DiscoStu

The steering wheel moves if I lift my hands off. I can also feel it move when I don't. As for the tires, I have Kelly Navigator Gold from Belle Tire. Anyone had any bad experience with these? How big of a job is it to replace your own ball joints? Could I do it with a set of socket wrenches and a floor jack? How much should it cost from a reputable mechanic? How much from the Dealer? I'm guessing I would need an alignment after that anyway right?

It's a code P0400. EGR Flow Malfunction

99 Legacy OBW CEL light is on, code says something about EGR flow. I've read all the posts and how to make sure there is no obstruction. Just don't know where the thing is. Does anyone have a diagram of the parts I should be checking? Any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for the Avatar! And thanks for the photo of the tie rod ends. Should I be able to feel for looseness with my bare hands with the car on the ground? How would I check for bad ball joints? Thanks.

Not hearing noise when it happens. I do hear some clunking when going over large potholes or bumps. I don't have to fight to steer. I do seem to have to correct a lot.

99 Legacy OBW 150K+ miles. I've noticed lately that imperfections in the road are causing my steering wheel to move at all speeds. Even very small bumps in the road at very slow speeds, like when coming to a stop at a light. And at high speeds like on the highway. Is this normal? What would cause this? Thanks.

Here's one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-95-Subaru-Legacy-Owners-owners-manual_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ119140QQitemZ220039980647QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

What would one look for when driving in tight cirlces to check the AWD system? I have a 99 Legacy OBW and was always wondering if the AWD was working properly. How would this tell? Thanks.

Our local Meineke is willing to install my parts for $455 which includes an alignment. I can get these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-GR-2-GR2-STRUTS-SHOCKS-SUBARU-LEGACY-OUTBACK-95-99_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33590QQitemZ160094137214 for $285 shipped. The ebay listing says "excluding air suspension". What does that mean? How do I know if I have that? Can they be had for cheaper than that? Has anyone dealt with this ebayer with success? Thanks

99 Legacy OBW 150K+ How much should it cost for a set (all 4) of struts installed? The quote from Tuffy was $975. Does that seem reasonable? Two other quotes were in that zone, too. What makes it that expensive?

And never ASSUME anything. Otherwise you make an rump roast of U and ME.

Took it to a local shop. They could find nothing on visual inspection. After they test drove it, they thought it pulled to the right. So I let them put it on their rack and test the alignment. They said the alignment was fine. The rotated the tires and test drove it again. Now they said it pulled to the left. They then put it on the lift while running and put it in gear and watched the tires. They said 3 of the 4 tires were out-of-round and should be replaced. I took it back to Belle Tire and told them about this. They said what I expected "That's impossible for 3 tires on a car to be defective." But they were willing to check it out. They took all 4 tires off and checked for imperfections. They came back and said the tires are all true round and not defective, but all 4 were "severely" out of balance. They balanced them and told me to drive it for a few days and to come back if I was still having problems. I could tell the difference immediately out of the lot. It drives straight and the steering is back to normal. I never would have imagined that tire balance would have caused this. There was never any vibration, noise or shimmy in the streering wheel. My lesson learned: Do the easy stuff first. Don't assume anyone will check it if you don't specifically tell them to.

It's something that hasn't always been there. It's not there in my Toyota. It wasn't there when the tires were brand new. If I find out anything interesting, I will post it here.

Nope. Kelly Navigator Gold P205/70R15. If I understand correctly, the R is for Radial. I checked tire pressure. It was about 33 all around. I backed them all off to 28. Still have the same problems. The steering wheel moves the tires at the slightest movement. So I don't think I have a rack or U-joint problem in the steering works. It tracks pretty straight when on newly paved road or parking lot. Dont think it's alignment. I'm taking it to a shop next week to have them look at tie rods, bushings, sway bars, control arms, and struts. Anything else I should have them take a peek at?

Is there anything in the rear end of the car that could cause this? Is it possible that one of the back wheels is loose and could be steering the car in this way?

No. I have the problem always. The grooves just make it a little worse.

Those were my first thoughts as well. However, my tires are only 6 months old. Kelly Navigator Gold P205/70R15 from Bell Tire. I took it to Bell Tire this past weekend and had them rotate the tires and check the alignment. They said the alignment is fine. I would imagine if there was a problem with the tires, they would have found it then. Would a spin balance find a problem with the tires?

Where, um, exactly would I find those bushings. I'm not at a total loss underneath a car, but a point in the right direction would be appreciated. It's at the front of the car, right?

What should I expect to pay for a set of struts installed? Where should I get that work done? Are there some shops I should avoid (Midas, Tuffy and the like?) I've also seen mention on this board that control arm bushings may be partly to blame. What's your take on that?

I have this strange sensation when driving my 99 Legacy OBW (150K miles). It kind of feels like it's out of alignment, but I've had it checked at Bell Tire and they said the alignment is fine when they rotated the tires (the tires are less than a year old and I had them align it when I bought them). I've had it into the Subaru dealership and they said the suspension is fine and everything is tight. When I drive over grooved pavement (they do that in Michigan sometimes), the car tends to follow the grooves but the steering wheel doesn't move. It feels like I'm driving in high wind all the time but the wind keeps changing direction. I can't feel any kind of rythm to it. It's worse when driving at higher speeds (over 60). It's better when the engine in cold. I've never had the struts replaced, but I figured Subaru would have told me if they were bad during their inspection. Could it be something with the steering system? Wouldn't they have checked that, too? I had an old Pontaic long ago that got bad tie rod ends and it feels similar to that. But, shouldn't Subaru have caught that, too? What else could it be?

Yes, I believe it was 0400.

Followup: I took it into AutoZone. They found that it was a EGR flow error code. They said sometimes in cold weather the light will come on in error. They cleared the code and said if it the light comes back on, bring it back in.Took 5 minutes and cost nothing. Thanks everyone.

1999 Outback Wagon 2.5 Auto Trans, 150,000+ miles (Speedo works only sometimes) No major fixes recently. New timing belt at 120K. Check Engine Light came on. Is always on now. Do I have to take it to the Dealership to find out what's wrong? What's it gonna cost me to find out what's wrong? Is there anything I can try without taking it to a mechanic? Where would you take it? Thank you.

I need one. How much do you want for it (including shipping). How do I contact you?

I have a 99 OB with 120K. Never had a major problem. Just had the timing belt, water pump, seals changed as a preventive measure (ran about $500). Buy it and drive the heck out of it.