Gnuman

Damn, I wish I had known you then. . .

So it seems there is some hope after all. . .

Well, considering that they are winter tires, I'd doubt that they would get hot enough to throw the tread. Now if you wore them all year. . . .

Yeah, the hoist and repair stand are the sticker for me as well. I wonder if i could get one that breaks down in a way that it would fit in the back of my Legacy wagon. . .

Damn! you live close enough that I could maybe help you if I had some tools and help with the job (I have most of the tools to do the actual job, but I'd need a few more to lift the engine out. I'd also need a place to work, if you have one). At the very least, you need a mechanic that is not afraid of Subarus. . . What say anyone in the area? Humboldt is just up the road from the SF area. . . Who wants to go on a rescue mission?

I have to agree with this and the others that have mentioned that this shop may be the biggest problem with your Subaru. Subarus are, in general, very tough and reliable cars. If you take any car to a shop that does not understand how the car works, you will have problems. My recomendation in a nutshell: find annother shop.

From that I would say no. Stay put and have a good Christmas. When the dealership opens up, take it to them and make them fix it. Do not do anything that could void your warranty (like driving in severe conditions) in the meantime. . .

OK, I have been on this board for a few months now, and I have noticed a trend that I find disturbing. Aside from the 2.5l head gasket issues, the biggest problem Subaru owners are having is finding a dealership that treats them like a human being. . . Subaru seems to be trying to address the head gasket issues, but it seems that we must take on the dealership issue ourselves, or at least bring it to the attention of Subaru. This poor treatment at the dealership will drive away customers and place the whole company at risk. . . Any ideas on this? (Sorry this is not New Gen Specific, but this is the side of the board I live on. . .)

subbies4life, your nick is wrong. It should read "If it's not a Subie, it's just a car". . .

In a word, yes, they updated the head gaskets twice. Once about the 2000MY, which just moved the leaking to an external leak instead of a full blow that they had with the phase I 2.5's. Then they changed the head gasket again (along with a new part #) that is supposed to fix the problem altogether (From what I hear, there has not been anyone with enough miles on the new headgaskets to be sure the issue is totally fixed, but it is the best choice out there thus far).

A '95 will have an OBD II system (OBD I was 90-94) so you will need a scanner, unless you have a local shop that will pull the codes for free (there are some auto parts stores that will do this for you). Having your own scanner will probably be a goo investment in the long run, though. As for the temp guage going immediately to normal operating temp, I also recomend that you check out the wire going to the temp sensor, and if it is OK, get a new sensor.

Just to be clear, these are problems that a few particular engines are prone to, not Subies in general. Big difference there.

Albany is just as good (just north of Bezerkeley) as there is a Subaru stealership there. . . and better parking. . . Hmmmm, Pacific East mall would be a good meeting place. . .PM me and perhaps we can set things up. . . As for others: I extend an open invitation to anyone on this forum from the SF bay area to join us, once we get a meet date and time finalised. . .

Check for weathering of the seal, and perhaps try a bit of silicone on it to "refresh" the rubber. . .

It is easy to kick the arse end out in the snow. . .just yank on the handbrake. . . I used this meathod once with a pasenger in the car in WI, there had beed 24" of snow dropped the previous night and I was asked to drive him around base (I was in the Army at the time) so he could get all his paperwork set up. . . I told him to tell me before we got to his temp quarters, but he told me after. . . I was going all of 5mph, so I cranked over the wheel toward the left snowbank, and grabbed the handbrake. Back end snapped about as pretty as you please, and when I was 180deg from the way I had been facing, I let go of the brake and rolled a few feet. Then I looked over at my passenger who had an expression on his face like "Oh my God! We're gonna DIE!!". . . I almost choked with laughter as I shoved it back in first and started off back to the quarters that he had pointed out too late. . . Yeah, I was a bit of a bastitch in those days. . . .

Say, I just realised that you are in San Mateo. . . I'm just over here in Oakley (think Antioch and go a bit further east), and there are a few others close by as well. . . Perhaps a meet could be arranged?

Cookie, you owe me a new keyboard. . .

you can also swap in a '96 2.2L engine and bypass the headgasket issue altogether. . .

OK, now you guys have me wondering. . . Are the "rear defroster" and "Cruise control" switches (found to the left of the column) in a '92 Legacy L wagon backlit? what about the buttons for the tape player (I know the first three are, but what about the rest? the ones that select the stations and the tape functions)? If they are backlit, are they the same bulb listed above, or are they a different size?

If you use a penny, stick it in so Lincoln is facing you and going into the tread head first. If you can see all of Lincolns head the tire is done for. . .

Tha's OK, the ad works just as well with a Subie heading up the hill. . .

I tend to fill up before the light goes on (unless it is the end of the month and I'm out of cash for gas) as I like to be able to decide on which gas station to go to. In this area, when you are down to 2gal you run out of options fast. . . I have noticed that when I'm close to that level, the light goes on sometimes and then goes back out (I'm guessing that it has a lot to do with how level the car is). When you mention that you have 2gal, is that when the light comes on and stays on? or is it from the first time the light gets lit?

I like the solid spokes better, but both are great. . . are these 14" wheels? what will you do with the other set when you decide?

We will start with the removal of protective coatings, and move quickly into having a shim that is 2.51 on one end and 2.54 on the other. . . In order to sand the shims down, you would have to do it perfectly, and te dificulty in that is far more than coughing up the cash to get the precission milled ones from Subaru. . .

you have, of course, ruled out the Honda owners behind you as the source of the whining?