Subaron

It's possible the cat converter is partially plugged and not allowing the engine to breath. My .03 worth....

I used to own an '01 Outback LL Bean with the H6 3.0 engine and it idled very smoothly, whether in gear or in Park/Neutral. In fact, it was so smooth that sometimes I would find myself looking at the tach in order to make sure the engine was still running. This car was noticably smoother and quieter at all speeds and driving circumstances than my girlfriend's '01 Outback H4 2.5. I don't know what they have changed since '01 that would result in rough-idling engines but it doesn't sound right to me. Good luck getting it sorted out.

I prefer the Haynes book over Chilton. I think Haynes gives more detail and Chiltons is notorious for publishing incorrect bolt torque specs. Haynes has a book that covers '90-'98 Legacy & Outback models. I have that one and it has been very helpful in doing maintenance and repairs on my '91 Legacy. It was only about $15 at amazon.com.

Rich, I agree with Gnuman... grab it before someone else does. It's a great deal at $3,000 or even $3,500. Even if it does need a few things, I don't see how you can go wrong at that price.

I didn't see your PM until late this evening but I did send you a reply. I'm not familiar with the pneumatic suspensions. None of my cars have had it. There should be an up/down switch somewhere on the console or instrument panel. Take a look at the owner's manual if it's in the car and you should be able to tell from that. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Rick, This car is sounding better all the time! However, as Frag says, beware of the pneumatic suspensions. They are troublesome. The way I look at it, if you can get the car you want cheap enough, even if you do have to spend some money on repairs or catching up on maintenance, you're probably still ahead money-wise and then you know exactly what you have. Another thought: if the guy selling the car can't show you proof that the timing belt has been changed, then you'd better plan on getting that done soon after you buy the car. If it hasn't been done yet, it's overdue. You can use that as a negotiating point. It's quite possible that the original owner put it off because of the high price the dealers charge and then traded it in rather than deal with it.

$3,500 does seem pretty low for that car. Is it at a dealership or a private party? Have you driven it yet? If you're concerned that it's too good to be true, you can run a Carfax report and have a pre-purchase inspection done by a knowledgeable Subie mechanic. If it checks out okay, then buy it. These are not high-maintenance cars, so it's unlikely that you will experience any expensive surprises any time soon. Good luck!

Dude, If you have NAPA in your area, check their prices for rebuilt axles. I got rebuilt axles for my Legacy from them for $70 each. That was with my 10% shop discount but they told me that is the price for most of the axles they carry. I thought it was a pretty good deal.

Josh, The terms 'Full Time 4WD' from the early Legacies and 'AWD' from the current models are simply 2 different terms for the same technology. Until the Outback VDC came along, there weren't any significant changes to the 4WD/AWD systems used in the Legacy/Outback cars. I think the change to the term AWD was mostly a marketing strategy because other brands were using it.

Hi Rich, No, the 2.2 engines do not have the head gasket problems of the 2.5 Phase 1 engines that were used on the early Outbacks. In fact, the 2.2 (EJ22) engines are considered to be probably the best engine Subaru has ever built. With proper maintenance, many 2.2 engines run 300k miles or more. Mine has 208k on it and still runs great. There aren't really any major issues with the 2.2 engines. They do tend to develop oil leaks but almost all engines do that if they're run long enough. The 2.2 is really an easy engine to work on, so fixing small things like oil leaks and other maintenance items is not really a big deal. Besides the head gasket issues, the really big advantage of the early 2.2 engines (including the '95 you're looking at) is that they are a 'non-interference' design, meaning that if the timing belt should break, it won't destroy any internal engine components. Just replace the broken timing belt and you're good to go. That's a huge advantage over the 'interference designs', which include the later 2.2's and all of the 2.5's. In my opinion, an nice, clean, low-mileage '95 Legacy would be one of the best possible used cars that a person could buy. You've got a real winner there, so if you can make a deal on it, grab it!

