mtsmiths

(Bought used) Who knows how badly it was treated, through neglect or incompetance. After you get a new clutch, drive with confidance. I bought an '87 with 130,000 miles on it, and a clutch of unknown history. When I sold the car at 212,000 it was still going strong on the same clutch (and brakes, for that matter). In the last six months I had the car, I drove it from Montana to Maryland and back (and went bashing around in the NJ Pine Barrens with the East Coast Gang, uncluding train-tugging a stuck sedan out of the sand). I see the car running all over town, with no problems this winter.

OUCH, glad you're all OK, cars are replacable. Elk steaks? So far in eight years in Montana I've only had one deer hit. 'Cept I got stopped and the deer ran into me! No dent, and after spinning around in circles on the road (ever see a deer breakdancing?) she ran off too.

Using my rusty Italian/Latin the jist is ... we aren't gonna get it. Fuji/GM/Hungarian manufacturer joint venture for sale in the EU only. You'd think that the US is a ripe market for a truly high mileage AWD. But with GM pushing abominations like the ALERO it ain't gonna happen. Too bad. it's kinda cute.

Ah, children, children, you're showing your age ... or rather, lack of same. After WWII there were lot's of RHD cars on the American scene. Our GI's that were stationed in England (and there were a LOT of them, especially Army Air Corps), became enamored of English soports cars. NOTHING in Amreican made cars could drive like a sports car then. SO, they bought English cars and had them shipped over. It took a few years for the English auto industry to recover from war damage and start building cars again, when they started building LHD sports cars for the US market. BTW the problem with new drivers in driving on the 'wrong' side of the road isn't the driving position, it's the fact that new drivers look the wrong way at intersections, pull out in front of on-coming cars, and get T-Boned BIG TIME.

Man, it's colder down there in the south than it is here in Montana 25 air miles from the Canadian border! Our lowest so far was last night at +10F. Go out and unhook the batt now and leave it off all night. Can't hurt, might help. Kick back, light up a blazing fire and have a snifter of brandy. That's what I'm gonna do as soon as I get home (after picking up the '95 with new CV).

Hmmm, skijoring behind a car ... in town. Yes, meboy it does say something. No wonder your Dad is concerned. Please reread my sentance about 'common sense'. Oh, and how bany meers did you have before that little outing collegian?

Can you get it out of the weather and thawed out? I suppose all the AutoZones and Checkers and so on are closed so you can't get the codes read. I'd pull the negative battery cable off for an hour and reset the computer (battery dance) and see how it is when it starts up again. 1. Pull negative cable off. 2. Let sit at least 1/2 hour. 3. Reconnect cable and restart without touching the gas pedal. 4. Let idle for fifteen minutes or so. Go drive it and see if it's straightened out. The drivetrain covered in ice? I don't know. We've driven our '00 Legacy in a foot of unplowed snow, and in temps down to -27F and never had a problem, or even felt like it was doing anything out-of-the-ordinary.

Gnuman, from the responses on this board, sadly few Subaru dealers CAN be trusted. They seem to run the gamut from incompetent to downright crooked. The dealer in my hometown can't be trusted. I visited one in Maryland while on a trip and they seemed honest, but they were Subaru idiots (actually I think that they were just more interested in their Volvo line). Guess that's why we call them Stealerships. 'Tween them and GM (and the new generation stylists) I don't give the marque long to live ... can you say Edsel, DeSoto, Nash, Hudson, etc., etc., etc.

It's an '05 fergawds sake, make Subaru find out what's wrong and fix it. AND give you another one to drive while they're screwing around with yours.

Raise the CG and increase the side grip on the tires and you increase the tendancy to roll over ... elementary physics my boy. All the rest depends on your diving style/ability ... and dare I say it ... common sense. BTW, you getting any snow down there, so far Whitefish S-U-C-K-S, although Big Mtn has been pretty good. We're getting just the faintest drift of powder down in Kalispell (I'm at work, heh, heh, heh) so I hope the mountain is getting a fresh coat of COLD powder tonight. Three days of gravity powered sports ahead.

Cotten, as far as I can tell from our two ATs, one '95, one '00 they all do it. Our solution ... put it in neutral for a long light. I don't think it hurts anything, just irritating. Is the ticking new, only when cold, or all the time, loud enough to be scary, or just like the idle shake?

I can just hear it now ... key in ignition, rrrrrrr-vroom, idle, idle, idle, idle, idle "Damn, where's the oil pressure, mus' be the pump is weak" ROWL, ROWL, ROWWWWWL, ROW - clatter, clatter, clatter ... "Oh *****" switch off, open hood ... glug, glug, glug, glug. "Jeeze, glad that's not MY car ... Hey service manager, this one's finished, you can call the customer to pick this one up".

Boy, I would be in the OWNERS face, (not the managers) so fast he'd think Mr. Grinch had arrived at his door. No wonder they call them Stealerships! Start raising hell with public relations at SOA. Whatta bunch of Scrooges ... Merry Christmas anyhow.

