rezmutt

Yeah, I was sort of thinking that myself. Darn.

Hi all. It's been a while. My '98 OBW with 145,000 miles decided to have an airbag issue. The light stays on. I have no idea of where to start. I did check the fuses, and they're all fine. Does this mean the airbags won't deploy? What sort of equipment would I need to troubleshoot the issue? I'd appreciate your input. Peace

Assuming the noise is caused by oil settling, it's probably not the filter. I've used all sorts of filters from the top of the line to the $2 Wal*mart special. I've never had that noise until recently, and only once. Drove the car up in the forest along miles of dirt roads today without any problems. Maybe it's just something I'll have to deal with now and again. Thanks for the input

I'll try not to worry about it, as there seems to be little I can do. Seemed fine today. Maybe I'll just have to start it up every couple of days rather than letting it sit all week. Peace

1998 OBW with 116,000 miles. No head gasket issues.

We parked it on Sunday, and started it on Thursday. Normally, we park it on Sunday and don't start it until Friday or Saturday, so the time frame is not unusual. I've always heard a knocking, expecially in the very cold, but nothing like this. Could it be something like the a cylinder sleave? Is there such a thing? It still runs, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much, but I expect more out of this car. We bought it at 96,000 miles, and have driven it for 20,000 problem-free miles, and we're hoping for many more. Thanks for the reply

On my '98 OBW with 116,000 miles: When I started the car up this afternoon, I noticed just the slightest hesitation as it was starting, then a very loud knocking/rattling sound that my wife heard all the way in the house. I turned the thing off immediately. The only thing I could think to do was to check the timing belt, which I did: I removed the passenger-side cover and inspected. Everything seemed fine; the belt was not frayed, and was as tight as ever. I then had my wife start the thing so I could listen for where the sound was coming from. She started it with no problem. There has always been the so-called piston slap upon starting, especially in cold weather, but that goes away. This knocking was louder this time, and didn't go away as quickly. The sound seemed to come from deep inside the center of the block. Nothing at the heads, and nothing up front. We drove the car to town and back (about 50 miles) without incident. What could that strange rattle/knock be? I'd appreciate any feedback. Peace.

Not a Subaru, but impressive still: 1989 Toyota pickup. 200,300 miles. Absolutely nothing wrong. A belt here, a battery there. Changed plugs and wires for the first time at 200,000 as a thank you for making it so long. Runs just the same as before.

Thanks for all the input. I did end up using some power steering conditioner/sealer, and it stopped the leak completely...for a couple of weeks. Now I detect the same leak, though slower. Oh well, I wasn't expecting anything permanent anyway. Sooner or later I'll get around to doing a proper job. Probably later. Peace,

Let's see those pics! I need to know what I may have avoided by changing my timing belt. Peace,

I'm not a fan of the Baja body style, but the Avalanche is hideous. Chevy really outdid themselves naming a hulking truck after something that is loud, destructive, and only runs downhill. Peace,

A bad head gasket doesn't mean the engine is trashed. How many miles? With low-ish miles, you may be better off with the repair, though it's always tempting to "fix" all problems, current and future, with a new engine. Let us know what you find out. Peace,

All tires are supposed to be within 1/4 inch in circumference

Thanks much. I thought maybe it was the Pleiades.

Calling all Subaru aficionados and fanatics of minutia: Do the seven stars represent a constellation? Pleiades? If so, why? And what about the two lines that connect three of the stars? Are they stars? How about the oval, and that one star that is half in/half out. Maybe no one cares, but I sense some interresting trivia surrounding the stamp on our grills. Peace,

I have had no unexpected expenses on my 98 OBW, though I did replace the timing belt myself for about 50 bucks. However, I fully expect to have to replace head gaskets within a year or two, based on what I've read on this board. My wife bought an 86 hatchback as her first car in high school. Being young and inexperienced with cars, she didn't take good care of it. My wife: "The oil light only comes on around corners." Once we married, I took over the maintenance, which consisted of oil changes and a front brake pad replacement. Despite the neglected maintenance, the little lawnmower (as we called it because it sounded like one, and was about as mechanically complicated as one) still runs. We sold it for $800 bucks, and it was recently spotted roaming the wet streets of Eugene, OR. Yearly maintenance on both Subarus is/was very little, just as expected. Peace,

My dad's 91 Toy truck with a V6 had a recall on the head gaskets, and I don't think the problem was as common as with our 2.5's. Maybe Toyota owners complain more (I'm one). The squeeky wheel... I understand the issue of expansion and contraction with alloy engines, but I believe blown head gaskets are unacceptable as routene maintenance. I can do the job myself, but most people cannot. How can one consider a thousand-dollar repair as acceptable and routene? Not all alloy engines have this problem. With the standard of reliability on other components of our cars so high, we should accept nothing less from our engines. I've got about 104,000 miles on my 98 OBW, and I am highly disappointed that I will likely have to replace the head gaskets sometime soon. Can we start a petition to send to Subaru? I am not computer-savvy, and wouldn't know where to start. Would it be a waste of time? Either way, Subaru will hear from me. Peace,

