outback_97

subeman: Hmmm, that could work but I really want to be more self sufficient on this. This car has been known to go to some pretty remote areas where gas stations are not so prevalent, and you can't always guarantee they have a (working) air compressor. I continued searching after posting and stumbled on this, looks pretty good: http://www.gearinstalls.com/pepboys.htm Now I just need to see if it's still around. Anyone try one of these? Looks almost too good to be true, this is the kind of thing I'm looking for. Steve

Can anyone recommend a good portable 12v air compressor (for tires) that's better than the cheap $15 plastic ones but not hundreds of dollars? I'm not finding much with my searching. A portable unit that clips to the battery terminals is preferred (not hardwired). I want to be able to reinflate my tires (205/75/15 A/T's) after airing them down, I don't want to wait an hour to do so, but the $300 units for big mudder tires seem like overkill and I'd rather not spend that much for something rarely used. Will I find something in the <$100 range that will do what I want it to do, or is it just wishful thinking? Steve

Some reading material for you: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/hg.html Steve edit: Is this the 2.2 or 2.5? Much more common problem in the 2.5.

IMO the Legacies (OB vs. non) differ enough to actually matter (at least on my first gen one). I like having the extra clearance in my OB and have taken it places I would probably not have driven a stock Legacy. Plus we get a lot of snow here and the extra height can be a plus in that. The Impreza models are so subtly different suspension-wise (just taller springs IIRC) that they're really just a different trim level of the same car IMO. Are you really going to miss that <.5 inch "off road"? We shopped OBS's and ended up with the TS (now called the 2.5i) because it looks better and had everything we needed, at a lower price. I've added some of the bits that it lacked: fog lights, map light, cargo light. Oh btw it's Impreza with one "z". Might make searching for info easier Steve

I agree it couldn't hurt to talk to the dealer, but the MY2000 vehicle in that thread has a different engine (Phase 2) and is apparently covered by the WWP-99 coolant conditioner service bulletin that Subaru initiated. Totally different scenario just between 1999 and 2000: Phase 1 vs. Phase 2, DOHC vs. SOHC, internal HG failure vs. external. These questions come up so often but a lot of people are confused about the distinctions between the two phases and which is covered by what, etc. So... this link (which still needs some work but is mostly done) explains the differences in HG problems between the two phases of the 2.5l engine: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/hg.html There is a thread suggesting making this type of information into a sticky, I think that's a great idea (and have posted the above link there) but it hasn't gotten much feedback. Josh (Legacy777) did create a general sticky for New Gen threads, if people feel the above link is useful then maybe we should add it to the sticky thread. Steve

Here's a "work in progress" link to what I was talking about above: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/hg.html I need to work on the formatting and fonts, improve some of the explanations, add some more info (bleeding air from cooling system, address that this does not affect all engines, add some photos), etc. Any feedback on this would be appreciated. Steve

Keith: I think this is a great idea. I have an existing page that answers some of these things, and provides some links to useful threads, here: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html I have posted this in several HG threads to try to help people out with some links and consolidated information, searching is not evidently the strong point of many internet users and there are now so many threads that searching for HG stuff with some substance has become difficult because of the amount of noise. I'd be willing to rework this page so that it's more in the format you suggest and remove some of the more personal experience type verbosity which admittedly dilutes the more important information. I'd put it in more of an inverted pyramid format, as opposed to my characteristic rambling style, as evidenced in this post Also I'd add additional information to that, as you've suggested above. What do you think? Steve

You can do some research here: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html Steve

Not a FAQ per se, but I put this page (linked below) together a long time ago and have posted it plenty of times on the USMB because the subject does come up ad nauseum: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html Note that even though Skip's "blown gasket guestbook" has hundreds of entries, there were many many thousands of these engines sold in the latter half of the nineties. Steve

Stillfox: Your gas tank is actually 15.9 gallons, unless you have a non-standard tank installed or you hit some very big rocks and bashed four gallons of volume out of the tank. Your fuel gauge might be inaccurate, that's a common problem on these cars, sometimes mine shows the tank nearly empty at <200 miles. I got 24 mpg on my last tank, which was mostly highway miles. Speeds ranged from 40-80 (some clear roads, some snowy / icy / slushy) and there were a lot of hills, high elevation, and winds. A lot of semis to pass and a lot of variable speeds. Around town I get around 19-22 mpg, this time of year is the worst for mileage. This is on 85 octane (we're over 4000ft here) which seems to work just fine for my car. So, unless you're significantly lower than 20 mpg around town, your mileage isn't too far off normal IMO. There are numerous places online to buy parts that are much better choices than the local stealership. Try http://www.subarugenuineparts.com or http://www.subaruparts.com or http://www.1stsubaruparts.com to name a few. Prices are usually better, and sometimes much better there. Steve

mwd: I haven't had much work done there myself (just wheel bearings) but I have heard GT Automotive (801-262-6664) is good. They used to be in Murray (phone book still has old address) but have moved recently, I think it's in South Jordan now. I don't know the address but you could give them a call. Steve

