JT95

I'm with subyluvr2212 on that one. If you are gonna fool with the time to change out the boots, it would make sense to go ahead and swap in a new axel and have the security of newness and longevity. If you are paying someone to do it, I bet they'd charge less (or at least the same) to simply swap in a new axel than fool with trading multiple boots. I have a torn inner boot on my 95 Legacy. Over 150,000 miles. If it's getting torn down to get to a boot, that whole axel is getting replaced... Has anybody come up with a "fix-it" boot that can be put on over top of a torn CV boot to at least extend the life of the joint and delay the resulting damage of a torn/ripped boot? It seems stupid to have to go through all that disassembly to replace a simple rubber boot that every manufacturer knows will deteriorate with age and need replaced. I might experiment this weekend and get back w/ ya...

True analogy--like our bodies/skin, car interiors age largly based upon how well they are taken care of from the start. And, like a 50something-year-old seeking plastic surgery and liposuction, once gotten away from us our car's interior is expensive to remedy. I've always said major interior problems are more of a pain to fix properly than other car problems. Well, like I said, the rest of the interior in my Legacy is in fantastic shape. Looking at the dash you'd think you were in a new car. I have thoroughly rubbed down and treated the interior since buying the car, so unless my kids do something to wreck it (at least the front section will stay nice), the interior should last a long time w/o any major problems. I'm not really worried about the dimpled/wrinkled top of the two door panels--I was just curious if this was a common thing for Subarus of that generation. That bad spot on the leather is the only complaint about my seats and not worth buying a seat cover for--anything other than matching replacement leather would look ten times worse. I think my Legacy had only the driver in it for most of its life because the other seats are flawless. Now--I do get annoyed by the plastic things on the visors and want to know if anyone else has tried to take them off.

Got a few misc. questions about my Subaru's interior. ('95 LSi) With the exception of a couple of flaws, the interior in this almost 10 year old wagon is fantastic. Here's the passanger side door panel featuring it's dimpled/wrinkled top. The rear door panel has the same thing happening--a bit more dimpled though. Is this sun damage or what? Anyone else had this same thing happen? The driver's side is fine This is my first car with leather interior and I love it. With the exception of this damage, the leather in my Subie is in super great shape. This is the outer edge of the lower seat back on my driver's seat. I assume rubbed raw from all the entry/exit activity. Never dealt w/ leather car interior before--is there a way to "fix" this? Didn't know if there were any products that could be rubbed in and blend the color better. Something that wouldn't rub onto clothing later on. Anybody ever fooled with this? And, finally.... Subaru has a comfotable and classy interior...all of which is cheapened by those hokey plastic warnings attached to the visors. I'm wanting to carefully cut them off. but I'm afraid it might look botchy and appear even worse than what's there. Anybody tried removing these boogers?

Thanks--I'll give that a try.

Found this info on a Subie search: Anybody had any experience with this? I noticed some oil accumulation on the bottom back of my "new" 95 Legacy's engine, but have not noticed any oil drips in my driveway yet. Haven't had it long enough to see if it might be a bit of a leaker. For the curious, here's the rest of the "issues" reported for 95-99 Legacy cars. I know a few new or possibly new owners of these cars have asked about some things like this. Long-term owners may want to comment...

F4000-53932 That's what came up from a couple of Subie parts suppliers for the '95. Don't know if that's a Subaru part # or not. Call a dealer and ask them the part # for your car and see if they match up. I'd not try anything but an exact replacement. What have been some Subaru replacement alternator stories from the rest of you? I've had no luck with replacement alternators from Advance/Auto Zone and now vow to dig for the extra cash and buy any future alternators from the dealership and get the factory real deal. I had a 4WD Honda wagon a few years ago. The alternator went bad. I bought one from Advance and replaced it, which was a MAJOR chore for that car--had to remove the master cylinder to get to the alternator. Anyway, 2 weeks later I was on the side of the road again. Took the "bad" alternator back and swapped for a "good" one. It lasted about four weeks. I took it to the dealer and paid the extra $$$ and had a Honda replacement alternator installed. Later I heard from several Civic owners that they could never get parts store alternators to live very long. Don't know if Subaru is the same or not, but I don't trust any of the auto store alternators anymore. Same problem with my Chevy--alternators from Advance would last no more than a year and a half before they went bad. Luckily, I had the lifetime replacement warranty, which I notice is no longer offered. Hmmm...

Well, there was a somewhat recent thread on how the Outback was voted the #1 lesbian car--maybe they could fit in a second girl on the decal. As far as your comment, Northguy, what kind of supplements have you been taking to create that similarity? :-\

Yep--already changed the air filter. The car was sitting unused for a year before I started driving it--probably had a spell of six months without even being started. Don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. Engine is smooth and strong. I've only been driving it a few weeks now. Has new plugs too. First fillup I averaged 22-23. Second fillup I got a solid 25 mpg. I'm almost done w/ the third fillup, but this tankfull I've been a bit heavy-footed, seeing how peppy the 2.2 can be, so it won't be a good indicator.

