Chip Hedrick

The above was the one casualty during last Saturday's otherwise successful mission to change the spark plugs in my '98 OBW. The washer fluid resevoir was held to the front of the driver's side strut tower by two small bolts. In removing the resevoir to gain better access to the #4 spark plug I snapped off both bolts with a 1/4 ratchet using very little effort!! Any ideas on how to get the snapped off bolts out of the holes in the strut tower? I suppose I could pound them out with a hammer and punch, but that isn't my style and would destroy any thread in the holes. I fear I would have to remove the front driver's side strut to have sufficient room to work on the snapped off bolts from the inside of the strut tower. I guess that's the price I had to pay for the rest of the job going so smoothly.

Monitor ebay for wheels. Bide your time. I waited for the right deal to come along and got a brand new set of 15"x7" Ronal alloy wheels for my '98 OBW for $190.00, including shipping to Maine! The wheels normally sell for $125.00 each plus shipping. They look/handle great on my car and fit my existing tires. You may also want to monitor the marketplace forums at: www.i-club.com and www.nasioc.com There are many nice wheels for sale on those sites, often for very reasonable prices.

My original mission was to buy plain copper NGK plugs, but the biggest NAPA store in the area didn't have them (my wife was with me and she wouldn't tolerate going from parts store to parts store on a hunt for the perfect spark plug). So, I went with the Champions. I heard that some EJ25s (the 2.5 RS I think) came from the factory with Champion plugs.

I did the above this weekend at 104,152 mi. The NGK plugs had been in the car for 44,560 mi. The center electrodes on two of the NGK plugs were very worn. The gaps on the removed plugs were: #1 = 0.047"; #2 = 0.045"; #3 = 0.045"; #4 = 0.048". The spec in the Haynes manual is 0.043". (The plugs otherwise were in excellent condition, which indicates the engine is doing well.) I had to buy a new spark plug gauge because the two I had only went up to 0.040". The dealer charged me $12.50 each for the NGK plugs when they were installed back in 09/07/01. The Champions cost $1.69 each. I gapped the Champions to 0.044" per the recommendation provided by the computer at the NAPA store where I purchased them. HOLY HORSEPOWER!! I must have gained back at least 10 HP, probably more, by installing the Champion plugs. Subaru claims that the service life on NGK platinum plugs is 60,000 mi, but at what loss from original performance? I plan on sticking with the cheaper copper plugs and replacing them every 1yr or 12,000 miles. I suspect I'll keep more HP and better fuel mileage with this strategy.

I've tried a variety of inexpensive modifications to my '98 OBW w/the Phase I EJ25 (4 cams). Your Forester has the Pase II EJ25 (2 cams), but I think they would respond very similarly to modification. The single best modification I have done has been a light weight, stock diameter crankshaft pulley (the pulley at the bottom front of the engine that turns the alternator and AC belts). The aftermarket pulley is several pounds lighter than the steel factory pulley. The removal of those several pounds of weight that the engine must spin frees up power (much, much more so than removing an equal amount of unspun weight). This modification was very noticeable. There also are smaller than stock diameter (underdrive) light weight pulleys, but these spin the car's accessories (including the alternator) at a slower speed, thereby reducing their output. This may or may not be a problem (I live in Maine so I want the alternator providing the battery with full charging power in the winter). Further, I have heard that most of the power gain from a pulley change comes from the reduction in weight, rather than from changing the diameter of the pulley. The next two best modifications were (1) replacing the stock filter with a K&N air filter and (2) removing the intake silencer located in the passenger side fender. Both made a noticeable improvement, but not as big as the pulley. Some people bash K&N filters. Others swear by them. I have had mine for about 29,000 miles with no ill effects. There are two things to avoid (1) frequent driving in dusty conditions (I live on a short dirt road, but that's not enought to be a problem) and (2) over oiling the filter when you clean it (I clean mine once a year). To be honest, it takes a large degree of carelessness to over oil the filter. Removing the air intake silencer improved power, but it also increased noise. The snarl at higher RPMs is nice, but the car also makes a droning noise at idle. I also have performed the so-called grounding mod--adding additional grounding wires between body, engine, and battery, but didn't notice much difference. Oh yeah, last year I spliced in a Pro ECM Powerchip. I had really bad luck with it. It caused the car to stall repeatedly during in town driving. I have since removed it. You might want to check out these sources for performance parts: http://www.rallitek.com/ http://home.att.net/~teaguesauto/ Happy motoring!

