Draco

I have a '97 Legacy GT Sedan, AWD, Manual, 2.5DOHC phase 1, 160hp. While adequate for most driving it definetly leaves something to be desired in terms of power. I figure the only way to add power is a new engine or turbo/super charging. I think adding a turbo/super would be too expensive, if you can even find one that would work well, but I would be open to any ideas. I've heard of people adding an EJ20G to other cars but I didn't see anything about a '97 legacy. I'd be concerned that a .5liter smaller engine would not be much of an improvement even though it has ~230hp. I'm assuming all the hp would be after 4k or so and the legacy is a bigger heavier car then the wrx. We'll anyone have any suggestions? My best option might just be to save up for an '05 legacy, even though I really like my '97 and it only has 46k miles.

Yeah it looks like a nice idea. I like the ideas of having lots of articles on engine swaps, tuning info, performance upgrades, etc. I don't think there needs to be a lot on reviews of new subarus. I mean each new model could get a small article but we have tons of other magazines to hear that from, car&driver, motortrend, road&track, etc... I think the content of a subaru only mag should be what those others don't really cover, going into greater detail or more technical aspects. Instead of just reviewing the car and saying the same thing 100 other mags say, you should maybe do an article on how the awd system works in detail, or how subaru engineered the platform, or how the engine works and was designed. You know, origional articles. And if you show "custom" installs that people have done to their subs don't just list all the stupid K&N filters and new pulleys, coilover shocks, low pro tires, free flow exhaust and then say it feels much faster. Any car that is in a magazine with performance mods should be TESTED! That is one thing about other mags that pisses me off. If it has 400hp how fast is it? Actuall numbers next too a stock setup. And show the tradeoffs and the prices of crap. Looks like a nice idea I'd buy it if I saw it.

I've heard some people say they change the filter every 7500 or whatever miles but the oil every 15,000mi (using amsoil or m1 or whatnot). Well wouldn't all the oil come out when you change the filter or is the oil lower down in the pan?

Ok.... well thanks for the suggestions. The carbon cleaning is a good idea. I've heard of the MotorVac before so maybe I'll give it a try and see if the shop has any other ideas. I might replace an o2 sensor too as it looks like that has helped some people. I thought I read that there were two o2 sensors, now do you replace both of them or is one replaced more often? What is an E-test? Sounds like these subarus just don't get as good of mpg as you'd think they would for their size as well as their engines. Must just be the AWD and less effiecent engines as say hondas and toyotas.

I'm not really a doubel clutcher but it sounds interesting. Question is how does it help to let the clutch out in neutral then push it back in before downshifting? Why not just match the revs on the downshift but push the clutch in once, wouldn't that accomplish the same thing?

Ok now this is pathetic I should be getting up to 30mpg right? My last fill up was just under 20mpg, now this was all city driving but still seems quite low. The troubleing thing is when I do highway driving I never really get above 25mpg and usually am at 23mpg or so. This car has a little 4 cylinder, come on! Gramps V-8 mercury boat will get 25 at times! I have a '97 Legacy GT Sedan, 2.5 DOHC AWD Manual. It only has 46k miles. Car would be perfect if I could get up these mpg, my old '91 accord had a 2.2 and got 34mpg. I put Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic with a purolator filter in 2k ago, along with a new air and fuel filter, pcv valve and spark plugs. One thing I did notice is 2 of the spark plugs did seem to have more what I believe is carbon deposit on them then the others. It didn't seem like an extremely high amount, but it was noticeably more then the other two. Not sure if this could mean anything. I have heard you can replace O2 sensors and that can help, but I'd be very surprised if it goes out at 46k even though it is an 8 year old car. I'd rather not just replace something blindly, and I believe there are two sensors which would probably cost over $200. Is there a way to test these? I was thinking of buying one of those OBDII readers, would those help at all? I think you can get readings for a variety of sensors so maybe I could tell if something is out of spec, but how would I know what the readings should be? This does sound like a neat tool so I'd much rather spend ~$100 on something I know would be useful then replacing 02 sensors which may not help at all. Any other suggestions of what I should do?

The Purilalator filter is a good filter and cheap too. Thats what I use in my '97 Legacy, Mobil1 5w30 and a purilator. Don't know who is thinking about the 25k oil changes but thats just rediculous. Doesn't matter how great the oil is after ~15k or so it is just going to be very dirty and it will hurt your engine.

Well I thought I should change the rear diff fluid on my '97 Legacy 5spd GT, I got a 1/2" ratchet to take out the plugs but man they are in there really hard! Do I need some kind of penetrating lubricant or do I need like a 2ft extension? Doesn't seem like it should be that hard but I couldn't get either the drain or fill plug to budge.Any suggestions on how to get them out would be great. When I put them in what are they supposed to be torqued at? (never saw that in my book) Also what oil do you guys use in the rear diff? I had some Castrol Syntec 75-90 I thought I'd use, wondering if there is anything better or a majority opinion of what to use. I use Mobil 1 in the engine and plan on using a dino gear oil in the trans as I have heard synthetics don't work well in MT.

My neighboor just got his subby broken into and they poped the hood to cut the battery. Anyone know if I can add a hood senor to the factory alarm(97 Legacy GT Sedan) or am I gonna need to buy a whole new aftermarket alarm?

Man I'd be pissed if they did that after 30yrs of no clames. I think insurance companies might only look back 3 yrs because I know with tickets after 3 years it doesn't matter what your record looked like. Hopefully they don't raise my rates. I still have it through my parents and they have auto/home/life so I'd tend to think they'd be more hessitent. My parents probably payed close to that in premiums last year so its not like they're losing much.

I had my first accident last month and it ended up costing quite a lot so I thought I'd tell the story for anyone who wants to know just how expensive wrecks can be. I bought a 97 Legacy GT Sedan in December with 40,000 miles for $9000. 7 days later while going very slow, 5mph, I rear-ended an Isuzu who had the delightful idea of leaving his trailer hitch in the car. To everyone out there who tows please take that damn hitch outta your car when you unhook the trailer! Well his hitch went through my bumper and relocated the radiator. These hitches tend to be solid steel welded directly to the frame, meaning it will not absorb any impact or move untill it is buried deep in your car. The belovid hitch was actually mated to my car and took a good 2 hours to pull out! Well I took the car in, they estimated $2800 to fix it, then called back later to say the timing cover had been hit so they needed a suby dealer to check it out. Suby dealer reported the belt had jumped and the engine was probably ruined! Great my car is probably totaled I figured, now I gotta look for a new car again! Well they took the engine apart just to check and it appeared to actually be in good shape so it was put back together and charged around $1400, which included timing belt covers, timing belt, adjuster belt tensioner, sprockets, pulley crankshaft among other small items. Parts were $480 and labor was $630, plus a misc. charge? and towing expenses. Car got pulled back to the shop I origionally took it where they fixed the bumper and radiator along with the front end metal brackets and whatnot. Total parts were $2700, labor was $1400, plus the suby dealer work = $5500 total. Luckily I had insurance, I only had to pay $500, so I suppose the price really doesn't matter when you have collision. But I was very surprised such a small accident could cost so much! The repair came with a lifetime warranty so I at least feel good about that and it may inflate the price some, although I have a feeling there have to be a few exceptions to their policy! The insurance adjuster actually said prior to the repairs he would NOT have to check on the car or check on the company and he said this to me as well as the shop which seemed rather odd. Any comments, or advice on areas of concern I should keep an eye on?