ron917

Good question. Our Pontiac Montana doesn't have shields at all, and that got me to wondering why any car has them. After all,the other side of the brake disk is completely exposed, especially with the very open wheel styles that are popular now. What's the purpose of those shields?

We have the TripleTreds on our minivan. They are excellent for that application, very good in dry and wet conditions. They haven't seen snow yet, and probably never will since we run Blizzaks in the winter. The '99 Outback has Nokian WRs. They are also very good all around tires. Surprisingly, not quite as good as the TripleTreds or my old Michelin Harmonys in the rain. The need to be pumped up to 35 psi minimum to handle well (max allowed for the tire is over 50 psi!), but I find them to be very good in the dry - not a high performance tire, but still very good. In winter weather, they are about 80% of a Blizzak, far better than any other all-season and even better than conventional snow tires (without studs). But Blizzaks suck in the dry, and the WRs are plenty good enough for me.

Read this: http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/

The gun rack itself is legal everywhere that I know of. It's the guns that are regulated by law. Here in NJ, you cannot have a gun in the rack. But plenty of pickup trucks have the racks, usually holding fishing poles, levels, or other tools.

Yes, you can leave the hood on. Remove the prop rod from where it hinges on the passenger side. Turn the prop rod over, so the end you normally put into the slot in the hood is on the bottom. There is a metal bracket on top of the passenger side strut tower, with a hole in it that has no apparent purpose. Loop the now-bottom end of the prop rod into that hole. Stick stick the now-top end of the prop rod into the slot in the hood. Now, the hood is propped nearly vertical. I would drain the oil, just to avoid a potential mess. Probably not necessary, but that's just the way I work. Mine's an auto, so I really can't help you with this one. The job is doable without removing the intake. I removed my intake before yanking the engine, since I was installing a rebuilt engine, I had to remove it at some point anyway. The FSM said to remove it first, but it didn't seem to matter. I wouldn't remove it for a clutch job. I have the FSM on CD, and followed that procedure for my engine swap. The Haynes manual should be OK, but only covers unitl '98, I think. The Haynes manual says there are 4 fasteners connecting the engine and tranny, but for '99 it changed to 8. [edit to fix markup]

That's my feeling exactly, edrach. It took quite a while to find my '99 Outback. There are billions Subarus around here (only a slight exageration). Trouble is, most of the used ones are only a couple years old (lease returns), and therefore expensive - might as well buy new, but not for a kid's first car. Most of the cheap ones are pretty well used up or trashed in some way. Except for leases, it seems that most people hold on to Subies until they're scrap. Searches on craigslist, etc, bring up a fair number of candidates. Unfortunately, most are more than an hour away. I just have to find the time to go look at those, or wait for something to show up nearby. Worst case, I give the kid my '99 Outback and buy a new one for myself. But I really like not having a car payment, and my current Outback meets my needs perfectly.

Was the engine hot when it failed to start? For example, it was driven, then parked for 15 minutes, then cranked but wouldn't start, but started OK after it cooled down for a while. If yes, add crank or cam position sensor to the list of suspects.

The engine in the car I looked at says EJ22 on the block casting. It's a 97 Brighton automatic, manual windows, locks, etc, and no spoiler. cars101.com says that the '97 Brighton auto came with the EJ22 standard. The '97 Brighton manual got the EJ18. I would think that the warranty would cover the issues. But, the story I got from the guy was that he was the owner's brother, watching the store while the owner was on vacation, and the owner would take care of all that stuff under the warranty when he got back. Sorry, no, I'll take a pass on this one. If I don't find anything else, I'll check back when I can talk to the owner directly, and make sure everything is fixed BEFORE I buy it. There are plenty of other cars out there, and I'm in no hurry. Women can be illogical, espcially concerning thier children. After 22 years of marriage, I've learned that in many cases it's best just to say "Yes, dear!" and move on. The old saying is true: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

Do you know of any web site or article that explains how those technologies work? The Endwrench article I found basically parrots the marketing stuff. I know there's a planetary center diff (Torsen? like in a 4Runner?) and something that can electronically control the torque split. I kinda understand how Torsen center diff works (magic!), but I don't know how the torque distribution can be varied. I'd really love to get a new Outback XT or H6 with VTD, but I'll have to wait until the used ones get cheap enough.

Went to check out and test drive the red Impreza yesterday afternoon. We're going to pass on this one, it's got some issues. On the good side: - body and interior are in good shape - the engine is smooth and quiet - tranny shifts nicely - AWD works properly - suspension is good - fluids are all fresh - tires are new and matching - clean Carfax report On the bad side (in order of least to most concern): - driver's headlight bulb is missing, the socket is melted, not a big deal, this is common - the gas guage seems to be inoperative - oil leak, and/or power steering leak, lots of oil on the crossmember, on top of the engine near the PS pump, drips off the oil pan, not sure which fluid it was - CEL is on, could be simple, could be a major problem, didn't ask to get the code read - there is an ugly grinding and vibration from the rear end in tight turns That last one is the deal killer. Not clear if torque bind is involved. It will do tight circles at idle with no hopping or braking effect, but there is a periodic GRONK! GRONK! noise and vibration. It was also evident when turning a tight corner, first noticed when pulling out of the dealer's lot. Whatever it is, it sounds expensive. 75Subie, my wife said "no" to your car when she read about the previous crash damage. She's convinced that previously wrecked cars will never be safe. Our search continues. Thanks to all who have provided input. BTW, a manual tranny is not out of the question. We don't currently have a manual tranny car, so my son hasn't learned to drive stick yet. If we find a good car with a manual, he'll learn soon enough. He has no trouble with the clutch on the lawn tractor, so I doubt it will be a problem in a car.

