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and Subaru has invited me to have goop against my better judgement, and has offered to pay for the head gasket job I had last year. I did do things with the dealer and by the book however.

engine Subaru ever built. They really made thier rep on this engine. I have a late model 2.5 SOHC that I got on advice from this board who advised me to stay away from the DOHC 2.5 engine. The last few 2.2s had some odd things about them and I believe they are interference engines.I have been told they must run premium fuel. If you have limited cash the best car out there to me is a 2.2 before premium fuel engines that is a manual. The automatics can have torque bind problems but if they have been retrofitted with the new bits would be OK. Perhaps some of you experts can expand on this. If you have big bucks a post 03 legacy should be fine.

and I am going to try to post it here. Thanks Shreck! Subaru of America Inc. Recall Headquarters PO Box6ooo Cherry Hill. NJ 08034-6000 http://www.subaru.com Service Program WWP.99 February 2004 Dear Subaru Owner, This letter is sent to you in the interest of continued customer satisfaction. As a precautionary measure, SUBARU OFAMERICA,INC. Is recommending that a special conditioner be added to the engine cooling system of certain 1999 through 2002 model year Subaru vehicles equipped with 2.5 liter engines. This recommendation, which applies to your Subaru vehicle, is made to prevent a possible external coolant leak at your vehicle's engine cylinder head gaskets. Background Information Your vehicles engine cooling system contains liquid coolant/anti-freeze. Over time, it is possible for small external coolant leaks to develop at the engine cylinder head gaskets. This is the result of normal expansion and contraction of engine components caused by the heating and cooling of these parts. To prevent coolant leaks from developing or to correct existing leaks at the head gaskets, a special Subaru Cooling System conditioner should be added to your vehicle's cooling system. What You Should Do You should contact your Subaru Dealer as soon as possible for an appointment to have the Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added at no cost to you. The approximate time to perform this operation is 15 minutes. However, it may be necessary to leave your vehicle the full day of your scheduled appointment to allow your dealer flexibility in scheduling. Please present this letter to your Subaru Dealer at the time this repair procedure is performed. Future Maintenance In the future it will be necessary to add Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner to your vehicle's cooling system whenever the engine coolant is replaced. The recommended service interval for coolant replacement can be followed in your Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading "Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services". As a reminder, we have included an update page that should be added to your Owner's Manual and Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. We ask you to keep in mind that replacement of fluids (including Subaru Cooling System Conditioner) during inspection and maintenance services is not covered under warranty. Warranty. Extension If you have this Service Program repair performed promptly, Subaru will extend coverage under the Subaru Limited Warranty on your vehicle for cylinder head gasket external coolant leaks to a period of 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was delivered to the Continued on. reverse side... first retail purchaser, If the vehicle was used as a demonstrator or company vehicle before being sold at retail. Warranty coverage begins on the date the vehicle was first placed in such service. As a further condition for this extended warranty coverage to apply you must have Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner added to your vehicle at any subsequent cooling system services at the interval specified in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet under the heading “Schedule of Inspection and Maintenance Services". Resulting damage caused by a lack of maintenance or low coolant level will not be covered. Changed Your Address or Sold Your Subaru? If you have changed your address or sold your vehicle, please complete the enclosed prepaid postcard and mail it to us so that we may update our records. If You Have Previously Paid for a Related Repair In the event that you have already paid an authorized Subaru Dealer for repairs to remedy an external coolant leak in an engine cylinder head gasket at less than 100.000 miles and your Subaru's cooling system has been properly maintained, you may be entitled to reimbursement for the head gasket replacement costs. Any reimbursement by Subaru will be based on our suggested retail parts pricing and suggested labor time multiplied by the dealer's hourly labor rate at the time of repair. Because Subaru Dealers are independently owned and operated, Subaru of America. has no control over the actual charges. The actual repair cost may be higher at lower than the rate used by Subaru of America to calculate reimbursement. If lower, reimbursement will be limited to the amount you actually paid. Please send the original service repair order, which has complete information including the name of the repair facility. date of repair, mileage at the time of repair, complete vehicle identification number (17 digits), and your name with correct mailing address and telephone number to the address listed below. Subaru of America, Inc. Customer Dealer Service Department Attention: Service Program WWP.99 P.O. Box 6000 Cherry Hill NJ 08034.6000 Please send original receipts only and retain a photocopy for your records. Please be assured that we will attempt to process your reimbursement request as quickly as possible, but may take up to 120 days for this process to be completed. If You Have a Problem Should you have any questions regarding this customer service program, please contact your nearest Subaru Dealer. To locate the nearest Subaru Dealer you can access our website at http://www.Subaru.com and select "Find a Dealer", Or, you may call us at 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) during normal business hours for assistance. Please call us immediately if the dealer fails or is unable to make the necessary repairs free of charge or write to the address listed on the first page of this letter. Your continued satisfaction with your Subaru is important to us. Please understand that we have taken this action in the interest of your vehicle's proper operation. We sincerely apologize: for any inconvenience this matter may cause and urge you to schedule an appointment as soon as possible to have this repair performed.

