mwatt

(posted twice by mistake)

You should consider getting a second opinion. I thought head gaskets tended to leak antifreeze, not motor oil. Another technician should look carefully at the cam cover gasket (the cam covers bolt onto the cylinder head--they're also called "valve covers" on older cars) and the little seals that go under each cam cover bolt. Those items tend to leak oil more often than a head gasket.........

You mention "my car eats oil" and "blue smoke on hard acceleration". This engine may have seen better days. Blue smoke is typically a sign of substantial internal wear which may have been caused by abuse or lack of proper maintenance from the previous owner. You also mention "About two weeks ago, I replaced the spark plugs...." How about the spark plug wires? Tell me they're not the originals at 163K miles? (original wires were red and the manufacturing date of the wires is printed on each one) If they are, replace them with genuine Subaru wires. You've got more than one problem with that engine but if the plug wires appear to be original, start by replacing them first.

Yep, found that out when I spoke to Jason at Subaru of Auburn (a.k.a. 1stsubaruparts.com). Do you know if the "sunroof drive" that the glass bolts to is slotted to allow glass adjustment?

This car is a Legacy GT, so it has the single front sunroof. Back then, the dual sunroof feature was available only on the Outback Limited. But I appreciate the info that you've offered because my wife's car is a '98 OBW Limited with the dual sunroofs.... Gnuman might have the right idea in his post above. As he suggested, I removed the plastic trim covers on both sides of the sunroof glass (inside surface) and that exposes 3 10mm nuts on each side of the glass. While I have not attempted any adjustment yet, removing the nuts allows the glass to come off of the sunroof drive. That allows me to adjust the glass, or to replace the sunroof glass surround seal (although I've yet to determine that the surround seal is even available separately)

Thanks for the suggestion. I suppose that would be a good "work around" but the car didn't do this until recently. I still feel that the sunroof can be adjusted so I need to know what I'm going to adjust before I begin to remove the headliner........and yes, I know I'm in for a P.I.T.A. job.

99 Legacy GT wagon: after sunroof is closed, there's a wind rush noise from the front edge of the sunroof at hiway speed. The sunroof does close all the way, but by "forcing" it forward and downward with my hand, the wind rush noise stops. The sunroof surround weatherstrip is in good condition and the roof panel glides smoothly when opening and closing. Does anyone have an exploded view of the factory sunroof assembly? I know there's some method of adjusting the glass for a tighter fit....I think there's something that makes the motor stop the moment it senses full panel travel.....

I'm sorry, I'm going to disagree with GrossGary's response (forgive me, Gary) about what brake pads you should purchase. Please consider using genuine Subaru pads (no, I don't work for Subaru) because you'll be happier with the outcome. What I mean is you'll be less likely to end up with brake squeel. If brake squeeling is not a major concern, however, go for the aftermarket pads. The rear brake calipers use standard pistons that can be compressed gently by using a "C" clamp. As with the front brakes, the caliper bracket (what the caliper mounts to) must be removed, then the rotor slides off. If the rotor wants to "stick" to the hub you can insert a bolt (I forget the proper metric size) into the threaded holes in the rotor---that will allow you to break the rotor free of the hub.... The parking brake on these vehicles uses a separate set of brake shoes, inside the rotor. The inside of the rotor has a brake drum cast into it; the parking brake simply actuates the brake shoes, just like older cars that had rear drum brakes. So a rear brake pad and/or brake rotor replacement really does not involve the parking brake.....

We have a '98 OB LTD and also experienced the slow idle and hesitation on initial acceleration from a stop. I removed the throttle body from the intake and thoroughly sprayed all the passages and the throttle plate with a can of carburetor cleaner, then blew it out with low-pressure compressed air. I think I've read on this board that someone had a concern about damaging the throttle body by using carb cleaner spray, but it worked well for me. By the way, consider obtaining a new throttle body-to-intake gasket before you do this in case the original gasket tears when you remove the throttle body. Tearing the original gasket is unlikely because it's coated with a teflon-like material, but I didn't want to take that chance. There is also a "minimum idle speed" screw on the throttle body---normally you're not supposed to tamper with it, but it is adjustable. Of course I adjusted it. Now, the idle on our car is exactly right again.

Look right above the brake pedal. (I can't remember if Subaru's cruise control depends on the brake light switch or if it uses a separate "cruise control dump switch", but one of those two is what cancels the cruise control when you press the brake pedal.) See if the little rubber bumper that the switch touches is loose or broken. That could leave the switch "open" all the time so it makes the cruise control think you're always pressing the brake pedal......

