Setright

Good point 99.

Steam or "cloud" production is normal. Especially at cold start up, in cold and/or humid climates. Despite the big protests by the anti-car people - started by Ralph Nader - the biggest by-product of internal gasoline combustion is: WATER! Far less than 1% of a technically clean combustion is composed of the more sinister stuff, like hydrocarbons. OOPS! Am I wandering off topic?? So, yes, it may be condensation. Keep an eye on your oil and coolant levels. Sounds like you suffer from the same condition as me: Snif, snif..is that engine oil? OH MY LORD, the engine is toast. Hmm, does my car smell warmer today? Does it always make that little clonk noise? Did it take two milliseconds longer to start this morning? I HATE WORRYING!

Search for "Coolant replacement" ....

The idle speed is controlled by the ECU, so you have little chance of altering it. If a hose is clogged and the engine won't run at the correct idle speed, the ECU should complain - ie. "Check Engine". Coolant temperature is used by the ECU to select fast idle, which can be anywhere from 800-1500rpm. Down to 600rpm could just mean the engine is at max operating temp. You might want to replace the coolant temp sensor.

It's the metal shavings. While you have the wheels off, check the flexible rubber hoses that run to the calipers for "ballooning". Tends to throw off the ABS too.

It's a HG. No question. SubieGal and I finally agree on something ! :-)

Glad you're okay, that is the most important part! Get the car checked. Urabus1995, the Legacy is at least as good. She got the maximum four stars for the passenger and three for the driver in contempary crash tests. Legacy also ranks as 40% above average in the highly esteemed Swedish insurance company "Folksam" statistics. This is based on real accident investigations. Best is 50% above average, the Volvo 850 - go figure :-)

Agreed. A good fuel system cleaner would be a good thing to do - no matter what. The MAF is not the first place I would look. The IAC - idle air control - valve, or it's attachments are more likely, since your problem dissappears when you open the the throttle. (Does it still smoke on the move?) Look around for broken/cracked/disconnected hoses in the engine room. Especially the inch thick tube that runs from the IAC valve (near the throttle body) and back to the main intake pipe. If this is disconnected or clogged, the car will not idle.

Loyale, Power = Voltage x Current Household socket P = 115 x15 P = 1725W As I recall, 736W equal one Horsepower. :-)

Yep. Had this problem on my old Legacy. You should be able to seal it without actually removing anything. Just loosen the nuts on the rail and squeeze some sealant in underneath the rail.

Legacy777, WRX is not a boy-racer. It's too fast for that. Anyway, it's not fair to compare WRX and LGT directly. The Imp will outrun the Leg in any real-world situation, at least here in Europe where a small agile car will have the advantage both in tight city traffic and on twisty back-roads. The LGT is medium size car, that has a lot of appeal because it can play a number of roles. The WRX is focused as drivers-car, and that means some comfort is sacrificed... I would take the LGT. Relaxed cruiser when you just wanna get home, and still very capable of entertaining when the roads are clear. Looks superb, too!

Okay, WRX, so if you race along a mountain road, getting the brakes working hard, and suddenly encounter a situation that means stopping dead, very fast. And you rest your foot on the brake pedal, while waiting five minutes for the obstruction to clear, and then find that your brakes judder the next time you use them....that means the car is to blame? My Impreza is rated as being capable of getting 11.1km per liter of petrol, in the urban cycle. I am getting about 10km/l. This is also Subaru's fault in your logic. Nothing to do with my lead foot, obviously. 0-60 times are essentially meaningless. But the public at large find them easy to relate to. In-gear acceleration times, from 30-50, 30-80mph, would be far more useful for people who want to know how fast a car is on a real road, in a real situation. Nissan copped out with the Z-series back in the seventies. As the cars grew heavier the gear ratios were made "longer", blunting the car's acceleration even more. HOWEVER, it did mean less torque multiplication in the transmission and therefore lower stress on the bearings and casings. Both of which had proved weak in high mileage testing. Is that what you want? Slower cars, with overdimensioned parts to protect the hamfisted?

Handbrake activates internal drums on the rear wheels. You can start by doing the easy thing: Remove the cowling around the handbrake and take up the slack in the cable with the adjustment system attached to the handbrake lever. If this is not enough, then the brakes shoes are worn.

Does like a worn throw-out/release bearing. The slight pressure you put on it takes up the slack and stops the squeal.

The oil doesn't thicken, it expands. It gets "thinner" as it heats up. The VC will see to it that BOTH ends of the car get drive. Open diffs on both ends, mean that it only takes one wheel at either end, simultaneously to lose traction. That will see TWO wheels spinning away the torque. How on earth could one wheel spin it all away?

Mountain bike tyres are cross-ply.

Hmm, Forester... Sport, yes. Utility, yes. Vehicle...yes! Next question?? ;-) It's probably better off in the BMW X5 defined category: SAV A for "activity"

I dont think tyre pressure will affect the rolling circumference that much. The tread is belted (steel/nylon) underneath and this wont change length. So even though the tyre sags, one rotation is still all the way round :-)

Girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Scotland. We have both been before, and would love to go back soon. She spent four months in Glasgow, at uni. By the way, I run winter tyres from around now til April. So far, I haven't gotten stuck. Imp doesn't have more than the standard front skirt, and I have not lowered the suspension, since I live in town, I would scrape my belly on all the speed bumps :-(

Not Sube's responsibility. If you regularly start from a standstill with over 3000rpm on the clock - nevermind the 5000rpm that really gets things moving - then your car ain't gonna last. No car will. Porsche Turbos tend to twist and snap their drive axles during the sub-five-second launches that they put in the technical data. Is Porsche a weak car? Drag racing doesn't prove much anyway, in my most humble opinion. I prefer to outrun challengers on the twisty roads.

That spare tyre comes with the car right? So it probably has the same diameter as standard wheels - have you fitted bigger rims and increased the overall wheel diameter?

Well, for that sort of horsepower gain, you must replace the camshafts. Standard lobe profiles will not produce 200bhp. The transmission is going to be stressed quite a lot more. And it's the weakest part of the car, relatively speaking. 200bhp is a lot. For sure the clutch will not hold up to this. While you have the engine out to replace the camshafts, grind the heads and fit metal gaskets, make sure you fit an uprated clutch. New injectors would also reduce fuel delivery problems, along with a new regulator and pump.

Well, it does sound almost identical to my EJ22 when it blew the HG's :-( It would run fine for long journeys, short journeys, fast journeys...and suddenly overheat at the oddest of times. If you don't have the dosh to pay for it now, keep at least 2 quarts of fresh coolant in the trunk, that way you will never get stranded - worked for me ;-) And scan your eyes across the temp gauge at regular intervals. Like, every two seconds! I still do this, from force of habit, three years later...

http://www.bilbasen.dk/biler/forhandlere/showcar.asp?id=118300054 Try this link for pic of two-tone Legacy...

I hope you are glad to hear from me, yet again! Some bubbles, and some steam in the expansion tank is normal. In the morning, with the engine cold, open the rad cap. If the level in the rad is down to the little vertical channels, that would signal some sort of abnormality. This could be HG, or maybe just a leaky hose somewhere. The upper coolant hose attaches to a pipe that collects coolant from both sides of the engine. Check for signs of coolant leaks around the two points where it bolts to the block. Could be letting air into the system during cool down.