JT95

Okay, when I first started driving my Subaru I wasn't very impressed with the gas mileage, but at 24 mpg I couldn't really complain too much either. I've been driving it since this past October. Now I am consistently getting exactly 20 mpg for the past month. These are mostly interstate miles too. I can't live w/ 20 mpg in a 4 cylinder car--AWD or no AWD... The car is a 95 LSi wagon, 2.2 engine and auto tranny. It does have 180,000 miles on it, but the engine runs butter smooth and sounds/drives just as well as it did when I got it. I was in need of new tires--as one was in pretty bad shape--but my mileage has not changed at all after new tires, balanced, and an alignment. The spark plus and the air filter are about 3.5 months old. I went ahead and bought some new plugs and plan to get some new plug wires on the engine as I'm not sure how old these current ones are even though they look "okay". Air filters can hurt mileage, but they should last more than a few months, shouldn't they? I'll go ahead and replace it as well. Anybody else had to deal with the poor mpg gremlin in the Sube? Any tips/ideas? I love my Legacy, but I cannot drive a 20 mpg car...

I have the Haynes manual for my 95 Legacy. I like their books, and have bought one for every "new" car I acquire.

In areas that have snow, yes, AWD and 4WD prices typically hold at the higher portion of their range during the cold months. I would say moreso on things 5 yrs old-ish than the 10+ yr old cars. I'm in KY, and anything that is more than a few years old is pretty reasonable as far as your basic Subaru goes. I have a 95 LSi wagon that I have an obscenely small amount of $$$ invested in. Do some internet used auto searches and see where you can find some decent deals in a somewhat close area and make a trip of it. Here's an OH car that looks interesting, depending on the odometer: http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=178312471&dealer_id=55968906&car_year=1992&make=SUB&distance=300&lang=en&max_price=3250&model=LEGACY&end_year=1996&min_price=1&certified=&address=42101&search_type=used&advanced=&start_year=1990&isp=y&cardist=211 Dude, if you want to do a FIY car, here's a 95 for $800!!! Doesn't list exact problems, but I bet engine/tranny problems. It's in OH, so not too far from you. http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=178036342&dealer_id=55940778&car_year=1995&make=SUB&distance=300&lang=en&max_price=3250&model=LEGACY&end_year=1996&min_price=1&certified=&address=42101&search_type=used&advanced=&start_year=1990&isp=y&cardist=186 And an older one w/ some body needs: http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=177287567&dealer_id=55873803&car_year=1991&make=SUB&distance=300&lang=en&max_price=3250&model=LEGACY&end_year=1996&min_price=1&certified=&address=42101&search_type=used&advanced=&start_year=1990&isp=y&cardist=184

My Legacy is having a bit of a wobble-ish action at the front. I recently drove through some pretty hard chunky ice and snow and wonder if I've whapped it out of alignment when I chugged through the rough deep stuff. It feels somewhat like the front tires have a flat spot on them--you know, like driving a car for the first bit after it has sat for a loooong time. At a low speed the steering wheel does that jittery back-and-forth wobble from side to side if I take my hands off the wheel. The car also pulls to the left without hands on the wheel. You experienced Subers have a good clue to something else? I don't really want to pay for an alignment until after I put new tires on after my tax return comes back, but if it's probably something else I'll need to check it out now. Thanks.

I've got a 95 Sube that hits 160,000 in a few days. I was thinking about adding some syn Lucas to my tranny, but I don't know. I like to clean out my fuel system with some potent additives occasionally, but I'm still iffy about how well the common additives work in the engine and tranny. I have used Lucas stuff before--and I know people who love their additives--but I've never put anything in the tranny. I have mostly driven manual transmissions. My wife had a high mileage Blazer several years ago. I bought jug of engine additive goop that came with a free bottle of their transmission "miracle" goop. Even though the tranny was not having any problems, I topped off the tranny level with the additive. Within two months the transmission was shifting all screwed-up. May have been a coincidence, but that seems unlikely. I should have known better, but we weren't keeping the truck and I thought "why not". Never heard any complaints from the Lucas users, though I don't know any Japanese car Lucas users--mostly heavy duty type drivetrains. Don't know if it would do anything for a Sube or not. If I add their tranny syn goop to my transmission I'll let you know if I notice anything. As far as the LubeGuard goop, howards, why is it any less snake oil than a bottle from anyone else?

It is not illegal for you to disconnect your own airbag--but like SubieGal said you do need to notify your insurance just to be on the safe side of a claim--but a dealership cannot do it legally. Pickup trucks, of course, came with the on/off switch for passenger air bags because there was back seat in which to put a kid. I can understand why someone might not want the airbag, but why in the world do you want to get rid of ABS? That's the only great thing about newer cars. I've had really positive experiences with ABS in several different makes of cars.

