Urban Coyote

*Phew* Ok, I just got my new air filter in. I tell you, that whole process has got to be the biggest pain in the rump roast ever!! For something that was soooooo simple in my Loyale, it's a whole lot more difficult in the Legacy. abeauch you were right, there are the clips in the front and the tabs at the back. Putting the darn thing back on meant hooking the tabs in the back first and then wrestling the front into place. I had to clip the table in then brace against the wheel and haul the front into place (I'm not a big person).....after struggling with it for about half an hour before hand. I have to agree too that removing the hose makes it easier too.....not easy enough though. Urban Coyote

Thanks guys! I'll give it a little more elbow grease this evening and see if I can get the darn thing off. Urban Coyote

I tried to take a look at my air filter last night, but ran into a bit of a glitch. I couldn't get the case off to get at the filter. With my Loyale it was a piece of cake, unclip the clips (there were four of them) and pop off the case to get the filter. With my 98 Legacy I uncliped the two clips (are those the only two?, I didn't see any others), but the case wouldn't budge. Did I miss something? Urban Coyote

Thanks guys! Will do. My roo has 116,000km on it, when I bought it last May it had 76,000km. I was thinking about the air filter as a good possibility as I live up a dirt road and have been driving through a large construction site the last few months on my way to work. I've never taken out or checked spark plugs before. Is this a hard process? Urban Coyote

Hey Guys, I've had my '98 Legacy L manual wagon for almost a year now and I've just noticed in the last week a 'slight' hesitation on acceleration. It's not a big deal yet, but I would really like to kick this in the butt before it gets any worse. I've been reading some of the past forms on this issue and it looks like it could almost be anything! What are the most common causes of hesitation? I'm assuming the car had a major tune up at the dealership before I bought it, and I have done regular oil changes. The hesitation is pretty typical. When I try to accelerate for the first few minutes before the car has warmed up there is a lag between the time when I push on the accelerator and when the car actually accelerates. I also just did an oil change on the weekend. I use synthetic, and there was a deal on at the local garage when I bought my oil. I got a free filter with it....and it was a Fram synthetic oil filter. (ok, don't flame me!!) Is there any possibility this might affect the engine performance? Sorry if this is a silly questuion, I'm not a mechanice Urban Coyote

Thanks everyone! I will give it a try as there doesn't seem to be anything to loose at this point other than a little time and effort Too bad they didn't make the motors a little tougher. My Loyale's rear wiper works a-ok after 15 years....I was surprised to see my Legacy one go on me. Urban Coyote

The rear wiper on my ’98 Legacy seems to be on the way out? It was working great, and then suddenly one day the wiper started going really slow. It wasn’t long after that when it wouldn’t go at all. It would start, make it about ¼ of the way across the arc, and then get stuck. If you gave it a nudge, it would complete the arc back and forth (slowly), then get stuck again in the same place. Now it doesn’t move at all. Any thoughts? If the motor has to be replaced, is the process easy, or difficult? Urban Coyote

Thanks Subarian, but HOW do you go about getting the scratches out if they are not too deep? Are there products on the market for this sort of thing? I was looking last night and didn't find anything, but might not have been looking in the right places. I've heard of using toothpaste and car wax....has anyone actually done eaither of these mothods? Urban Coyote

Hey Guys, I'm pretty bummed out right now as I noticed the other day that my back windshield is pretty scratched up. I think it may have happened at the gas station when the windows were cleaned as there was a lot of dirt on the back window. The scratches don't appear to be too deep, but more noticable than a typical swirl mark and they stand right out when the sun hits them. Any ideas on how to get the scratches out without replacing the back windshield? Urban Coyote

Hey Guys, I really appreciate all the feedback and thoughts on the subject. I tried taking the car out of gear and coasting with the clutch out and it just did not feel in control at all....didn't like that in the least, so I won't be doing that anymore. Besides, I want to stay in control as I barrel down the highway in my ultra-light, gas efficient Subaru as I try to avoid the flaming, jackknifed tractor trailer out of control behind me! Urban Coyote

