hklaine

I was under the impression that the Passat was not available in 5-sp with AWD, and that the Forester was not available in 5-sp with a sunroof. Or maybe it was just that the sunroof was not available in the Turbo Forester. I could be wrong, just something to look into. A friend and I recently did some car shopping, going between Subaru and VW looking at the same stuff. She ended up buying from VW. To be completely honest I wasn't all that impressed with the build of the new Forester, not to mention the fact that the clutch in the demo car was garbage. -Heikki

I believe the stock Legacy rear sway bar is in fact 14 mm. Swapping in the Outback bar (18mm ?) seems to be a common upgrade. I recently installed an ipd bar myself. The difference is amazing. Turn-in is a lot faster. The bar does an excellent job of lessening understeer. Did you also install brackets and endlinks? I am very happy with this kit and would certainly recommend it. The kit for 95-99 Legacy ($279 shipped) is more than you pay for a bar from Cobb ($179 + S&H), but comes with brackets and endlinks (~$155) for a complete quality kit. -Heikki

U.S. Sales History By Drivetrain, all models 1997 - AWD: 133,749 FWD: 34 Total Sales: 133,783 Not sure if the year is the year in which the sale occured or the model year of the vehicle. -Heikki

NASIOC has a Legacy forum here. -Heikki

Bolt pattern for my car (details below) is 5x100. Offset is 55. I don't think you will have a problem finding wheels that fit your future car. I have WRX take-off 16's on mine with 205/50R16. They fit without a problem. I don't know how big you are looking to go, but there are guys running bigger wheels. These are enough of an upgrade from the stock 14's for me. -Heikki

I don't have experience with this motor but I think I remember seeing somewhere that it wouldn't fit as there is a clearance issue with the brake master cylinder. Can anyone confirm? -Heikki

Well my reply was irrelevant, and it seems there is no way to delete a post?

I wish I didn't HAVE to have a front plate. http://www.petitiononline.com/njplate/petition.html -Heikki

The pictures are worth a thousand words. Thanks for all the info. -Heikki

Josh. Do you have any advice on my other questions (a few posts up)? This engine is somewhat new to me, my first non-EA81/2. -Heikki

I am assuming this is different from regular Permatex? Where is it available? Common auto parts store? Color? Thanks. -Heikki

I am looking to do this job also, hopefully in the next week or two. Just have to decide if I want to dedicate a day to this or the clutch first. I have read a good number of posts but want to go into this being as educated as possible so I have a few questions. Cam Seals: cam seal vs. cam retainer o-ring? Two separate parts or are they a kit? How are the cam sprockets removed? Reseal oil pump? Remove pump and replace a seal/o-ring? Permatex #2? Where is this applied? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks. -Heikki

Why do you say that grounding to the battery is a bad thing? Most things on the car are grounded to sheet metal to minimize wiring for items that just need "enough" voltage. As for "why not", in an electrical circuit such as the headlight there is a point of high potential (Battery + Terminal) and a point of low potential (ground). In between those two points is the load of the circuit. This load consists of the headlight bulb AND any wiring that connects the two points. We find voltage drop in the circuit across any two points that are measured (V=IR, where V is voltage, I is current, and R is resistance - The greater the resistance, the greated the voltage drop). Ideally, we would like to isolate as much of this voltage drop to the bulb and lose as little voltage as possible elsewhere in the circuit. Makes sense? The more voltage we have at the bulb the brighter the bulb glows. So...to minimize voltage drop along the circuit in places other than the bulb we want to run as short a length of high quality wire as possible. (I run 12 awg on my lighting circuits.) Voltage drop affects the circuit on both sides of the bulb. It defeats the purpose to run heavy wire to the bulb and then use thin wire or sheet metal to ground the circuit. If you are curious about actual numbers: Turn on your headlights and get out a multimeter. First place the positive end on the battery + terminal and the negative end on the power source terminal of the beam that is on (low or high). This is the voltage drop in your power supply wiring. Then take the positive end of the multimeter and place it on the ground terminal of the beam that is on. Place the negative end of the multimeter on the battery - terminal. This is the voltage drop in your ground wiring. Moving the ground wire from sheet metal to the battery should lower the voltage drop in the second test, and in your overall circuit. Sheet metal might not be as bad if you have a grounding kit installed. Most cars 12V system cars, when running, put out 13.5V or better. "At approximately this voltage, halogen headlamp bulbs achieve 100 percent of their design luminous output. When operating voltage drops to 95 percent (12.825v), headlamp bulbs produce only 83 percent of their rated light output. When voltage drops to 90 percent (12.15v), bulb output is only 67 percent of what it should be. And when voltage drops to 85 percent (11.475v), bulb output is a paltry 53 percent of normal! [source: Hella KG Hueck AG, Germany] This is way more than I generally ramble on a post, but I hope it helps someone. -Heikki More important than any of this: If you are installing aftermarket wiring for lighting install a dedicated fuse.

