Gnuman

Yes, but 713 asked what it is. Other products have the same components, but Seafoam has the best balance of them. It is not what it is, actually (ingredients), but how much of which that makes Seafoam work so well. Like the difference between Coke and Pepsi. same stuff, different formula. . .

That sounds like a knock sensor to me. Can you get the codes from them?

Thanks for that. now I know that my '92 does not have it (yet).

The Outback is 3" higher than the Legacy. The Legacy handles better though, but the Outback has a nicer set of standard features (well, for me. . .) The H4 engine (EJ25) is in it's third phase. The Phase I version had an internal head gasket problem (when I say problem, it is by Subaru standards. At a wild guess, perhaps one out of every thousand or so cars sold, will develop the problem) which was addressed in the Phase II engine. Well, mostly. the leak moved to an external one with a much lower incidence rate. That was still not good enough for Subaru, and we are now seeing the Phase III engine in the new cars. Other than the head gasket problem (and that is a small one, by most manufacturers standards), the EJ25 engine that comes in the Outback is solid, and plenty powerful enopugh to pull 4 adults through a blizzard. With a bit of power left over to make it a fun trip, if you are so inclined The Turbo makes the car faster, of course, but it comes with the price that you have to use premium fuel, and the H6 is just bigger. . . Oh, and the H6 is only available in a few option packages, so your choices are limited there. As for maintaining the engine, I fell in love with my Subie the minute I opened the engine bay. I do all my own work, and when I saw how easy it is to get at everything that may go bad I was very impressed. then I changed the oil and did some work underneath, and I fell in love with it all over again. This car is inexpemsive to maintain because it is made so damn simple and easy to maintain. In every car I have ever owened, there has been at least one spark plug, for example, that made you curse the engineers that put it there (or put other crap right on top of it) knowing that it would have to be replaced. I had no such incidence on my 12 year old Subie. These are cars that are designed to go the distance, and I'm sure that you will be happy with the Outback (or the Legacy, if you decide to save a few bucks).

Under the "boot" there is a plastic ring that goes around the back of the bulb, and holds it into the headlamp housing, If I Recall Correctly. . .

On the first note, this is a noise that happens when the engine is cold (or parts of it are), so the colder weather making it worse is to be expected. On this note, it sounds like piston slap. You are having a "colder than normal winter", so the noise is exasberated a bit there. On the second note, no it may not necessarilly happen right from when you first put the oil in. It may have taken some time for the oil to have loosened the deposits on the valve train, for example, so 5k miles later, more gunk would have been cleaned than when the oil was first put in. this will change clearances, and possably induce piston slap (or a valve train tick) that was borderline before. This is what your situation sounds like to me. Is it dangerous to your engine? probably not. It may also have highlighted a problem that was just starting and now you need to take a look at it. I would take it to a mechanic that you trust and who knows Subaru engines. Have him (or her) look at it and do some tests. Until that is done, and you know for sure what the ticking/pinging is, we can give you "advice" all day and it would do little good. . .

'68, actually. That was when they started shoving all that crap into the engine compartment, and sucked all the "oomph" out of the engines. . . They have been a mess ever since. . .

Nah, the struts are all as old and worn as mine. . . I'll be in Richmond all day tomorrow, and I can give you directions to the place if you call. New struts are $65 and up each, and I can replace the things myself once I get them. . . May go in pairs. . .that may actually be doable, if I get a few more jobs coming in. . . I'm pretty sure the left rear is gone, so I'll do the rears first. . . May even go with something stiffer in the rear, to reinforce it. . . Ideas anyone? Would this help with, for example, towing (the car has a hitch already)? One other note: Does anyone know where I can get a Subaru logo hitch reciever cover? I see them for a lot of the other brands out there, but not for Subies. . . it needs to fit a 1-1/4" reciever opening. . .

I'm getting a creak from ly Left Rear strut (or therabouts) and a bit of bad behaviour when I hit bumps on the left side in corners. Case in point: Tonight I was coming home from some work i was doing, and I was doing 60 down a road that is posted at 50. Curves, hills, nothing major. . . I was going around one corner (to the left), and hit a shallow pothole with the left wheels. The car tried to spin, but did not break traction, and ended up doing a bit of fishtailing before it settled down. I know this is not normal for this car. There are a couple of things that may be contributing to this, and I'm looking for advice as which to fix first. Car corners well when there are no big bumps in the middle of the turn. . . 1) I replaced the balljoints, but have not found a place that does alignment for a rate I can afford at this time (the old ones were really bad. . .) 2) the creak I hear from the area of the left rear suspension (creaking is like bad springs in a bed, only a lot deeper. . .) 3) all of the struts are on the "floaty" side of things (I plan on replacing them when I get the cash to do so) 4) add your own ideas here Any and all help is greatly appreciated. . .

