AWDfreak

Oh my god, poor Subaru.. and it was a turbo Thank goodness you were not seriously injured. Good luck with everything...

Poor thing... At least it did it's job and protected you (air bags, crumple zone and all). Yeah, that looks like an insurance company will consider it done. Is the unibody damaged? If so, then it's a total loss

I believe the 1996 was the first year for the "real" Outback (suspension lift and everything). If you have an intent to go off-pavement and maybe a bit of off-roading, the Outback would be the better choice. But if "off-road" to you means relatively flat dirt roads, just get the Legacy. Good call on the 2.2 and 5-speed. Others can chime in and provide much more info than I could.

Agreed. Those huge glass foglights on my 1999 Outback were crushed under excessively-spirited driving off-pavement. The crunch they made was horrible, and because they're glass, they're expensive to replace! (can't find one at a junkyard, and a brand new one is godly expensive)

It is entirely dependent on how soon the blown headgaskets are diagnosed. If they were discovered late, you are better off buying a new engine, as it seems those who replace it after a relatively late diagnosis may have major engine troubles in the long run. Supposedly, the bearings do not like coolant, and the coolant puts exponentially-higher wear on the bearings. It is almost common practice here on USMB to replace a 2.5 with the much more reliable 2.2. If diagnosed immediately, replace with Subaru OEM head gaskets as others seem to have issues with aftermarket gaskets. Note this is advice from someone who reads Subaru forums, not one who actually does work on Subarus.

in the USA, the turbocharged 2.5L came in 2004 via the 2004 STI. The WRX got the 2.5L turbo in 2006 onwards. If it is the DOHC 1996-1999, it is naturally aspirated, and the one known to be very likely to blow head gaskets. Note that this applies only to US market Subarus. I do not know if any of this information applies to other regions.

Worst mistake on a Subaru ad I saw was that a 2005 WRX was listed as FWD no modifications to car Also seen some people call the Subaru engine a "V4" Congratulations, hope they take very good care of it!!!

Besides new cams and exhaust, if you REALLY want to go fast, remove ALL unnecessary weight, and get better tires. But like everyone else said, if you're very serious about going fast, better off buying a Subaru that comes with a turbo stock.

Yakima lately has been coming out with rack products that fit round, square, and get this... FACTORY CROSS BARS! Check out Yakima's lineup and see if they got what you need for factory cross bars. It would save you a ton of time, hassle, and money keeping the factory cross-bars. Oh man... Just quickly browsed the Yakima stuff. http://yakima.com/shop/water/top/strapthang The surfboard straps only fit on Yakima roundbars.

Just for clarification, there is a difference between driving lights and fog lights driving - narrow beam, long range fog - wide beam, low aim, short range but wide As for places to get aftermarket fog lights, perhaps TireRack might have something you might want, or you could do a bit of research here http://www.tirerack.com/lighting/index.jsp Oh, and +1 on the yellow tint, it's theoretically better for use in fog and other inclement weather.

If those sales people were from a Subaru dealer, they need to be fired ASAP. Hmmmm, yes they do look similar from outside but there is a way to differentiate them. Outback has a slightly more round profile than the Tribeca, headlights are more rounded, and has pretty much the same horizontal taillights as the Legacy wagon, which we don't get The grille is a bit rounded on the Outback. Forester is the smallest bunch, it has more vertical taillights than the Outback and Tribeca, and has a small grill design with "teeth" in them. Tribeca is the biggest of the bunch, has horizontal taillights that sort of stick out, is the boxiest one, and has the biggest grill, with a much more squarish design than the Outback.

