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I use Nokian RSi on my wife's FWD Saab, and Nokian WR all-seasons on my Subaru. The RSi's were amazing in all winter conditions, and are quiet on dry pavement. Treadlife - who knows? My wife & I only do ~6500ka year on each of our cars. http://www.snowtire.info is a website that rates some snow tires. If you're going studless, spend the money on the RSi's, you will NOT be disappointed. The WR's are hands down the best all-seasons I've ever encountered for snow and ice traction.

Thanks for all the help everyone. Hklaine, that web site is perfect!

Well, when the lock is refusing to work there's no sound from the door at all, that is you can't hear the lock trying to move. I don't think anything's jammed and the rods & hinges looked good yesterday.

I'd suggest trying the Zaino line of products. They're super-easy to apply, and two coats of polish will last 6 months - much longer than most on the market. Klasse All-in-ONe & Sealant Glaze is a similar product. http://www.zainobros.com. The stuff is a little pricey but a little goes a very long way. Get the ZFX polish lock, put on 2 coats of their Z-5 swirl mark remover, follow with 2 coats of the Z-2 and use the Z-6 spray between each. It'll look great. And don't forget the clay bar step after you wash the first time. I'd suggest the Clay Magic clay bar since it's the cheapest on the market and they're all 95% the same product.

'98 Legacy L wagon... The driver's side door lock works sporadically with the power locks. The other 3 & the trunk lock/unlock fine, and the windows are all fine. I suspect I may have a failing lock solenoid and that the wires are ok. I pulled the door panel yesterday during lunch and found that the solenoid is hidden behind a piece of sheet metal :-\. Since this was in my parking lot at work I didn't feel like pulling a lot of bolts to get it out. So: what's the removal process for this part? I will double-check the voltage at it once it's pulled. Anyone know what the going rate for the lock solenoid is? Thanks!! On edit: dealer wants $108 for the part, argh.

I replaced the PCV valve today without any trouble. The way the temp.sensor replacement is described in the Hanes repair book it sounds like a lot of coolant leaks out. I'm glad to hear this is not necessarily the case . I will try that next if cleaning the TB this weekend doesn't help.

Tire pressure is ok, and I have cleaned the MAF using spray electronics cleaner. I will this week replace the PCV valve, clean the throttle body (using the vacuum port), and will look into the engine temperature sensor. I am leary of changing that since I had a heck of a time preventing air bubbles in the coolant system when I swapped out the radiator thermostat a few months ago.

Good idea! I just checked it, and while it's pretty dirty it does give that little click when you stick your finger on it. Since they only cost like $3 I will replace it today. I think I will also run some Seafoam through the throttle body to try to clean that out. Can't hurt, right?

I changed the front O2 sensor a few months ago...

My 98 Legacy L wagon (auto, 110k) continues to get poor highway mileage. My commute: 13 miles, 95% highway, typically 60-70 mph w/ cruise control. Some slower stretches, but it's certainly not gridlock. Mileage: 20 mpg. Car is rated at 30 mpg! I am not leadfooted by any means. Air filter is a K&N, fuel filter is 6 months old. I just had the spark plugs & wires changed when a plug went bad (they had a warranty). No change in mileage. The car has synthetic fluids (amsoil 10w30, royal purple 75w90 in diffs) and had a complete tranny rebuild in January. Tires are ex. condition Nokian WR's. What could be the cause of such terrible fuel economy? I've seen several past posts where people complain of the same issue - has anyone ever pinpointed a cause?

Oil color is no indication of breakdown or condition... Head on over to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com, the internet home for oil nuts, they'll set you straight. You can get an analysis done of your used oil from a variety of labs, which is really the only way to tell when an oil is going bad.

I went to the dealer yesterday to replace my wife's key remote. The Subaru one doesn't match the key fob on my keychain... The car (1998 Legacy L wagon) has remote locks and an alarm system. According to a Subaru tech, there was no factory alarm option on that car that year, which means I have an aftermarket system?? How can I completely disable the alarm system - siren & ignition kill? Does anyone know if a standard Subaru key remote will still work with this? There's no brand name or anything on the siren (mounted on engine firewall near pass. side), so I don't even know where to begin finding out where this alarm may have come from.

Those KYB's sound like just what I'm looking for. I periodically check the local junkyard for Outbacks for the sway bar but they get Subarus only on rare occasions.

