outback_97

Changing the fluid in my '97 Legacy OB (well, most of it, I drained and refilled 2x) helped my 1-2 shifts somewhat. It's never been what I'd call "smooth", but it was getting to the "did I just get bumped by another car from behind?" feeling before I changed the fluid. It was quite easy to do, it's not hard to access the drain plug, you don't even really need to lift the car up if you get to it from the driver's side behind the front wheel, IIRC. Steve

Probably a dumb question from me, but I'll ask it anyway... did you check to make sure that the cars you tested did in fact have the vertical seat adjustment all the way down? I'm 6'4" and have quite a lot of head room in my OB, less in the TS, but those don't have moonroofs and as you pointed out the torso length is more important than one's height for headroom issues. FWIW I've always been impressed that Subarus seem to have better headroom than most domestic cars I've been in. Some people have swapped seats from Subaru to Subaru without having to modify things much, for example WRX seats into Legacies, but IIRC they actually sit higher, not what you want. In my experience the Foresters have the most usable headroom among newer Subies, in fact the '05 Legacies I've sat in seemed to have a little less than my '97 OB. Sorry I probably didn't offer you any help here, just rambling. There's probably a good solution out there. Steve

Kind Karma: This might be helpful: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9834#post9834 It's a post from Peaty (scoobymods.com guru) who owns both an '04 Forester and '02 OB (same as '04) w/ photos comparing the dimensions and a brief writeup. Steve

Probably not the solution you're looking for, but if I were faced with this, I'd get a pair of Hella 500 fogs (or driving lights if you prefer) for $60-$70 or so, and use this as an opportunity to upgrade. This would require a bit of subtle modification (it won't quite bolt right up) but should be quite easy to install. Steve

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? How about using your PELL grant for your edyucashun, as it's intended? http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2002-3/pell.html Steve

Stupid question from me... even if you could do this, wouldn't the steering wheel be locked so as to make the car undriveable? Or am I missing something here? Seems like you would have to violently slam the wheel back and forth to break the locking mechanism and allow you to steer. Just a thought I had. My wife and I occasionally swap cars, we each have the two different Subie keys on our keychains, so even if we accidentally swapped keys we'd be o.k. Just a suggestion. (Oh and I have a spare in my wallet or sometimes wired under the car... saved my hide more than once). I'd avoid the magnetic box key keeper things... I've found them on the side of the road a few times. Steve edit: LOL Glen beat me to it re: the wheel lock.

I read this thread when it was first posted, and I knew it would provoke some interesting discussion. It has long since gone over my head, but I don't think this has been mentioned before: It's generally accepted that the Forester's HP number is underrated, so the car is actually making quite a bit more power at the crank than the stated HP. This is not from personal knowledge, just from what I have read. Also, I think the only way to really know how the cars compare in mileage is with the same driver and same drive, same gas, etc. I do wish the Subies got better mileage, but I honestly can't think of another vehicle that would have done as well what my OB has done for the several years I've owned it. Steve

I think the arrow just tells you what side of the car you fill, I have seen this on other cars as well. My '97 OB has a little "gas pump" icon that lights up when it's down to about 2 gallons or so, that's probably the low fuel indicator on yours too. I don't think there's any indicator of the door being open, as I've driven away from the pump w/ mine open a couple of times by mistake, and no dash lights. Steve

Shrano: We got my wife's '03 TS extended for that same time frame, 6/60, for around $800, with $0 deductible. We felt it was a good idea, the extended waranty on my OB paid for itself, these cars are not inexpensive to fix. I think your deal sounds good, as long as the deductible is zero or close to it. My $.02. Steve

'97 Legacy OB, 102,xxx miles, no HG problems, no overheating. Steve

Got it fixed... the front left wheel bearings were bad. It was getting louder every week, but gave me plenty of warning (over two months). CV joints looked fine. Thanks for everyone's advice Steve

'96 does have a 2.5l. My '97 has just over 100K miles, and I think I'd get mine fixed (at an indy shop for $1200 or so, what I've been preemptively quoted) if the HG went today. I still enjoy driving it and it's been a good car for me. An '05 would be sweet but no car payment is pretty nice too. My $.02. Steve

Agreed! FWIW, I have my car in an indy shop right now, they're doing the wheel bearings on the FL wheel. I asked them about the valve clearance service, they said they don't bother doing it, he felt it not necessary. I think I'll have it done if the engine's out anyway, but probably not otherwise. On the other hand, I would be paying someone else to do this, these things are not DIY for me, I stick to easy stuff. Steve

