nixon

My '00 outback had probably the worst lights on any car I've owned, even with Osram Nightbreaker +90% bulbs in. My '00 Forester, with similar bulbs, and proper glass lenses, can start fires with it's lights! Plastic Subaru lenses suck!

Mine's an '00 with the multi-link sus. http://www.kingsprings.com/kings_master_catalogue.pdf is your friend! KSRS 25 is what you need for a '97, I believe.

I fitted Stock height,25% stiffer King springs to the back of my outback, along with KYB excel-G's allround. BINGO! "Almost" neutral handling, and non of the grandad style wallowing of the stock suspension. It could do with a slightly stiffer swaybar setup, but given it's height, it ain't bad. Kings prices compare well with Rallitek, but their shipping charges, outside the US at least, are half what Rallitek charge. Oh, and with 53,000 miles on them, those shocks are a long way from optimum. Cheers, Nick

Sounds like a goog idea!

Sorted! One outer tie rod end has a split, but not wobbly yet. I'll order one tomorrow. Inners all OK!

I found a pair for £11 at my locaparts store. That's better, it's a sunny day, and I'm waiting for some glue to dry, so, where's me trolly jack...

Blimey! Just had a bit of a shock! Phoned dealer to get a price on gaiters, and theyre £54 ($108) EACH, but that does include the clips! Grease is extra.

Thanks Chaps! I'll have to give it a jiggle tomorrow, if I get time. If I can get away with just the boot, I will, but we'll see. What grade of lube should I squirt in there? Cheers, Nick

Evenin all. I was under the car today, Changing the auto fluid, and having a general poke around, and check. I noticed that one of the steering rack gaiters was split, so it needs replacing. What lube should I chuck in there to keep it sweet? Also, theres a bit of a clonk coming from that general area. Are the inner track rod ends adjustable/checkable? I've done a search here, and the consensus seems to be that if the rack ain't leaking, it's probably OK. However, I've found a low mileage one on Ebay, cheap, and was wondering if it might be good preventative maintenance? I don't want to change it un-necessarily though. The car's an'00 Outback, 142,000 miles Any advice? Cheers, Nick

If I may add my tuppence worth... I presently have a MY2000 Forester S-turbo, a '98 Foz 2.0 GLS, and an '00 Outback. The Forester is the better car, hands-down! The only drawback is that it is brick shaped, so on the highway you will get worse gas mileage. The outback is bigger, but only in the boot (trunk). However, in the OB , I can fit a 3.02 meter length of timber, between the passenger footwell and the top of the bootlid. In the Foz, I can fit a 3.05 m length! Legroom is "slightly " better in the rear of the OB, but I have problems squeezing past the steering wheel in the OB. I'm 6'1" and real skinny! For this age of vehicle, the Foz is a newer design, and it shows. There are storage trays and cubbies everywhere. They're sadly missing in the OB. The seats in the Foz are THE most comfy I've ever sat in on long journeys, and the single giant sunroof beats the two tiddlers in the OB. The Forester cabin is just a nicer place to be. Also, if you want to mod the Forester, you'll be in heaven. Generally, if it will fit an Impreza, it will fit the Foz. OB stuff is harder to find. Oh , and the XT, at least in the UK , has the same ground clearance as the non turbo. Either are great cars, though. Cheers, Nick

Sorted! It turned out to be a combination of poor valve gaps (LPG doesn't lubricate the valves like petrol, and they tend to recess more quickly), and oil in the plug tubes. Runs like new now! Cheers, Nick

Now you've gone and done it!

Quick Question. The coolant temperature sensor- is that the one just behind/below/to the left of the alternator, or one somewhere else? Also, disconnecting the MAP sensor seems to have no effect on how the engine runs. Should it? Disconnecting the Lambda sensor seems to have quite an effect, giving a little less power throughout the rev range. Cheers,Nick

Just been fiddlin... I disconnected the MAP sensor and took a drive around the block. Check engine light came on , and "POWER" lashed, but the car drove exactly the same!? Should it do that? I also took some coil primary resistance readings :confused: , Hopefully someone can make some sense of them. Coil. 1-earth , Infinite resistance 2-E , Infinite 3-E , Infinite 4-E , Infinite 1-2 , 3.5k ohms 2-3 , 140k ohms (!) 3-4 , Infinite 1-4 , Infinite 2-4 , 117.8k ohms 1-3 , 21.4k ohms Harness. 1-E , Inf 2-E , 0 ohms 3-E , 0 ohms 4-E , Inf 1-2 , 26,2k ohms 2-3 ' 0 ohms 3-4 , 26.4k ohms 1-4 , inf 2-4 , 26.4k ohms 1-3 , 31.8k ohms There are a lot of irrelevant readings here, but hopefully someone might know whether the relevant ones are OK! The harness readings look OK, but the coil readings look suspect. The manual gives an OK reading of less than 5 ohms for connector 3- earth, but is this coil or harness connection? If I can't make it work by hitting it with a hammer, I'm stuffed! Cheers, Nick