Sacrilege! V?!?! C'mon, you're better than that! And my take on the platforms: Impreza is "self" Forester is lifted Impreza Legacy is "self" Outback is lifted Legacy Tribeca is enlarged and lifted Legacy for 7-passenger seating

I asked the guys on BITOG on whether the black Denso oil filters meet the Subaru-spec bypass-valve setting... but with no answer regarding that :/ Anyone know if Denso offers their oil filters in the Subaru-spec bypass valve? What concerns me is that the part number that is for my Subaru (with an EJ25D) [ Denso part number 150-1006] seems to be a universal fit oil filter for more than just Subarus. By this logic, I would presume it is the "typical" 10-12PSI. Anyone know if it meets the Subaru-spec 20-ish bypass-valve setting? I know I'm being a little too nitpicky, but I feel better knowing my Subaru is running a proper oil filter. I know the blue Subaru Honeywell OEM oil filters do fine, but I want an oil filter that is more robust than the acceptable Honeywell-made Subaru oil filters (besides the Purolator), but has the Subaru-spec valve. Only other one I know that would is that damned-expensive STI Sports Oil filter, which costs about $45 each to be shipped from Japan (I would only pay that kind of money if I had a REAL job). If nobody knows, is anyone willing to buy a Denso 150-1006 and see if the valve opens at the Subaru spec???

I feel that the seats on my 1999 Outback Limited feel comfortable enough (but then, I can feel comfortable in almost any seat). However, I hate the leather (slippery and just makes it more uncomfortable on extreme hot/cold days), and although there is a bit of lateral support, it's nowhere near as good as the seats on my brother's 2000 Forester L. The side-bolstering on the Forester is damned great! I'm wiling to sacrifice my seat warmers for those seats

Refer to the owners manual for recommended oil viscosities. The owners manual for my 1999 OBW calls for 5W-30 (ambient temps of less than 100 F, probably best for winter) and 10W-30/10W-40 (ambient temps higher than 0 F, probably best for summer) for "better fuel economy" However, it does list some "severe driving condition" viscosities: (off-road driving, hot desert driving, etc) SAE 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50. Based off of that info, one may assume that viscosites between 5W and 50 are within the range of the EJ's tolerance. But personally, I feel better using a recommended viscosity.

This is EXACTLY what should be done. It's the bare minimum procedures for a cold engine. However, I prefer to let it warm up for 2-7 minutes since my engine has piston slap. I don't like hearing piston slap while driving.

You'll probably have better luck asking the guys at IWSTI, i-club, or Nasioc. The STI Version 6 bar? That was the final incarnation of the GC8, right?

1997-1999 Legacy Outbacks with the EJ25D are all susceptible to head gasket failure. So check if the head gaskets are fine. If they've been changed already, supposedly the Subaru OEM gaskets are the most ideal. I don't know much more, but the Subie experts on here can help you out here. Also, there are tons of threads you can check out while you wait for replies, I'm sure this topic has been many times before.

I don't know if this applies, but I got this off of my 1999 Legacy Outback owners manual. Is this what you were talking about???

As long as it's not the orange can of death. HOWEVER, I heard that the FRAM Tough Guards are actually pretty decent. I'll still stick to the Subaru OEM blue Honeywell/FRAM oil filters, since they have the Subaru-spec valve. And seriously, those threads listed SHOULD be read, lots of good information in there.

LOL, I do that too! I thought I was the only one that did that. Guess not As Jeremy Clarkson would say... "Powaaaaaaaaa!"

You talking about the 2010 Outback??? Maybe you should check out subaruoutback.org Most of the guys here prefer the older, more reliable Subies. Not too many people here own the 2010/2011 Outbacks.

...the f***? So, ummmmmm, this is confusing. It's called the "FB25", but the parts catalog calls it the "EJ25B"... I originally presumed it was simply a redone EJ. It is, but for them to call it an "FB" but still call it an "EJ" could make it confusing. If the parts catalog is going to call it "EJ25B", they should stamp it that on the block and everywhere else...

Yeah, didn't you see my post??? Well I'll quote it since this is a new page, it'll be easier to see.

I think Subaru of America wants to fully exploit the annual "Share the Love" event before they put the spotlight on the 2011 Forester with the new FB25.