ron917

That shouldn't happen. First thing I would do is replace the radiator cap - it may be weak and not holding pressure.

On my '99, one seat heater switch is illuminated, the other isn't - the bulb in the dark one is burned out. Same with my fog light switch. The orange "ON" indicators work on all of those switches.

Paul, I don't think kybshocksonline is an official KYB website, they appear to be just a vendor. I don't think that 334111 and 334112 are correct for the Outback. I see them listed at many sites for the regular Legacy. The only way to know for sure would be to measure them, and compare against the dimensions for the Monroe 71412 found at rockauto.com (http://www.rockauto.com/ref/Monroe/71412.html) Per my previous post, 235632 and 235633 fit the front as long as you can figure out a way to support the ABS sensor cable. 335020 and 335021 are correct for the rear as near as I can tell (I'll know for sure when I install them). -Ron

SUCCESS! The KYB GR-2 front stuts part numbers 235632 and 235633 fit perfectly! Except for the ABS sensor cable bracket, they are identical in every dimension to the OEM Subaru struts that were on the car. The ABS sensor cable has a rubber gromment on it with a clamp folded around that. That clamp is what is bolted onto the bracket on the stock struts. Using a screwdriver and two pairs of pliers, I openend the clamp. I then pushed the rubber grommet up the cable about an inch or so, and folded the clamp back as it was. I used a large zip tie through bolt hole in the clamp and around the strut body to hold the cable in place. I wanted to drill/chisel the brackets off of the old struts and tack weld them on to the new, but I ran out of time - it got dark and started raining (I really need to clean out my garage so I can work in it). Another option is to fabricate a bracket that is attached via the strut mounting bolts - the FSM drawings (in the brake section) show that arrangement. The brackets will go on my "to do someday" list. I didn't get to the rear struts today, and rain is forcast for tomorrow, so it may be next weekend until I get to them. I'm sure they are the correct parts (KYB GR-2s part numbers 335020 and 335021). Just having new front struts made a drastic improvement in the ride. The old ones were very weak, one had no resitance at all under compression.

Here's what I know so far: Tire Rack sent me KYB GR-2s, part numbers 235632 and 235633, for front struts. Other vendors (e.g., Advance Auto Parts) call for those same numbers for my car, and all Legacy Outbacks '95 to '99. Some other web sites do not list a front GR-2 for my car, but end at 5/98. KYB's web site, http://www.kyb.com, says they're catalog is coming soon. No help there. Monroe's online catalog (at http://www.monroe.com) calls for 71412 and 71413 for my front struts. Those same numbers are listed for '95 to '99 Legacy Outbacks. rockauto.com has actual photographs and dimensions for those Monroe struts. You can see the ABS cable bracket on the Monroes. The dimensions given for the Monroes match the KYBs within 1/8 inch. Gabriel's online catalog (http://www.gabriel.com) calls for G55865 and G55866 for my front struts. Those same numbers are listed for '95 to '99 Legacy Outbacks. I could not find a photo or dimensions for the Gabriel struts. My thinking is that, except for the ABS cable bracket, the KYBs should fit. I can easily fabricate some kind of bracket, use zip ties, or hack the brackets off the old struts and weld them to the new ones. The FSM does not show an ABS cable bracket in the strut section. It does show one in the brake section, but it is not welded to the strut. It is held on by the nut on one of the big strut mounting bolts. I intend to try fitting the KYBs tomorrow. I'll check and measure everything to make sure they'll fit. I'll post an update when I'm finished.

Pauli, that doesn't sound like good news. I also prefer the KYB GR-2s to anything else available for my Outback. I've had a lot of trouble findiing the proper parts for my '99, even from multiple dealers. It almost seems like Subaru used random parts for each car they built. I'm going to carefully check the new struts against the originals and do some further research. If the ABS cable bracket is the only difference, I'll put them in and do something to keep the wires out of the way. Can anyone describe how the front ABS sensor cable is routed in a '95 thru 5/98 Outback? Pics are best of course. If these front KYBs won't work, I'll return all four struts and go with OEM from one of the online dealers. Gabriel and Monroe list struts for my car, but I haven't been real happy with them in the past. I wish Bilstien made struts for my Outback.

The original struts have a bracket for the ABS sensor cable, tack welded opposite of the brake hose bracket. The new KYB GR-2s that I got from Tire Rack don't have that ABS cable bracket. Otherwise, the replacements look identical to the originals. Did I get the wrong part, or am I supposed to figure out a way to move that bracket? A couple minutes with a drill and MIG welder would do the trick. Or maybe just go with zip ties? I found it strange that many web sites don't list front struts for my car. They have listings that specify 95 thru 5/98, then 00 and up. My car was built in 4/99. Tire Rack didn't specify a build date, just asked for year/make/model as usual.

