jbmorse

Thanks for the input guys. I didn't get to check these cars out yet but I may be able to this week sometime. I agree with the point that fewer owners would be better. I saw another 03 Legacy wagon with 180k but only one owner for only $2500, which may be a better deal than the other wagons. This morning's commute to work made me realize that I shouldn't be picky about things like colors, nice wheels, sunroofs or leather seats. Driving through a blizzard, those things don't matter! Anyway, I will continue research. I'm still interested to know whether there are any significant differences between the Legacy and Outback. All I've found so far, besides a few options, there is no difference but ground clearance. Also, how do the fancy options like power moonroofs and heated mirrors hold up on these cars, in general? My poor Subaru has so many electrical glitches, I sometimes call it a VW (my first car was a Quantum Syncro Wagon from 1987; terrible electrics). I am hoping my car is an exception. Thanks again Thanks again!

I've finally reached the point in my life at which I am no longer willing or able to keep fixing my 97 Outback I've had for the last 8 years. It's been an amazing car, but at 15 years old and 236K, it's got a long list of issues and I don't want to spend my summer or my savings working on it. Anyway, I plan to buy another Subaru wagon but a little newer, without rust, and with most of the features still working. I have a small budget of about $4k, which seems to put me in the market for a decent 2000-2004 Legacy or Outback. My needs/ wants include a wagon, manual transmission, no rust, and hopefully ready to use. I've already located two that I like in my area and would like some opinions if I may. The first is a 2001 Outback Limited with a 5spd, leather, and sunroof with 150k miles. It looks nice in the pictures and they're asking $3k. I like the functionality of the Outback; the little extra ground clearance has proven useful. I don't live in the woods anymore, though, so it's not really a necessity. The other car I like is a 2003 Outback Wagon GT (apparently) but without leather seats? It's a 5 speed as well. Anyway it's got 120k and they're asking $4k. It also appears rust free and in good shape. Any thoughts on which of these cars would be the better buy? I bought my 97 Outback with 100k on the clock. It needed head gaskets and a clutch at 140k. Is that about the life span of head gaskets on the 2000-2004 cars as well? I know in the previous generation of Legacy, the Outback and the Legacy not only had different engines, but different final drive or 5th gear ratios. Is this so in the next generation? Is there a MPG benefit going with the Legacy vs Outback? I have seen comments on this site about 2000-2001 cars being less robust than the next couple of years. Isn't it the same engine in this whole range? 2.5 SOHC? And finally, what's it like to drive a Legacy GT vs. an Outback? My 97 is pretty boring but so is the Legacy counterpart. Any feedback on these cars would be greatly appreciated as I plan to see them in person this very afternoon! Thanks!

I understand the OP has solved this problem using rubber hose, but I thought I'd offer my solution as well. I tried to fix this problem by patching the neck with that two part gas tank sealing putty. It worked for a year before developing leaks again. So I bought a permatex gas tank repair kit, the kind that comes with the little fiberglass cloth and some very good epoxy resin stuff to put over it. http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/90-558-gasket-sealer/fuel-tank-repair-kit--604621.aspx I cleaned the filler neck with a wire brush and some solvent before applying the repair kit and then painted it and I may have even sprayed undercoating. I also left the plastic cover off. That was two years ago and it shows no signs of leaking yet. It's probably not going to last forever but at under $15 I thought it was a good alternative to a new filler neck.

Hi, I am in dire need of a new rocker panel for my 97 legacy outback. It's got quite a few holes in it and I would really like to buy a new one that I can weld in rather than patching up the old one with a bunch of crap. Does anybody make these? I can't seem to find anything online but if you all know of something let me know. It's the passenger side panel I need. There are holes back near the wheel well and in many places all the way up to the next wheel well!

Thanks fellas for the good advice. I will definitely change that 02 sensor soon. You might be right about that PCV tube being cracked. I remember it being pretty tender when I changed the PCV valve a while back. I will definitely go through and change the wear items that are ready. I will also inspect the knock sensor now that I know what and where it is. And Rooster I like your idea of starting the car up in the dark to look for sparks. I will give that a shot as well. Thanks again. I shall report back when I get to all this and let the forum know what I think the problem was.

Car: 97 Legacy Outback, 5 spd, 202k miles This problem first came up when driving through one of our many winter storms of this season. I was driving along the highway and the car suddenly began to studder and lose power. I pulled off at the next exit and took a peak under the hood for a loose plug wire or anything obvious, but saw nothing. The temperature gauge read normal too, btw. So for lack of a better idea I continued and the car snapped out of it. Now it seems whenever I leave on a rainy or snowy morning the car will studder and run really poorly, almost to the point of stalling completely. It seems to happen at lower RPMs but I can usually throw the clutch in and bring the revs up to redline and back. The problem seems to go away after a few miles, or when the car is warmed up (or maybe dried off). It also seems to be generally lacking in power but I don't know if the two are related. What stumps me is that I replaced the coolant temp sensor last year with an OEM one and put in expensive Bosch plug wires using dielectric grease, so I tend to doubt it's a plug wire problem. It definitely "feels" like an electrical thing though. I have seen posts here indicating that lack of power is often a bad knock sensor. I don't believe mine's every been replaced but it wouldn't explain the wet condition problem, would it? And in the interest of full disclosure there is a CEL showing a bad front 02 sensor. Don't know whether that's related or not. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks

No the diagnostic connectors are not plugged together. The check engine light is not coming on either. I thought for sure it would be the coolant temp sensor. What else would control the fans coming on and off? The coolant level may indeed be low. I thought it was fine last time I looked, but I'll check it out when I'm near the garage again. Thanks

I'll see about borrowing a scan gauge to check coolant temp. I have replaced the thermostat within the last 30k miles, and the car warms up normally and runs at normal temperature according to the temp gauge, so I really doubt it's sticking. The radiator and water pump were replaced about 40k miles ago when the head gaskets were replaced. The cooling system seems to work as it should, but the fan won't stop. This morning I played around with relays, switching in ones that I knew were good. It made no difference, the fan still runs as soon as the key is turned on. I am at a loss.