Well, how DO you break in a new engine? There are two distinct schools of thought on the subject. 1. Gentle acceleration and avoid high revs at all costs, do not drive at any set speed for more than a few moments at a time (i.e., avoid cruise control). Change the oil at 500 miles, and repeat the above for the next 500, then drive normally. 2. Drive the piss outta it! Both schools have expert adherants, I however am NOT one of them. Nor Have I EVER (in over forty years of car ownership) had a new engine to break in. Have fun with your new car/engine, and Merry Christmas.

Are you certain she's flicking the right switch? It's really amazing how many folks get this semi-invisible rocker mixed up with the hazard flasher switch. Make sure she understands *which* switch, and cycles it once, then checks her parking lights again. If not, tell her to forget it and deal with it when she gets the car home. It won't kill a healthy battery in four hours. I'm still keeping my money on Subaru virginity.

I'd hazard a guess that at least 15% of all cars in NW Montana are Subarus of some vintage ... '05s down to the seventies. We are not at all unusual being a multi-Subaru family. But there's almost NO 'enthusiast' 'Roos around here, just stock daily drivers (including ours).

Outback, if you get off I-15 onto 20 north of SLC and go to West Yellowstone then pick up 89 north to Bozeman you'll cut off quite a few miles, but hardly (if any) time. The trip will, however be beautiful. If this is a leisure trip and the passes are open (check the Montana road report as soon as you get into the state) that is the way I would go. There's a neat wildlife Park in West Yellowstone where you can see Grizzlies and wolves in a natural environment captivity (but the bears might have gone nighty-night for the winter). BTW temps are projected into the negative teens for the rest of the week, so watch out for road ice. Snow showers off and on, but the roads should be clear. Enjoy Montana, we moved here from Hawaii after visiting West Yellowstone on a fly-camping trip,and seeing much of the surrounding area from our small plane. We intended to stay for three or four years, do a spec house and go back to Hawaii and get warm again. We're heading into year ten, with no inclination to return to the Socialist People's Republic of Hawaii ... third world country masquading as a state.

Leg, I'm really quite happy with my current '95 Legacy AT, but I've got a couple of friends that are looking. I'll tell them about it. It's actually easier to get to SLC from here than most places Wyoming, on Big Sky Airlines, home of the 'Flying Drainpipes' (Fairchld Metroliners) AKA 'Lawn Darts'. The 'front case work' ... when doing the T-belt it's best to do the seals, water pump, and tensioners (if needed) while it's all open. Thanks for the posting.

Well, if you haven't left yet. I would stay on !-15 to Butte and hang a left on I-90 straight to Billings. You'll cut HOURS off the trip by staying on the interstate, and avoid any road condition issues. Stop at the 1st MOntana rest stop you come to and you'll hear a constant 24/7 weather/road condition report in the rest rooms, or call 511 on a Montana phone. 'sides, it's "almost" as pretty.

NAH, you'll HATE it, sell it to me for NW Montana! Actually, your FWD is probably all you need in your area, unless you go up to Park City on a regular basis ... I mean, you've done fine in the snow so far haven't you? But, if you don't mind stirring your own gears, you'll LOVE the AWD, and not just in the snow. But seriously, if you don't buy it for yourself, list in in the marketplace for someone on the board, sounds like a good car, and a good deal with a little negotiation. Find out if the T-Belt and front case work is up-to-date, if not, try and get him to knock off $500 or so for known immediate future maintenance issues.

Kakadu, I agree with the fix your 2.5 faction. If it's done right by a knowledgable tech with the new Subaru replacement parts, you will have no further issues, and it will be by far the cheapest route. We have the 2.5 in our '00 Legacy and have had zero issues with the car in over 160,000 miles. I've also got a '95 Leg with 130,000 miles on the 2.2. It also runs just fine, but if you swap a 2.2 into the Outback you're gonna wonder where THE POWER went. Before you do any of this stuff, search and read about burping the cooling system. If it isn't an air lock, and really IS a HG swallow hard and fix the '97 2.5, it's still cheaper than getting into another car.

Do they sell "winter fuel" in your area. We get lower mpg in winter when they start the oxigenated gas routine (10% ethanol). Less btu's per gallon, = less miles per gallon.

Welcome, and don't feel bad, I've seen Subaru salespeople do it. As me ol' Flight Instructor Dad ustedta say to his students " RTFOM".* *Read The F___ing Operators Manual ... there are more important (read eXpensive) mistakes to be made as a Subaru owner, like towing, and driving on mis-matched tires.

Methinks another Subaru virgin, nei? Are you a new Subaru owner. Sounds like the 'P' switch on the top of the steering column is in the ON position.

I've got the 40 watt NAPA stick-on kind on my '95 Legacy (The Pretty One's 2000 gets to stay in the heated garage, but my airplane kicked mine out into the cold). I bought the heater pad for my last airplane, but sold it before installing, so when I needed heat I grabbed it. After I stuck it on with the high-temp goo, I taped it all over with aluminum tape. In the morning I see the hood formers outlined in the frost or snow, so I know it's radiating heat throughout the engine compartment. The car starts quietly and I've got heat in less than a minute regardless of outside temp ... but then +19 is as cold as it's gotten so far in NW Montana. Wherethehell IS winter anyhow?