Winter Duelers on Suburbans, worked great! Usually go three winters and then run them down after the 3rd.