mwills

Did some measuring and got started with a few holes in the top layer from the trunk side. The interior stuff comes out easy enough. Noticed there's a second horizontal layer of sheet metal within the unibody rail. So, I got one hole thru that and can't find the captured nut. Not quite as easy as hoped. Time to drill out the problem bolt from below. I need a bit more coffee and time for this.

I have 98 forester. I've broken and replaced a few rear sway bar brackets on each side a few times now. I was trying to replace a newly broken one yesterday and one of the captive nuts holding the bracket broke loose in the uni-body. I've read about a few fixes including drilling a hole in the floor above the nut to get a wrench on it from the top-side. Anyone have any good experience to share? thanks for the input matt

just following up here. new wheel bearing fixed it. it was just one side, the driver's. it sounded like both to me when i was driving. all is good. almost 200k.

thanks forum folks for all the feedback. i haven't had the wheels off the ground yet. one thing i am noticing, is that the noise isn't just at highway speed, as i first stated. it's pretty much always there, just increases quite a bit at 45+mph. you can hear it at 25 and 30 tho too. noise builds with speed and drowns out my usual purr. luckily we are still in biking weather...

thanks for replying. i drove from lincoln, ne to kansas city and back, over the summer and there was no odd noise that i remember, so this is a relatively new thing. off to the mechanic soon...

so...98 forester, almost 200k miles. i'm used to a farily loud car as mine has an aftermarket header and exhaust. at interstate or highway speeds recently, i can hear some noise from the back wheels. it's fairly loud. my mind wants to make it into the sound you get from grooved pavement, but it's not that because i can hear normal tire on pavement sounds coming from the front wheels. i figure it's one of three things, but i'm not a mechanic, hence i'd appreciate some input from the forum: wheel bearings? out of alignment? rear dif? thanks for any input.

following up. i got nothing. car gets driven...no problems. haven't done anything. perhaps the original 'adjustment' was all it needed. never did find out what that adj was...clutch feels super duper.

checking back after a few days...thanks for all the comments. i didn't perform the clutch work. i've done some stuff, but not the clutch. anyways...mileage. car has just under 170k. clutch is brand new except for some in town driving and a trip from lincoln to albuquerque and back. so something like 2000miles on this clutch. i'll ask my wrench about the clipy things. thanks again. to update. drove about 90 miles or so yesterday with no symptoms. clutch was adjusted just prior. not sure what they did exactly...wife had the car. i'll post my progress.

sorry. 98 forester S, 5spd. exedy street clutch...just for the fun of it. not so fun right now.

so, new clutch installed by my favorite mechanic. seems like it gets weird when it warms up. like after an hour of driving, not necessarily alot of shifting either. like it doesn't want to return to the nuetral position all the way. it feels like the clutch remains engaged but the pedal doesn't rise all the way back. has me worried. any ideas? thanks in advance.

very good to know.

so...having some clutch work done soon, and i'm contemplating a lighter flywheel. i've always wanted to try one and i know it's now or never, with regard to saving the labor cost. what i've found is Exedy and ACT make street-able lightweight one-piece flywheels for my 98 Forester. i'm about 90% sure i'm going to, but now i'm wondering if there's a big difference between the two products? there's a bit of a cost difference. surely would appreciate any comments or suggestions, especially if anyone has done this and has regretted it later...thanks.

so...as a follow up, the engine light dissappeared a few weeks ago with no work whatsoever. so, i'm wondering what the deal is? it does sort of sound like i could have an exhaust leak. i'm due for a clutch, so the car will be in the shop anyways...

thanks alot all...i'll do this before going any further with it. -mw

98 forester S...thanks...

so my right rear seatbelt won't release. its drawn tight. no slack. stupid thing. i checked with my favorite upholstery place and they suggested the scrap yard and they'd install it. checked my favorite local yards and came up empty. looks like i'm headed for the dealer...which is fine...but does anyone have any suggestions?? i'm thinking i'm having someone install a new assembly. any thoughts? thanks for any help.

anyone have any suggestions for a replacement clutch? i had real good luck with an aftermarket clutch in my civic. it was from RPS and it was overkill but it always felt solid and didn't affect the pedal feel negatively for daily driving. i'm wondering if there is something equivalent for my 98 forester. on the otherhand my stock clutch is about at the end of it's life with over 160k. thanks in advance for any advice.

thanks again for all the help. i'll pass this on to my mech. alot of this stuff is beyond me, but i enjoy the research and knowledge as well. my set up is loud as hell, a bit stupid, but fun nonetheless and it hasn't ended in a divorce. that being said it it certainly could have a leak up stream.

THANKS for this info. makes sense. i have noticed a bit of an exhaust leak. and the engine code is that the device is not operating efficiently, correct?

i own a 98 forester with 160k. it has a borla header and a stromung exhast along with some other stuff. and at the moment, i have an engine code for a bad catilytic converter. should i replace it with a subaru one, or are there any after market converters that will last? my mech has had bad experiences with non oem equipment...any suggestions?

i have a 98 forester, how much of the suspension is shared with the impreza?how could i research this? thanks in advance...

does anyone make a stout rear sway bar mount? the part that goes from the bar to the frame? it's an upside down V shaped deal. the car is a 98 forester with a 20mm(22mm?) rear sway bar and cobb end links. last year i broke one side, this year it's the other. i'd like to find a better solution. thanks for any help.

ok. so i finally got my beloved car back. 1400.00 in work. new headgaskets, new plugs. machined the heads flat. valves were checked and determined to be ok. they were adjusted. block was determined to be ok. seems to be running great since the work was done. much smoother. hit the highway last night some. hope my troubles are over for a long long time. next. new tires. new front endlinks. future. lighter flywheel. new clutch. stiffer transmission mounts.

so yeah. the heads will get machined next week. new gaskets. new head bolts. all looks well with the cylinderwall according to the authorities having jurisdiction...

that would be my next logical question...what to do if the block is trashed? what engines will swap 'easily'??? will newer forester 2.5 blocks fit up?