revox

it's been weeks, and the heat has been crazy. I don't think there's any lingering water.

Model and year would help. Oh, sorry! I thought I had included that info. It's a 98 OBW with a 2.5 engine. Recently (last Nov) had the head gasket, water pump, timing belt, 1,000 seals and o-rings replaced. Engine runs very well and doesn't leak a drop. Have you reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery for 15 minutes? No, I haven't tried that. I'd rather not because getting my keyless entry to work was a bear! ..but I will as a last resort. Fuel filter? Nope. I haven't changed it. I should probably do that soon. How many miles on the T-Belt, if it jumped a tooth or 2 you could have timing issues. Again, it's only 9 months old. Not even 10k miles. Is this an erratic problem or constant issue? the problem is mainly within he first 15 minutes of driving. It eventually goes away, but it happens every day. You could trace all the vacuum lines and connections to make sure everything is correctly hooked up. You know, I seem to remember this problem starting after I washed my engine. I wonder if I knocked something loose. I'll poke around.

My car, which is a never-ending source of headaches for me, has a new issue! When I step on the gas, it hesitates a few times. It wants to go go go, but something is making it feel like it's missing, or hesitating. I recently changed my knock sensor (yay! the CEL is finally off!), but I'm pretty sure it was doing this before I changed the sensor. So what are my primary suspects? Vacuum leak? another sensor (o2)? Maybe something else? My car has been thru a lot since I bought it back in September '10, but it's just about all good now. This is my only problem, and I can't wait to get it resolved. any ideas?

Well, I bought this 98 OBW 2.5 in September 2010. It really seemed like a great car. Very good condition, and drives perfectly. Two weeks later I had to have the head gasket/water pump/timing belt/1,000,000 seals and o-rings done. I was driving home from work yesterday and my top radiator hose exploded, so I pulled off the road and got a tow home. Bought the new hose for $7.99 (I was shocked that a Subaru part could be so cheap) and fixed the problem. Now, the very next day, my car is idling very erratically. When I first start the car it goes way up to about 2500 rpm for what seems like an eternity (probably only 20-30 seconds), then drops to the usual 1k-ish rpms. BUT when I touch the accelerator pedal, it revs again then slowly comes back down. My CEL is on due to my knock sensor, but I think I'll have it checked again to see if there's some new issue causing my idle problem. Also, I washed my engine with Gunk yesterday because of the radiator hose explosion. Maybe something is wet? Maybe there's a vacuum problem? Any ideas?

I tried starting the car in neutral. No-go. Also, we used a meter to check the wire going to the starter solenoid and there was nothing while turning the key.

is this the part you're talking about? Subaru Ignition Switch

Funny you should mention that. My friend ran a wire from the starter to the inside of the car. He put a cigarette lighter plug on it. To start the car I just turn on the key then put that thing into the socket until the car turns over, then I pull it out. It's SO GHETTO! ..but it's only temporary until I can get the ignition changed.

A new problem started (no pun intended) yesterday. My car just wouldn't start. No cranking, nothing. All electrical still worked when the key was on. I can hear the starter relay clicking. I tried removing the alarm's kill switch, but it still won't start. A friend pulled the cable off the starter and tested it while I turned the key, and said there's no power to the solenoid wire. Could it be my ignition switch? I'm suspecting that because it seems loose, and the courtesy beep is (and has been since I've had the car) intermittent. Is there anything else I should check before changing the ignition switch? thanks!

normal wear & tear is NOT covered under warranty, but if they're actually defective, then yes, they are. They had to make sure some sort of damage (dog chewing, etc..) didn't cause them to fray. They really examined them well for quite a while.

Took my 98 OBW to the local Subaru dealer yesterday to plead my case for new seatbelts and, after a bit of arguing, they covered the replacement! I wish my powers of persuasion would've worked for the head gasket replacement a few months ago!

I have the same issue on my 98 right now. I hear it more when I'm in a left-hand curve on the road. My friend is convinced it's the right-front bearing, but after jacking up the car and checking it (according to the Haynes book), it doesn't seem to be the case. I'm about to take it to the repair shop that has all my money.

thanks for all the replies. I've looked under it and everything is bone dry, but I'll check again tomorrow just to be sure. My driveway is cement (almost white) and I'd notice a single drop of oil. There's nothing at all. I'll change the PCV valve very soon.

Heya! Well, my 98 OBW (2.5) had the dreaded head gasket issue, so I had everything replaced (including water pump, timing belt, and 1000-or-so seals and gaskets) back in November. The car has been a dream ever since -- except one thing. My oil slowly disappears! I had an oil change in February and when I checked my oil yesterday it was almost at the "low" marker on the stick. My car doesn't leak a drop, it doesn't smoke, there's no oil in the radiator, nothing! So where does my oil go? Should I be worried?

the HG's are the only problem?? Heck yeah I'd buy that. I had my HG, timing belt, water pump, and 3 pages of other things replaced for $2200 (which seemed kind of high) a month after I paid $4500 for my 98. So $3200 for a great-running car seems like a great deal to me. I got ripped off by a local dealer, but I decided to just take the loss and get over it. I really love my car now.

sounds a lot like the ad I answered (except mine is the much-more popular 2.5). They never did mention that the head gasket was blown, so I spent another $2300 on top of the purchase price on repairs and preventative maintenance. even though I was completely ripped off, I took full responsibility for my lack of judgment and now I'm in love with my car.