Leg93

It's a good idea to test drive some other's of the same year and options to see if it's typical or not. I saved myself some real headaches recently by driving ''just one more'' car after finding the one I loved. The limited I loved had way less power than the car I ended up buying. It was good to realize what I thought was normal was not. Subaru's are noisy. Try this...take it to a dead end circle or large empty parking lot. Turn a couple tight circles to the right, then to the left (or left then right, doesn't matter). Try it at different speeds. Don't let the back end slip, you're not trying to drift. Sometimes with AWD you run in to binding problems. This test should help you find obvious differential problems. If one of the wheels ''hops'' or you hear groaning or the noise gets worse, it is probably a diff issue. If not you may still have a diff issue, but not so serious. Bearings is a good possibility. High miles+wet conditions=potential bearing issue.

Yes, there are other possibilities, but when 2+2=4, you go with it. Are your fluids cross-contaminated (coolant in your oil, oil in you coolant)? Do you have full compression in all cylinders? My Forester would overheat, then magically the temp would drop to normal. 5 miles later, repeat performance. No cross contamination of fluids. It was the HG. I was at a dealer the other day and he said that Subaru is recommending a silicone sealer instead of a replacement gasket for certain vehicles. Take it fwiw, but it might be worth checking out. For my forester the mechanic had to pull the engine to do the work. Whenever you do the HG, you should check the head for flatness and do a valve job if needed. Even if not needed, it's a good time to tune them up. It cost me $1,800. 2 months later the car was totaled and insurance company gave me a $560 bonus for the work that was done. The machine work and checking tolerances is best performed in a qualified machine shop. You can remove parts and take them in, but in my case it wasn't worth it. I break stuff. Hope this helps. Good luck.

That sounds like the same piece. This was a helpful link, as it talks about the installation. Maybe I'll pick up the piece then arrange to have the windshield replaced and let them install it. Thanks again!

Yes! That is exactly it! Thanks! I found a dealer that has it for $23.93, which is much better than I was hoping. I'll probably check a couple junk yards. I imagine that with it being December my $24 is going to start sounding really good before very long though. Thanks again! As always, you guys are great! -M-

So, I was driving down the freeway and got hit with a piece of gravel, right on the trim at the edge of the windshield, Passenger side. My windshield cracked within a day or two, and a month later the trim piece, wich looked fine other than a little ding, flew off on the freeway! It runs along the windshield and up on to the roof up to the roof rack. What would I call this piece in order to find a replacement? It's a '98 Forester. By the way, it's held on with 3 or 4 little pegs, so not a real robust piece of engineering. It reminds me of the snap-together models I did as a kid! Thanks!

I always used ''Guaranteed to Pass'' from Autozone or Checker. It's about $7 a bottle, but if you don't pass, you just send in a copy of the failed report and your receipt and they refund your money. You run it for a tank, fill up again, then test. It worked for me everytime, never needed a refund. If all you are looking for is to pass emissions this might be an option. Of course, taking care of the problems will result in longer life and better performance for your car, not to mention the whole global warming blah blah blah. I used it because even after replacing everything that might cause my failure problems, I still failed. I figured after dumping over $500 in to a 10 year old car just to get it to pass emissions, I was entitled to a little GTP. Good luck.

I don't know much about the remote, and I'm learning more about Subaru's, but starters are pretty simple. If there is a voltage drop to the starter it won't have enough juice to kick in. If you can find the switch that the remote triggers, work your way down the circuit with a voltmeter. The connection where you find the drop is the culprit. Include the fuses, the switch itself, etc. Another option is to rig a jumper and bypass each component of the circuit one by one until it works. As long as there aren't multiple failure points this will find the problem also. I don't know what the voltage specs are for the Subaru starters, but you can find out what 'Normal' is by testing it while someone starts it successfully with the key. Be sure it hasn't ever happened with the key in. If it's happened even once suspect the starter contacts. Mine just stuck in my Toyota. Starter was running with the engine and key off...bad situation.

I'd worry about this one. Having identified those problems, there may be others hiding under them that won't show up until they are fixed. For example, with the cat. converter AND the fuel sending unit bad, the vehicle is going to run rough. It will also run rough if there are other issues, but you'll not notice them until you fix these and it's still running rough. Buyer beware! Good luck! I live in Roy so if you need anything checked out in this area I'd be happy to help.

Follow up: I sucked out the old dirty fluid from the reservoir with a turkey baster, cleaned the sludge out of the reservoir, refilled with clean brake fluid and bled it out. That was some nasty dirty fluid in there! Filled the reservoir, pumped the clutch a few times and it's back to normal. I don't know if maybe my fluid was low enough to allow some air to be sucked in to the lines, or if they were clogged with contaminants, or what. It looked more full than it was because of the dirt clinging to the inside of the reservoir. I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens. I cleaned the fluid off the reservoir and nothing is pooling up between the reservoir and Master Cylinder anymore. I'll post back up if this didn't fix it. Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks! I went out and looked at it at lunch time to identify the slave cylinder and noticed some dirty fluid where the reservoir meets the master cylinder. I'm not sure if this dripped from my experiments last night or if there is a leak. It sounds like if it was a leak it could explain my symptoms. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for all your help, Master Nipper.

Alright, sounds good. Thanks! Any thoughts on parts quality? Obviously dealer parts are usually the highest quality, but are there any brands you have learned to stay away from? Any thoughts on this $53 Dorman Master cylinder? I don't know the engineering behind the master cylinder so I don't know how many things they could do wrong. You know, using stainless steel or copper instead of brass in plumbing is low quality, what is it with a master cylinder?

Last time I had a run in with a Jedi mechanic he waved his hand in front of my face and said, ''$90 an hour IS a good price...'' So, is there a test, or do I just change them? Has anybody used ''Dorman'' brand parts? I can get a Dorman Master Cylinder for $53 online. Most places are $90+. Thoughts on parts quality issues from anyone?

Thanks for the reply. So, is there something I can do to test without just replacing, or is replacing the test? I was looking at the diagram in the Haynes manual yesterday and it clearly identified the master cylinder...kind of, but I'm unclear on the slave. Any help here?

When I started it up this morning everything seemed fine for a while. Then it seemed loose again, firmed back up. Kind of weird. I wonder if bleeding and changing the hydraulic fluid would make a difference. I tested it at at about 1/2 inch above the floor, shifting from 1st to R and back several times. It shifted smoothly. There is just so little resistance in the pedal. Weird. Any other suggestions?

I tried attaching photos, but I can't get them under 50KB. The fluid is between min and max (reservoir near the firewall, towards the passenger side from the brake fluid res., correct?). The fluid looks dark. When I put my finger in it the fluid on my finger was clear with dirty fluid on my finger tip. So, dirty with a lot of sediment, not well mixed. Make sense?