nipper

They will last longer then they say, but they are NOT all weather tires, they barely handle the rain, and forget snow or ice. At the very least put the mini tire on the rear and a good tire on the front. You can get a ticket for driving on the fake tire if the same cop sees you over and over again. Can you at least buy a used tire? nipper

If you want peace of mind, have someone do an exhaust gas test on the cooling system. You can also have them pressure check it to see if you have a leak someplace. Also look for air bubbles in the coolant. Could be as simple as a bad radiator cap. i would replace the cap and see what happens. My gut feeling is that you dont have a headgasket issue, or its just too early to tell. Get yourself a gallon of premixed antifreeze, and have a good and safe trip. nipper

i meant to say it took me a month to burn through that 13.5 gallons (thats when the light came on). So im not really worried, but yes ALL habits have to be considered. nipper

This goes under the heading of "turn up the radio". The electric motor runs the dodads in the ABS system. The ABS worked as it should, on the one surface that is tough for ABS to deal with. SOunds like you have great tires. nipper

If you can get yourself a haynes manual, it has a test procedure for it. Unfortunitly i think you have to catch it when it doesnt start to do the test in your case. nipper

First off the car does not have a transfer case. It has a clutch pack at the end of the transmission (if an automatic), or a viscous coupling with a differnential if its a manual. These systems can go for 100,000's miles with just regular maintanence. These are very robust systems, and you really need to examine WHY its going bad. Are all your tires at the same pressure. Are all your tires of equal wear. The quickest way to kill the AWD is to have mismatched tires. If its an automatic did you check the transmission level. What are the symptons that you have. nipper

HA i got you all beat ..... i may have set a record. Just filed up the car, and i got 10.5 mpg. Of course thats over a month, been driving one trip of 5 miles, and another 0f 2 miles every ther day, and using the remote starter a lot. Normally around town i get 20 mpg. It just goes to show a lot goes into gas milage, not just the car design. nipper

good deal. Too any people rely on the puter to throw a code to tell you whats wrong, when good ol fashioned detective work works best. the puter will only throw a code when the sensor constantly senses something out of range. If it is an intermittant problem, the cel may go on and offf, or never show at all. nipper

and which o2 sensor nipper

good deal, good luck and merry christmas nipper

Did this car ever have a factory alarm in it? nipper

its a 50/50 split in low and reverse nipper

Actually the mini-spares are more expensive then regular tires. They do it to save weight. Al subarus always had the space for a full size spare (or damn close). nipper

at 97 1/2 they changed the design. My 97 obw has 182K miles on it and just gets regular fluid changes and is still fine. Its all in tha maintanence nipper

maybe the ignitor ...or a postion sensor cam/crank, or ecu engine temp sensor. This sounds like an electronic component issue. I think that these are the only things that can keep the car from starting. Another thing to check is the fuel pump relay, but i think thats a longshot. The ignitor can drive you nutty. Can you rent a code reader from autozine and use it the next time it happens, it should be able to tell what is not working. The computer wont hold a code if the sensor failes, then starts working again. Can you make it happen, so you can test things in your driveway?

way cool .. so i can upgade my headlights nipper

er um, what does this have to do with this thread nipper

actually you can unplug the power at the antenna. DO you feel the motor getting hot? check for power at the connector. or is it just time to go hunting on ebay? nipper

If the whine gets louder with speed, its your ring gear on your differntial. This is one of those things you can keep driving untill it gets unbarable. i have heard them pass by me at 50' away and be incredibly loud but still work. Once you hear the noise, the damage has already been done. Unless its really bothering you, you can drive it this way for a while. Me i would fix it. Next time you get an noise like this have the oil put through a paint strainer and see what is suspended in the oil. It would have slowed down the oil change, but i bet you would have seen alot moe shiney things then you would at the plug. nipper

Supposed to disable it, as it is for the purpose of using the spare tire. Check and make sure you have voltage at the fuse holder whne the car is on nipper

also leaky injectors may get fuel in the motor oil. And those that go 7000 miles between oil changes will never pick this up untill its too late nipper

thats the one ... all by itself. If you have an owners manual ..it will tell you nipper

i disagree. the pump for the transmission is connected to the outside of the torque converter. Whenever the engine is running, the oil in the transmissionis moving. The input shaft of the transmission is connected to the stator, or the guts of the torque converter. This is standard for all automatic transmissions. The oil is not doing any work, but is circulating all the time. This is the same reason you check the tranny fluid level with the car running and not off.. If it wasnt circulating it would be the same as the car is off. nipper

get an oil change too if the temp gauge got really hot. nipper

i go buy the tire pressure marked on the tire if the tires have been replaced with differnt tires then stock. Tires should run at their max pressure when hot (basically if you drive to an airpump they are hot) and checked with major temperature changes. All tires need to be the same circumfrence within 1/4 inch (per subaru). You are correct though. i had an 87 GL that i could shift in and out of 4wd as smooth as silk, unless one tire was a little low on air. nipper