Entire trip. On my car, the noise occurs only the first time the brakes are used during a trip, then it won't happen again during that trip. It's a "click/snap" noise in the front suspension---not the normal sound of the ABS going thru it's "self-test"---it occurs when the vehicle is almost stopped. I suspect the front strut mounts are the source of the noise on my car, but it's hard to "pin it down" because of frequency of occurance.....

My '99 Legacy GT wagon makes a single, loud click/snap noise the first time the brakes are applied during that drive cycle. Then it won't do it again during that trip. Is that what yours does?

And I'll bet the rheostat that Nipper is talking about is available only as a complete A/C control assembly (if Subaru does it like Chrysler, Ford, or GM)

Yeh, it's almost as if the engine is flooded but I didn't think an engine with (what I hope is) properly functioning fuel injection could do that....

98 OBW Limited, 124K miles. If I need to just move the car out of the garage (so the engine only runs for about 30 seconds), and then I go to restart the engine later that day, it requires excessive cranking and "spits back" thru the intake before it finally fires up. No "check engine" lamp. Runs beautifully after it starts. And I'm over-the-top about proper maintenance and use of genuine Subaru everything. Anyone ever have symptoms like this with yours?

Subaru does not use a heater control valve so the heater core is always at engine coolant temperature. Even though the temperature blend door in the A/C-heater plenum is at "full cold" position (temperature control all the way in the blue range) a tiny bit of the heater core heat still comes thru. It's more obvious if you've driven for awhile, shut the engine off, then come back to the vehicle about 15 minutes later and restart it. All that heater core heat has to go somewhere and you can feel a little bit of it thru the vents even with the control on full cold.

Nipper is that your warped mind at work? Sorta sounds like me. And all this time I imagined you to be as pure as new-fallen snow, with a halo glowing above your head....

All of these posts about power window speed but no one has asked "does the window operate faster with the door open?" If a window operates faster with the door open, lubricate the window opening surround weatherstrip using an old cloth soaked with silicon spray. That allows the glass to glide across the strip, rather than bind against it as the glass goes up.

If any 1998's have an external screw-on filter, perhaps they're late production vehicles?? Our '98 OBW was built 3/98 and does not have the screw-on filter. Our '99 Legacy GT was built 12/98 and it does have the external filter.

We also have a 1998 OBW. I've drained and refilled the transmission fluid every 30K miles, and the trans has been trouble-free for 120K miles. There is a filter screen inside the pan, but it does not require replacing. Since you have no service records, consider draining and refilling the fluid several times, with a couple of hundred miles in between each draining. By the way, if you've got a dealer telling you that your '98 has an external filter, run--don't walk--away from that place.

I misunderstood your first post----I think Allanmcc has it right.....

Clean out the drain slots at the bottom of the tailgate. (when you open the tailgate, you'll see them on the inside lower edge.) Water is supposed to get into the tailgate, but it's not supposed to stay in there. The drain slots are likely plugged with dirt, leaves, etc

When the problem occurs, have you tried starting the engine with the shifter in "N" ?

Even if the childproof lock mechanism on the side of the door (near the latch) was mistakenly flipped "on", the door should still open from the outside. The inside door trim panel will have to be removed to access the linkage and see what's broken or disconnected. It will be necessary to remove the rear seat bottom cushion (it's secured to the floor with two 10mm or 12mm bolts that are hidden by little carpet "flaps"), then remove the door armrest and lock knob trim pocket from the panel, before trying to pry the panel loose from the door. Any way you look at it, this is going to be a clumsy procedure because the panel is obviously meant to be removed with the door open..... As an alternative, you may want to try to remove the outer belt seal (the black metal and rubber trim strip at the base of the window on the outside of the door) because that will allow you enough room to get a coat hanger into the door and possibly snag the latch linkage to get the door open. Note that the belt seal is easily bent when trying to remove it, but they're still readily available from Subaru

The area where the windshield wiper arms attach to the wiper "transmission" (at the base of the windshield) is called the cowl. Use a garden hose to flood the cowl with water. In a moment, water should begin to drain out of the rear lower area of both front fenders (just behind each front wheel). If water doesn't come gushing out of those cowl drains, they are probably plugged up. That would cause the water to back up into the passenger compartment thru one or both of the front kick panels (the trim panels that are right below each end of the dash), and soak the carpet.