Hi Mike, I just replaced the clutch and transmission in my '91 Legacy AWD a couple of weeks ago. I have done engine, clutch & tranny replacements in RWD american cars & trucks many times but this was my first time doing anything like this on an AWD vehicle. I had a Haynes manual and it did help a lot. Also, I was able to use a nice, well-equipped shop with a lift, tranny jack, air tools, etc. and I had a knowledgable helper working with me part of the time. Even so, this was the most involved and time-consuming repair hob I have ever undertaken, around 20 hours total for the R&R. In order to get to your clutch, you're going to have to remove either the engine or the transmission. I think that given your working conditions (driveway, freezing weather, etc.), it would be easier and faster to remove the engine, rather than the trans. Especially if your car is AWD. If you haven't done many jobs like this, especially on FWD or AWD cars, I strongly suggest you have some type of repair manual for reference. The Haynes manuals aren't great but they still help a lot and they're only about $15. On my car, the pilot bearing is pressed into the flywheel, so removing it was as simple as knocking it out with a drift punch once the flywheel was removed. Hopefully, you'll get some good advice from pro mechanics or people with much more Subie experience than me. Good luck!

wombatsauce, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you're gonna need to get a new tranny, dude. I started having exactly the same symptoms with the tranny on my Legacy at 207k miles. It would stick in 5th almost every time with no other apparent problems. A few times, I had to yank on the gearshift so hard I thought the linkage would break before it came out of 5th. I changed the gear oil in the tranny but it didn't help. By the way, 85w-90 sounds right for a manual tranny in your climate. Both my Legacy owner's manual and my Haynes manual specify 80w-90 for my area (it's a bit colder up here). So, I pulled the tranny and took it to a local tranny shop and asked the guy to take a look and give me an estimate. He called the next morning and said that he hadn't looked at the tranny yet but he had made some calls to check on availability of replacement parts to rebuild it. Turns out that the only place he could find replacement parts is thru SOA and they are so expensive that it would be cost prohibitive to rebuild my tranny. He recommended that I buy a low-mile used tranny from one of the Japanese engine/tranny direct import places that advertise in the nickel ads. I contacted one of these outfits (Foreign Engines, Inc.) in Seattle and bought a used tranny for $715, including freight from Seattle to Vancouver. The guy at FEI said these trannies have an average of around 40k miles on them and they gave me a 1-year exchange warranty. Well, I put the used FEI tranny in, along with a new clutch and it works great. My old Legacy hasn't shifted this well in years and I'm very pleased with the results. I was able to do all the work myself, so I saved a bunch of money on labor (12.5 hours according to the shop labor guide) but even so, $1,000 just for parts is pretty hard to swallow... By the way, I did call around to several yards in the local Portland/Vancouver area and the prices ranged from $450 to $650 for a used tranny and the lowest mileage I could find was 185k! Also, they would only give me a 30-day exchange warranty. I figured it was well worth a couple hundred bucks more to get one with low mileage and a 1-year warranty. I sincerely hope you are able to come up with an easier and cheaper solution in your case. Just wanted to share my experience so you'd have an idea what to expect in a worst-case scenario. Good luck!

Here's another vote for Crutchfield. I have purchased several systems from them and installed them myself. Their customer service is great and as RallyKeith mentioned, they will include detailed instructions for your specific vehicle, as well as wiring harness adapters, speaker wire adapters and a dash panel adapter kit if your vehicle needs it. All of these extras are free when you buy your components from them. This can save you a bunch of money and definitely saves you a bunch of time and makes the installation very simple. The main thing to remember is to take your time and be very careful when removing and reinstalling the factory dash trim pieces. Sometimes these are pretty flimsy and the mounting tabs can break off if you're not gentle with them. Good luck and have fun!

I have owned both the H6 and H4 OBW's and I will tell you that which ever one you buy, you won't be disappointed. Between my two cars, I would say that I liked the H6 better but that's because it was a nicer, better-equipped car than the H4, not so much because of the engine itself. It also cost $8,000 more. To me, it was worth the extra $$$ and the H6 is a sweet engine. The LL Bean Outback is without question the nicest car, overall, that I've ever owned or driven (and I've owned 3 new BMW's a new SAAB, Corvette LT4, Camaro LS1, Trans Am, etc.) The information you have about the H6, from both sides of the fence, is correct. It is peakier than the H4 and in real world driving, it doesn't seem much more powerful. However, under full-throttle, balls-out driving, the H6 will walk away from the H4. And it is much smoother and quieter at all speeds. Almost any driving situation just seems comlpletely effortless for the H6, even if it doesn't have the rally car acceleration of a WRX. Also, I got the same gas mileage from both the H6 and H4, the only drawback being the .20 per gallon difference because the H6 specifies 92 octane. If you can afford it and you like all the bells and whistles of the H6 cars, then go for it and you won't regret it. That being said, the H4 Outback is probably one of the best buys on the market and is the way to go if you prefer simplicity and you don't care about the extra cost options of the H6 cars. Hope this helps. Ron