Philbiker

I test drove a base outback 6 speed last night and I absolutely loved the driving experience!

Crutchfield sells a kit that will adapt the opening for a single DIN unit which mine is for $15, and it includes a neato little shelf that looks to be the perfect size for a smart phone. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120998903B/Metra-99-8903B-In-dash-Receiver-Kit.html

My 2004 Legacy needs its second head gasket replacement at 190K miles. I had the head gaskets replaced at 86K. I'm thinking of putting the car out to pasture. I've gotten 10 years and 190K miles out of it and it's still in good shape. Always been garaged; the exhaust has never had any kind of issue and it just passed emissions last year. The only big unexpected problem was the head gasket, but I knew I was getting into that possibility when I bought the car. There is not a spot of rust on the car, and I've maintained it well; the interior has held up well and cleans up nicely. I just can't justify the expense of a head gasket and timing belt on a 10 year old car with almost 200K miles. At this point this would be a great car for a competent home mechanic to own because I've taken great care of it. I'm not much of a home mechanic. I know my limitations. So I'm considering a new 2014 Outback 2.5i. The Legacy is the only automatic transmission car I've ever owned, and I want to go back to a manual. Tell me about the new Outback. I'm planning another 10 years and 200K miles. * How is the 6-speed and clutch? Do these Subaru clutches last a long time? My wife's '05 Mercedes-Benz Coupe is on the original clutch with no sign of any trouble at 130K miles - and from what I understand from talking to Mercedes specific shops, I should expect it to last much longer. Are Subaru clutches this stout? * 16" Steelies and wheel covers probably mean less expensive tires when it comes time to replace them. True? * New engine means the head gasket issues have been resolved - too soon to tell? Does the new engine still require the Subaru Coolant additave? * New engine has a timing chain instead of a belt - Yahoo!!!! What is the maintenance / tensioning requirement? Just let it be? * No more frameless windows means much quieter ride compared to my 2004. True? * Does anyone know if the wiring harness for the stereo is the same as the one on my 2004? I have an aftermarket unit in my Legacy (DVD, SACD multi-channel audio capabilities) that I intend to move into the new car. * Manual Subarus still get the viscous fluid AWD system? Doe this have any maintenance requirements that I should be aware of? I hope I can get a good trade in value for my '04 despite the busted headgasket. It's in very good condition otherwise. I'll be de-installing the stereo this weekend and installing the stocker back in. I'll miss the luxury items from the 35th anniversary package, especially the dual sunroofs, but it's time to move on. Also - what kind of penalty should I expect on trade-in for my Legacy from a Subaru dealer. I would expect that the head gasket will be the first thing they will look for.

I have a 2005 Legacy with a seeping head gasket - any chance the coolant conditioner will help eliminate or at least slow a seep?

Hello. Please forgive me if this has been covered; I did some searches and didn't find anything particularly useful. I want to read and reset the codes when my check engine light comes on. The reason is that there is a fuel sensor in my gas tank that occasionally sets off the check engine light. It's done this three times since 2004 and every time I've had to go to a shop to get the diagnosis. I'm not going to replace the whole gas tank for this intermittent problem which doesn't affect anything really. I'm not sure what I need in terms of cables, laptop, and/or software. Is there a simple intro to this somewhere? I couldn't find it here. I know lots of people here can read the check engine codes, and there's lots of info on this coming up in my searches, but not a simple "how to" with the cable, etc, at least that I could find using the searches I tried.

Thanks for posting! Maybe 10K miles ago? It's been a while, but I've noticed this uneven wear since I got the car new regardless of the alignment (which can cause other tire wear problems) or tires. According to a search here it seems lots of users inflate their tires a little high with these wheels - I think I may give it a try. I'll need new tires in a couple months.

I have a 2004 Legacy with the 16" rims that used to be on the older GT models. I notice that I get a lot of edge wear in the front and there is sag in the front tire when the car is at rest; as if it were underinflated. However, I am inflating the tire to the pressure that is recommended inside the door panel (32psi I believe). Is there some kind of consensus about tire inflation on these size rims? Should I try a different tire (I'm using KUHMO ECSTA ASX tires). Edit: My rims look like these: http://jamalb.net/gallery/d/4775-2/0323091746.jpg

I suspect that is the case. And they've already redesigned the entire top end of the engine once in order to address the problem, all it did was change an internal failure to an external one. A small step where large steps are needed.

Follow-up, I was incorrect. The shop did indeed replace both head gaskets on my car.

I agree. I will be heading to my dealer for that little blue bottle before I do my next flush and fill. Problem is they will only honor warrantee work by their terms, i.e. it has to be done by a dealer unless it is an "emergency" situation.

The head gasket kit from Subaru came with the conditioner for my '04. Frankly I'm seriously considering selling the Legacy, I am starting to come to the realization that this car will not go 250K miles / ten years like I was planning without continuing head gasket repairs every few years. Unfortunately virtually all the station wagons on the market have been replaced with "crossover" suvs which have less manageable and usable storage space behind the rear seat.