Thanks guys! Just to clear up a point, I do not ride the breaks down the hills when I coast, nor do I try to shift gears without using the clutch. I've heard it can be done, and I have poped my old Loyale out of gear a few times accidentally, but I don't make a habit of it with my Legacy. The coasting referring to mostly is long hills on the highway where you can coast 1-2.5 km without too much trouble. I keep the clutch pedal completely to the floor when I have coasted in the past....nothing half way How is idling in neutral using more fuel that driving at 3000rpm's? Ok, last question....it's Monday, what can I say! Being in neutral removes your ability to accelerate, which of course is handy, but how is it a hazard? Most evasive maneuvers I'm used to require breaks and steering, which you do not loose when in neutral. UC

If you own a standard and want to coast down a hill, what is the best method to do this? I know, seems like a silly question but recently the clutch went on my dad’s truck. While chatting with him about it he said that when coasting down a hill you should depress the clutch, take the vehicle out of gear and then let the clutch back out and coast. His thoughts were that just putting the clutch in alone and coasting will wear on some of the springs that help operate the clutch. Ok, I’m no mechanic, so does this sound right? What is the best method to coasting without wearing your clutch unnecessarily?? With gas prices the way they are anything to save a little is a help and with all the hills in my area coating is a great way to conserve some gas. Urban Coyote

Hi Guys, Thank you very much for the advice. I went on the safe side and hiked over to the local garage and picked up some 5w-30 synthetic. I don't want to take any chances with my new Legacy (new to me anyway, it's a '98) Yup, it's definitely 5w-30....but I typed in the wrong manufacturer. It was Formula1, not Mobile1. I'm doing great these days eh? *lol* Happy New Year Everyone! Urban Coyote

I just called the two local Subaru dealers in town and they didn't recomend using it. Said it was too thick and definitely not for Canadian winters. I'll have to hoof it down to the local garage to pick up some 5w-30...sheesh. Think I'll go kick myself some more for not looking, more closely! On the bright side, I'll be working off all those Christmas goodies this way! Urban Coyote

Hi Guys, I was just out doing an oil change when I took a look at the oil I had bought. It's Mobil1 5w-50 synthetic. Now that I'm done kicking myself for not looking more closely when I bought it, can I use it in my legacy?? There's a garage within walking distance, so I can go over and buy some 5w-30, but if I can use the 5w-50 I will. Thanks! Urban Coyote

I was debating studded vs non-studded tires and finally decided on the non-studded Nokian RSI's. I just put them on last night and took them for a drive today. So far so good....been going up and down my snow covered driveway without any major problems. On the highway they handle really well and are not noisy at all! Urban Coyote

Wow! Driving in snow can be fun Like Fishy said, we had our second snow last night. It wasn't the packed, wet, mush we had on Saturday, but lighter and fluffier. I took one look at the driveway and though I didn't have a chance, but gave it a shot anyway. Wooohooo....the subie went through it like it wasn't even there! Even went through the snow plough pile like nothing. Now I just have to see if I can get through in the morning after a whole night of drifting.... Urban Coyote

My first car was a Subaru. My best friend and I were room mates for a year and were getting tired of having to walk everywhere. When my parents head we were starting to look at used cars they went out and bought me a ’91 Loyale for a grand total of $700. It had 243,000km on it when I got it, but that didn’t stop me from driving across Canada and back. My Loyale never quit on me once, or left me stranded. I begrudgingly had to replace it at 330,000km when it got to the point where the body looked like swiss cheese and everything was just wearing out all at once. The replacement was a 98 Legacy. Well…that’s not quite true, I bought an Impreza Outback Sport first, but a reckless driver decided to plough into me head-on before I had even had that car a month. That car took a lickin, but the safety features kept me tickin The car was written off, but I literally walked away from the accident. My reasons for having a Subaru: - Best gas mileage you can get with an AWD vehicle. - Insurance: cheaper to insure a Subaru than any other AWD/4WD SUV’s (at least for me). - Reliability - Tons of space….I have a German Shepherd that likes to go places with me. - Safety features This thread got me thinking about car commercials….and in all honesty none of the Subaru commercials recently have caught my attention. The Paul Hogan ones in the past I do remember, and that was way before I was even thinking of driving. I think it was because I loved the Crocodile Dundee movies. The only car commercials that have stood out in my mind lately are the Mazda adds. I think they stick out for me best if the catchy music they use. I think they were the ones who used the “Born to be alive” song?? *lol* Don’t flame me if I’m wrong I think using a catchy tune that sticks in people minds helps an ad tremendously. Those are the ones I remember long after they are not on the air anymore. Anyway, sorry for rambling! Cheers, Urban Coyote