Ditto what cookie said. The crank position sensor wire on my 2.5L DOHC was loose, not "clicked" into the connector. It stalled and ran bad intermittantly. It took me weeks to find the problem. The ECU doesn't necessarily throw a code if those sensors are "sort of" working, but it really does mess up the spark timing.

If coolant is getting in to the oil, you may see thick goop (mayonaise-like, as someone else said) on the bottom of the oil filler cap. That happend on a VW Golf I used to own, I assume it happens on Subarus also. When the HG let go on that VW, the crankcase had 8 quarts of what looked like chocolate milk in it!

Finally got time to install the new front sway bar this weekend. The whole job took about 2 hours, as porcupine 73 said, includinging short breaks for beverages and a phone call. It was easy to do, only took about 30 seconds to thread the new bar into place. Looked harder than it really was. There was a HUGE improvement in handling with the new bar. It was far greater than the difference when the old bar broke. This confirms my belief that the old bar was cracked, and therefore weakened, before it broke completely.

There is a parking light switch on top of your steering column. You have to scootch up on the seat and look through the steering wheel to see it, or you can see it when standing outside the car. Turn the switch off, and the parking lights will go out. Your grandson hit the switch when he was cleaning the dash. It happens to every Subaru owner at least once. Welcome to the club!

I just replaced my tires, and the old one were worn slightly more on the inside edge, just like the original poster. I cross-rotated them, following the intructions for AWD vehicles on Michelin's web site, but still got the uneven wear. If your tires have directional tread, you have to keep them on the same side of the vehicle. I need new struts, and I'll be getting an alignment done after the new struts are in.

Yesterday, I replaced worn-out Michelin Harmonys with Nokian WRs. This is on a '99 Outback wagon. Here's my personal experience. The Harmonys were OK in snow when new, they were not so good last year with 40+ Kmiles on them. On ice, they were no better than any other all season tire. They did very well in the rain and on dry roads. Ride was smooth, and handling was good. They were quiet when new, but got very noisy as they wore. They are supposed to be 80K mile tire, but at 60Kmiles, they were nearly worn out. One of my Harmonys developed a leak, and with winter approaching, I needed to repace them anyway. I went with the Nokian WR because we get a mix every kind of weather here in Northwest NJ, and I often travel to the mountains in PA. My brother, who lives in the Pocono Mountains in PA, raves about his WRs so I decided to give them a try. The WRs have a slightly harsher ride than the Harmonys. The handling is not quite as precise, but they are acceptable. They are not a high performance tire, but dry road handling is FAR better then Bridgestone Blizzaks. I have no experience with them in snow and ice yet, but others say they work well. For dedicated winter tires, we run Bridgestone Blizzaks on our minivan. My wife insists on them. They are good in snow and amazing on ice. On two different occasions, the only reason I knew the road was icy was because other vehicles were sliding off the road. Our van did not slide, and the ABS never kicked in - just incredible performance from the Blizzaks. However, Blizzaks are very squirrely on dry roads. Definitely a winter only tire. -Ron

Thanks for the info. I decided to stick with original equipment. New swaybar and bushings are have been ordered, and should be hear next Wednesday. -Ron

Hi, all. I have a '99 Outback wagon, 115K miles. Broke the front swaybar yesterday. A search on this and other forums leads me to believe that this is not uncommon. So, if anyone's keeping score, here's another one. The break occured when turning left onto a road that goes steeply downhill. The breakover is fairly sharp, and there is a dip on the right for a drain. Heard a loud "bang", but didn't notice anything different until making a sharp right turn into a parking spot, and heard a scraping sound - the end link was rubbing against the wheel. It broke on the driver's side, at the sharp bend near the bracket and bushing mounted to the frame rail. The broken ends are rusty, except for a small area at the edge. This leads me to believe that it was cracked for some time, and it finally let loose completely. I removed the broken end. The car is still very drivable, but there is more body roll, of course. I wouldn't want to try any high-speed maneuvers until this is fixed. Now, I need to decide whether to go with a factory swaybar, or upgrade both ends of the car. Who, if anyone, makes upgraded swaybars for the '99 Outback? Upgrades for WRXs seem easy to find, but very little seems to be available for the Outback. Is it possible to replace the swaybar without dropping the exhaust? It looks like it might be doable with a lot of patience. Has anyone done it with the exhaust in place? Thanks!

My thoughts exactly. Even at $200, I saved more than that amount by doing one repair job myself vs. taking it to a shop. I buy the FSM for every car I own, it's always worth the cost.