The prices on that website seem high. You might want to try: http://home.att.net/~teaguesauto/index.htm or http://www.rallitek.com/

Something else to be said for the H6 over the 2.5 is that the H6 has a timing chain that does not need to be changed at 105,000 mi. In fact, the Subaru of America maintenance schedule states "Periodic inspection and replacement of the camshaft drive chains on the 3.0 models are not required." As I've posted before, my wife gets execellent mileage w/her H6. 26-27 MPG in mostly highway driving. She exclusively uses midgrade, not premium, gas.

The rear diff plugs are difficult to get out. I bought what I call a Craftsman "breaker ratchet" just for the job. It has a ½ ratchet head, but the long handle of a breaker bar. It gives you better maneuverability in a tight place (e.g., under a car that’s on jack stands) than a fixed breaker bar, but it gives you much more leverage than a standard ratchet. The tools is great for other things too, such as loosening lug nuts. It’s only about $25.00 or so. I agree with 99OBW that you should always remove the fill plug first. You’re in trouble if you drain the diff and then can’t get the fill plug out. As far as getting the gear oil in, both NAPA and Pep Boys (and probably other auto parts stores as well) sell inexpensive flexible tubes that thread onto the top of gear oil bottles. They also allow you to turn the flow on and off. They’re also great to use when putting gear oil in a manual tranny.

Powderhound: Southwest Montana. Been there. My wife is originally from Deer Lodge. Incidently, both her mother in Deer Lodge and her sister in Bozeman drive Legacy sedans.

Jamie: Interesting. Throw out bearing on clutch. That hadn't occurred to me. That could be it. It is sort of a chirping sound. My wife says it sounds like I have a bird under the hood. It only seems to happen when the car is in neutral. If it is the throw out bearing, is it something serious or only an annoyance? Maybe that's another reason to pull the engine over the summer and change the clutch, replace the rear main seal, and check the valve clearance. I can't stand having my car sound like a heap when idling in traffic.

Powderhound: If I had known you had gotten 103,718 mi off your front pads I would have driven on mine for another 500 mi just to take the record!! Also, it's impressive that your car also still has the original battery since the winter climate conditions in WI are probably more extremely than here in Maine. Philbiker: You make me glad my wife didn't buy an Audi in March '03 when we bought her Subaru H6 Sedan. We considered an A4, but when similarly equiped it cost about $10,000 more than the H6. Both cars are Insurance Institute for Highway Safety "Best Picks." The Subaru is larger. The Audi 6 cylinder has 8 more hp. When price was factored in, the Subaru was the winner, hands down (and that wasn't even factoring in repair/maintenance cost).

My ’98 OBW has annoying squeaking (note: squeaking, not belt squealing) under the hood. I’ve tightened the belts—no change. I’ve replaced the a/c belt (the alternator belt is in good shape)—no change. It appears to come from the pulleys, not the belts. Any ideas how to stop the squeaking? Could it be due to over-tightened belts (they’re tight, but I’ve tried to leave slight deflection when pressed hard by finger).

This weekend I replaced the front brake pads in my ’98 OBW. I got 103,300 mi from the original front pads!! (They probably had a few thousand more miles on them, but why risk letting them get too thin?) The original rear pads and all of the original rotors are still good. I can’t complain about Subaru brake reliability/durability. I used NAPA Premium Brake Pads as replacements because I didn’t have Subaru pads on hand. So far, so good. They appear to be of high quality, work just as well and are just as quiet as the OEM pads, and cost less ($47.49). It will be interesting to see if they match the durability of Subaru OEM pads.