My 95 Legacy has a fuse slot in the engine bay that makes the car FWD when you insert a fuse in it. I think you're supposed to do that when towed, although I don't know if it's ideal to start the car and put it in gear to "activate" it or what--which does little good if your car won't start and thus needs towed. I've never tried it, just going from memory of what I think I read in the manual

Has anyone written Subaru about the issue? If not, that would be a good step. When you write them, be sure to explain that this is an issue that has been thrown around this message board (and possibly others). If whoever ends up dealing with the letter realizes that you have an active voice among a large group of Subaru owners/car enthusiasts and that this is something being publically discussed, then he/she is more apt to respond positively and not some blowoff reply. If anything else, post your own "Subaru Lemon" web page that highlights the problem and Subaru's lack of care in resolving the issue for its customers--that gets some positive attention sometimes.

Here's an eBay link. I bought a couple of grey stickers like this from this guy last month and put them at the lower corners of my back side glass on my Legacy wagon. They look cool. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7926735115&category=50449

Sounds like you got a sweet deal. I bought a 95 Lecagy LSi wagon that had been wrecked in the front. Had to replace the whole front bumper assembly, hood, and one fender. It was cheaper to buy aftermarket replacement sheetmetal and bumper cover, as Subarus are impossible to find in salvage yards around here (KY), especially ones with a usable front end. I had to pay someone to replace a front wheel bearing and although the car looked and drove straight, I still had a guy put the car on his rack and make sure the rails were perfect. I did some Bondo smoothing on light lower door/rocker panel damage. I did the repairs to the body & painted the replacement parts, but haven't gotten around to painting the whole car yet. It matches fairly well, but I want to two-tone, sport stripe it.I probably have $1600 invested in the car. It's got 150,000 miles and drives sweet. Haven't seen any oil spots on my drive or noticed any significant oil loss at fluid checks, but there is oil accumilation on the bottom rear of the cengine--nothing serious though. I bought the car from a lot that rebuilt wrecks. I had a '94 Cavalier that I had paid $600 for to drive temporairly, put $50 seat covers on, recovered the back dash, and painted some cool semi-gloss black hood stripes on to cover up a bad spot in the factory paint. The guy took my Cavalier and $100 for the Subie. :cool: I was pleased. Leather interior and power sunroof and CD changer and ABS are nice to have. As soon as I re-paint the car I'll post a pic or two. I assume your car had a salvage title? Just so you are aware, your insurance company will offer you only 60-70% of your car's book value if it is totaled and had a rebuilt title. I've been driving my Subie for a little over a month now. I love it. The 2.2 is a great engine and should last a looooong time with proper maintenance. If you don't have any record of service to the car, everyone here seems to be in agreement that a timing belt is a good bet. I'm curious to see how the AWD steps up for me when I need it.

This may be old news, so sorry if so. Here's a link to a signup page for a free 2 year subscription to the Subaru DRIVE PERFORMANCE magazine, which is a stem from their DRIVE magazine. This will get you their 2 issues a year. May not be much more than advertising, but it's free, so who cares... http://www.driveperformancesubaru.com/DrivePerformanceSignUp.aspx

Last Saturday was car maintenance day at my house. I changed the oil and filter on my 95 Legacy wagon while my wife did the same on her Volvo 740 wagon. Both cars are fairly new to our family, and I must say I'm impressed by both companies. Anyway, I've always hated working on foreign cars. (My last japenese car was a 4WD Honda Civic wagon that was a neat little car, but I hated popping the hood on that thing and working on the engine--had to remove the master cylinder just to change the alternator!) I must say, however, that I have been very pleased with what work I have done on my Subie thus far. It's been YEARS since I changed the oil on any car and it was so easily done. I could actually change the spark plugs without having my fingers and knuckles bloodied and contorting my arms and body into unnatural positions. Belts and accessories look like a cinch to access/swap as well. Are the newer models of Subarus as easy to work on? I'm a happy camper so far... If only I could get my gas mileage improved then I'd be ultimately impressed with the car. Hard to get happy about 24 highway mpg when I was driving a low geared V-8 with almost 200,000 miles before the Subie and pulled the same highway mileage.

You know, I could kick myself--I just had my factory CD receiver pulled from the dash this past week to hook up a remote 6-disc changer and I did not even think to look and see if it or the tape player/radio had an input jack for an MP3 player. I had an aftermarket CD player a couple years ago that had one on it, but at that time I didn't have an MP3 player. I was so overcome with this urgency to see if my eBay special changer worked and if it would play my CDRs. I have the crappy tape adapter for my MP3 player and I've not really ever minded it, but I don't use it very often. I'd love to foot the $$$ and buy a CD player that reads MP3 files...

Well, sniffing new coolant from a jug is different from sniffing coolant from a heated engine, so that might not help ya any.