And in many cases such a leak is very obvious. It makes me nervous, too! However, the cost of replacing both would have been much higher. The old boxer engine..... I inquired about it but the shop recommended that I not replace the other gasket. They may have thought that they couldn't in good concionse recommend that a customer to replace a part that is working properly and shows no signs of failing. A home mechanic capable of doing the work may have done both. Perhaps I should have insisted that it be done as a precautionary measure. When I was shopping in 04 I did a lot of research on the headgasket problem in the older models but I took SOA's word for it that they had identified and fixed the problem with the '03 models. Offering the extended warrantee on the older models was, I thought, a good faith step. I considered the 35th anniversary package Outback, which was the H3 model, but I didn't want the lower fuel economy and higher gas prices. Also, I didn't like the Pontiac-style taped on plastic lowers and I liked the more comfortable highway ride of the Legacy (and the dual sunroofs are wonderful!). I did get a fantastic deal on this car since I got in in April 04 right before the 05s came out. As I understand it the current generation uses the same engine, does it not?

Yeah, like the example I cited about the bike shop supplying the valve measurements on my valve adjustment, they're fine with giving me the info if I ask for it. I guess I wouldn't be an ahole customer, just a curious one if I asked for the down'n'dirty measurement details for the tests. Though I trust them to do the job right, just like I want to be trusted to do my job right, I don't like having management / customers question every little thing I do every step of the way. It is indicitave of mistrust.

This makes sense from an objective standpoint, but the old saying "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice ... you don't get fooled again" comes into play. Seriously, I'm out $1600+ because of this, that memory is going to go with the brand logo for me from now on, there's no way to avoid it. I will not necessarily dismiss subaru and audi outright in the future, but I will definitely put them at the bottom of my list. Sure it "limits" me, but there are so many other auto manufacturers that the real "limitation" is fairly minimal. Also over the years I've lost my AWD zeal. If I have good experience with a company's products I stick with them, if I have poor experience I avoid them in the future. Heck, when I moved I bought a house by the same builder of the one I was in because my experience was so exemplary. I've owned four cars/trucks in my life and only one was a really excellent ownership experience to the point where I'd seek out that manufacturer first. Too bad Isuzu doesn't sell cars & trucks in the USA any more. Audi and Subaru will be at the bottom of my list moving forward as nice as their products are. I'm not a mechanic though I've done simple stuff on my cars and motorcycles throughout the years. I don't need to post every diagnostic to this board, I know Internet message boards love that, especially ones with gearheads like car and motorcycle boards. Suffice it to say this is one of the best shops in the area, specifically known for performance tuning and racing, which in today's hobbyist racing climate means they see a lot of Subarus. One of the senior mechanics/garage managers is a former Subaru dealer mechanic, they know these cars and I'm sure they did all the diagnostics they needed to do, I'm not going to be an A-hole customer and go in there and ask them to document every step they did in order to satisfy the gearheads on an internet message board. (though on the other hand the bike shop didn't seem to mind when I asked them for the out-of-spec measurements for a recent valve adjustment...).

Valve train damage was just my assumption based on long-ago experience with a blown up head gasket in the 80s, not a statement from the shop. I'm going to contact subaru warrantee to see if they will reimburse any part of my expense. Not expecting much. Edit: no dice, the customer support guy at SOA told me that it's out of warrantee anyway and not covered in the list of HG failure VINS. The guy on the phone was polite, but extremely non-commital, using terms like subaru "probably" won't cover the damage, "maybe" they could have helped had I taken it to my dealer instead of a local shop. I kept telling him that's non-commital. Is the answer yes or no? Don't give me "probably" talk! People who can't give a straight answer drive me nuts and this SOA customer service guy, though congenial, made me tear my hear out and I'm bald . Not happy with Subaru and will probably not buy another one because of this episode. Wierd expensive premature maintanance problems was the reason I got rid of my Audi; I bought into the vaunted Subaru reliability myth (literally!). So much for that I guess. I take very good care of my cars as far as scheduled maintenance and use an extremely well regarded local shop which I have been using for at least 6 years so far. I was planning on keeping this car for 200K+ miles but after this I'm having serious considerations of dumping it for something reliable. Lack of warrantee coverage really isn't what makes me unhappy, it's the fact that the HG failed at such a low mileage. I put over 20K miles on the car per year so I pretty much considered the warrantee a moot point, and thought aftermarket warrantees would be a waste of money on a car with the reliability reputation of Subaru. Boy was I wrong. I'm fairly meticulous about standard 30K interval service as well as fluids (brake, transmission, engine oil, coolant, etc.). I wonder how long the other head gasket has. The good news is I got a new timing belt installed (early, I know) and didn't have to pay for labor. :-p