Okay--I may be a dork, but what the heck does an air filter have to do with the sound your car makes?

I'll have to agree with rweddy that part of the appeal and popularity of the older gen Chevy trucks is that 1) Parts for them are dirt cheap compared to any Japanese car, and 2) they are easy as all getout to work on. Now, I've run several smallblock Chevys beyond 150K with no major problems at all, so I'll have to disagree on their short life. Granted, doing a lot of towing might very easily lessen their life. My 93 Caprice got just under 200K before I traded it in. (Had a ton more oomph than my Subie and got the exact same highway gas mileage too.) Still, let's assume Even if you did only get 150K out of that bowtie engine, for $1500 you can drop in a new crate motor and have a 3 yr, 30,000 mile warranty. Not a bad deal. I'm curious to see how the Japanese big trucks are going to hold up to heavy work in the long run--if any farm bos actually buy any. Toyota trucks look like crap, but that big Nissan and Honda's new pickup look interesting. I'm glad there is now that much competition in the big truck market, although I'll probably never want one. I can't wait to see the 2010 full size Subaru pickup with its flat 8! As far as the 2.5 and calculating $1200 for the HG fix, maybe look for one that has the blown head gasket and buy it for an appropriately cheap price and get that engine fixed or replaced. That might be a decent deal with some security. Personally, I think your best bet would be to find an older Legacy wagon--95 or 96--and buy one with low miles then drop some extra $$$ into getting it all bling-bling for yourself. You still have a nice looking car (put the freakin' Outbook hood on the Legacy if you want that rugged look) and you get the security of the fantastic 2.2 engine.

I've owned and worked on (driveway mechanic) many different types of cars since I was 16. I have never had a car be as quirky about its coolant system as my Subaru. Great cars, but a pain for a novice Subie-mechanic until you crack that secret code of coolant maintenance. I had a thermostat go out on me, so I replaced it myself and, with the thermostat on the bottom of the block, drained and refilled the antifreeze. Had a similar problem as you. Coolant level looked to be in normal range when I checked it though. Ended up being air in my coolant system and it needed this burp thingy the veteran Subaru wrenches here have mentioned. Was it an experienced Subaru mechanic who worked on it? I wil NEVER let anyone but a Subaru mechanic mess with my coolant system because I doubt a non-Sube mechanic would know the quirkiness of these engines in that regard. If you can't wrench around on it yourself, take it to a good Subaru dealership and have them take a look. Based on what I've heard others mention about head gasket problems on the 2.5, I'd be a bit suspicious on that, but since it just started this problem right after the work you had done, I'd bet you have a air in your system. If you can't figure it yourself, go to a Subaru specific garage. Dealerships charge more and I typically avoid them, but with coolant system issues, I'd go there first unless you find a mechanic at a smaller operation who deems himself a Subaru-guy. I was hesitant to take my Subaru to a little mom and pop mechanic service for some work I couldn't do myself a few months ago, but I did not have the $$$ for the estimate the Subaru dealership gave me and plus they were an hour away. The shop didn't look very hi-tech or professional either, but when I talked to the guy he said "Oh yeah, my wife drives a new Outback and I have a 99 myself." He knew his stuff and cost me 1/3 of what the dealership would have. Ask for Subaru experience before going to non-dealer shops for certain repair work...

This may be a silly question to seasoned Subaru people, but what exactly does LSi stand for? I always figured LS was Luxury Sport, but what's the LSi story and what's the deal with the lower case i?

My 95 had a boot that's split in two when i started driving the car several months ago. No clicking, but I didn't want it to get to that point and need replaced sooner than it should. I'm cheap and lazy, so I didn't want to swap a new boot on because that's a hassle to do, especially in a driveway, and I figue if you go that far why not just replace it all w/ new parts, which i didn't want to pay for. So, I packed some new grease into the torn boot, cut an inner tube, and then wrapped the piece around the torn boot and tightened it to the shaft and boot with zip ties. Ghetto I know, but it held up for a couple months before the inner tube piece got a small tear. I'm gonna piddle till I figure out a better way to do this.

I have a 95 Legacy. Been driving it about 5 months now. Love it. Great car. Super engine. I have 160,000 miles on it and it runs smooth. Gas mileage is disappointing for a 4 cylinder, but then again it is AWD. You'll love the car. Several people here brag about the 2.2 being such a great engine.

