outback_97

I had both front struts replaced by the dealer at 80K(? sorry don't remember exact mileage) miles, free of charge. I had a 3rd party extended warranty and struts were covered by this. One was definitely bad, it was leaking a lot of fluid and clearly when driving the car you could tell it wasn't doing its job. The strut top was even slightly bent (I'm assuming the weak strut contributed to this). In spite of this, the "bounce" test didn't reveal any problem to my untrained eye, maybe it takes someone more adept. The dealership was giving me static, saying they'd only replace the one, but in the long run I argued and got both replaced for only the deductible charge. Just my experience, not a universal truth. But IMO the Subaru suspension is good enough to "hide" one strut being bad when bouncing the car up and down, the other three corners cover for it. It's not like you can *completely* isolate the behavior of one corner of a four wheeled car with a well designed suspension that's made to keep the car stable. Sorry so wordy Steve

FWIW, the "bounce" test never told me anything on my car, even though I had a completely blown strut in the front and it was leaking fluid. I'd get the thing bouncing up and down, when I stopped, it still dampened enough to keep it from continuing to bounce. So, IMO that doesn't rule out with 100% certainty a strut being bad. I would think it's safe to assume that in a 14 year old car, the original springs have lost some of their "spring". Just an uneducated assumption. Steve

swingerfunky: Hey, I'm in SLC, welcome to the USMB. As novakaine mentioned, WRX seats are often installed in Legacies, I'd suggest considering that too. IIRC they sit a bit higher so if she's really tall (or you are and you want to drive the car) you might check into that. You should check out www.nasioc.com and select the Rocky Mountain forum, ask around there to see if any locals have seats for sale. You can usually get a good deal from a local member, and I'm thinking it'd be a pain to ship seats anyway. What doesn't she like about the stock seats? Steve

http://wac.addr.com/auto/obs/wheels.html Try this, it has some info that might help. Steve

FWIW: I got a set of used snow tires for $90 for our Impreza. They had a lot (90%+) of tread left on them but they are a few years old. They did very well for us last winter and I just put them back on this weekend in anticipation of another snowy season. It's a good point that you shouldn't skimp on tires, but getting a good deal on a set of lightly used ones seems like a good compromise (with some risks that you'll get a bad one). Check Nasioc, the USMB, craigslist, any other local classified forums you might have. Check the newspaper classifieds also. Do a search on checking the age of the tire by the DOT code, you shouldn't buy ones that are more than several years old IMO, even if they have 100% tread. Also, keep in mind that many snow/ice tires are only really good for the first half of their treadwear, then they are just about like all seasons. So if someone is selling Blizzaks, for example, that have "50% tread left, great condition", I'd keep looking. Steve

I agree with what Legacy777 said, but you're sure it's not just a burnt out bulb? In my 97 OB (we're talking 2nd gen Legacy, correct?) the buttons that let you choose where the air is flowing used to be illuminated and now the light has burnt out. This is a common occurrence in these cars (a search will confirm). The lights in the seat heater rocker switches have burnt out also. Also, you can adjust the level of dash illumination, IIRC to four settings, by rotating a knob on one of the steering column stalks. I'm assuming you've verified that's not turned down all the way. Steve

steve2005: I asked a similar question a while back, it generated some good responses: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10217 FWIW I'm now at almost 118K and haven't had the procedure in question done. Welcome to the board! Steve

Jamie: Based on the post directly before yours, I'd guess he has an 05 OBW XT Again, I was assuming that 15" steelies will not fit on that car (it comes with 17" alloys stock, no?), but I don't know and figured you would. Steve

Jamie: Wouldn't he need at least a 16" to fit over the brakes of an '05, not counting specialized rally wheels? Just curious. Steve

There are photos of the two different gaskets in this thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100257 Would one be able to tell which version was in the car visually based on their very slightly different shape? Sorry if that's a dumb question, I really don't know what you would look for on the engine, but they are a little different. Steve

Hank: Welcome to the USMB. I searched on "turn signal bulb" and found this helpful thread, you might be able to use this info, though it lacks a picture diagram: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=943&highlight=turn+signal+bulb The search function is quite helpful here (as are the people) and you'll often find that what you're looking for has been discussed in a previous thread. Again, welcome to the board. Steve

I'd suggest something like this to fill thru the dipstick tube (I don't know how you'd do it with a regular funnel): I used one kinda like that when I filled my auto trans fluid. Worked great. Mine had a little ball valve on it that also made things easier. Oh, if you haven't figured it out already on your own, you don't even need to lift the car to drain, you can access the drain plug from behind the driver's side front wheel. I drained, filled, then drained and filled again and figured that was enough to get most of the old fluid out. Steve