Search that glove box and center console for any maintenance/repair records. If the car has a paper trail of regular oil changes, that's a plus. Look at the tires and see how much life they have left--figure possible new tires into the equation. Same goes for brakes--take it to a brake shop or two and have them tell you how much brake life is left. Pop the hood and look at seams and inner fender areas to see if the car is "wrinkled" anywhere from a front end collision. Even if repaired smoothly, a hidden problem could arise from that. (I bought my '95 Subie wagon wrecked--front end--but so far I've not had any ill effects.) While you're under the hood check out hoses and see what kind of shape they're in. Inspect the weather stripping and any rubber trim closely around the whole car--this is a quick way to see if any parts or the whole car has been repainted. Even a good paint shop (except for a really precise and doubly expensive one) will get a degree of paint on these when they mask and shoot. I don't know how many cars I've looked at where I could tell it had received some paint--indicating body work--and the seller has clearly told me the car had never been wrecked/damaged. Ditto on the timing belt. If you don't know about it--plan on having it done. Wheel bearings are a job I've heard some share they've had to have serviced--it's a pain in the butt to do yourself and about $300 for a garage to do it for you. Personally, I'd stay away from a used, higher mileage turbo anything unless you know it's been well maintained by a single owner. I still say one of the most important things in a used car is the interior. I'd rather do paint and body or mechanical work any day than have to redo an interior. It's a pain and it's expensive and it's hard to find people to do it well sometimes if you can't do something yourself. Some of the long term Subie owners can probably steer you to specific Subaru flaws/quirks, so I may have just rambled and wasted your time. Spend a lot of time listening as you drive and steer--noises tell you a lot. Opt for the 2.2 engine and unless it already has a problem from a previous owner, they seem to be a damn durable engine. As far as the wagon goes--you'll be glad you got it. Especially if you do move a bunch. They're more useful and, IMHO, look more stylish anyway. We're eventually seeing all the auto makers figuring out that wagons can be cool and make so much more sense than most SUVs--Subaru has kept the wagon cool for years...

As soon as you saw what had happened I would have gotten a new radiator pronto and fixed it myself. I've swapped out radiators on several cars but never my Subie, but I can't imagine it'd be that bad of a chore--an inconvenience and a frustration, yes. If I were pressed for cash, I'd pursue seeking some $$ from Wendy's. If I weren't hurting in the bank account, I'd just suck up the $150-200 and save myself the frustration and time of having to fool with the store. If pursuit, I'd have gone back to Wendy's in a friend's car and told them what happened that day, then taken a picture of the puddle, maybe with a ruler sunken in it. Then I'd turn that in w/ a copy of the receipt for my new radiator later on along w/ a pic of the damage done. If you wait until a later date to notify the manager of the event, the best argument/evidence will probably be a moot point. Probably won't get very far if you don't have others' complaints to match up w/ yours. (300 cars go through the puddle and you're the only guy to have a claim--sounds like your problem.) At best they will pay for a repair bill, but the hassle may be more than that is worth unless you have to pay someone a lot to do the job for you. As far as missing work, you'll get nothing at all for that, so I'd get another way to work or fix the car yourself pronto. Hey, maybe it's time to retire the little Subie and trade it in for a big, high ground clearance, V-8 SUV so this doesn't happen again? I'll bet the H2 Hummers never have this complaint. Maybe they really are practical after all...

Wow--no Sonic. That must be small. I've never bought a new vehicle, so I can't image the fear and frustration of parking lot dings on a brand spankin new ride. Nothing like a new car mechanically, but having that "gently broken in" feel to a used car does ease the parking lot paranoia. What's the deal w/ these new Saturns? Are really as dent resistant as their commercials profess? I'e frequently wanted to ram one with my shopping cart while strolling back to my car at Wal-Mart just to see if it would resist

Did any of the Legacy wagons come with a 3rd seat that folds down in the hatch area? I've never actually seen one that did, but I have seen that listed as an option at various sources. My wife's Volvo wagon has the "hidden" third seat, which is cool on the very rare occasions you need it.

Well, I ended up going to the "local" salvage yard and getting the piece last week. They didn't want to fool with removing it, so they sold me that whole section of the wheel assembly (plus a couple nick nack trim parts I needed) for $35. The car the tone whell came off was a '97 Legacy wagon. The part looked the same and fit the same, but it felt like it was made of a different metal.

I had to have my '95 Legacy flat towed this afternoon. I'd never noticed it until the car was on the back of the truck that the front tow hooks are missing--been cut off. He said most of cars like mine he'd seen (including the one he used to own) had the hooks missing from being cut off. A quick search turned up this 1999 recall info: Okay, I can see the logic in cutting them off, but...tow hooks can be pretty handy at times. Was there never a remedy beyond simply cutting them off for good?

Not been around a Subaru long enough to know anything about them (couple of weeks now) and my mechanical experience is limited and pretty much w/ older cars, so I'm throwing this out I guess just to hear myself talk... But, is there a possible problem that's related to fuel delivery? Going from an idling dead stop to takeoff (especially an aggressive one) would result in the car being starved of gasoline and overburdened with all the air it just sucked in if for whatever reason proper fuel wasn't part of that air/fuel ratio. Is that a possibility--some fuel system related issue?

I was curious if anyone else had used any LUCAS additives in their Subarus. I love their stuff, but didn't know how folks with Subaru cars have reacted to it in their engines/gas tank.