When I tuned up my 2.2 after buying my wagon, the parts store I got my stuff from did not have NGK plugs. I've never used NGK plugs, so it didn't seem like a big deal to me so I got four Bosch plugs. Then, a few weeks later I read a discussion on here about how you should only run NGK and that Bosch plugs could be bad for your heads. My car seemed to run fine, so I left the Bosch plugs in. I'm getting ready to swap them out now and am going with the NGK. Curious to see if I notice any difference at all. When I had my El Camino on the road I ran Splitfire plugs and did notice a little bit of difference in better mileage. I didn't even assume they made those for a Subaru and someone told me those plugs only really make a difference in Detroit steel anyway.

Okay, I've got almost 160,000 miles on my 95 wagon, but here's what my 4 speed auto does--I checked while hitting the interstate this morning. There is definitely a change in RPM in D. I'm pretty sure I read that my Legacy has overdrive when I bought it, but I might be wrong there. At 70 mph, there is an obvious difference in RPM between 3 and D, but in D the engine drops to 3,250 RPM when it shifts from 3rd gear and then drops another 400 RPM when the apparant overdrive kicks in. Now, I could just have a screwed up tranny. I don't have much experience with auto transmissions--at least working on them or having problems with them--but I don't know about a single gear having two different RPMs. On a few really cold mornings this winter, I noticed that when I first took off my car was not shifting into what I assumed was overdrive. (My car is not garage kept, so it gets as cold as everything else outside.) RPM in D at 70mph was higher than normal, but lower than the RPM if I clicked the shifter down to 3. After driving a few miles down the road the engine finally shifted down to the normal 2850 RPM at that speed. Mine is an LSi--did they have an overdrive tranny the other Subes didn't?

I'm new to Subaru too, so I may not know anything. I have a 95 LSi w/ the auto tranny. If you want to drive around in 3, that shouldn't have any effect on the longevity of the tranny. Basically, I assume, you're just losing the overdrive gear ratio. 3 is totally fine to drive around town in--you can even hit the interstate in 3, but check out that RPM....Now, when you go to 2, you're balancing the power transfer to a 50/50 split front and rear, whereas 3 and D will be a 90/10 split of front/rear power. Wagons rule. My 95 will be rolling to 160,000 next week and it's still going strong. My suspicion is that the tranny will need some attention within the next 15,000 miles. The 2.2 is a fantastic engine. Subaru should just start building that engine again with the reputation the 2.2 has built. Get that timing belt replaced if it hasn't had it already. 100K is the recommended spot to replace it.

It'd be nice if auto makers published more nitty gritty details of engines and performance for consumers who want to know. They assume people just know a four cylinder from a 6 and nothing more. Most salespeople are useless for info--I typically know more about a car than they do. As far as great low end torque: the days when giants roamed the earth--big blocks--was a fun time to buy a car.

Here ya go, dude. This should drop in. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7953452464&category=38640&sspagename=WDVW And here's a couple othr options... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7953399818&category=38640&sspagename=WDVW http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7952938857&category=38639&sspagename=WDVW

Had the same deal on my 95 wagon recently. A couple of folks mentioned removing the knuckle yourself and then have a machine shop press out the old and in the new bearings. Pressing them out can be a bit of a trick and you'll bust your tone wheel if you aren't careful--that's assuming you have a hydraulic press yourself. Let a shop do it--it won't take them any time to put it on the press and they won't charge much because they don't have to fool with disassembly/assembly because you're doing that.

I have a 95 Legacy LSi wagon. Never owned or driven a Forester, but have peeked inside a few--other than some extra headroom I couldn't tell any real space difference. If I were you, I'd get a well maintained, reasonable mileage Legacy wagon with a 2.2 engine. There's more of them out there, they are VERY solid mechanically with the 2.2, and they are old enough to have that "yeah, but it's almost new" tag to it. Mine has leather interior and is in great shape. Check classifides and sites like autotrader.com to find some deals. I'm always on a budget when car shopping, so I know where you r coming from. If you spend all $5,000 on a Sube's price, then you don't have anything left for brakes, tires, tune-up, possible timing belt replacement, possible CV joint fix, yadda yadda yadda... Ihave seen some nice 95-96 Legacy wagons with "low" miles for $3,500-4,000. Good luck.

Well--how'd it go? You know, I was thinking...if you're locked into a $5,000 budget, I'd be hesitant to spend that on a car about to roll 200,000 miles, especially if you don't have some $$ on the side to cover a repair that pops up. Sure, it's a Subaru, but parts wear out with mileage regardless of how long the engine is purring. Do you have your heart dead-set on a Forester? Would you consider a Legacy wagon/Outback that was a bit older but with much lower miles? If I were bound to $5K, I'd look for a 95-96 wagon that has right at 100,000 miles and has been garage kept. Drive it until you can buy the Forester you really want. IMHO, the Forester doesn't have that much more room anyway.

