NOMAD327

My 99 2.5 auto is having trouble on longer hills with A/C on. It runs good on the level and ok with the A/C off. It is not the normal lag with A/C, there is some loss of power from last summer. It has 180,000 miles recent fuel and air filters plugs and wires are also fairly new. no codes, no signs of misfiring. It has had the knock sensor replaced, but probably 50,000 miles ago, no signs of knocking, but there could be a timing cut and not able to notice it. I'm wondering if the cat converter could be getting blocked up, starts good and runs good otherwise.

I go to Hack's service center in Jerseytown, which is near Bloomsburg. It's probably not as close as what you are looking for, but very experienced with Subaru and very reasonable on bigger jobs like head gaskets.

I got a chance to put regular in it, and it started pinging again and no codes now that it's been pinging. It seems to ping more as gas tank level gets lower, but still a few gallons left. It had a new fuel filter recently, and no problem going up hills, so I don't think it's really a fuel delivery problem, but will continue to check things out.

It's Danville, PA, and it's been a very hot summer with no problems, and a bit cooler the last couple weeks. I have a lot of ideas to check out here and appreciate the input. The heads were off about a year ago, and there wasn't any carbon to speak of then and they were cleaned up before going back on. We will be trying fuel from different stations and continuing to check for codes. I will post back in a few weeks if I find anything definitive.

The wife’s 99 OBW 2.5 DOHC recently started pinging under load. It never happened before and mid grade gas fixes it, and it works perfectly otherwise. No CEL And No Error Codes, but that’s after running on midgrade for a few days. 155,000 miles, It had headgaskets, thermostat, belts and idlers and spark plugs about 15,000 miles ago, plug wires andO2 sensors about 50,000 miles ago. The original knock sensor cracked and was replaced about 60,000 miles ago. The knock sensor looks OK, but I'll probably have to pull it to make sure, last time it set a code when it failed. All parts are genuine Subaru. I will run it on regular gas and check for codes again, but am thinking ahead to what else it could be? Is there anything else I should be checking or replacing?

I oiled it up and gave it a day and it made no difference. My belief is there is some sort of bearing at the upper end of the column, just have to figure out how it's serviced? Thanks for the interest nipper!

Can't feel it with you fingers, you just hear it and it's more like a metallic rubbing sound

I have a 99 legacy obw with 155,000 miles, mostly driving around town. Lately there's a rubbing sound coming from just below the steering wheel, but not all the time, happens more early in the day. Is there a bearing there to service, or is it something in the turn signal or clockspring mechanism?

I used timing belt and idler kit from the import experts also, and very high quality and pretty good price. They don't seem to have any sales on ebay right now, but have their own web site, can't tell if the prices are the same, but looks like the same merchandise. There are two styles of hydraulic tensioner used, the old style was a long cylinder, I believe yours is the other style with a short arm attached to the pulley, and a crossways plunger in the middle of the arm. I used a paraut brand water pump which is supposed to be the OEM supplier at a better price. looked exactly like the last Subaru pump I bought. The thermostat, head gaskets and the oil separator plate and screws all have to come from Subaru, there are a number of discount dealers available. Should also pull the oil pump and make sure the screws on back are tight, there is an o-ring behind it I get from the dealer. The oil pump or front lip seal are most likely source of the drip in the middle.

I did my 99 OBW about a year ago, and bought a complete engine gasket set from CNS auto off eBay, $65 plus $12 shipping. It didn’t look too bad, but the molded rubber pieces for the valve covers were not quite right. I believe it consisted of Eristic brand gaskets which were Japanese until recently, and the quality was considered to be good, but these were from Taiwan. Terrible looking head gaskets were included, and I did not use the lip seals from the kit, the valve cover gaskets, or the head gaskets. There were still a lot of useable parts for the money, but the suggestion of using Felpro or similar gaskets makes sense. I know my Subaru dealer wanted $117 just for the valve cover gaskets, so shopping is definately a good idea.

Your description makes me think it's on top of the motor. If it's there, check the sending unit located under the alternator, and it's threaded adapter plug.

Assume you mean vibration in gear while car is not moving. I have seen this on my car after putting in a brand X replacement axle. The theory is the overall length is not quite right, and it transmits vibration that would normally be absorbed by the engine mounts. If you recently replaced a CV axle in front, it may be your problem.

It's not the weatherstrip, I didn't think anybody would have any ideas on this but thanks for the reply. I believe I'll end up removing the door to make inspections, just hope I'll find something obvious then.