My '98 OBW has 103,300 mi. It exhibits no signs of headgasket problems. I've owned it 6 yrs and 3 mos and it has been extremely reliable. I routinely shift at high RPMs, and the engine has withstood it. The only significant problem was cam and crankshaft oil leaks that developed and were repaired back in Jan. at around 101,000 mi. Still has original battery and rear brake pads. Just did the front pads this weekend. I got 103,300 off the originals.

My wife has had an '03 H6 Sedan for a year. We purchased it new and it now has about 18,700mi. She exclusively runs midgrade fuel. When we purchased the car we decided to see how it would run on midgrade. If the engine didn't like it, we'd run premium. The car has had absolutely no problems with midgrade and delivers 26-27 MPG in mostly highway driving. I have done virtually all of the maintenance on the car myself and am very impressed with it. I change the oil every 3,000 mi and it stays remarkably clean between oil changes. I have a '98 OBW w/the 2.5. The H6 is far smother and quieter. It is not particularly fast off the line, but it has turbine-like power for passing. I highly recommend the H6.

Here's a problem that just started w/ my '98 OBW w/103,000 mi and 5spd manual transmission: In the past, when the shift lever was in the neutral position, there was slight resistance to either move to the left near 1st and 2nd or to the right near 5th and reverse. This was normal and appropriate. Now, there is resistance when moving the shift lever to the right, but no resistance when moving it to the left. In other words, the shift lever will flop over to the left with virtually no effort. This is making it hard to find gears when shifting up from 3rd to 4th or down from 5th to 4th. I have removed the shift boot, and looking down from inside the car everything looks normal. Could the rubber bushing in the shift linkage under the car be the cause of this problem? Any other ideas? I would appreciate any help you can give me.

In late January, I brought my '98 OBW to an independent Subaru mechanic (25 yrs experience with Subaru) to address oil seal leakage and replace the t-belt. We almost got into a shouting match over whether the water pump should be replaced. I wanted it replaced. He said it would be a waste of money, that Subaru water pumps typically last 100,000s of miles, that he's only encountered a handful of bad ones over the years, and that the bad ones typically give some indication (including discoloration on the sprocket) that they are on the way out. We agreed that he would carefully inspect the water pump and replace it if it appeared at all questionable. In the end, he said it looked fine and did not replace it. You can rest assured that I'll let you know if that water pump fails before my next t-belt change.

I started getting a similar smell in January of this year when the oil seals in my '98 OBW started to go, and oil got on hot exhaust components. I ended up having the cam and front crank seals replaced. You'll know soon enough if it's the oil seals as oil will start to leak under the car in noticeable quantities.

As you know, this is something you should have corrected immediately. It could have any number of causes, but since you say you recently had the fuel filter replaced I'd take a careful look at that. It's a small cylindrical thing located on the driver's side of the engine bay. The OEM ones are shiny white metal. Some aftermarket ones are painted black. Check it over carefully for any signs of leakage. Pay particular attention to the rubber fuel lines going in and out of it. Make sure they are securely clamped and do not have any cracks, etc. If you don't immediately find the cause, I'd have a professional look at it ASAP.

I'd do the cam seals while you're in there. One of the cam seals suddenly went on my '98 OBW in January and the car started leaking copious quantities of oil. It had just turned over 100,000 mi. I don't have the same engine as the one in your car, but I don't see why the same problem couldn't happen. It would be unfortunate to have to re-open the t-belt cover to deal with a leaking cam seal.

I'll add two more things. FIRST, this weekend was the first time I took the decorative cover off the top of the H6 engine (that's why I didn't realize that the engine has only one accessory belt). The cover secured by 4 readily vissible bolts, BUT DON'T TRY JUST LIFTING IT OFF once you've removed the bolts. The cover also has two hidden clips on its underside on the front. You have to remove the bolts, then pull the cover a couple of inches in the direction of the radiator. Otherwise, you'll break the clips off. I didn't realize this until the cover resisted being lifted off. Once I got it off I noticed one of the clips had broken off. I don't know if I did that (I didn't hear or feel the clip break) or someone at the dealership broke it off before we purchased the car. SECOND, I would not bring this car to one of those quick oil change places. Here's why: the oil filter is covered by an aerodynamic panel. The panel is held in place by three large plastic screws. Someone not familiar with the car could get frustrated and: (1) not bother removing the panel and changing the oil filter; (2) forget to install the panel and all of the plastic screws; or (3) break the panel and/or the screws (they're delicate and are not parts you can buy out of the bin at your local auto parts store).