It seems that many cars have gone to only one keyed door, and some don't have keyed locks for the trunk or hatch. I was reading car reviews, and came across a story from a guy who had purchased a car with no keyed lock on the trunk. He left his lights on, and the battery ran down. His jumper cables were in the trunk. Without electricity, there was no way to open the trunk. Oops! Somebody didn't think of the unintended consequenses of this "feature".

Wow, lots of good responses! Thanks everyone! 75Subie, I found your post over the in Market Place. My son doesn't drive a stick (yet), but your price is tempting. Regarding the 2.2 vs 1.8 discussion, the car has a 2.2 sticker on the back of it. cars101.com says that the 2.2 was standard with the auto trans, even on the Brighton. I agree that the dealer's asking price is high. Edmunds True Market Value is $3020. I'm going to try to get a test drive and thorough inspection today. We'll see where it goes from there. Thanks again, everyone! This forum is the best!

My 17 year old son (18 in 2 months) needs a car. A local used car dealer has a '97 Impreza on the lot. Red 2 door coupe, 120 K miles, auto trans, 2.2l engine. I think it's the Brighton, didn't look to see if it has power windows, etc, but it has no spoiler. It's Sunday, so the dealer wasn't open, but I took a good look around. Body and interior look good, tires match and appear new. There's a fair amount of oil on the crossmember and oil pan, probably needs some new seals or gaskets. Asking price is $4295 and includes a 6 month/7500 mile warranty. Is this an interference engine or not? I know it changed sometime around 97, but not sure when. Unless the dealer can prove otherwise, I will assume it needs a timing belt, water pump, oil pump reseal, etc. Any specific problems to look for in this car? I know to check for torque bind, check the FWD fuse, CEL bulb test, etc, and all the other typical used car stuff.

I wouldn't be so quick to condemn the ECU. There are wires and connectors between the injector and ECU that could cause the problem. If a noid light, scope, and/or analog meter confirm that the signal at the injector is bad, then check the signal for that injector at the ECU. You'll have to find the wiring diagram, and check it at the ECU connnector. Check for continuity from the ECU connector pin to the injector connector pin. When I had similar problems twice in the past (on Volvos), once it was the connector at the injector, and once it was the ECU itself. In that case, I was able to swap in an ECU from another car to confirm the diagnosis, but we don't always have that luxury. I don't like to see people swap expensive parts without absolutely confirming the diagnosis.

Here's a somewhat crazy idea: remove your rear driveshaft and weld up your center diff. Of course, you'll need a new center diff along with the VC when you want to go back to AWD. If the VC can be opened, maybe you can weld that solid (remove the rear driveshaft, of course). People weld up rear diffs for off-road applications, then disconnect one of the rear axle joints to drive on the road (3WD?). There are threads about it in the Off Road forum. This is the same idea applied to the center diff.

Fuel pressure regulator. If it were bad, all cylinders would be affected.

If it's the P0420 again, read this: http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/

The injectors may be OK, but there may be a problem with the wiring on that side. Maybe the two injectors share a common ground or power wire?

Just found this a few minutes ago - Someone posted a link on subaruoutback.org that explains exactly how to diagnose catalytic converters and O2 sensors. You'll need an oscilloscope, graphing multimeter, or similar. http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/ Sounds like there are 3 cats on the H6. How many O2 sensors and where are they? If there's not an O2 sensor before and after each cat, it will still be difficult to pinpoint which one is bad (if any) with this method.

Me too. It was a federal rule. I think they changed it form 100K to 80K when we weren't looking.

From cars101.com (an excellent resource maintained by a Subaru salesman): The above from http://www.cars101.com/outback2000.html The SOHC 2.5 is still subject to headgasket problems, but the leak is external rather than the internal leak of the 96-99 DOHC engine. New headgasket design sometime during the 2003 model year production seems to have solved the problem.

T belt interval for a '99 Outback is 105K miles.

So timing chains have a replacement interval? Some manufacturers are touting thier new engines with timing chains that don't need expensive maintenance like a timing belt. The only engines I've owned with a timing chain were pushrod motors, and I've never had to change one. There's no interval for the timing chain on my Pontiac Montana (pushrod 3.4L V6). That's a short chain, I can imagine the one in a Subie H6 is very long.

My feeling is that the problem has been solved. I haven't seen any reports of a headgasket problem from a 2005 up, and only one from a 2004. I'm actively looking for any stories of HG problems from a 2005+ 2.5L engine, because I'm starting my search for a new car. I got hit with HG problems in my '99 Outback, and I want to be sure those issues are gone before buying a new Subaru. If I can scrape up the bucks, maybe I'll just get a 3.0 H6 so I don't have to worry about it. Looked at an '08 3.0R Beaner in Diamond Gray sitting on a dealer lot today - NICE! but $$$$$ The '99 will be going to my 17 year old son - that was the plan when we bought it.

I discovered a tool for pricing cars like this, at edmunds.com. The Used Car appraiser allows you to select the vehicles condition. In a case like this (blown HG), it would fall under the "Damaged" condition due to a major mechanical problem. If you select "Damaged", the tool says that they do not provide an appraisal, but the fair price would be the value in "Average" condition minus the cost of repair. At Edmungs, or a '97 Outback Limited AT, 130K, in "Average" condition, private party sale in my ZIP code, the price is $2422. Subtract $1500 for a proper head gasket and reseal job, and you're at $922, which is right in the range suggested by others. Edmunds is good in that it lists both private party and dealer retail prices. NADA lists only retail prices - this is a dealer price, not private party. KBB prices seems ridiculously high. Edmunds prices are supposedly based on what people are actually paying. KBB and NADA seem to exist to prop up the prices at dealers. I especially don't trust NADA - it stands for National Automobile Dealer Association, an industry trade group.