milty60

My son just purchased a 09 Subaru Forester. I am teaching him to drive standard shift - I drove standard 30 yrs ago - my father taught me if I remember correctly he said when slowing down down shift and use the brakes. My son has hit the web and he's seeing - throw it in neutral and use the brakes - don't wear out your tranny or clutch. The concern I have is - one is going 60+- mph or better exiting a highway - and suddenly needs to make an evasive move and hits the gas to power out of the way of some danger but now has to depress the clutch - shift to the best gear for the speed take a hand off the steering wheel to do this - etc. I don't like the idea of sitting in neutral on a highway or back road. What do you guys think? On modern engine/transmission are you going to wear out the clutch and tranny by downshifting when slowing down? Are you ok with riding in neutral. I'm open to all opinions. Thanks, Milty

Thanks for all the info - I replaced the alt - all is good ...Milty

My sons dash gauges are bouncing up and down, dash idiot lights flashing off and on car occasional surges or hesitates. I've experienced this multiple times on my cars and my parents. Its always been a bad alternator. I'm assuming same for this Subaru. Tried to drive it home last night no lights on or heater fan, only emergency lights. Made it half way home - battery fully drained. Brought battery home - charged it - just picked up alternator. Heading out to do the install. Hopefully past experience is dead on. Belt is tight, battery year old, all cables clean and tight. Hope a separate regulator is not hiding somewhere - don't know if its internal to alt. Thoughts? Advice? Milty

Thanks for all the advice - I still need to do this but have some time now - the backing plate is rotted but it was not the cause of the noise my son and I heard - opposite side back brake - loud humming vibrating noise - mostly on right turns or moving right - if I applied slight brake pedal pressure noise stopped - I had put new pads on a couple of days ago - correct pads but different manufacturer - old ones - the braking material was flat and straight across the entire pad - new ones at last half inch at both ends the pad angled down - I put the old pads on - scrapped the rotor a little bit for a rust ridge - noise gone. Milty

Back Left drivers side 1996 Legacy L AT 4WD

Put new brake pads on sons car Sunday and noticed backing plate is so rotted it is not holding brake caliper bracket/caliper firmly and squarely in place - so caliper bracket rubs against rotor off and on. RockAuto sells back pair for $78.00 Subaru online $110 for one. Wonder if junk yard had a good one if I could do better on $$$ - assume junk yard would sell entire knuckle hub assembly versus backing plate only. If I get plate only I am trying to visualize - swap out - will I need some sort of puller to separate knuckle and hub to get at backing plate and then press hub back into knuckle? Any thoughts? , past experience? Milty

Thanks for all the advice. One question that just hit me. What kind of electrical outlet do I need? - standard three prong that's in my garage or do I need an electrician to do some work. ...Milty

My wife is thinking of getting me an air compressor for Xmas (she works at Tractor Supply - think Porter & Cable is the brand) What PSI and Gallon capacity is a minimum requirement and/or well equipped? Will be mostly used for automotive work but possibly (other family members) spray painting , sand blasting , glass etching, etc . Need to know soon - sale and employee discount ends tomorrow at 9 PM. Thanks, Milty

Thanks for all the advice. Pedal to me seems hard not spongy but I want to bleed brakes as a starting point - vacuum is working. Interesting, never heard of block of wood to prevent pedal travel to floor - I assume this is to still have travel gap to floor to ensure brakes grab before pedal bottoms out? ...Milty

96 Subaru Legacy wagon 4WD ABS. Brakes stop - straight line - abs has not worked from day one that we bought used Subby - but you really have to push down hard and hold and they certainly don't stop on a dime. Looks like the master cylinder was replaced - fluid is also clean - possibly replaced. All new brake pads replaced by me 2 weeks ago all the way around. Cleaned a ton of rust built up around the right front caliper - at path where pads move. Haven't had a chance to check/clean other calipers yet. Two front caliper bleeders are just about down to a nub - rusted away - I ordered a couple of front calipers refurb from Rockauto should be here by the weekend - will replace front two and bleed - then take a look at back calipers and hopefully bleeders are in good enough shape to break open. I've done bleeding probably on ten cars over the years - never a Subaru - assume nothing special - any DIY advice guys? I have my son pump the pedal - then hold it down break bleeder open - and repeat until no air. Do you think I should also bleed master - first, then the calipers - any particular order? Etc. Thanks, Milty

Possibly caliper pistons - previously replacing all pads I did compress the pistons in the bores and they seemed to move freely but hard to know for sure - I think I will try bleeding brakes first if I don't break off rusted/corroded bleeders in the process - and then replace calipers all the way around. ....Milty

I will start out with bleeding - bummer is all calipers are I think original and I picture snapping off most of the bleeders - they are mostly corroded away too. Was trying to avoid buying calipers but I will soak the crap out of them - maybe apply a little heat and buy new bleeders. Project for next weekend A thought. I had a Bonneville that had blockage in the rubber hoses at two of the wheels that cased slow braking and sticking calipers. Also will re-exam all brake components again. I do wonder if there is a DIY way to check MC - will Google it - it does look new & fluid is clear but who knows. Appreciate all the advice. ....Milty