With an amount of tinkering, I got it figured out. I unlock driver's door, open door (alarm sounds), turn ignition to ON, push under-dash button once, alarm dissarms. Very nice to know in case the remote quits or gets lost. Thanks for the leads. Peace,

Concerning my 98 OBW with a factory-installed alarm: I'm pretty sure this topic has been gone over a number of times, but I tend to be slow to catch on. Problem: My wife goes to the local Wal*Mart, and lockes the car with her remote as usual. Coming out with a cartfull, her remote does not unlock the door, nor dissarm the alarm. She remembers that her keys got drenched in a deluge earlier in the day, and assumes the remote is shot. So, she unlocks the driver's door with her key, opens it, and sets off the alarm. The alarm blares unceasingly, gathering stares. Thankfully, no local hero tackled her and placed her under citizen's arrest; I guess a young pregnant second grade teacher does not fit the profile of a car thief. Anyway. She called me and asked what to do. I told her to disconnect the negative terminal, and I'd come up with my remote. In frustration, she banged her remote on the roof rack, tried it again, and it worked. What if it didn't start working again? According to my owner's manual, I should be able to dissarm the alarm with the key alone, but have not been able to do it. Is it something I can fix, or do I resort to banging the remote on the roof rack in frustration? Peace,

For some reason, I haven't been able to post a response to my inquiry concerning a power steering fluid leak a few days ago. So, a new thread may do it. Thanks for the input. I discovered the leak was from the seal at the rear of the pump, not a hose. Using my wife's turkey baster (she only used it once per year, so what the heck?) I sucked out as much of the old fluid from the reservoir as possible, then refilled it with stop leak/conditioner. It worked. No leak yet. We'll see if it screws something up. I wonder how long it will last...

The 98 OBW I bought in June is my first AWD vehicle, and I had similar questions. I noticed that my car feels heavier than a medium sized wagon otherwise would. A while back, I got a flat (actually, I got TWO flats at the same time, but that's another story). After I patched one, and installed the spare for the other, I popped a fuse in the FWD box under the hood, as is recommended. I noticed that the car felt lighter, and not as well planted on the street. On gravel, the front tires seemed to have no traction at all, whereas in AWD, I can barely get the wheels to spin. The AWD kicks butt on steep unpaved mountain roads. Peace,

Hello All, Concerning my 1998 OBW with 102,500 miles: I've noticed a power steering fluid leak at the pump/reservoir. The fluid accumulates on the top of the block. It's a slow leak, and I only had to add a squirt of fluid once. It's not bad enough for me to go though the bother and potential expense of doing a proper fix, so what do ya'll think about that stop-leak/conditioner stuff? Does it work? Is it a ripoff? Can it cause damage to the system? I haven't read any other complaints about a power steering fluid leak, so I feel kind of special.

If you have torque bind (or whatever you call it), you may be able to fix it by changing your automatic trans fluid. I had the same problem with my 98 OBW, and I cleared it up completely with a fluid change and a change of oil in the front and rear differentials. I'm not sure which fluid change did the trick, but I'm betting it was the trans fluid. Anyway, after the changes (didn't cost a penny more than the cost of the fluids) I cannot detect the slightest binding, even on dry pavement when the wheel is cranked. Maybe it's you Duty C Solenoid (I have no idea what that is), but on mine, it was just a fluid issue. I'd try the cheap and easy way first. Let us know what you find out. Peace,

I had the exact same torque bind (grab) issue with my 98 Outback Wagon. I cured mine by changing the front and rear differential oil, as well as the transmission fluid. I did all three at the same time, without driving the car in between, so I can't say for sure which it was, but I bet it was the automatic trans fluid. The old fluid probably had never been changed, and was almost brown. By the by, changing the auto fluid also made it shift a lot smoother. After I bought my Outback from a private individual in Flagstaff Arizona, I took it to the local dealer to ask about the issue. Two men there told me it was a normal function of the AWD system. I didn't believe them one bit, but I figured they told me it was normal because they probably thought I'd bought the car from them, and was complaining. Thanks to further investigation, and the people on this message board, I was able to clear it up with a simple oil change. You also need to consider your tires. If they are not all within 1/4 in size, similar symptoms may arise. Peace,

I've been reading this message board since May, when I was researching the purchase of my 98 OBW in June. This is an excellent forum for sharing information on mechanical issues and repairs. Thanks to this forum, I successfuly changed the timing belt in my Outback, as well as cleared up the torque grab it was experiencing. Thanks. However, when I first started reading the various threads, I got apprehensive about buying a Subaru. Nearly all of them are about problems. Intellectually, I knew that a Subaru is a machine, and that no machine is perfect, but I still wanted to hear more positive things about the car I was about to buy. So, I would like to hear about some of the fantastic things your Subaru has been through: Very high mileage? Great mpg? Done some serious off roading? Driven to far away places? Hauled large loads? I'll start: I live on an Apache reservation in Eastern Arizona, where there are plenty of unpaved, washboard mountain roads to explore. My car, with over 102,000 miles, performs perfectly. I bought it from a Hopi woman, who had driven thousands of miles to and from her family's home on the Hopi resevation, where there is a lot of sand and even more washboard. It performed pefectly for her, too. What say you?