Urban Coyote

I feel you pain, I really do. I'm in exactly the same boat right now. I'm looking for a 2.2L, manual, impreza or legacy and am having very little success in my search. I'm in Nova Svotia and there are Subarus all over the place...but very few 2.2L come up for sale, and even fewer are manuals. Many of the ones that do are starting to have rust issues or are very high mileage. I'm actually considering searching in Maine as some family members are going down that way and said they would look around for me. All I can say is keep you chin up, eyes open and move quickly when you see something Cheers, Urban Coyote

I was just wondering what everyones take was on the saftey of Subaru's vs other popular cars such as Honda's, Toyota's and others? I'm not thinking about the advantages of AWD, but more along the lines of crashes etc. What are peoples experiences in these areas? I've read many of the crash test results, but I'm curious to know about real world experiences?? Thanks! Urban Coyote

My 97 Impreza Outback had classic piston slap for the three weeks that I had the car. Went away after 5-10 minutes of driving and never really bothered me a whole lot. I was going to try a different oil in it when it came time for a change to see if that would make a difference. Urban Coyote

Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm thinking about trying to get it back, but I have a gut feeling they won't let it go for a few hundred bucks. They'll want to recoup as much as they can off my payment settlement and will probably send what's left of my car to auction once I sign it away There's also the possibility I won't be able to find another and will end up taking a Legacy. I suppose I could always part it out and see what I can get for the bits and pieces. Cheers, Urban Coyote P.S: It's not Dude...it's Dudette :cool:

*lol* Now why would you want to drive a truck when you could have a Subaru??!! Here's some before and after pics of my car. Urban Coyote

Yup...that Mercury is toast too. The front of my car doesn't exist anymore, and neither does the front of the Mercury. Urban Coyote

Uhg, well still trying to get things straightened out with the insurance companies....what a pain. pilfflip: The other driver was ok too and there were no passengers. The car that was behind me was also involved in the accident, but did not have nearly as much damage to his car. He was hit by the car that hit me as well. I think the car that hit me was an early to mid 90's Mercury Sable, but not 100% sure as I haven't had a chance to get to the impound yard. ballitch: I didn't know they had roll cages built into the frames! That's good to know, even after the fact! unverviking: Definitely getting another Subaru! I've already contacted the dealers/people I was networking with before when I was searching. The main problem around here is Subarus only became more popular in the late 90's early 2000. There are tones of 2.5L vehicles around, not so many 2.2L ones :-\ Also the people with the 2.2L ones seem to hang onto them forever! When they make it onto the used car market they are usually very high mileage, or very beat up. Subie94 & dresh: I hear ya...too many crazy accidents happening out there. I'll be searching yet again for my next Subaru. If anyone from the board is in Canada and knows of a good manual, 2.2L Impreza or Legacy for sale let me know :-\ Urban Coyote P.S: Just found out....it was a Mercury Grand Marquis that hit me.

Thanks guys & gals for all the well wishes. I know what you mean about there being a number of threads like this lately. I read about maximumBRAT and her accident last week....I really felt for her. Who would guess I would be in a similar situation a few short days later? It's a terrible experience, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. What made it worse was I saw it comming...we were too close for me to do anything about it though. I was approaching a sharp turn in the road and all I saw was this car come zipping around the corner toward me. The roads were covered with packed snow that had become ice and I knew there was no way at that speed that that guy was going to stay in control...there was just no way. I saw him loose control, spin sideways, and the next thing I realize I'm off the road with an airbag in my face....gotta love those things. Hmmmm....not quite sure what hit me to be exact, it was a midsize type sedan...looked kind of cavelierish. I'll look when I go to the impound yard later today. Urban Coyote

I’m sure some of you remember me writing a few weeks back asking a million questions about the different Subaru models and which were best. Well I found the Subaru with ‘my name on it’ three weeks ago. It was a manual, 97 impreza outback sport in beautiful condition…even my favourite color, green! Well tonight the features of my car that I never wanted to have to test out were used. I was in a head on collision when a guy lost control of his vehicle on icy snow covered roads and hit me. My new baby was a complete write off….but I walked away from the accident with only a badly brused knee and a strained wrist. I can’t believe I’m alive to tell you all about it. I’m going to go get pictures tomorrow from the impound yard and will post one here later on. I really have to applaud Subaru for making such a sturdy little car with all the safety features they have…they saved my life tonight. *Sniff* so my new baby is gone, but I’m around to search for a new one. Cheers to everyone, and remember, wear your seatbelt! Urban Coyote

Uhg, sorry about that, it's a 2.2L engine. Originally I thought a drive belt and timing belt were the same, but after a little more research on this board I came to doubt that that was the case. I knew that the dealer I bought the car from replaced the drive belt and after reading a maintenance schedule that mentioned drive and camshaft belts (but no timing belt) I was totally confused! Which belt was actually replaced on my car and what/where is the timing belt? I think I have it straight now….drive belt is the one you see when you open the hood and runs the water pump and altinater, and camshaft/timing belt is in the engine? Please bear with me….I’ve been trying to learn as much about cars and how they run as possible, but it’s definitely a learning curve! I can appreciate the saying “Don’t blow a gasket” now though *lol* Ok, so I did a bunch of calling around and found the Subaru dealer that serviced my car with it’s previous owner. Seems it went in for it’s 96000km servicing and had the timing/camshaft belt done…and since the dealer I bought it from did the drive belt I should be all set for a while Now that I have a great running and looking car I have to decide what fun things to do with it Urban Coyote