Update. PCV valve is fine. Plug lead resistance is between 7 and 8k ohms (should be between 6 and 10).The dealer has new leads on order... Coil secodary resistance is 12k ohms, 1-2 and 3-4. Primary resistance , mmm? Spark at the plug is a nice strong orange spark (in daylight) , and will easily ump a couple of inches to earth. I'm jus going to clean a few sensor terminals. I've tried running it on autogas, and the symptoms are exactly the same, so I don't think it's fuelling. Also, the changeover from petrol to lpg when the engine warms up is seamless, so that points away from temperature sensor. We'll get the bugger yet! Cheers, Nick

Doh!, It was the A/C - not the cooling fans. I've just been out to disconnect the battery, and had to try it again. Hey, it's dark out there! Edit. But reading the above post, maybe it wasn't the A/C...

The filter is aftermarket, but it's paper...I'll have a look at temp sensor, and check the plug spark. The fans came on despite the car having sat for over an hour... I was spraying a fine mist to check for arcing. The LPG conversion istotally new to me. It's a BRC system (reputedly one of the best for Subies). I've never seen so many tubes and pipes in an engine bay, most of them in the way of something that needs tweaking/ checking/ cleaning !!!

Thanks for the reply , Gary. There is no check engine light. ECU is standard, I believe. Aftermarket filter.Coil pack... How do I test that? It looks like each plug has a spark .(The plugs are the rigt colour). Will check the MAF manana, if I can find it!!?? The seller has gone home to Bulgaria for Christmas, but I think he sold it cos he couldn't find the cure... A VERY clean IACV and a bottle of redex injector treatment in the door bin testifies to that! I've just been out in the dark to try misting the engine bay. No sparks to be seen, but the radiator fan came on straight away when I started the engine. It cut in and out while I sprayed. No overheating evident (yet...) Cheers, Nick

Merry Christmas Y'all! My new carriage ( '00 outback 2.5 SOHC, Auto, 142000 miles) has a frustrating problem, and I need help in solving it. I bought it on Christmas Eve, and on the drive home , performed faultlessly, until pulling into my lane, where it stalled! This has set the tone for our relationship. Once underway, it's fine, pulling like a train all the way to a hundred and naughty. When you slow to a stop it will stall. It will idle all day, if left , but press the go pedal and it will stumble, and usually stall after a few seconds. Cold, it appears to be fine, due to the higher revs, but hot, it doesn't want to play. Prime suspect was the Idle Air control valve. This was swapped out for the similar one on my Forester. This had no effect on either car. The outback ran poorly with the Foz IACV, and the foz ran well with the OB IACV. I had a look at the plugs. They were Bosch, in good condition, but I changed them fo NGK anyway. No difference. Plug Leads will be done tomorrow, when the dealership opens again after the holiday, but I'm not expecting them to make a difference... While the plugs were out, I checked the compression- 190 psi all round! I checked the action of the Throttle position sensor, sliding it this way and that. The original setting offered the best idling, so was restored. After that, I'm stumped.Crank and temp sensors are amongst the possibilities, but before I start throwing money at it, I need some Expert/ experienced opinion. Oh, one last thing, did I mention that it is LPG/Petrol dual fuel? Well it will run on either, and shows the same symptoms on both. Thus I don't think it is a fuelling problem. To make things easier, I have run it solely on petrol while troubleshooting. I think the LPG factor can bediscounted for the moment. Thanks in advance for any hep or suggestions, Nick:confused:

I've bought it! Pick it up tomorrow. It drives nicely, with a slight pull to the left that needs addressing, but no accident damage at all! Bad alignment or worn joints most likely. It makes an unholy racket when you boot it, but that's due to the intaketrunking being loose and sloppy. A black, oily Christmas break for me I think!

Don't I know it! Not to mention PETROL at £1 a litre - thats $9 a gallon to you chaps! Running costs on the Forester S-turbo are finally getting to me after 60,000 miles/3 years of ownership. I should be able to halve my fuel bill with the LPG, and get a slightly bigger car too. I'm not too worried by the high mileage, provided it's been looked after. I looked at a 202,000 mile Foz for the missus a while back, which drove like a (nearly) new car. Seller started playing silly buggers though, inventing mystery buyers, to raise the priceIT could be interesting. I might get a bargain. Who sells a car on Ebay, ending the day before Christmas Eve?

Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers, Nick

According to the description, it was registered in '99, but it could have been early '00. Around this time, the outback was restyled, with clear glass headlights, and a pronounced "V" in the rear window. It looks newer than the older "classic" outback/ legacies. Hope that helps. Cheers, Nick The 2nd generation outback

Excellent news! Now for your bonus question... It is LPG /dual fuel, and has 144000 miles on the clock. Anything particularly to look out for? Cheers, Nick

I'm looking to buy a '99/'00 model year outback. It's the newer shape, with the restyled headlights etc... Does this mean it will have the phase II engine? or might it have the phase I. I haven't been to see it yet, so this might save me a trip... Cheers, Nick