I have not had experince with your specific vehicle, but I do run aftermarket higher wattage bulbs in my car. First, the stock mounting locations for your fog lights are not the ideal location for driving lights. Driving lights should be mounted above the bumper at equal height with the headlights. You can mount aftermarket fog lamps in these locations or upgrade the bulbs, but if you are looking for a truly effective driving light and are planning to spend the money I would suggest mounting them higer than your fog lights. Second, the stock wiring in Subarus is weak. I have my lighting, even the fogs which are only 55W bulbs, wired with relays and power (not to mention ground) connected directly to the battery. The power should come directly from the battery via good wiring. The ground should be to the battery or alternator mount, not sheet metal. A wiring upgrade alone can produce some results in your lighting, and I would suggest upgrading for sure if you plan to install aftermarket lighting. This will let you get the most out of your investment. If you are going to purchase the lighting it pays to go the extra mile. I don't intend for my post to make me appear as any sort of an authority of this matter. Simply sharing what I have learned upgrading my cars. -Heikki

You will find oil there which might have leaked from the front of the engine and, like you mentioned, spread by air. Common places for a leak, in no particular order, are the cam/crank seals (in front of the engine, may show up on the bottom corners of the timing belt cover and/or leak on Y-pipe), valve cover gaskets, and oil pump. Not that the pan gasket can't be the source, but from my experiences one of these others may be more likely. -Heikki

Prices seem to vary quite a bit from shop to shop. The shop that did my car had two grades of tint, one w/ warranty and one w/o warranty. I would suggest getting one with warranty. They retinted two of my windows that bubbled at the edges a few months after they were tinted. Been good for a few years since without any problems. -Heikki

Quite a few people have done the WRX seat swap. I have, however, seen complaints that the seats sit too high in the car for taller people. Don't know if this is something that can be adjusted as I have not done the swap or seen it in a car aside from pics online. I'm also not tall. -Heikki

I have also used a product called "Back to Black" which I think is put out by Mother's (?) No complaints, restores black color quite well. -Heikki

I have found some info online regarding this swap into vanagons, but anyone have any leads on the beetle kit? Vendor sites? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. -Heikki

Hose repair tape and a couple hose clamps. Coveralls and gloves..I second that one. Last october my heater core blew up on my way to a job interview. I was cutting the hoses off the firewall and connecting them with a barb in a parking lot wearing a suit. -Heikki

frag: Thanks for the link. I understand the concept of the VC, just didn't know that it was sealed with its own fluid that was never replaced/flushed/serviced. Good to know. -Heikki

I haven't had experience with this, but based on the way a VC works I would think that a loss of AWD would be a much more likely symptom as The Dude stated. -Heikki

They made < 1,500 in '96 and < 50 in '97, FWD Legacies that is. -Heikki

It's generally marked on the diff with a stamp/sticker, at least it was on the older Subi's. For some reason I was under the impression that LSD's weren't even available in the Legacy until 2000. Anyone know? Frag: Where does the fluid for the the viscous coupling come from? It uses a separate reservoir? Rweddy: You can always double-clutch the downshift if new fluid doesn't help. I had a '88 GL in which the 3rd gear synchros were shot for about 10k miles before the head gasket went and the car was scrapped. -Heikki

From Cobb: 75W90A GL-5+ grade oil which has a friction modifier and is more suited for a mechanical limited rear end instead of the transmission. If you want friction in the transmission, use the MT-90. 75W90NSAnother GL-5+ oil which offers good lubrication and bearing life. Best for the rear diff but can be used in the transmission. Some Legacy models, mine for one, does not have a limited rear. Perhaps notchy wasn't the best word for me to use as the feel I am discussing was increased with the bushing install and I don't think they would cause the gears to hit each other for any reason (?) I don't mean a gear clash type feeling, or a resistance point when engaging the gear. What I really intended to express was that the engagement seems cleaner and more direct. Less play when shifting, and I found that this became better with the synthetic oil. The trans goes right into gear smooth and effortless in any temperature. Double clutching to reduce synchro involvement doesn't hurt either. -Heikki