Scoobydoo

I'll chime in that replacing the neutral switch seems to have resolved misfire codes that have been going on for years and recently more serious stumbling and loss of power. We even replaced the engine (for head gasket reasons) and the misfires were still happening. That was frustrating. Thanks to the USMB community for saving me a pile of money at the mechanic (and I bet he would never have solved it either. He's not going to spend hours reading USMB just to fix my car). Donation made. Car is 98 Outback with 340,000km.

I notice you're in Canada too. Where did you pick the links up?

Hi all, Can anyone tell me if the bushings for the front stabilizer link (short dogbone style link off the stabilizer bar) are available and replaceable individually or if a new link is needed? Noticed the old bushing has some freeplay in it, which makes some clunking noise over bumps. Are new ones a tight fit on the bolt that connects it to the suspension arm? Not a performance problem, but would like to get rid of the noise. Thanks!

I just fixed this on my car on the weekend. Couldn't find a used subaru solenoid valve (over $100 new) so took one out of a honda at the junkyard, soldered the Subaru connector on, and it works fine. Hoses even fit. To find one on other cars, just find the fuel vapor canister and follow the hoses out of that. As long as the resistance is between about 30 and 100 ohms it should do the job.

I just fixed this problem on my wife's 98 outback a couple weeks ago. Interestingly, I had to fix the same thing on an 83 GL I had years ago. In these instances, the spindle on the motor eventually got gummed up and jammed where it passes out of the gear housing for the wiper motor. If you remove the motor and take it apart you can push out the spindle, clean it up and put some fresh grease on it. Disassembly is fairly straightforward, just keep track of all the little washers and snaprings.

Yeah, it's a legacy of course, not loyale. I was thinking one thing and typing another... I just assumed it would have a substantial metal guard. I don't think I'll bother getting a replacement if it's just plastic though. Thanks guys.

I was working on my girlfriends 98 Legacy Outback for the first time (I guess we are at a new level in our relationship!) and notice the sump guard plate was missing. Maybe it interfered with someone's oil changing . Before I head off to the wrecker to find a donor, does anyone know if any/all other models and years will fit? The hole pattern looks about the same as both my 91 Loyale and my deceased (but not forgotten) 83 GL. Thanks.

Update: After searching around and not being able to even find a 2-core that would fit, I got fed up and just put in a new, regular single core. Temperature is fine now, and sits solidly at 1/3 on the gauge even up steep hills in hot weather.

Thought I'd add a follow-up here. I tried bigjim's recommendation, John & Murray motors, and found them to be very good. They said it was the first online recommendation they have had, and all their business is pretty much word of mouth. They even offered to pick the car up from my home, since it is on their way. I'll definitely go back to them and recommend them to friends. Before going to John & Murray for the wheel bearing, I had an axle replaced at CV Specialists in Richmond. They did a good job at a reasonable price, although I think the axle is binding slightly sometimes. Hard to tell which side it is. They have a 3 year warranty though, so I'll see if it gets worse and easier to tell if it's on the side they replaced.

Thanks EmmCeeBee. One other thing, from what I gather reading here, the 91 Loyale Turbo uses a 2-core (which is what I got a quote for). Can I just drop in the turbo one? Do the turbos also use an electic fan with a thermoswitch?

Hi All, I've been reading all the radiator related threads lately, since I've got some overheating issues myself, and have a couple questions. Symptoms: when going uphill with a full load temperature climbs to about 2/3 up scale (it's normally at 1/3 or so). At this point coolant bubbles into and out of the overflow tank and engine starts to knock more (timing is already retarded a bit to go easy on a worn main bearing). Electric fan works fine. 1) I have a 2-core rad in right now, but I think it might be plugged. About 10% of the foil fins are starting to fall out too. I priced out a 2-core and it's 50% more than a normal replacement ($290 vs $180 cdn). I'm wondering if the normal one would be adequate and better than my current 2-core. Anyone have a comment on the performance of a stock radiator with a fully loaded car in 85'F weather? 2) Is it worth my time to bother trying a chemical flush? I've heard it's a band-aid solution at best. 3) is the popular online shop radiators.com or radiator.com? Has anyone from Canada tried them? Their toll-free numbers don't work from here. Thanks!

http://www.omega.com/pptst/NI80.html The higher resistance/foot the less you'll need, but the thinner stuff is hard to work with (doesn't hold it's coil shape and is more delicate). Or you could dig it out of an old toaster, space heater etc. Pretty much the same stuff, you just need the right resistance.

Hi all, My 91 Loyale is eating front wheel bearings at about twice the rate I would expect. They last maybe three years before they start to make noise. I think I am on the third set in 250,000km which maybe isn't so bad, but this last one is gone after only 20,000km. After reading a bit about the problems with Forester bearings, and how people are replacing them with roller bearings from Outback models, I was wondering if there are roller bearings that will fit in the Loyale and maybe have a more durable life. Alignment and such on the car seems fine, although poking around I noticed that the inboard seal on the bearing was slightly damaged, so maybe water got in there and ended its life prematurely. Thanks.

Sorry for the late response. Haven't been on the board for awhile and can't keep up with the volume anyway, so finding these posts depends on what my search impulses are. This is a great idea. I don't have wrenching facilities (apartment with surface parking) so I don't think I can offer much for actual work, but I've got a factory shop manual and a bit of knowledge (I hope) which I'll share freely. I think the real benefit is to have more people on the lookout for good mechanics, help with diagnostics etc. Actually, I'm just about to call John & Murray Auto ,which bigjim recommended, to get my wheelbearings looked at. This thing eats bearings at an alarming rate. Does anyone know if a Legacy bearing is more durable (ball vs roller?) and will fit in the Loyale?

in my shop manual it says the flasher unit is behind the instrument display, although from the lousy picture I can't tell exactly where. Maybe you can get at it from underneath. It's clustered with relays for the lights and rear defroster. Hope that helps.