Chip Hedrick

I am the original owner of a 98 OBW w/147,000 mi. This morning, for the first time ever, I could not open the rear hatch. I tried using both the power lock switch and the key. The key would turn but the hatch wouldn't open. Has anyone else had this problem? Is the only fix to have the lock replaced or is something else likely wrong?

My wife has a 2003 H6 Sedan, which she purchased new in March of 2003. The car is nearing 80k mi, and we have had no problems with it. It looks and runs like new, and I anticipate it has 120k worth of strong miles left in it. The H6's oil doesn't blacken between changes, there are no fluid drips, no heat shield rattles. All in all, H6s of that vintage appear to me to be more refined and more reliable than my 1998 EJ25 Outback. As far as the VDC variety, I believe those have "VDC" insignia on the fenders, a VDC button below the stereo, and a McIntosh stereo.

Unfortunately, there's no top and no bottom line. They're situated right and left.

I am in the process of changing the ATF in my wife's '03 H6 sedan. I have located the rubber lines attached to the ATF cooler at the bottom of the radiator. I want to use those lines to flush the remaining old ATF from the transmission. My question is which line flows ATF from the tranny to the cooler (the line on the driver's side or the line on the passenger's side)?

From reading various posts I undestand that newer Legacies/Outbacks have a disposable ATF filter. I am about to change the ATF in my wife's '03 H6 sedan. I have the car up on jack stands but do not see the ATF filter. Can someone tell me where it is located?

On Saturyday, 11/20/04, I mounted my winter wheels and tires on my '98 OBW. I then drove the car for several days. On Thanksgiving Thursday, my wife and I got in the car to travel to a family Thanksgiving dinner. We had to turn back after less than a mile because of the car shuddering from what seemed like an out-of-balance tire. The car sat in my garage for several days. Today I decided to investigate the issue. On a whim, I used a torque wrench to check the tightness of the lug nuts. The first three wheels were fine. When I got to the final wheel (the front driver's side), the lug nuts were loose. A couple of them were very loose. Was it that I was sloppy when I mounted the winter wheels? I could swear that I used a torque wrench on all four wheels (to 70+ lbs-ft)? Or is it possible the the lug nuts worked themselves loose in a 100 mi or so? The wheels involved are the 7yr old OEM aluminum alloys that I now use for winter wheels (and which look pretty rough). The tires involved are Nokkian snow tires that are on their 6th season. So I'm dealing with some well used components.

My wife's '03 3.0 H6 sedan just hit 30k mi. The stealership wanted $350.00 to do the 30k mi maintenance, so that affirmed my conviction to do it myself. Here's a problem I ran into. Flushing the cooling system is more difficult than on my '98 EJ 2.5. 1st It appears to be impossible to remove the coolant overflow tank w/o removing one of the electric radiator fans. I had to syphon the overflow tank w/ a gasoline syphon. 2nd I could not easily locate the drain plugs on the bottom of the engine. There is an aerodynamic shield that covers the front underside of the engine bay. It appears that the entire shield (not just the small panel that gives access to the oil filter) would have to be removed to access the bottom of the engine. 3rd There is no bleeder valve at the top of the radiator. So I just drained and flushed the radiator using the radiator drain cock. I know I didn't drain all the coolant in the engine. I don't like to do things in a half-hearted way like this. At least I replaced a good portion of the coolant. Has anyone else run into the same problems or have a better way to flush and drain the cooling system in this engine??

What do you mean by "I refilled coolant"? Had the cooling system lost coolant? Did you replace the faulty thermostat? Did you burp the cooling system? I'd flush and drain the cooling system, replace the t-stat, thoroughly burp the system and see what happens before unloading the car and before doing any expensive repairs. Always start with the simple stuff first.

Well, so far, so good. It's been a week since I performed the cooling system maintenance and no problems so far. I've driven the car every day, including a couple of trips to Augusta and back. I was at an independent Subaru repair shop today to get the ignition lock cylinder replaced. I mentioned the super full expansion tank incident to the proprietor (25 yrs experience with Subarus). He said it's common, and not necessarily a sign of a problem, to have the expansion tank get full to the top as the result of a long trip at highway speeds. I hope I've dodged the headgasket bullet for the time being.

I just got this fixed today by a local independent Subaru specialist. Required a new lock cylinder. Total cost came to $292.13, including a couple of extra keys (4 keys in total). It appeared to be quite a job. The lock cylinder is installed with bolts with heads that shear off once they're tightened, so to get the old cylinder out you have to drill out the bolts. The mechanic thought he'd be able to get a local lock smith to get the key to the new ignition lock cylinder to match the door keys. Unfortunately, Subaru has designed the lock cylinder to be a sealed unit. Apparently, the tumblers inside break if you try to open it. So now I'm stuck with separate keys for the ignition and for the doors. By the way, I'm told the likely cause of the cylinder going bad was having too many keys hanging off my key chain and putting too much strain on the cylinder. Live and learn.