Said letter is for1999 to 2002 vehicles and if you didn't stel it Subaru has your address and will send you a letter if affected. My email has been down all afternoon thanks to the doom virus. I faxed this to schreckman and I hope he got it.

procedure. I usually drain both block and heater. I tend to do this when all hoses and thermostat are ready to go so everything is pretty much drained anyway. Keep in mind I live in CA so things are not very corroded. You may have trouble draining you block back there, but the first time mine needs draining it gets brass fittings. I isolate the metals with plumbers tape to avoid dissimilar metal problems. I will install the bleeders on the way back together. With a Subaru things will be a bit different as on most cars I fill the block with the thermostat out. With the Subie I expect to slowly fill the system with the bleeders and radiator cap open. Then squeeze the hoses to get bubbles out. There should be enough fluid in the expansion tank to submerge the bleeder hose. Then I would start the car and let it idle with the radiator cap off slowly adding more antifreeze. I like to premix if I can, but this is up to you. Then run around the block and do it again.

as I have not needed it yet. It will be a brass petcock with hose attachment at the highest point of the engine. The hose will run to a Y on the overflow tank input tube. Might also run one from the highest heater hose if needed. Brass petcock only becuse the other metals tend to be corroded when you need it to open. This is based on bus design.

I have just faxed this to Shreckman and hope he will be able to post it.

Seriously I would certainly register the the federal folks whose acronym I forget, and perhaps do a petition to Subaru from folks who have DOHCs who had failed head gaskets.

My Forester got the SOHC in 99, but I am still hazy about when the Legacy and Outback got it.

part of Shreckman' message. It is for 1999-2002 2.5 engines.

Hopefully you get it.

I have a fax at the office and perhaps I could fax it to someone with the right stuff to post it?

but I am on thier lists as the owner of the car. I sent them a change of owner form and I am on the dealership computer since I had them do a bunch of work on the engine and clutch. On the BMw board I always see soembody post first when we get some kind of notice then everybody has it after a few weeks. This can depend on how computer savy your folks are.

When I had the belt changed on my Forester I had the water pump replaced. It seems like cheap insurance to me. It will be nearly another 100,000 miles before my Forester comes apart again with luck and the odds are against the pump lasting that long. It is good that your mechanic is trying to save you money though. I am sure he is going by his experience with Subarus locally. I want my car in the kind of condition that if I want to hop into it tomorrow and go on a 10,000 mile trip it will most likely do it.

I just got my mail and a nice letter from Subaru telling me about the coolant additive. The part I liked was a bit furthur down where it says that if you have already paid for head gaskets at under 100,000 miles send in the original reciepts and you are entitled to compensation. I plan to pull my Subaru file tonight!!! I am happy to schedule with my dealer to get my goop for free also. If it was not for the warranty I probably would not goop it, but what the heck, anything for free.

I used to have to bleed greyhound busses. First the engine, then the coolant tanks, then 10 heaters, and the driver's heater was way at the front. When I have to change the antifreeze on mine I will rig a bleeding hose with a valve to make it easy.

I was only one degree off on my garage alignment. I took it over to a parking lot I use to test cars. It now has a pretty good bias between drift front and rear with the stock Michellins. It does not tend to break at either end, just drift with both ends sliding about he same amount. The tires are definately the weak point now, but what the heck its a street car. It used to have a point where the body rolled enough to break the tires loose and spoil your set up in a corner. At this point it leans progressively and once it takes a set it holds it. Brakeing is execellent with no sound at all. Can some one tell me if the Legacy has these same large two piston vented rotor brakes? They look like they would stop a truck. Thanks again to those folks who recomended those HD KYBs as they are working very well with the WRX rear sway bar. If I fitted larger tires I would probably lose the nice balance between front and rear I have right now so I think I will keep those stock.

around with a bit of stop leak added for years. I think it might depend on the consistancy and amount of goop offered. How well does it stay suspended until it has a pin hole to plug? I think I'll watch for a while before I add it to mine. I don't think I am leaking at all right now so I can afford to wait.

!

the 03 version head gaskets. I wonder if I will need the goop a few years down the road. They thought they fixed this problem on the last round of gaskets too.

I would try masking tape to test. Masking tape comes off easily, unlike duck tape. Then I would try filling the gaps with clear silicon seal. Worked well for my windshield noise and I challege you to find where I did it.

I use a good antifreeze for the life of an engine and by the time the engine gets crudded up it is time to rebuild. I backflush in the hot tank at the machinist's shop.

I always wonder if folks somewhere else do not have other interesting products than we see.

I had tired struts, chatter in ther front brakes, and a horrible cold squeal in the rear drums. I just finished it up today with those 15% stiffer than stock KYBs reccomended by some folks on the board. I used new Subaru front vented rotors with Austrailian 4wd special pads. The rear ended up with stock Subaru lineings and I had to use the old drums since the new ones did not fit. The Aussie lineings had small rubber pads bonded on for anti squeal, and I used Napa brake anti squeal sprayed on and let set for an hour prior to assembly. I then put Napa brake grease between the stock subaru shims and a thin coating on each side. This is kind of a belt and braces and suspenders too for anti squeal, but it works. I ran several stops from 8o to break it in and cook the pads and coat the rotors, then a cooling period, and a few stops from 60 and another cooling period. At that point sombody stopped in front of me on a freeway entrance I had to jump on the brakes harder than I have in years. They still worked!!! No noise and with a WRX rear sway bar the car seems the way it should have come from the factory. In for alignment today so it will be a small wait to really try it.

that will take it from me, since I buy my radiators there. Some places where you buy it let you bring it back to recycle, same as motor oil. If it says OK to use local drains on the container that would be fine. More like, what do you guys do in Oz?