Rich: Thanks for posting your experience here. You mentioned replacing 9 of your shims... how far out of spec were they? And in what direction (less or more than spec)? Thanks. I posted about this a while back, looking for info on the valve clearance adjustment, since I have 102,xxx miles on my '97 and it's due in the near future. I couldn't get consistent info from three local Subie dealers regarding the procedure, or cost of it, so I kind of just gave up for the time being. Thanks for any further details you could provide. Steve

Paul: I agree 100% with you on your three stated opinions. Many regulars on Edmunds subie boards downplay problems. There is bias. And SOA's Patti is a great contact. The last part of your first paragraph is exactly why I suggested posting there. When people post there (in a calm, clear manner rather than lots of CAPS and exclamation! points!!! as I've seen some people do out of the blue) it's harder for them to continue to bury their head in the sand. FWIW, for technical questions, USMB > Nasioc > Edmunds IMO. But, Edmunds has a SOA rep. Steve

Mine used some (up to 1 quart / 3000 miles) without any puddling under the car, when the oil pump gasket was leaking. OK, that's not "using" oil, but I didn't know it was leaking for a long time, as it would work it's way out through the timing belt cover gasket and blow back under the car. Maybe a little more info would help? Steve

The radiator cap replacement seems to have cleared up the issue. I replaced it, and topped off the radiator with distilled water (it needed 3-4 ounces to top off, the volume of the partially collapsed hose I guess) and all seems well, no collapsed hose this morning when I checked. Temp gauge was good when she drove it home. I didn't notice anything unusual about the old cap, so I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it, but the new one seems to work fine. The hose from the radiator to the overflow seemed fine, I ran some water thru it and there wasn't a blockage. Thanks for the advice, everyone! Steve

Update: I talked to my wife, and it seems the hose is normal size when warm, but it collapsed again after the car cooled off this afternoon. She says the temp needle never got above just below the halfway point, which is normal. Called a dealer, they agreed it was probably the rad. cap, at least that's the first thing they'd check. Although the car is within the b2b warranty, we'd have to leave it there to prove to them that it's happening, which means having it cool completely (at least a few hours if not overnight). Not very convenient since both of us work full time, in opposite directions from home, and not close to a dealership. I think I'll buy a radiator cap at $17 and try that out, rather than deal with the inconvenience of having to leave the car at the dealership. Steve

If it turns out to be the stereo unit itself, I have one I'd sell to you for a low price. It's from my '97 Legacy OB... not a Limited though, if that matters. Steve

Nate: I don't know. My wife didn't notice anything unusual, but I don't know how closely she watches the temp gauge... probably not as closely as I watch mine (Phase 1 2.5 DOHC with over 100K miles). I'm going to ask her to check the hose before she drives home from work tonight, and monitor the temp on the drive home. Steve

Thanks for the quick replies, I'll check out the cap and overflow tube as well. Steve

Here's the story, we have an '03 TS with under 10K miles. It was last driven on Friday, and on Sunday I replaced the air filter since we've had it over a year and it's dusty here. While I was doing that, I noticed the upper radiator hose was collapsed like it was under negative pressure. I opened the radiator cap, and the hose popped back into normal shape. We haven't seen any CEL's or high temp gauge readings, nothing out of the ordinary. Do you think the radiator cap is bad? My wife won't have time to take it to the dealer until the end of the week but I don't want to cause problems by driving it in the meantime. Steve

Phase 1 engines (like your '97's DOHC 2.5l) are not included in the letter that 4FOR4 is referring to. From WWP-99, shown here: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=10791#post10791 "Phase I 2.5 liter engines (some 1999 model year and prior years) are not affected" This is only for external leaks on Phase II engines. Subaru still hasn't acknowledged the existence of a problem on the Phase I's, which tend to have the internal leak that theotherskip has documented so well. In addition to the excellent advice you'll find here, you might want to go to the townhall in http://www.edmunds.com where they have a Subaru representative (Patti) and post there. Steve

(theother) Skip: Can you check the url in your profile? It doesn't seem to be working right, I think it needs to be .net instead of .com maybe? Just want to make sure that people can find this if they have experienced HG problems: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze730qe/guestlog.html Thanks. Steve

I'll copy my response to Losiho's post on Nasioc: Losiho: I think I have had a somewhat similar problem (annoyance is probably more accurate) with mine. At slower speeds (5 to 25 mph or so) the front left wheel would make a light repeated knocking noise, related to speed. Light pressure on the brake pedal would silence it. It was somewhat intermittent but happened a lot. I took it to a brake shop and they fixed it with some sort of shim behind the pad. It was only $15 and it was quiet for over a year, but now it's starting to do it again. Guess I'll have to have them do it again, but they said it shouldn't affect brake operation, so it's not really a safety concern. Steve