I checked the Subaru of America website and didn't see any mention of how they arrived at the horsepower rating. I strongly suspect the 250HP rating is at the crank. I have heard that the HP rating for other Subarus, including the WRX and those with the 2.5s, is for crank HP. For instance, I've heard that the Phase I EJ25 in my car, while rated at 165, puts out less than 100 HP at the wheels. I think many other manufacturers do the same thing and that drivetrain loss shaves off substantial HP for a lot of cars.

Last evening I changed the t-stat, radiator hoses, and coolant. I also burped the system. Drove 8 mi to work this morning and 8 mi back this evening. When I got home, I popped the hood while the engine was idling and looked in the expansion tank for a stream of bubbles. I saw none. Not a definitive test, but so far so good. I will keep my fingers crossed and keep a close eye on the expansion tank and temp. guage.

Thanks for the info about the radiator cap and hoses. Coincidentally, I have new hoses on hand, which I intend to install tonight (along with a new t-stat, gasket, and antifreeze/distilled water mix). I knew it was nearing time to replace the radiator hoses (they’re “squishy”), so I picked up new ones last weekend but didn’t have time to install them. I didn’t buy a new radiator cap, however. I’ll have to get one tomorrow. I hope the problem is not headgasket related and that simple cooling system maintenance will solve it.

I drove my ’98 OBW (107,000 mi) from New Gloucester, Maine, to Albany, New York, and back over the weekend (300+ mi each way). Each way was hard, fast highway driving with the AC on. Two or three hours after getting home, I changed the oil in the OBW. While performing the oil change, I noticed that the coolant expansion tank was full nearly to the top with coolant. I had never before seen it anywhere near that full. This morning I went out to the garage and looked at the coolant expansion tank. The car had been sitting for nearly 20 hrs, but the expansion tank was still full. The car has never exhibited signs of over heating, either on this recent trip or before. During this trip the temp. gauge read slightly below halfway, as it usually does once up to operating temp. Is this a sign that one or both of the headgaskets are going?

The above happened to me at a gas station in Albany, New York, 310 mi from home on Sunday morning July 4, 2004. I pulled up to a gas pump to fill up, and when I shut the engine off I couldn't get the key out of the ignition (’98 OBW, 107,000 mi, one owner). At first, the key would not move. After some fiddling, I was able to turn the key to “Start” and then to “On.” To make a long story short, I was able to drive the car home but have not been able to remove the key from the ignition. I can start the car, but when I turn it off, the farthest to the rear the key will move is to the accessory position. Because I can’t get the key out of the ignition, I can’t tell whether the problem is with the key or with the lock cylinder. The key is an original that came with the car, not a copy. I suspect the key is quite worn. I have checked the Haynes manual and it looks like a bear to change the lock cylinder in the steering column. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas on how to get the key out? Has anyone else changed the lock cylinder in the steering column of this vintage Legacy (1995 -1999)?

With respect to the placement of the air filter housing on cars with the 2.5L engine, I'll stand by what I said. I have a '98 OBW with the Phase I (4 cam) EJ25 engine. It is California emissions compliant per the original window sticker and the under hood sticker. The air filter housing is on the passenger side of the engine bay. There is a black plastic chamber at the top rear of the engine behind the throttle body. I recently installed the air filter on my mother-in-law's 2000+ Legacy with a Phase II (2 cam) 2.5. In that car, the air filter was at the top rear of the engine behind the throttle body. Thus, with respect to the 2.5L, I think the Phase of the engine (not whether or not it is Calif. emissions compliant) dictates where the air filter housing is located. Things may be different with respect to the 2.2L. Geoff4130: I don't think it would be worth it to install the intake from a 2000+ Legacy into an older car. Even though the intake design appears to be better, the 2000+ 2.5s put out the same HP (165) as the older 2.5s and only slightly more torque (166 v. 162 lbs-ft). Plus the 2000+ 2.5s have substantial internal changes, so doubtlessly some of the power gain come from those internal changes, and not the redesigned intake. If you want increased performance, install a K&N panel filter and a lightweight crank pulley. They're the best bang for the buck.

I believe the only Subaru engine to which the Phase I/Phase II distinction applies is the EJ25. As Losiho said, the primary difference is that the Phase I has 4 cams and the Phase II has 2 cams. The Phase II engine was introduced in the Outback for MY 2000, so I assume it was introduced in other models at the same time. In the cars the I have looked at: Phase I: Air filter housing located to the side of the engine, on the passenger side of the engine bay. Air intake tube protrudes into the engine bay through the passenger side fender wall. Phase II: Air filter housing located at the top rear of the engine behind the throttle body (not to be confused with the hollow plastic chanber that Phase I engines have in this location). Air intake tube extends to front of engine bay above passenger side headlight/top of radiator.

