nelstomlinson

Subies are definitely more popular on the coast, where there's more snow and less cold.

A little update on this. I had bypassed the ignition switch, ran power from battery to starter solenoid through a momentary contact switch on the dash. We noticed that it only started hard if we turned the key to on, then cranked the engine. If we turn the key briefly to start, then let it go back to run, then push the starter button, it starts easily. Probably the computer is confused. With all the problems my old diesels have, they are still so much better than this.

Meanwhile some of my old diesels will burn a quart of lube oil in 50 miles. Check your oil regularly, add it when needed. It's pretty easy to add oil on these little Subies.

We think that the boots are cracking in the cold. Certainly the aftermarket axles have garbage boots. Preheating wouldn't do much, since they're exposed to the cold air as soon as we start driving.

Well, I went looking for OEM boots and found this: GSP NCV66037XD Xtreme Duty CV Axle. They claim it's good down to -50F, and it is rarely colder than that here, just a few days a year. We'll see, I guess. It's good to know that the '96 and '01 axles interchange, thanks.

We're replacing the front axles every year, because the cheapie boots crack in the cold. I remember I used to be able to get silicon boots for my VW axles 40 years ago, and they didn't crack at -60F. Do we have a source for cold weather boots that'll fit the '96 and '01 Legacy front axles?

If I unplug the o2 sensor, that would force it into open loop and make the problem go away, if that were the problem, right?

My fuel pressure gauge only goes up to 15psi, but there is definitely more than that. The scan tool reports engine coolant temps that are close to ambient, after it's sat all night.

It's turned cold again, and the old silver subie is starting hard again, so I took it to a pro. He's telling me that the aftermarket o2 sensor works when hot, but isn't working right when cold, so the computer floods the engine on a cold start. Sounds plausible, I guess. He's trying to source an OEM o2 sensor now.

We're seeing newer Subies advertising PZEV engines. That sounds like trouble - when did that start?

What's the dividing lines between generations 2, 3 and 4? I wasn't kidding about not knowing much about this century's vehicles.

She has a budget of $6k, wants something newer than ma and pa have, and wants to stay away from modern innovations like hybrids, continuously variable transmissions and variable valve timing. I know to avoid the early 2.5L DOHC, but I really know nothing about the Subies from this century. So, what's an age range that'll be a sweet spot between "old and odd and falling apart" and "too new and trendy to be reliable?" Are there models or features to avoid?

@ccrinc, thanks, I roughly followed your instructions, and took care of a ticking noise on the passenger side of the engine. The #3 intake vales were a little loose, and the exhaust valves were probably double the lash they should have had. I must have messed up setting them when it was on the stand, but it's not too hard to do in the car. Anyway, it's running great now, no ticking, and the CEL hasn't come on again.

"Get on to the manufacturer" was a good suggestion. Here's what RP says:

How many hours would you run the break in oil? For my loader, the recommendation was 50 hours above 50% load, which would be roughly 1000 highway miles on a car.