RodA2003

Yes, that's a common problem. I've forgotten how I fixed it - maybe drilling a small hole at right angles to the bolt axis, through the plastic casing and partially into the nut, then securing it with a pin. Alternatively cut away the plastic so that you can grip the nut.

They are certainly well designed for maintenance It is orders of magnitude easier to work on an Outback than the usual transverse engine FWD car, where changing the timing belt can be a long, frustrating job, often working on parts one can't see and using the edges of one's fingers because there isn't even room to bend a knuckle.

197k, 2.5 engine. Did headgaskets, water pump, front seals at 180k; just done front drive shafts and bearings. There was a small oil leak from the rear oil gallery cover recently, so I fixed that and replaced the rear main seal and oil pan seal. Otherwise no problems and runs very well. Compression is close to 180 on all cylinders.

However you can't do handbrake turns in an AWD.

I replaced the LHS axle last weekend because the outer boot had failed, spraying grease everywhere. However it didn't make any difference to the noise unfortunately. Car has 200,000 miles, so I'm going to replace the other axle, rather than wait for it to fail in the same messy way, and do the bearings on both sides anyway. BTW, unlike earlier models. there is only one bearing per wheel.

Why not get a CD player with an auxillary input (I used a Panasonic) and mount it below the standard radio cassette? Get an antenna splitter from Radio Shack and connect to both radios. Then you have 2 radios (lots of presets), a CD and a cassette player. It works very well for me: I've done it in a 93 Legacy and 97 Outback. The Subaru radio usually gets slighter better reception so I use that more often. An additional benefit of this setup is that one can used the bottom radio or CD while rewinding. This is much better than plugging in external cassette / CD machines as these do not stop and restart seamlessly with using the car. Rod

My 97 Outback has slowly developed a noise that seems to be due to the front wheel bearings. It is most noticeable at high speed when one makes slight turns - that is, moving the steering wheel rim just an inch or two. There is no typical clicking during tight turns at very low speeds, but I was wondering if there is a sure fire way to differentiate between bearings and CV noises?