ABS does not work on my car since I purchased it - dash ABS light is on - tone rings are missing on two hubs. I have replaced all rotors/drums and brake pads/shoes, caliper piston moves easily (old calipers), no fluid leaks, master cylinder appears new - clean fluid. Pedal does not feel spongy (I have not bleed brakes to date) but it takes quite a bit of pressure on the pedal to stop the car and it certainly does not stop on a dime. Any thoughts? Thanks, Milty

I plan to replace mount this weekend - bought a Moog - beyond visually inspecting the coil and strut for any defects or binding either compressed or extended - any other methods to detect a bad original coil or newly purchased strut? ...Milty

Install completed. A side finding: the ABS light has been on since my son purchased the car and ABS has never worked. The old Knuckle did not have a tone wheel. The bone yard one did. I don't know if the old one rusted/broke/fell off or was removed by the previous owner. I also checked other front knuckle and it does not have a tone wheel. I have not had a chance to check back wheels yet. Looks like a bit of work to put a tone wheel in - remove knuckle - pull hub - possibly replace bearing and repress. Any thoughts? Even though ABS does not work - I have replaced all rotors/drums and brake pads/shoes, caliper piston moves easily (old calipers), no fluid leaks, master cylinder appears new - clean fluid. Pedal does not feel spongy (I have not bleed brakes to date) but it takes quite a bit of pressure on the pedal to stop the car and it certainly does not stop on a dime. Any thoughts? ...Milty

I agree - not 100% sure its entirely the mount that is the root cause but it was a cheap one - I will spend money on the replacement mount - and once the strut/coil is out - going to look it over as best I can to determine if the coil or strut are part of the issue. ...Milty

I total agree - I should of tried heat before I put a breaker bar on it and snapped the head off - been DIYing cars my hole life but never had the need to drill out a bolt in a critical area - and I do need my son's car back on the road safely. ....Milty

I do agree but the drill walked so far on the threaded end of the hole that the knuckle mounting hole was breaking through the top. Also was concerned the cut out on the side of the ball joint would not line up or hold in place tight since I destroyed the hole. ...Milty

Rear struts - hydraulic oil I don't have the "brand" name/part number at the moment - off RockAuto online I believe middle of the pack for cost. Springs are original. I had the first mount replaced at a car shop - no mention of any spring issues or strut issues. Not sagging. Avoid all bad road conditions. The bottoming out or overextending would be all related to the coil springs remaining capability? Or a defective strut. Prior to mount breaking I have bounced the car up and down multiple times via the bumper and driven bumpy country roads and it it seems to do its job. ...Milty

Update --- I manged to shear the bolt head off the junk yard ball joint knuckle mounting bolt. Was going to drill it out and put a bolt straight through it.... but I tried drilling the same sheared off bolt on the car from both ends of the bolt after using a punch to create a center starting dimple but the drill walked off center and misaligned/mangled the hole. So, my confidence level drilling the junkyard bolt out is not very high. . I've called a machine shop to get a quote on drilling out the bolt - can't imagine it would take very long or be costly. I'll find out Monday. If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. ....Milty

A few months ago I bought two rear struts and mounts from RockAuto. Mounts were low priced. The left rear mount/strut working great. The right rear mount's mounting hole has broken free from the surrounding rubber mount causing the strut to push up about an inch above the top of the mount. I assumed it was defective. I replaced it a month ago - same mount off RockAuto site. It is broke same as last time after a month of use. Hard too believe I had two defective mounts. If low price was the reason why hasn't the left rear given out? I also thought maybe a plate or washer should site on top of the strut rod lip immediately under the mount but the left rear does not have a washer or plate - did I get the struts and both were missing this washer plate? Or do I purchase a more expensive mount and that solves my problem? Looking for thoughts on missing parts? washer/plate or just a case of buying a cheap mount? Or is the strut rod shaft somehow binding and eventually pushing its way through the mount? ....Milty

Appreciate all the info ...Milty

Appreciate the advice and info - I may attempt to break it down tomorrow to get a close look at what needs to be done and what shape the various parts are in and start hunting around for a shop if I can't rent the tools/pullers and do it myself. ....Milty

I picked up a steering knuckle today (bone yard) rotor hub bearing ABS sensor all in place - will dismantle this weekend - and swap my parts onto the knuckle. A few things I need advice on:: 1. What size bolts do I use to remove rotor from hub? 2. I think the hub is bolted to the knuckle? Do I still need some type of puller to get it off once bolts are removed? 3. If I swap out the bearing does it get pressed out and pressed back into the hub? 4. I will rent a fork to get the ball joint and tie rod off Any other steps I am missing - tools? Pullers? etc? I appreciate advice Thanks, Milty

Ok, still checking bone yards. Appreciate the info. ...Milty