I have to agree with Fishy on this one. My first Subaru was a 91 Loyal that was never rust proofed before I got it and it was a rust bucket by the end! You can easily tell the vehicles around here that have had rust proofing of some sort and which have not. Different rust proof agents work differently, so I would research which is the best in your area. Around here RustCheck is pretty popular. I just had my car done a few weeks ago and am quite pleased with the results. The product does not drip and ooz for months on end and it actually smells kind of nice...if you can believe that! If your in a rust belt...then rust proofing is your best bet. Urban Coyote Fishy...nice to see another NS person on the board!

You can also try the local WalMart. They sell rims at good prices up here in Canada...don't know about the US though. Urban Coyote

What caused the rpm's to stay high for those few extra seconds before droping down to idle when you put the clutch in? Urban Coyote

*lol* This is great! I'm going to have to make cue card notes out of all this great advice and stash them in the glove compartment A shovel in the back of the car is definitely a must during the winter months around here. Heck, we had so much snow on a few occasions last year that I was thinking of adding snow shoes to the list a few times. I had to park the truck at the bottom of the lane during some storms to avoid getting snowed in. The drifts out in the driveway were over 5ft tall! As for the tires, think I will be getting the Nokian RSI's. I was recently having a discussion with my parents about the benefits of decent winter tires. Dad thinks there's no difference between them and figures I'll be wasting my money on the 'good' ones and thinks I'd be just as well off with the 'cheap' ones. Well, the challenge has been issued....next snow storm we'll see who fairs best (on a deserted road or parking lot of course). My Legacy L with Nokians vs my Parents Impreza with cheap Wall Mart brand winter tires. Should be interesting to see who makes it, and who gets stuck UC

Awesome! All good advice....although I couldn't fathom driving through 24 inches of snow up here in the Maritimes. The stuff we get is more often than not heavy and wet, or wind driven and packed. I've found that, by watching other drivers, once you hit the underside of the car you'll get stuck pretty easily. I've also never seen anyone out driving around in more than 12 inches, except for the bigger trucks that have more ground clearance. We get pretty messy stuff up here. Thankfully I don't have to worry about junk in the road under the snow....it usually just my driveway that I'll have to navigate in deeper stuff. I wish we did get the lighter powder snow....sounds like it would be a blast getting out motoring around in that stuff! UC

Just wondering if anyone has some tips on driving through deep snow? How much can you expect to be able to navigate through in a Suby Legacy L? This is my first year with my new Suby in the country, and my driveway is pretty long (600ft). It's not unusual to come home to have it snowed in after a day at work. How deep is too deep?....when do you say no, and when do you say GO! How do you handle drifts? Ok, second question.....Nokian Hakka 2's, or RSI's for best tread life, variable driving conditions, and long commutes?? Cheers, UC

I have to agree....a cheap set of WalMart tires will serve you better than ones with dry rot and little tread left. I knew of a young man, 21 years old, who died in a car crash because the tires he had on his car were tread bare and hydroplained <sp?> during a heavy rain storm. This caused him to spin out of control and into the lane of oncoming traffic. How do I know about this young man? Because the car he hit when he spun out of control and crossed the centre line was my brothers. My brother was lucky and lived. I feel so sorry for the young man who died. He was just coming home from his first shift at his new job. His parents said he was planning to buy a new set of tires with his first pay check Too bad his parents didn't front him the money...he may still be alive today and my brother wouldn't have the injuries he has Sorry for the rant....my .02....get new tires asap. UC