Ok, thanks! I've also been looking through the forum for more info on timing belts. Is it possible that a '97 doesn't have an interferance engine? How would you tell one way or another? Urban Coyote

Hi All, Is there a difference between a drive belt and a timing belt? The drive belt was just replaced in my '97 Impreza Outback before I bought it. From my understanding timing belts have to be changed regularly on '97 models onward because of an interferance engine. Are these two belts one in the same or different? cuz if they're different I'm going to have to find out when the timing belt was last done.... Thanks, Urban Coyote

Well, it's finaly official, I became a new gen owner of a 1997 Impreza Outback Sport over the weekend. I'm really happy with my new Subie, although I'm going to miss my Loyale, what a great little car that was. Too bad the rust monsters couldn't be kept away :-\ With only 133k on my new Subie I hope to go many many km's more I'd like to give a BIG thanks for all the advice I got from the people on this forum! It really helped narrow down what my next Subie would be, what to look for and what to avoid Cheers, Urban Coyote

I test drove a 99 Legacy 30th Anniversary wagon a short time back and it had the hill holder clutch. I probably would have bought that car, I test drove it just before the dealership closed in the evening and it sold the next morning Urban Coyote

*Sigh* well I'm still looking for the Subaru with my name on it.....I know there's one out there. There are a few 2.2L Impreza Outbacks around that I'm considering. Any thought on this vehicle? Thanks, Urban Coyote

Thanks for the info Steve! I’ll take the interference engine into account…..but the car is in great shape. I took it for a test drive this evening and it drives very smooth. The only thing I noticed was a sudden acceleration when I hit 2500rpms with steady pressure on the gas….almost felt like an automatic changing gears. Is that normal? The car has just under 90,000km on it (just a baby compared to my 330,000km Loyale). If it hasn’t had a timing belt change then it’s probably due about now. Am I correct on that account? Thanks for all the advice everyone, I really appreciate it! Urban Coyote

There's a 1999 Subaru Legacy 30th Anniversary L 2.2L that I'm going to go look at this evening. Any particular quirks I should look out for on this model year? Any particular troubles these cars have? Thanks! Urban Coyote

This is all fantastic advice! I would really like to get a newer older model (did that make sense??) My thoughts are a 1998 Legacy 2.2L manual, or even a 2.2L impreza. Any serious downfalls to these years? I would consider an older year, but most of the ones that come onto the market in this area (Nova Scotia) have well over 225K or more on them or starting to see serious rust. I'd like to find something with 175K or less with a good body on it. Cheers, Urban Coyote

Ok, last question....honest! What does 'EJ', 'DOHC EJ25s', and 'SOHC EJ25s' stand for? Thanks, Urban Coyote

Ok, so as long as the engine is 2.2L I'll be doing ok. Does this include a '98 models, or have they started to degrade in that year even in the 2.2L models? What about the clutch on a vehicle with a 2.2L...same story, quality was better overall in these vehicles?? Sorry for all the questions! Cheers, Urban Coyote

Hmmmm....the 2.5's being crap seems to the the overwhelming feeling that I've been getting from Subaru owners. It's too bad really, because I like the look of almost all the Subarus, and they have a lot of what I want in a second car. I might just have to go out and find another Loyale...11 years old at the youngest though, that's a bit of a deterent. What would you guys suggest as a reliable newer model subie (if any)?? Thanks, this feedback is really important to me as I want to make sure my next car is as reliable as my first. TTYL Urban Coyote

I’m looking to purchase my second car sometime soon and have been considering another Subaru. My first Subaru was a ‘91 Loyale 4wd and I absolutely loved the car! Unfortunately it was in rough shape when I got it and I’ve pretty much driven my loyale into the ground. I would like to get another Subaru and was wondering how the quality of the newer models stacks up to the older ones. I’ve read a number of reviews by drivers of the newer model subies and there seem to be a lot of issues! Clutch chatter and malfunction, early break wear and rotor damage, bearings going and leaks of various sorts. This sounds like a lot of maintenance to me. My old Subaru was pretty much check the fluids change the oil and your all set to go. Did I just stumble across a few particularly lemony reviews, or has this become the norm? Also, I was wondering about the maintenance costs of the newer models? Do you guys feel it's a cheap, moderate, or expensive car to maintain? I'd appreciate any imput you could give! Thanks, Urban Coyote

Hi Everyone, The gas mileage on my 1991 Loyale is the pits and I'm running out of ideas as to why and what to do about it. I'm consistantly only getting about 400km to a tank when I'm used to around 550-600km. The engine has been rebuilt, excellent compression, most gas lines have been replaced, exhaust stysem is good and I just had the thermostat replaced this past weekend. I'm still getting poor miles though. Does anyone have any thoughts to where I could look next? I was thinking oxygen, or coolant sensor, but would either of these explain such poor mileage? I don't think my breaks are dragging, if they were what would the symptoms be? It also seems to get considerably worse the colder it gets outside. Thanks! Urban Coyote