I was assuming the poster was looking for info on installing a 120V outlet, not 12v "cigarette" plug... I didn't even know that the 120v outlet was an option. Cool website Opie! Steve

Back on topic... about automotive recalls: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/28007-automotive-recalls-explained.htm As mentioned before, it's not a safety issue. If you want to contact the NHTSA and plead your case that's what you need to do, but I don't think they'll care much about something that probably wouldn't cause an accident. Rehashing the subject here again and again will definitely not initiate a recall. Steve

Working fine for me at this link: http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/Head_gasket_replacement.html Link available through this page: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html Steve EDIT: Note that while that cached link works, unfortunately if you click "Next" at the bottom of that page you can't access the rest of the information as it is locked.

I post this link every time I come across a HG thread: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html Lots of good info linked from there, including the step by step information you're looking for: http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/Head_gasket_replacement.html Click through the "Next" links at the bottom of the page to see the procedure. Steve

I may be a bit biased, but I think the combination of an Outback and a TS 6 years newer than the Outback is a fine choice The TS is more fun to drive, better handling, better highway mileage. The Outback is of course bigger and more suitable for camping trips and rougher roads. No problems with our TS except for a bad radiator cap. That's it. They added a few things to the 04's and changed the styling a bit but that's about all. If it looks like it's been well cared for I'd go for it. Good luck! Steve

I don't see any advantage to doing this. And a loose gas cap can throw a CEL. Why would you want to do it? Steve

I have a request: In the unlikely event that someone may use the search feature at some future point, could the original poster correct the spelling in the post title to make it easier to find? I put my XtraVisions in a while back and started the timer, we'll see how long they last. Last set 10 months, died within moments of each other. Steve

I agree about not complaining about mileage in a turbo AWD vehicle... but we regularly get 30+ mpg tanks on our TS on road trips, it's very common. Steve

Oxygen sensor maybe? I'm assuming you're taking miles driven (via the odometer) and dividing by number of gallons put in the previously full tank, right? Not going by the fuel gauge at all? Some people have posted here saying, "I only get 200 miles to the tank!" but they only have to put in 10 gallons when the gauge says it's on E. The lowest I've gotten in my 97 is 19, that's city driving, stop and go, winter time, lots of warming up in the morning. 13 sounds really low w/o some sort of problem IMO. Steve

Hopefully it's just the rad cap, that would be my vote to try first also. We had that happen on our TS when it was pretty new, I only remember the top hose sucking in, but it was the rad cap replacement that fixed it. Steve

Larger != safer, read this article from Yahoo news: http://tinyurl.com/9vu5o

cytan: Have you seen this site? http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/guestlog.html And my little page with some links: http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html Probably a day late and dollar short because it sounds like you've already figured out the problem, but there may be some useful information in one of these links. Good luck; my 97's still going strong but I keep a close eye on the temp gauge because of stories like yours and others. Steve

Geoff77: I had a similar noise coming from my engine a few times, this was tens of thousands of miles ago and I never figured out where it came from. It was as you described, very high pitched and faint and continued as the car sat in the garage after running. It did not overheat or act unusually before this. I haven't noticed it recently but unfortunately we no longer house it in a garage, which was quiet and dry and warm and more conducive to tinkering and listening. I did snip the wire going to my alarm siren, but that was because I was tired of deafening myself upon reconnecting the battery after working on the car. And I hate car alarms, I never used the thing anyway. I have no idea if the sound was coming from this source, sorry. In summary, mine made a similar noise, now at 118K miles it's running just fine. Steve EDIT: Here's a similar post, no resolution though: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=47734

I think most people here recommend changing at 30K miles. It's easy to do (at least on my 97 it is), not too expensive, and important for the longevity of the transmission. Most cars fall into the "severe" service category (short trips, stop and go traffic, etc) and therefore the mfg recommends more frequent fluid changes. Steve