RallyKeith

Not sure how much trouble shooting you did but here are some things to look at: If it's an automatic make sure it is firmly placed in park. Also you can try putting it in neutral. If it's manual check the switch on the clutch pedal. When the clutch is depressed you should get a short between the two pins. Keith

No, try a few inches of rain and 40mph winds that only stopped about 3 hours before I picked up the car. There was a slight puddle in the road right there.

Well, after driving it a bit around town last night and to work this morning I'm happy with the car. I just have to keep remembering that this is better for my future plans, and put aside the fact that I already miss the pure rush of how freakin fast the STi was. I'm also worried that when I take it on a 6 hour trip to NH in two weeks that I'm going to have a hard time staying awake. It is so quiet inside and rides so nice. My 95 rides nice, but it's noisey. Keith

Well, I had to park there for several reasons. When I first picked up the car I was the first one in town and they made a big deal of it. They took all these pictures of the car in front of the dealership and me getting the keys. When they did it that was where the car was parked. So I figured I took it from that spot 2 1/2 years ago, so I decided to return it to there.

Well, As requested here are the photos. I'm going to miss the old STi, but I won't miss the payments!

Yeah, but what kind of coverage? People saying I only pay $xxx means nothing.The $ amounts of coverage and deductablesmatter. The age of the cars, their market value, and things like no collision coverage also matter. It's all relative. If I had just my 95 Legacy with just liability I could pay as little as $25 a month. Keith

The original Baja concept was shown as being Supercharged, but I think that was just an H4.

Hey... who told you? Well, if you really want to know... Lincold Tech (Lincoln Technical Institute) is a Technical/Trade school. They have Schools in MD, IL, IN, TX, NJ, and PA. There is one in Philly and one in Allentown. I went to the one in Allentown and studied electronics. I got an associates degree after 15 straight months of school. I said what I did because back in the mid 90s (I went there from 8-95 to 11-96) they had this horrible comercial that started something like, "Feeling boxed in? Stuck in a Dead end Job? Then" blah blah blah. At the end they always showed some young guy getting into a Corvette as he says, "Thanks Lincoln Tech!" and drives away. My friends always teased me about it. Now that I make $50k a year and don't have huge student loans with my little 2 year degree they don't tease, they're jealous. Keith

When I pick it up tonight I'm going to take pics of it side by side with the STi I'm trading in. Man.... I never thought I'd own anything like either of these! Thank you Lincoln Tech I'm going to miss the pure rush of the STi, but not the crazy insurance and hassle of every ricer in a civic that tries to race it. I can't wait until the summer when I can throw the bronze wheels I have on it. That should be really sweet. Keith

Picking it up tomorrow I'm not sure that any joe blow walking in would get the same deal I am, but they took $5k off the car. I'm not getting as much as I'd like in trade-in for the STi, but it was in an accident and had "frame damage." If I tried like heck I might be able to get an extra $1000 if I sold it privately,(I'd have to sell it for $1000 more just to make up the tax difference so I'd have to sell it for $2000 more to make the $1000) but that would be a pain since it was hit, not to mention the big scrath I put in the one door at a rally-cross, and the fact that the brakes are original after 29k so they will need to be replaced soon, and the tires only have half their tred left so by the end of summer they would need to be replaced at a high price. Oh, and did I mention that it has noisey rear struts that they have been reluctant to replace? (Got one replaced but the other one isn't bad enough yet for them to agree it's really the strut.) So as much as I love the STi and would love to keep it, I have a lot of reasons to not keep it, and this is a great way out that keeps me driving a fast roo. Oh, did I mention the LGT's insurance will be almost 1/2 that of the STi's!!!! I'll be saving $80 a month just in insurance! Keith

Welcome to the world of Subarus! You aren't officially a member until you do this. It's a very common thing. Just Flip the little switch on top of the steering column. Welcome, Keith