I have the Royal Purple 75w90 gear oil in the front & rear diffs on my 98 auto Legacy. The car had a tranny rebuild in the winter, and the shop put in 90w dino as was recommended to them by a dealer service tech. I switched it over to the RP, seems to run fine.

bump. Surely someone has worked on their Legacy L's suspension...?

My '98 Legacy L wagon (108k miles) is no longer sitting quite level. I went with a friend as he test drove some '02 Legacy L sedans last weekend, and the vast difference in ride quality makes me suspect it may be time to do some suspension work. I know an easy upgrade is replacing the rear swaybar with one from an Outback, but what are the options for the struts/shocks/springs? Is it possible to use the suspension components intended for a Legacy GT? Any idea how much this could cost me?? Thanks.

Take it to a quality transmission shop, and pay them the $50 for a diagnosis. That's what I did on my 98 legacy when 3rd gear was slipping badly. They were able to test the solenoids, hook up diagnostics equpment to the tranny, etc. The verdict: the internal seals were destroyed. The first shop quoted $3k for a complete rebuld, the second (recommended by me mechanic) $1800-2400 depending on what they found. It ended up being $2400 but it drives nicely now.

I'm in the same boat. My '98 Legacy L (2.2L engine, auto) gets 19 mpg on the highway. In the last 6 months: plugs & wires changed, air & fuel filter changed, complete transmission rebuild due to failure, Redline fuel injector cleaner added, switched to Amsoil 10w30 synthetic oil, new Nokian WR tires, changed front O2 sensor. The ONLY thing that helped was the new tires, that got me a 2 mpg improvement. My daily commute is 13 miles each way, about 11.5 of which is highway, and I manage to use cruise control set between 65-70 about 2/3 of the time. The car is rated for 30 mpg on the highway! I don't have a lead foot either, I easily get 31-32 mpg highway in my Saab 9-5 wagon, a bigger car with a more powerful turbo motor... I'm at a loss to explain the horrendous mileage. :-\

Well, I have to run a quick errand in it now, so I will check this. I believe that this does work. If it's not the water pump I will sleep easier Edit: The waterpump must be in working condition, keeping the blower running does cool down the car. I guess I will re-burp it again this weekend.

Hmmm...how many tries at burping it should it take?!? Aside from pulling the burp scew (aka air plug) and the cap, is there anything else like jacking up the car that would help?

About a month ago I had a new thermostat installed in my 98 legacy (2.2L, AT, 107k) since I had very little hot air. This led to a cracked burp screw on the radiator, which I replaced a few days ago. The radiator is now 100% air free. My new O2 sensor is on the way. Now the engine is overheating at low speeds. It's fine on the highway. The cooling fans are running fine as well. If I rev the engine hard it'll cool right down. My gut tells me it's the water pump...any thoughts on that? I haven't noticed any cooling coming out of the weep holes but I will double-check for that when I replace the O2 sensor and change the oil this weekend. If it is the water pump, a few questions: how difficult is this a repair to do myself? What else should be changed while I'm at it? How much would it cost an independent shop to fix? I swear, after it just had a transmission rebuild I'm getting tempted to light the thing on fire and drive it off a cliff into the ocean...

I think the mileage has been poor for a while. The car only became my daily driver a few months ago, before that my wife just drove it around town. I've had the fuel pressure checked and it has a new radiator thermostat, air filter, and fuel filter. I used a bottle of Redline fuel injector cleaner. I'm pretty confident it's the O2 sensor, or failing that I guess I'll have to check out the MAF sensor. I ordered the O2 sensor from oxygensensors.com for $61.

Great, thanks! That saves me $90 .

The mileage on my 98 Legacy L (AT, 106k miles) has been poor for a while. 20 mpg in a commute that's 95% highway. The last remaining culprit is the oxygen sensor, since I've changed the plugs, wires, oil, tire pressure, and had the tranny rebuilt (because it was failing, not for better mileage!). There are no engine error codes. To my knowledge the O2 sensors are the originals. But, there are 2 O2 sensors, in the front & rear, and 1st Subaru parts lists the price for both at $91 each. Is one more likely to fail than the other, or should I bite the bullet and replace both? Thanks!

Thanks folks. I think oil pressure is a winner, since if I know it's dropping quick there's big trouble. I think the other one will be voltage or outside temp - it's nice to know when it's below the freezing point outside in winter.