I remember reading about someone doing this before, here it is: Taken from: http://wac.addr.com/auto/obs/headgasket/headgasket.html Steve

Keith: Sorry that happened to you too, it's not fun losing headlights. Fortunately for me I was relatively close to home, in town. Did you still have high beams? IMO fog lights have only been helpful to me in low speed, poor visibility conditions, or where you want a wider pattern. They don't project even as far as the low beams, in the case of my stock OB fog lights and also the Hella 500 fogs on our Impreza. OTOH the FF50 are probably an improvement over the 500's. Just my $.02. Steve

Ed: I don't think this car has a green power light or manual mode button, my 97 OB has neither of those. The only button on the shifter is the one you depress to allow you to shift to/from park, R, D, etc. I think you're thinking of the first gen Legacies? To the original poster: I'm amazed you got a 98 Outback that actually drives for $500, congrats! It would go for much more here. Steve

Both my XtraVisions burned out in 10 months or so, and within a few minutes of each other (I still had hi beams but no low). One of my SilverStars lasted a year IIRC and the other one from that pair is still going after almost two years. So yeah, your mileage may vary. I do run them during the day but I don't drive that many miles per year (12K at most). Yes, I put them in w/o touching the glass. Steve

Type "CCR Subaru" into google and it's the first link, http://www.ccrengines.com/ Steve

I would second the recommendation for Sylvania's, either the SilverStars or XtraVision, which don't have the slight blue tint of the SilverStars. The XtraVision are cheaper too, and just as bright, but they don't look as "bright" because they are yellower. I would also suggest carrying a set of spares, for when they burn out in less than a year, within five minutes of each other. At least that was my experience. Thanks SOA for foglights, that's what I had to use to get home. Steve

Could it be these are related to incorrect tire sizes (ie replacing one or two tires instead of four, etc)? Steve

Do you guys have anything like these in the works for first gen Outbacks (2nd gen Legacy)? Steve

Yup, you're right, sorry. I was thinking TS vs. RS. Looks like both the TS and OBS got them in '04 per www.cars101.com. Steve

A couple of things... A used WRX is more likely to have been beaten and/or modified, just something to consider and watch out for if they want to keep the car for that many miles. A TS is pretty much the same as the OBS, Rizzo is right that the OBS has a wee bit more ground clearance, but it comes from slightly bigger rims/tires and taller springs, not necessarily a *stiffer* suspension though. Subaru calls it a "heavy duty raised suspension" IIRC Other differences: The OBS has disc brakes in back (vs. the TS drums) and in '02 cruise control was not standard on the TS (it was added for '03). Also the TS had 15" steel rims with plastic wheel covers. The TS lacks a cargo area light, map light and fog lights (all easily added). I vote for the TS or OBS, content-wse, they're similar enough IMO that the aesthetic differences between them are the biggest factor. We've been very happy with the TS and would highly recommend it. We often get 30 mpg on the highway, the car's great in the snow, has good around-town torque and we've never regretted getting it over the WRX. Steve

In Colorado (market similar to Utah I'm guessing) expect to pay a bit more than that for what you're looking for, especially this time of year. If they're not asking more than $4000 then it's either got high miles or the car isn't in very good shape. My $.02. Examples from Denver craigslist: 1997 / 130K miles / $6000 http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106953443.html 1996 / 123K mils / $4200 http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106878036.html 1997 / 89K miles / $6500 *legacy, not outback http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106576491.html 1995 / 124K miles / $3600 *legacy, not outback http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106400638.html 1997 / 147K / $5500 http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106309351.html You get the idea. I would add wheel bearings to the things to check out for, common problem and not inexpensive (couple hundred bucks per wheel). Listen for a medium pitched droning sound, sounds like the car has heavy lug truck tires on, can vary with which way you're turning and in mine was noticeable around 25-50 mph. I love my '97, they're great cars. No HG problems on mine, currently at 117K miles. Steve

Sounds like what mine has been like for a long time, doesn't seem to be a problem though. Read the fourth post in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10634&highlight=loose That describes the behaviour in mine, is that what yours is doing? Steve

mystro: Note that I am not affiliated with Jamie's parts site, but I think that may be your best bet unless you're willing to spend some time searching. I was relatively lucky to get the parts I needed used, the guy had taken out his fog lights and installed a front mount intercooler. It required a lot of patience to search around. I had a goal of sub $100 fog lights (just stubborn that way) and paying more than around $25 for both the switch and relay would have blown that budget. Jamie: Can you verify that he needs the relay also, and if the parts are interchangeable between Impreza and Legacy for the relay and switch? Or are they different? Thanks. Here's the parts I used in our Impreza: Steve