I have a 99 OBW and you can close the driver door with a light slam, but with a slow push, it will push back just before latching like you are squeezing a rubber ball in the hinges. I assume it's the rubber wire harness accordian, but it's connected on both ends, and has the same routing as the passenger side door which does not experience the binding. Everything works currently, and you can't see anything in the problem area, as the door has to be almost closed before it binds, and then everything is hidden. The body is straight and the hinges and door check device all appear free, Just wondered if anybody had seen anything like this.

another vote for import experts on ebay, very high quality and good service.

My 99 is too sensitive and will not stop in winter conditions so I pull the big black ground wire that connects to the base bolt of the actuator under the hood every winter. The ABS light will be on all the time, but this will do what you want.

I still like my NAPA and the people that work there are always good to me. I can afford to let the struts go, but with two both failing in the same odd way, I felt it was fair to let the board here know my experience. They were much too stiff when they were new, and it's obviously cold here now, but they got more stiff in service until they actually broke. I searched here before making the choice and didn't find anything bad about NAPA listed. I will still buy from my store which is small and sells only NAPA products. I have bought gas struts there before for other vehicles with no problem, but the parts for 96-99 Legacy models at least, do not work well.

The struts I mentioned in the initial posting were the genuine frontline NAPA product, for nearly $60 each, they had better be. They looked good and were specific to my application. I bought there as the difference in delivery was going to be 1 day at NAPA and 4 days at my Subaru Dealer, and the wife operates the hatch many times a day in her work. I have always had good luck with NAPA in the past and they did issue me one free replacement for the one that broke right off the bat, no questions. I decided to eat them and buy the genuine replacements, as they were made too stiff and it was very hard to get the tailgate to latch even when they were working. I am making the posting here specifically for info specific to gas struts. The rest of the NAPA catalog may be fine, but I am now less likely to experiment with them.

My wife's 99 outback wagon needed the rear hatch support struts replaced. I bought NAPA, reason was the one day delivery right here in town. Not really much cheaper than OEM, but nobody had OEM units on hand. One failed before three days, other one lasted about 6 weeks, Both failed not in the cylinder itself, but had the flat steel bracket at the top of the cylinder split in two, now have two Genuine Subaru pieces installed. Have noticed a lot of NAPA stuff is now Chinese. I expected these to be, but the last water pump I bought there was also Chinese.

Coincidentally, I also have a set of goodrich traction t/a t rated tires 205/55/16 on a PT cruiser I own. I like the tires for what they cost. If you look at tire rack, they offer reviews and what they call an overview of various tires. The T/A T rated is all good to excellent in the overview in all categories, with mostly good owner reviews. The T/A S rated is the OEM spec tire, and has average ratings in the overview with most reviewers disliking the tires. My experience with the T/A T is that they are quiet and good in snow and rain. They are wearing a bit faster than I expected, and they do not have the high traction performance of the Altimax. I am comparing my personal 45 series tires to my personal 55 series tires, but am pretty sure the Altimax has a higher performance potential by design. They are more expensive, so you can decide what they are worth to you. There is an amazing amount of info at Tire Rack if you want to do more research.

I should have mentioned regarding the hydroedge on my Outback, the first set went about 65,000 miles, which is about as good as you are going to get on a Subaru, and these tires also do everything very well. They were quiet and the rain traction held up to the end of tread life. The snow performance slipped some when the tread started to get thin, but with AWD we got around through the normal light stuff you normally see just fine. The Altimax have superior sports car handling ability, but if you don't need that, the Hydroedge may be the best tire you can get for an Outback.

I run hydroedge on my outback, but have altimax HP on a Ford Focus, 45 series 17's, same tread pattern as you would be considering. They are good in rain, as good as any all season tires I have had in snow, and are quiet and appear to be wearing well. They are extremely responsive, and it handles as well as it did on performance rated summer tread. Mine at least were made in France and very high quality appearance I like them a lot.

I talked to My buddy that had (past tense) the 99 OBS. I was mistaken about it needing a filler tube. Actually, his trouble started when he replaced a filler tube that had a hole in it from corrosion. That eliminated a vent path that had been allowing the car to take gas up until that point. His problem after months of troubleshooting and (apparently thousands of dollars) of warranted shop time ended up being the right and left fuel tanks were blocked in the interconnecting vent line. The driver side tank would take a small amount, then kick back into the passenger tank which would then spit back up, kicking the gas station pump off. The gas tanks were both replaced which fixed it. All the external hoses and the charcoal canister and the vent solenoid and that stuff had previously been replaced by the dealer without fixing the problem.

My buddy has a 99 OBS, the dealer was messing with the hoses on it for months, and couldn't fix it. I believe it started after he put a trailer hitch on it, but that may have been a coincedence. The final solution required replacing the entire fill tube. If you need more info, I'll try and get more from him.

16 blinks was the duty c solenoid on my kids 88 outback, that would fit in with the torque bind you are seeing.