I learned a few things this weekend while performing the 15,000 mi maintenance interval on my wife's '03 H6 Sedan (the car actually had 16,582 mi). The Subaru of America maintenance schedule (posted on its web site) doens't call for the inspection of front and rear differential oil until 30,000 mi. However, I decided to change the diff oil since: (1) the dipstick indicated the front diff was a little low and the manual says don't mix brands of gear oil: (2) if you go to the effort of opening the inspection plug on the rear diff you might as well go all the way and drain and refill it; and (3) dino gear oil is only about $2/quart. Both diffs require a total of only 2.1 quarts (trust me, buy 3 quarts, if you think you can get away with 2 you'll find yourself heading back to the auto parts place halfway through the job). I'm glad I changed the diff oil. It came out black and had black particles in it (particles of burnt gear oil? They didn't appear metalic.). Also, the magnets on both drain plugs had a significant amount of sludge on them. The dipstick for the front diff is tucked in a truly evil location behind the engine. At the local NAPA store I bought a flexible tube that screws onto a gear oil bottle and that allows you to turn the flow of oil on and off. It worked well. The drain plug for the front diff is easy to get to (under the car, directly behind the engine). It's even marked "Diff Oil." It requires 21mm socket. As has been my experience with Subaru rear diffs, it takes some efforts to get the plugs out. At a minimum you need a 1/2" breaker bar. I find that a "breaker ratchet" (a breaker bar with a ratchet head) is a lot easier to work with when the car is up on jack stands (as opposed to a lift) and you don't have much clearance to work the bar. I discovered that the H6 has a single, relatively wide serpentine belt that spins all the accessories (AC, alt, PS). The belt is nonadjustable. I also replaced the air filter and fuel filter with OEM parts. The air filter seemed quite dirty for the mileage. I replaced the fuel filter just to ensure 100% performance. The manual says the battery is maintenace free and doesn't require the addition of water. That is incorrect. The cells have plastic covers that pop off just like any other non-maintenance-free battery. The water level was good, but I topped it off with distilled water. Brake fluid, PS fluid, tranny fluid, and coolant all appeared fine. I did my usual 3,000+/- mi oil change. I've found that the crush washers can be reused once (at most), otherwise they allow oil to drip. So I ordered a supply of them. I use the NAPA Gold 1334 oil filter, which fits both my wife's H6 and my EJ25 (I've heard this is a good filter so I don't bother tracking down OEM oil filters). Tires didn't require rotation as I mounted winter wheels and tires less than 5,000 mi ago. Brake pads passed state inspection last weekend (plus they looked fine when I mounted the winter wheels + tires). Finally, just for full measure, I added fuel injector cleaner to the gas tank. That's the end of my rambling for anyone who cared enough to read this far.

A couple of months ago I posted about my '98 OBW bogging under attempted brisk acceleration. That was during the first cold weather of the season and the problem has since cured itself. I suspect it was the ECU acclimating itself to the colder, more oxygen dense air. If I were you, I would check: (1) your spark plug wires for signs of wear; (2) terminals on the coil pack for corrosion; (3) air filter to see if it's dirty (even a little); and (4) replace the fuel filter if it hasn't been replaced w/i about 15,000 mi. Those are the cheap and easy things to start with and to rule out.

Interesting!! My wife complains about the same thing when she's a passenger in the front of my '98 OBW. Unfortunately, though, I haven't investigated enough to come up with a solution (though I suspect it could be related to the weather stripping that wraps around the sides and underside of the door and is secured by small yellow plastic tabs that can pop out or break off).

I can vouch for the OEM battery in my '98 OBW. Six years and one month of ownership and 101,200 mi and the battery still allows the engine to crank over strong even in sub-zero weather.