You're limited to downloading 20 files per hour. It's a major pain, and will take a huge amount of your time to download the files and organize them. I gave in and bought the manual on CD for $200 from the same site. My time is worth more than the $166 difference.

Andyjo, this sounds strange, but I'm glad to hear you couldn't solder the wires on the Bosch universal O2 sensor. I couldn't do it either, and thought I must be losing my soldering skills. The solder just wouldn't wet the wire no matter what I did. The wire must be aluminum or something else, definitely not the usual tinned copper. I gave up and used the fancy connector supplied by Bosch - it's complicated, but went together easily and looks like it will be durable.

Oh, man, does this bring back memories. About 25 years ago, me and my cousin got hold of an early '70s Dodge Dart. The thing had holes in the floor, you had to be careful where you put your feet. We had this great idea to supercharge the car for cheap. We put a gas powered generator in the trunk, and fit an old vacuum cleaner under the hood somehow. Plumbed the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner to the intake snorkel on the air cleaner, connected the vac to the generator, and fired her up. The car ran like crap and pinged like crazy. No power at all off idle. Sounds like the guy on eBay is trying to sell something similar. I don't recommend it.

When I did the last brake job on my Subie, I needed the parts immediately so I took whatever Advance Auto had in stock. The pads and rotors are cheap Wearever Silver brand, better parts required special order. I took the cheap stuff - I needed to get my car back on the road. 53,000 miles later, I am very happy with the cheap pads and rotors. They have held up well. For my style of driving, they work just as well as OEM, Axxis, PBR, Brembo and everything else I've used. No noise, minimal dust, and the car stops every time.

I replaced my front oxygen sensor a few weeks ago. My fuel mileage increased from 23 MPG to 25 MPG. The inside of my tailpipe is now grey instead of black, indicating that the car was running somewhat rich previously. The sensor was original and had 108K miles on it.

Couple of hints on POR-15: WEAR GLOVES! It does not come off of skin - you'll wear it for days. Try not to get it on your face. When resealing the can, put a piece of plastic wrap between the lid and the can. Othewise, you cannot re-open the can. Don't get it anywhere you don't want it. It won't come off. Follow the prep directions to the letter. The stuff needs some "tooth" on the surface to stick. It won't stay on shiney, smooth, bare metal - it just peals off. So, do the prep work as directed. Moisture causes the stuff to cure - it hardens faster on humid days than on dry days.

That's what I thought regarding the gasket. What's the best tool to unscrew it? I've got a strap type oil filter wrench and a rubber strap wrench. I don't have a cap style wrench that fits, but I could buy one. I've never had real trouble with a spin-on filter, but then I've never tried to remove one that had been in place for over 100K miles.

I have a '99 Legacy Outback, automatic tranny, 109K miles. It has the spin-on transmission fluid filter, probably factory original, and I want to change it. I stopped at my local dealer this morning and bought the filter, and the parts guy also sold me a "gasket" that is identical to the crush washer on the tranny fluid drain plug (engine oil drain plug has the same crush washer). The parts guy indicated to me that the crush washer goes over the threaded nipple that ATF filter screws on to. Seems strange to me, and I couldn't find any reference to it in the FSM. To anyone who has changed one of these filters, was there a crush washer on there? No big deal if it's not needed on the filter, I'll just use it on the drain plug, which is where I think it goes. Thanks!

I drove mine for months with a leaking head gasket. However, mine wasn't as bad as yours - no oil in the coolant (just a little black stuff), and it NEVER overheated. Since I was aware of the HG issue, I checked the coolant religiously at every gas fill up. I started noticing bubbles in the overflow, and especiallay after a highway trip, it wouldn't suck the coolant back in from the overflow on cooldown. So, every day, I checked the level in the overflow. I kept a turkey baster in the car, stashed in front of the battery, near the radiator cap. When the overflow level got high, I transferred coolant back into the radiator. I "burped" the radiator by squeezing the upper coolant hose. Since I inevitably spilled some coolant, I also kept a jug of 50/50 antifreeze/water mix in the car to make up what I lost. I think you'll be able to nurse it along. I would stop every 30-45 minutes or so to check things out. Don't wait for it to overheat. Carry water/antifreeze, a funnel, and a turkey baster. I once drove a VW Golf 150 miles with a leaking head gasket. Coolant kept disappearing, but I didn't know where it was going. It was late at night, and luckily, it first overheated right in front of a 24 hour grocery store. I bought a few gallons of distilled water, and stopped every 20 miles to fill it back up again (used less than 1 gallon to get home). Next morning, I found the crankcase was full of coolant. New head gasket, and I got 2 more years out of the car before selling it cheap to a kid with 195,000 miles on it.