nipper

I was under the impression that it went away with the new axle, that the seized axle was causing it. Maybe we need a better explination of a rough idle and a 2nd opinion. I was going to say orignally a 2000 could use a tuneup by now.

You are missing a lot actually and i am not going to explain it either. Do a search on "torque bind" here and you will find many posts that explain it. Ok I will.... There is not mechanical "hard connection" There is a clutch pack. By definition clutch packs slip. The AWD clutch pack is made of special clutches that allow more slippage then a normal clutch pack for shifting. In addition to this there is a Dutcy C solenoid that controls the pulsing on and off of the clutch pack (that happens rain or shine). When this system fails one of two things happens. One is no AWD, the more common is the AWD sytem is locked up (torque bind). The front and rear axles turn at different speeds around corners, curves etc. There has to be some slip in the AWD unit to allow for this. Yours is not slipping. When you stop the car, the clutch pack releases, and that jerk you feel is the torque being released that was in the driveline. If you dont fix it eventually the car will be a hazard to drive. You can tear up axles (which you already did). You can tear up the drive shaft and diffs, you can loose contol on wet surfaces, and find it very tough to make a turn. You can put the FWD fuse in under the hood untill you get it fixed. This disables the RWD but it may burn out the Duty C solenoid, as the solenoid is not designed to be always energized. The dealer wants too much money for the repair, It should be around 900.00 in an auto. Shop around. You can do it yourself for much less.

Blue books are just a guide that dealers use to rip you off on a trade in, and insurance companies use to screw you in case of an accident. Retail market is the only thing that really bares any weight in real life. A subaru outback is going to be a lot cheaper in FL then it would be in CO. If you are happy then that is all that counts. nipper

You dont say if this is a manual or automatic. if its a manual the price is about right. You have Torque bind. Have you ever driven on a flat, have had mismatched tires on the car? All tires should be of equal size age and wear.

Not to top it off. Just have the car running when you add coolant. And cool. nipper

They are a bit hard to find. Sometimes i have to remove the battery to find the silly things.

Cant tell from what you say, it may be as simple (and old enough) for a bad thermostate (whic should come from subaru). I would replace the cap too and see what happens. nipper

They are limited to 50 mph. http://www.practicalcaravan.com/features/caravanlaw2.html MAXIMUM SIZE OF CARAVAN The maximum dimensions of a trailer that can be towed by a car or light commercial vehicle in the UK (neither of which may have a maximum allowable weight over 3500kg) are fixed by law at 7m long (excluding the drawbar) and 2.3m wide (including any fixed body parts such as mudguards). Note that this restriction applies to caravans towed by all types of vehicle within this weight limit, including 4x4s and light trucks, so those 2.5m-wide German caravans you see being towed by Transit-type vans or 4x4s are almost certainly illegal. This law should also apply to tourists from countries where the width limit is higher (as in Germany), but in practice few are ever prosecuted. If you want to tow a caravan over these size limits, then you must use a towing vehicle that has a maximum allowable weight of more than 3500kg (in practice, a heavy commercial – or goods – vehicle). In that case, the trailer can go right up to 12m long and 2.55m wide.

It can be the pump, strut top-hats, ball joints, tie rods, the rack. When you start to turn the wheel, does it sound like the pump is loading up? Loosing the PS belt slightly to see if it slips under load may be a cheap way to test the pump. You may have to wet the belt. If it still doesnt squeel/slip it may be a shot pump. Is the rack leaking at all? Does it only happen in the morning then get better as it warms up (that would be bad rack) ?

Does the car move? I am not quite understanding the issue. If the car doesnt move at all, then odds are the clutch pack is tired. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75577&highlight=CLutch+Pack+Replacement nipper

it being a 1996, there would be no money loss putting on new rear flexlines. The car is old enough where it would not be considered throwing money at a problem. nipper

Collapsed fleaxable brake line not releasing pressure would be my guess. Is it a new caliper? nipper

Nothing like Home grown Oregeno TB is every 106,000 miles or 106 months. So unless the oil leak is coming from that area, your good untill 250,000 miles (easy to remember as opposed to 251). Replace the PCV valve, that may slow down the oil leak. The wheels sound more like they are pourus. Subarus need to have all four tires match in size/brand/wear. The price is much more reasonable now.

The reason i ask is because that would weigh in on the finale price. Doing it yourself (or free help) is one thing, having to pay someone is something else. nipper

At 217,000 miles it doesnt matter if the HG was replaced or not, as at that mileage it can just let go due to age. So put some money aside for that. Timing belt is NOT something you wait for it to be a problem, as if it gets to that point, there can be major engine damage. If you get a deal, job #1 (even before you drive it anywhere) is to replace the timing belt and all associated goodies. At about 212,000 miles the timing belt and all the other goodies should have been changed. None of the faults listed are surprising with a car with this kind of mileage, and none are a deal breaker. Who would do all the work on the car? That is important. At the very least he should sell it to you at what he paid for it

This is turning into a long post, so want to start a fresh one for the brakes? nipper

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the pre 2010 towing ratings on all vehicals were called at best "optimistic". Only last year did SAE come up with a unified test for twoing weights. This is why some poeple have complained about a drop in tow ratings in cars (including subaru). It is just called truth in advertising. Your 97 should be at the very beginigs of when the braging about towing weights started. That being said, you need to get an external traany cooler and i would highly recomend a tranny temp gauge. CHange the tranny fluid once a year. If the struts are original replace them with GR-2s. Do oil changes at 3750 miles during towing season. Good luck. I always wanted a pop-up myself but I dont have any place to store it. nipper

i'm confused. Is this ANOTHER HG design, or a updated one for 2005 and newer, or did he just notice someone invented the lightbulb?

:lol:

We call that cheating Yes you can do that if you unbolt the motor mounts.

Hrmmm

Replace the PCV valve. At that mileage that is an amasingly low oil consumption. It is well in the normal range, even under for that mileage. I dont think you have anything to worry about, but your gas mileage will take a hit. Just check the oil more often for the first week and get a feel for it. nipper

I really wouldnt recomend that. You may affect the temper of the steel, mess up the thread etc. there are one of two ways of doing this. Just put the heads on and manuver the bolts, or insert the bolts in the heads then put the head back on the engine (my choice). That will spare you a few inches of aluminum to deal with. nipper

Wow that color hurts. The main pulley needs to be torqued properly. you may have lucked out once, but you wont a second time. I also think that you have the timing messed up, everyone does it including the pros. nipper

The only time i had a problem was when the subaru computer parts system pointed every door trim peice to a front fender part. It was a computer glitch. I called them and they said "wow this isnt right, let me call you right back". in ten minutes they called me back and explained that the issue was the sooby part computer. they apologized, paid for the return of the part, shipped me the new parts, ate the difference in cost. The parts took a little longer then i liked, but due to the computer glitch they had to manually order (talk to a human) and hand process the order. It was just a trim part. The real way to know how good a place is is when something goes wrong and how it is handled. I thought they handled it well. Give them a call and see what is going on, they don't mind. nipper