It means someone does not know how to proofread what they type. . .

and the answer to that is YES. Subarus like a thin oil/lubricant. That is the viscosity that you need, and what will work best for you.

You mean I'm doing something wrong with those high speed 90 degree turns? Perhaps that is why the cops look at me so funny. . . .

the easiest way to hold the rear wheels when torqueing a rear axel nut is to set the parking brake and put the car in 1st gear/Park. Torque the nut to the specs listed and leave it there.

If you pull the engine, it will make things easier to reach, but the job can be done in the car. If you decide to pull the engine (are you oing the work yourself?), I would also have the seals replaced at the same time, and you should also replace the O rings on the oil pump as well as retorquing the screws on the back of it. Also look for where the oil is going to see if there is a seal or gasket that is gone bad on you. . .

Using a lot of oil is a problem, and I would get the work done. the "some plate [that] is about to sheer off the torque converter" is a known issue. The originally made them out of plastic, and the one they will replace it with is metal. This is a likely cause of the oil loss, in fact. You did not say how many miles you have on the engine? also, has the car overheated (temp guage going way up) for any significant time in the past? That could cause the heads to warp, making a blown headgasket more likely. . . (just trying to sort out how the headgasket blew, as these engines do not do that as much as the later ones. . . Yours is the second one that I have heard of. The first is owned by a friend and I'm going to be replacing the HG on it for him soon. . .

The 91 also had an option to install a CD player below the AM/MF cassette player. This way you could have both types of media available. . . It was a single DIN unit manufactured by Clarion for Subaru. It plugs directly into the back of the tape player you already have. . . Check junk yards or online. . . I installed one out of a 91 into my 92 and it works great!

Sounds also like the temprature sensor may be bad . . .and always telling the car that it is cold. . . This will cause the engine to use more fuel, and to idle high as well. . . Is there a code stored when the CEL comes on?

No problem at all. That is what we are here for. . . That and to share how much we love our Subies. . .

If the dealer replaced the HG's, I would be surprised if they did not put the conditioner in. Check it out and see if that was done. If so you should be good to go for quite a few more miles. . .

Oh, and if I was concerned with vanity, why am I driving a 12 year old car? Actually, I am. I was going to replace the taillight for cosmetic reasons, but the tickit has upped it on the priority list ( I was gonna wait until I could come up with one cheap, and not have to go to the stealership and pay several hundred dollars. . .) I also plan on painting the car, and perhaps replacing the doors with ones that are not banged up. . . On top of this (pardon the expression) I have a factory roof rack that I plan on installing soon. I'm also looking for alloy wheels (5 of them) for the finishing touch. One other thing, I plan on getting some of those "lighted windshield washer nozzles" and wiring the lights into the turn signals. Oh and driving lights (just the oval ones, as they are easier to mount. . .) Say, my birthday is this month. . .Hmmmmmmm <G>

I asked about that. Only a new lens will meet the requirement of having been repaired. . .

Manual tranny or Auto? Do a search on Torque Bind on this forum, and see if your symptoms match. . .

What part of California are you in? If you are anywhere near the Bay Area or Delta, then PM me, and I'll have a look at it. ("anywhere near" means within about 100 miles or so. . .)

I got pulled over tonight for a "broken taillight" (the car has been like this for several years, without any problems, and it was on my "to do" list anyway. . .*sigh*), and the Officer told me right off to turn my ignition off. To avoid problems as the lights go off when the ignition goes off, I hit the switch to be safe. . . switched it back off when I restarted the car to leave. . . Now, does anyone have a 90-94 right taillight lens for a wagon? Oh, and the only part of the lens that is broken is the part that covers the reverse lights. Nothing that is used in traffic. . . (so blinding the driver behind me is not the issue here. I'm betting on it being quotas)

Where in Oakley are you? I live on Malicoat, we should get together. . . I happen to have a 93 Legacy L Wagon for sale with a brand new clutch in it. The car is in good shape all around and runs quite well. At just under 200K miles it is just getting broken in. Body is good with the only rust being on a few scratches (all but zero rust). THis is an AWD with a 5spd. PM me if you are at all interested. The engine in this car (EJ22) is considered one of the best engines Subaru has ever made. Certainly one of the most reliable. . .