olivia123

Thanks for the link to Subaru outback. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do in the center console area where the ashtray etc are removed. Do I need to go into that area at all or can I just follow the instructions for removing the instrument panel.

I have 2003 legacy outback wagon and the bulb that lights up the fuel gage and the lower left side of the speedometer seems to have burned out. Can anyone give me some tips as to how to replace the bulb and how much trouble it is? thanks

I have a 2003 outback wagon and the rear window defroster doesn’t work at all. I have replaced the fuse, it didn’t look bad but replaced it anyway. When your push the switch on the dash the little light comes on but I don’t hear any click from the relay I’ve read about here on the forum. I also have a 1999 outback wagon ( defroster works fine) and when I push the switch on this car I do hear a relay click. If the relay is bad will the little light still come on and where is the relay located on the 2003? I have read about the relay location on several other years but not sure it is in the same place on this one. Once the relay is out is there a way to bench test it? thanks

I think what I will do is take off the rear section of the drive shaft and inspect the u joints and drive the car that way for while. I don’t really need four wheel drive that often and I guess this is better than driving with the 2wd fuse in. I have read some differing views about driving the car with the rear part of the drive shaft removed is it OK to do this?

Well I certainly agree it isn’t/wasn’t the rear diff and you’re right a few folks on the forum said they rarely fail. So what could be wrong with the drive shaft? I assume it would be in the rear portion of it. I will try the individual wheel diagnoses but we sort of did that with the rear wheels when the car was on the lift. We had them spinning with the engine running at idle in gear. Thanks for you input

The dealer tech heard the noise with me driving and said replace the rear diff. Didn’t put it on a lift. The independent guy also heard the noise with me driving and we put it on a lift and checked the u joints and center bearing for play. He also said replace the rear diff and he is the guy who put it in.

This is an update to a post from the spring about my 1999 OBW auto trans link below http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=121821 The car still makes a howling noise from the passenger side rear when going up hill and stops when you lift the gas pedal. It also makes a kind of rattling sound from the same area right before the howling starts. It does not do this all the time and when the FWD fuse is in it doesn’t do it at all. After having a sub tech and an independent guy look at the car the both suggested replacing the rear diff. The u joints and mid bearing were checked at this time as well. So I had a used read diff installed, had only 46,000 miles on it, and no change in outcome. Still makes the same noises under the same driving conditions and is still quiet with the fuse in. With the rear diff out of the equation what else might be causing this? I have never had a rear cv joint go bad on any of my previous 5 subs so I don’t know what the sounds/symptoms are. Any chance it could be a cv joint? I have read a lot about driving the car with the fuse in and or dropping the read section of the drive shaft. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on if this is a good or bad idea. As I said in the original post I’m hoping to get another year out of the car and other than this it runs and rides great. Thanks for any help

Update: The noise is now showing up in more situations, less steep inclines and some times even on flat roads. I had someone sit in the back seat and listen and they said the noise was definitely coming from the pass side wheel well area. I then sat in the back while some else drove and also think the noise is coming from the rear passenger side. Is the any chance that this could be a wheel bearing? There is no change in sound when turning but it does stop when you lift the accelerator which doesn’t seem like a wheel bearing symptom. BTW noise still not present when in FWD.

Update: I drove car with the fuse in, so FWD, and was able to find a hill where I could replicate the conditions that caused the noise easily. It made the noise in AWD and DID NOT in FWD. I tried it several times and the results were the same each time. I wonder what this tells me? Something in the rear diff? I have read various accounts of driving these subarus with the fuse in, FWD. They range from drive it forever no problem to not more than 5 miles and then slowly and just about everything else in between. There is also discussion about removing the back section of drive shaft with the fuse in and the fuse out. Is there a link to a good discussion of this topic? I just want another year or so out of this car and would be more than happy to drive it FWD only if that is an option. Also checked for play in wheels and found none. Couldn't break the fill plug in the rear diff to check level but sprayed with PB and will try again later.

No check engine light, but I assume you meant trans codes? I don't know much about these or how to read them. I'm going to put the FWD fuse in today and drive the same roads and see if there is any change. Thinking maybe rear diff. I'll update then. Will also check for play in the wheels as suggested.

I have a 1999 outback wagon auto trans with about 170,000 miles. I have a new strange noise that I will describe as a kind of howling that pulses or osculates. The sound occurs only when going up fairly steep inclines at speeds between 40 -65 mph. It stops if you lift off of the accelerator. It sounds like something from the drive train somewhere. I first noticed this about a week after I did the 3 times transmission fluid change. I just checked the fluid level and it is OK. Any chance there is a connection? My guesses range from a bearing somewhere in the drive train perhaps in the tranny to maybe a wheel bearing. I’m thinking bearing since it makes the noise under a higher load. Could it be a cv joint? Hope hope. I would appreciate any insight that you folks may have.

My 1999 outback has about 170,000 miles on it and has developed a rattle when you first accelerate and sometimes at idle. Heat shields was the first thought but they are all tight. The sound is coming more from the center of the car. I got under it and hit the rear catalytic converter with the heel of hand and heard the noise, sounds like something inside is loose. I assume there is no way to fix this short of replacing the converter. Is there any reason to fix this, I still have about 18 months to go before the next emissions test? I’m thinking I’ll just turn up the radio.

Thank for the response Gary. I called the dealer that the carfax said had “inspected the belt” and turns out it was replaced according to the dealer in December 2010. That’s good news. Also found out some other good things like brakes were done not too long ago. So thanks for the tip to contact the dealers on the carfax. I will do the ATF change as there was no record of that being done. Will use three change method, replace the screw on filter and no pan drop. I plan to use Valvoline Dex/ Merc. Thanks to all for the solid advice.