I replaced the two wire sensor. Maybe the one-wire sender unit is the problem?

The car: 97 Legacy Outback Wagon 5spd 179K miles, No check engine codes showing The problem: (1) Fan runs constantly. Temp reads normal, heater works fine, (2) High idle when cold, up to 2500rpm, meaning I really have to warm the car up before taking off or shifting becomes a clutch-eating chore. So I read numerous threads here that seemed to point to the CTS, coolant temperature sensor, as the culprit, possibly for both problems. Today I bought an OEM sensor and replaced the old one. I did the PCV valve while I was in there. Fired up the car when I was done and it reved way up and the fans ran just as was happening before! So what should I check next? The temp gauge sender? I thought of replacing it too, but the gauge reads normal so I thought it was surely the coolant temp sensor. Some threads referred to vacuum leaks as a cause for high idle. I think it's possible I have some leaks somewhere because those hoses near the sensor I replaced are pretty brittle, but that doesn't explain the fan running. Maybe I have two separate problems? Any ideas? Thanks!

Could somebody fill me in on where the switch is for the radiator fan? I've got a 97 Legacy Outback Wagon and the fan runs when it shouldn't. My father thinks it sounds like the switch is bad, so I thought I may start by throwing a new switch on, since the seem to cost less than $10. I can't find it in my manual or in the parts fiche online though! Is it the thing on the bottom of the engine block, across from the thermostat? Thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks all for the replies, they helped a lot. Here's what I wound up doing to fix my filler neck, this could help people in the future. I drove the car until it was a little below 1/4 tank, and no gas came out when I pulled the filler. I took the filler neck off, which wasn't too bad. Spray some PB blaster or something on all those screws, it helped me a lot. I put the filler neck on the bench and wire brushed it clean, which created more pin holes but I wanted to have clean metal. I wasn't sure at this point if this thing was beyond repair. Not sure if JBWeld would work, I went to the parts store and wound up buying some of this stuff: It worked really well and was only $5. After it was dry (it gets real hard) I painted the filler and put it back on without the plastic shield. I am not sure if I will leave it off, I may try to modify it so it doesn't catch so much crap from the road. anyway, the permatex stuff worked well, dried pretty quickly and hasn't shown any signs of leaking yet. I had a fairly large area on the filler that was rusted with holes, like maybe four inches square of intermittent holes. The patch worked well and I had a little left over. Thanks again for all the advice!

Probably can be fixed with the tube on the car, but I would like to wire brush the pipe and paint it or at least treat it with rust reformer before putting it back together. Hopefully I can do this job once and for all!

Thanks. Yeah that's exactly what happened to me. The dirt and crud built up between the plastic guard and the pipe.

yeah I was planning on using that JBWeld. It works great and I know it holds up to gas because I repaired some carb overflow tubes on my bike with it! It's held up for 6 months now with now drippage of gas out of the carbs!

This weekend I have to repair the fuel filler neck on my subaru (97 legacy outback wagon). It's leaking when the tank is close to full. I have the factory manual and understand how to get it off. My mechanic thinks I should be able to patch it without having to buy a new one, so that's good. Anyway, do I need to drain the tank completely or can I leave a little gas in there when I take the neck off? Since it only leaks when the tank is over 1/2 full, it seems I should be able to remove the filler without getting gas all over the garage. Does this sound right? Do I really need to empty the tank all the way? Thanks!

Great, thanks for the responses everyone. On the fog lights, if I do go with Hella 500s, as I have seen some people do on this site, should I bypass the original fog light wiring and wire in the hella system on its own? Any tips on how to go about it? What are the disadvantages of using the original wiring? For the door switches, I will mess with the switches and check the wiring. What had me believe the problem was beyond this is that the same thing would happen on both doors, always. I'll look into it further this weekend. For the circuit problem, I'll pull the lower dash panel off this weekend and look around in there for corroded connectors or anything that seems out of whack. Thanks!

Hi all I am a new member to this forum, but I have already found tons of useful info. I do have a few questions regarding my 97 legacy outback wagon. 1.) Is anybody running aftermarket fog lights in place of the originals? I have a broken fog light, and I can't find a replacement for a reasonable price. I can get two new ones, like a hella 500, for less than the cost of one new one from subaru. Used prices are crazy as well. Anyway, what types are people buying for this? I would want something that looks like the original. Would I cut the plug from my old fog light mount and use it or wire the new lights without that plug? 2.) My damn power locks are getting flakey. Sometimes I hit the switch to lock or unlock and nothing happens, or they unlock or lock part way. Subsequent pushes of the switch do nothing. I have to leave it and come back to try again. I would blame the switch but it happens on both doors the same way, and doesn't help to try the other when one doesn't work. Should I be looking for a relay, connection, or what? I can't find a specific relay for the door locks. 3.) There is a glitch in some circuit where the radiator fan will run when not needed. While this is happening, the heated mirrors and heated seats do not work. If I reach under the dash and jiggle the fuse box, or perhaps one of the bunches of wires going into it, I can make the fan stop and that circuit work again. Seems like a flakey connection, any tips on how to track it down and fix it? Oh, and while we're on the fan, it is a dual fan type. I haven't done this in a while, but last time I looked at it while it was running, only one of the two fans was moving. Are they always supposed to work together, or will there ever be one working by itself? Thanks for any help, this site is great! I already used some info to track down an egr code, which I think I successfully fixed. I also recommended it to my father, who's going to do a vanagon/subaru conversion soon!