Hey Mike, don't sweat it. I just caught this thread over hear. I'm glad that you extended the welcome to us over here on the USMB. There are tons of people over here that pay no attention to NASIOC. We tend to be more of a repairing crowd than a modifying crowd so NASIOC can get annoying to the average USMB member. Now that the welcome has been extended I'm sure those of us that read around will mention it here in case you don't. Keith

You can expect the same from a Subaru as a Volvo. Lots of people with lots of miles. My 95 has 189k on it and runs like new. No major repairs. Subaru is a lot like Volvo was before being bought out. Just like volvo they used 2 or 3 engines in everything, those engines shared common parts, the drivelines and suspesions are alomst identical from model to model, so they have tons of real world testing to refine the cars and increase reliabilty. Keith

All subarus come with a 3year/36,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warrenty. That includes bulbs. If you put the original back in and took it in I'm sure they would replace it. I had a license plate bulb replaced under warrenty on my STi. Keith

Good point. When we did our compression test we did it first "dry" and then we squirted some 5w30 in each cylinder and did it again. The numbeers went up, so it makes me want to bellieve that this really isn't the case. I wold have expected the numbers to not change. Keith

UPDATE 1-14-06 We ran a leak down test on the engine friday night to try and determine if there was indeed a ring problem. We got a maximum of 6% on any of the cylinders. For a motor with 95k that sure seems good to me. We then tested the motor I took out of the car with 185k that was not burning oil and the LOWEST we got was 30% So we still have NO clue as to what's going on. The only thought I've had is if there could be a slight blockage in the oil return from one of the heads that is causing excess oil to pool up near where the vents are in the rocker cover. As soon as I get some time I'm going to look into it but other than that I have no clue. Keith

Well, two of them are. The other one is a demo, and to me that is a used car. The only way I would buy that is if they sold it to me for used car pricing. The other two are new and they want to get rid of them. They are all white, but on this car that looks nice. I drove an automatic wagon about 8 months ago and moved pretty good. This is a sedan so I expect it to move even better. I'm going to stop and drive it tonight and probably put a deposit down on it. My only complaint was the parking brake placement, but I think I can get over that. Keith

So, as much as I love my STi, I have a lot or reasons to want to get rid of it for something more practical and cheaper. I'm able to get a very attractive deal on a left over '05 Legacy GT Sedan with the sport shift automatic. I've heard that there have been problems with the headlights. Other than that what do people have to say good or bad? Personally I love the styling and think it's the ultimate mid-sized sedan for the money. Keith

While this is the absolute correct way to look for ground clearance, I believe his real concern is ride height. He has had suspension parts replaced and now the back end looks to be sitting closer to the ground. The above measurements will only ever change based on tire size/wear. I stand by what I suggest as the only accurate way to measure what you think is off, and that is the ride height, not the ground clearance.

I think the best thing is to measure from the center of the axle stub to the edge of the fender. This takes out any variation in tire size or inflation. Outside tire wear can be a couple things. Excess positive camber or excess toe. Have you jacked it up and looked at the inside edge? If it's both the inside and outside edges then it's most likely under inflated tires. Best luck! Keith

Well I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm pretty sure that if you are driving a newer fuel injected car you are using more gas when idling in neutral while the car is moving than just leaving it in gear and letting off the gas. In a newer fuel injected car it is smart enough to see that the car is moving and that the throttle is closed, and it will actually cut fuel to alternating cylinders in order to increase fuel economy. If you still want to coast in neutral, than yes keep your foot off the clutch. Keith

Usually you'll feel a vibration in the brake pedal and the pedal will all of the sudden go down towards the floor a little more.

Yup, like he said... Nothing seems to add up. I can't figure out what we are missing.

Use a heat wrench, and carfully. I used some heat and a breaker bar. Have to be careful though about getting too much heat in there or you could damage the rear main oil seal... but if your in there already it only cost about $11 for the rear main seal at the dealer and it's worth replacing. Keith

Just another thought... I'm going to see if I can find a diagram of how the PCV hoses are run. Maybe one got swapped on that T. I think each side of the T goes to the valve cover breathers, and then the other connectionn goes into the T for the Crank Vent before the PCV valve. Keith