Thanks for all the advice. I looked at my car fax and have the name of the dealer that did the timing belt inspection. I will contact them. I like the idea of looking at the timing belt by removing the pass side cover but I’m not sure what the printing on the belt would say to indicate if it had been replaced recently. If anyone could clarify that I would appreciate it.

I just purchased a 2003 outback limited with 109,000 from a dealer. The car seems to be in excellent condition. I don’t really have any service records other than the carfax. It is an automatic, and I think I should just go ahead and change the transmission fluid although it looks and smells OK. I have read numerous posts about the 3 change method and will do that. Since I don’t know what type of fluid is in it, syn or reg, what type of fluid would you recommend I use? Also on the carfax report the last entry is timing belt and tensioner inspected and OK. Do you think I can trust that in terms of belt replacement since I have no idea when it was done last if at all?

I’m in the process of replacing the engine coolant temperature sensor on my 1998 outback 2.5 and have gotten to the point where I have to get the connector off the sensor. I have tried all the things I have used over the years to get connectors apart squeezing prying etc but no luck. The last thing I want to do is break this connector since I’m not even sure the sensor is bad. I have seen the post below which is excellent but it simply says remove connector. http://lovehorsepower.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47:subaru-legacy-coolant-temperature-sensor-replacement&catid=10:subaru-legacy&Itemid=63 Any advice on how to get it off would be much appreciated. I have everything that can be taken off out of the way so I have as good as access as I’ll ever have. It is really tight down there.

The fluid was replaced in July by a trusted transmission shop. Not flushed

I have a 1998 Outback 2.5 auto trans. I had posted a few days ago about lack of power when cold and will be putting in a new coolant temperature sensor over the weekend to see if that helps. Will also remove the knock sensor to insect even though it is pretty new. I mentioned in the post that the car was also not shifting out of first gear occasionally when cold unless I stopped and started over again. This is my wife’s car and I have been driving it for the last few days. The shifting situation has gotten worse. Today not only would it not shift out of first at some point the engine would rev up but it was clearly not connected to the drive train. I managed to get it into second gear and drove it to drop off my daughter. When I got in the car to return home it shifted absolutely normally. At this point temp gauge was at normal. When you first start out all seems well but once you get to the speed it should shift it doesn’t. Fluid level normal and the right color. Any chance this could also be related to the coolant temp sensor?

I read over your thread and it does sound like we have similar problems. Someone mentioned the knock sensor. In my case last spring I had a very similar situation and found my knock sensor to be cracked. I replaced it and that corrected the problem. I had a check engine light at that time and got the knock sensor code. Since I don’t have a check engine light and the knock sensor is basically new I had not considered this to be my problem this time around but the symptoms are about the same other than the weird no shifting. My car drives like the timing is way retarded. Maybe I should look at the knock sensor again.

I have a 1998 outback wagon 2.5 with about 150,000 miles. Over the last couple of months it has felt like it was running with less than full power. Current symptoms are when cold; it starts fine but surges for the first ½ mile or so. Then the surging stops but it has very little power until it warms up. Once up to operating temp it runs much better but still not as it should. Recently on several occasions when first starting out the car would not shift out of first gear. If I come to a complete stop and start out again it will shift normally but still run poorly until up to operating temp. I know this isn’t much to go on. I changed the plugs and wires in the fall and all the plugs looked the same, worn out but equal, no oil or carbon fouling. The check engine light is not on. Is it possible to pull codes even if the check engine light isn’t on? I feel like it is some sensor not working properly and not an internal engine problem. If anyone can suggest a place to start I would appreciate it.

I have a 1999 outback wagon. I noticed a loud noise coming from the front wheel on hard right turns the other day. Finally warmed up enough to have a look today. The front stabilizer bar is broken. I live on a dirt road and can now recall when this happened; when I hit a huge pot hole that was full of water so I couldn’t really see it. The bar is broken between the link and the clamp on the right side. I have been driving the car for a few days with the broken bar and other than the noise when I turn right hard it drives normally. I will remove the broken part that is hanging down today which I’m sure will take care of the noise. Not sure when I will get a chance to get the part and fix it. Do you think it is dangerous to drive the car carefully with one side of the stabilizer bar off?

Thanks for all the advice. I got it done today, not too bad about 2 hours total. What I did to get the boots off was to disconnect a wire from the coil, is that what it is?, and thread it out. Then I wrapped the coil end around my hand and yanked on it while at the same time pulling and twisting the winged end on the plug. Came right off. I followed a lot of the methods mentioned in posts for getting the plugs out and in and of course there was a lot of trial and error involved. Not as bad as expected next time should be easier

I need to replace the plus on my 1998 outback wagon 2.5. I’ve never done a 2.5 before and have read the posts with advice on how to get at the plugs. I started the other day and could not get the rubber boots off the plugs. I tried pliers etc but no luck. I plan to replace the wires as well but am wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how to get the boots off the plugs? I’m willing to destroy the wires/boots if need be.

I have a problem with the front brake driver’s side caliper on my 1998 outback wagon. I’m an older guy and back in the day we always said don’t ever just replace the caliper on one side that it would just blow out the other side. Is this still the way people think about it and specifically do any of you just replace one side on your Subaru?

I have 1998 outback wagon. This is a follow up to a post of about a week ago regarding grinding noise when turning right into a parking place with the brakes applied. I took the drivers side front pads off and noticed that the outer pad was stuck in the spring clip. I pried out the pad and cleaned everything up. While the caliper was hanging from the spring tower the brake pedal inadvertently got depressed and I noticed that only one of the pistons came out. One reply to my earlier post said only one piston on 1998 outback but it sure looks like two to me. So is it one or two and if two should they both have come out when the brake pedal was depressed? And if yes to that could it be causing my vibration?