Yeah, well evidently Subaru and Mustangs aren't so different after all. http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=176962415&dealer_id=55843455&car_year=1999&make=SUB&distance=0&lang=en&max_price=6000&model=FOREST&end_year=1999&min_price=1&certified=&address=42101&search_type=used&advanced=&start_year=1998&isp=y&cardist=519 I think we need to do a showdown between the two and compare apples to oranges on the track and drag strip. The Sube would win against the V6 Stang, but I bet you'd have more fun in the Mustang than you'd like to admit. The torque of the two engines is almost the same, and torgue has more to do with snap your neck oomph than does horsepower. If I were plunking down the bills for a new car, I'd go for the Sube, but I'd still stare at the Mustang at the stoplight. And, NOTHING sounds sweeter than a V8 engine with dual exhaust...

Shoot them $4,000 and see what they do. If they don't take it...wait and see if they will later. I'd stay away from it otherwise....

Never been a Ford man, but I will have to say that I like the the looks of the new Mustang. Haven't driven one, and probably won't be in one anytime soon either. Still, you are comparing a base V6 to an upper end turbo charged 4 cylinder. I didn't compare price, so I can't tell you anything there as far as a "balanced" comparison against the two in that regard. The Ford has 240 lb torque @ 3500rpm and the Sube 250 lb torque @ 3600 rpm. The Ford also gets 28mpg v/s the Subaru 25mpg. The V6 is the "transportation" Mustang. Ford has to make the V6 a bit anemic in order to make the v8 cars seem that more performance orientated. If all Ford made was a V6, then you'd see more oomph from the V6. I don't keep up with Ford, but I'm sure a much higher performance Mustang than the 300hp on is sure to roll out this summer. Not defending the blue oval--just saying it's hard to compare a base engine to a top package engine. Now, I drive a Sube and love Subaru, but if I must say the sound of a V8 engine is much more pleasant than a whirry turbo-charged 4 banger. My hometown hosts the annual Grand National event and I love those cars--bak when the US auto makers had enough balls to make a car like that--but even they don't sound "right" when they pull up to the christmas tree compared to some old rumbling V8. Subaru cars are great, but there is no way to compare them to RWD cars that are built to appeal to "American car" folks looking for vehicles that remind them of the glory days of Detroit...which have pretty much faded. It's like comparing Apple to Microsoft--people like what they like. You may not like Mustangs, but I don't think you can call a car "crap" becuase of a stat sheet. I'll bet they are fun to drive. The look damn cool, and have a much more distinct style--an attractive distinctness--compared to Japanese cars in the same price range.

My 95 Legacy has the top and bottom cassette/radio and CD player factory option on it. You'd have to double check on your, but I do think you can simply add the bottom CD unit someone else had already mentioned. This would probably be the easiest swap and that way you can still play any tapes you have laying around. I'd check junkyards, but usually those places want more than a used factory radio unit is really worth, so ordering online or from a catalog may be your best bet. Try eBay--I got a sweet deal on a brand new Subaru 6 CD remote changer for $11! A lot of times the only real demand for factory radios is from the people who rebuild wrecks, and they typically do all their shopping from junk yards...

This wasn't a police package car. It was just a regular production Caprice that a small town police department put a cage in and lights behind the grill. I have had no Chrysler experience whatsoever because I never been fond of the brand. I would not buy a Chrysler, although I must say that they are pretty much trend setters for a lot of the styling going on now in the auto world--domestic and foreign. My parents always buy Fords, so I have exposure to that brand--probably the WORST handeling FWD vehicles on the planet. My wife had a Tempo for a few months while we were car shuffling a couple years ago and I refused to drive that thing on wet roads. I always have liked big, rear wheel drive cars, so my exposure to anything new Chevrolet is limited too. I bought a newer Olds Alero for my commuter car this past summer--that was a total piece of assembly line crap. Looked good and zoomed, but the most screwed up I've ever owned. I love my Subaru, would buy a brand new Subaru if I was getting a new car--probably the ONLY brand new vehicle I would consider getting. American makers screwed up when they stopped making American cars and started trying to build Japanese and European cars. How many 80s RWD GM cars do you see still on the road? Maybe it's just a regional thing, but I see a bunch of old RWD Monte Carlos and Regals and Cutlass cars from the 80s still going. Ever been in a Grand National? 12 seconds through the quarter mile and 30mpg...that was a car...