My practice is to use inexpensive NAPA ($1.99/quart) or Castrol Syntec ($2.99 +/-/quart at Wal-Mart) gear oil and to change it once a year or every 15,000 mi, whichever comes first. This is more frequent than what most people do, but I want my transmission to last 200,000-250,000 mi. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with synthetic gear oil, but at $9.00-$12.50/quart, it’s much more expensive. I have opted for frequent gear oil changes over the long change interval that synthetics offer. In my opinion, if you go to the effort of checking the gear oil, you might as well go to the effort of changing it because it’s not that much more work. I like the idea of draining my transmission and rear diff of metal particles and other contaminants once a year rather than leaving the oil in there for a longer period. You will need 5 quarts to change the oil in both a manual transmission and rear diff (the manual transmission cars do not have a separate front diff, the automatic transmission cars have front and rear diffs). I think the socket size for the manual transmission drain plug is 22mm. I agree that you will need a long funnel for filing the transmission. I remove the “air box” attached to the throttle body at the top rear of the engine for easier access to the manual transmission dipstick/fill tube. What I find works even better than a funnel is a clear, flexible plastic tube that threads onto the top of a gear oil bottle. They are available at Napa (and I think Pep Boys) for a few dollars. The advantage of the flexible plastic tube over a funnel is that it will help you fill the rear diff, which the funnel will not. A length of pipe placed over a breaker bar will make easy work of loosening the rear diff plugs (I actually use what I call a “breaker ratchet” for the job). It’s a long-handled ½ socket wrench—Craftsman makes one. It allows you more maneuverability than a breaker bar when your car is on jack stands and you have limited room to work on the rear diff plugs. I torque both the transmission drain plug and the rear diff plugs to 25-30 lbs.-ft. NAPA makes a high temperature thread sealant that’s available in a small tube for a few dollars. Use it sparingly, a little bit goes a long way. The instructions said coat ¾ of a thread length. I coated a 1 ½ thread lengths. I should have adhered to the instructions.

A couple of other things: First, the major Subaru dealers around here send out coupons for $250.00 timing belt changes, including the belt. That's far less than the $355 you were quoted for the crank seal replacement, and the parts are less for the job you need while the amount of labor should be about the same. Second, the shop you're dealing with quoted you $120 for a t-belt. The independent I went to (who doesn't sell parts for cheap) charged me $80 for an OEM t-belt. It sounds like the shop you're dealing with is on the pricy side.

MorganM: So squishy feeling radiator hoses = replacement time? That's good to know. My car is 6 1/2 yrs old and has 105,000+ mi and I've been keeping an eye on the radiator hoses wondering when I should replace them. They don't look bad, but I felt the lower one while under the car the other day and it did feel "squishy." Not knowing any better, I thought that was normal.

I have a '98 OBW with the Phase I EJ25, which should be the same engine as in your Forester. Back in January I paid $540.00 to have an independent Subaru tech (25yrs experience w/Subarus) replace the timing belt, the tensioner, all 4 cam seals, the front crank seal and oil pump o-ring, and a few other odds and ends. Parts came to $319, labor $205 ($25 of which was for the cam seals), and $16 in sales tax. The parts for the front crank seal were: $5.45 for the crank seal, $2.58 for the oil pump o-ring, and $15.90 for oil change parts and materials = $23.93. So, labor for the crank seal should be about $180.00 and parts should be about $24.00 for a total of $204.00, but that's based on the labor rate charged by an independent Subaru specialist in southern/central Maine.

It's a load of crap to say that K&N filters don't filter well. I've had one in my '98 OBW for 30,000 mi. with no problems. The intake system is filthy before the filter and clean after it. I live on a dirt road to boot.

Who did that last coolant change? Did they properly burp the engine? If not, they might have left an air pocket which lead to the recent spat of severe overheating.

hlevyn: Did you have your car checked out by your mechanic? 3,000 mi is well within normal service life for air filter and fuel filter unless you are driving in extremely harsh conditions. One thing I just thought of. There is a large black plastic tube that connects the air filter box to the black box behind the throttle body at the top rear of the engine. That tube carries air from the filter box to the engine. A hose connects to the underside of that tube. I can't recall offhand what the hose is for, but it doesn't matter. I have learned the hard way that if that hose is not connected the engine will idle wildly and will cut out. It's worth taking a look at.

Those are big dollar quotes you've gotten. Can you find an experienced, independent Subaru tech to confirm whether or not the rear diff needs replacement? If so, perhaps he/she could install a used or rebuilt rear diff. Does anyone know whether a leaking oil separator plate can be lived with? $900.00 is a lot of money to repair an oil leak.