RallyKeith

They don't leak oil any more than any other car. Yes the oil gets hot, but they also have small built in oil coolers. ANY car is only as reliable as you drive it. TONS of high mileage turbo Saabs out there, and plenty of high milegae turbo Subarus as well. There are a lot of us out here that race bone stock and modified motors that don't have any problems. Keith

Just be careful with what you mean versus what you are saying. In top speed the BMW with 360hp might muscle it's way to a higher top speed and then technically your dad would be correct in saying A Bmw 750 I Can Beat A Subaru Wrx In Speed. Now, for acceleration and hadeling there is no competition. Put the two side by side on a road course and the by the end of the first turn the BMW (which is a huge car) would be left in the WRX's dust. OH, and BTW just bring up the price tags for a good start, and then mention that the 300hp WRX STi is still cheaper by over half the price of the BMW and it will walk all over it it any test of peformance. And if he's big into american muscle, Hot Rod did an article where they put stock for stock an '04 STi up against a '04 Mustang Cobra. They performed equally, and in some cases the STi out performed the Mustang. (oh, and the STi is still cheaper, and not once have we talked about comparing the cars on even a wet road. Then it's really on contest.) http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2004.html Keith

Do they have a lock-up clutch or are you talking about the stator clutch? (I've been doing lots of research) It seems like the stator clutch isn't really a clutch as it is a "one way" clutching mechanism. As for a lock up clutch the worse thing there is a slight drop in gas mileage, but the car would still drive. Keith

So, I'm putting a newly used tranny (automatic) in this 96 Leacy GT I picked up, and in the process managed to damage the oil pump in the transmission. Now it also appears that I've damaged the the torque convertor where it mates to the oil pump drive shaft. The original trans has 180k on it, and the C duty solinoid was bad and it had a major leaking issue. The replacement trans had 65k on it. Should I be worried about problems with using the torque convertor that has 180k on it? Thanks, Keith

So, is this the same 96 that is giving you all kinds of issues on the DYNO? If so, what are the odds that either you created the problem with all your DYNO pulls (you know even with them big 4 foot diameter fans it not quite the same as driving at 60mph) o could this be what's causing the power problems?? Keith

Well, I hate to say this but that isn't true anyway. I've got a 95 and a 96 both with yellowed headlights. It sucks, but there are ways to clean them up.

Thanks. I looked at that thread and saw his pictures. I'm going to start by taking the old transmission I have apart and seeing how hard it will be. Thanks, Keith

Well, you were right. I get nothing flowing through the cooler lines. So I guess now the question becomes how hard is this to fix, and can it be fixed? Keith

I'm pretty sure that shaft was fully seated. I did notice when working with it that it did pull out, but I was careful to make sure it was all the way in before installing the torque convertor. As for cathing on something or being hung up, it did that same thing as the dozen other maual transmissions that I've done where it it has a little trouble getting lined up with the extra alignment posts, but other than that it seemed to go injust fine. I'll check if there is flow later this afternoon. Keith

How could one do that? I can't think of anything I would have done. Keith

Well, I know the torque convertor is bolted to the flex plate. As for having the turque convertor engaged into the transmission I don't think I would have been able to bolt the transmission to the engine with out it being fully engaged but I don't know. Is there something special about doing that? Keith

Yeah, get that fuel filter changed! Had the same staying running issue with a 91 Legacy and that solved it and made it run a whole lot better. Keith

I just got done swapping a new (used 65k miles) tranny into a 96 Legacy 2.5 GT. When I shift into ANY gear it does nothing other than release the park function. The motor appears to be revving freely and it doesn't appear to do anything in the way of trying to actuate a gear. What could I have done? Too little fluid? Too Much Fluid? Bad inhibitor switch? See: HERE Any suggestions appreciated as I know nothing about automatics... Keith

What is the proper term for the switch thingy that bolt onto the side of an automatic transmission that tells the car what gear it is in? Thanks, Keith

Gotcha What a lot of people do is make a box out of sheet metal that boxes out that area of the engine compartment up to the hood. This can also double as the needed support for the filter. Also, your car is an Impreza outback sport? If so there is probably a fake vent directly above where the cone is that you could make a real vent! That combined with boxing out the area with sheet metal would make for some fresh air. Keith

Subaru designed the cooling system with a resivoir of coolant very close to the turbo. This is supposed to keep the coolant flowing by convection after the car is shut off. It can't hurt to have a turbo timer, but as long as you go easy on the car for a minute or two before shutting it off you should be fine. Generally Once I get into my neighbor hood I drive slow until I get to my house and then just shut it off. Keith

Is it really a K&N? There are about a dozen companies that make cone filters that air oiled cloth/mesh. Personally I think it's a little un-fair to bad mouth K&N just because it's some poor knock off or for something that wasn't installed correctly. K&N makes drop in panel filters for the stock air box, and for some cars they make full intakes, but not for a 97 outback. Keith

Yeah, several of us were there last night and saw it in person. It was there for the session with Petter. The front end looks VERY nice on the STi. I'll be surprised though if the price either goes up, or things like the additional rear spoiler and the under "armor"/air deflectors become options. Keith

Just got back from Meeting Petter. I handed him a picture of our rally car to sign and his eyes lit up! (Well, it was something like 8:15 and he had been signing crap for probably 2 hours) Anyway, it was so cool the way his eyes lit up and he asked, "Is this you?" It was defenitely worth the 1:30 drive from where I live. Will post pictures once I get them developed! Keith

If the spot is on the left side it could be something to do with the side air bag. They are built into the seat and can be located by an emblem on the side of the seat where the air bag is.

In case you guys don't know, you are supposed to RSVP to the dealership if you are going. (They even wanted my phone number ) I'm going with a buddy from work. Should be there around 6:30. I've already got about 4 things for him to sign. Keith

Unfortunately your car was built with R12 for the coolant. I don't know about the regulations in Canada, but I believe here where I live service stations are allowed to "top off" systems with R12, but that is only after verifing that your system doesn't have a leak. If indead your system does have a leak you may be required to convert it to the new R134. If it is still blowing a little cold there is a good chance all you'll need is the top off though. So I guess it's good luck, and take it somewhere you trust that won't just insist on converting the car to R134. Keith

My 95 Legacy Brighton wagon did something funny to me today. I got in it at 3:45, started it up and moved it about 1/8 mile to the side door of the building I work in to load somestuff into it. I got tied up and it sat for about 25 minutes idling with the AC on. I loaded up the car and left. As I got in I noticed it wasn't blowing cold air, and I could tell that the compressor clutch wasn't engaged, nor was it in high idle mode. About 15 minutes later, after driving on a highway at 70mph, all of the sudden the compressor engaged (I could tell by the squeel of the belt) and I had cold air. Rest of the way home (45 minutes) it worked just fine. Now, I just had the AC professionally serviced last friday and there were no leaks, and the system was fully chared. (This was because at the end of last year my condesor sprung a leak) So what in the world happened? Is there a sensor somewhere that could tell my condensor was roasting from sitting at idle for 25 minutes? Keith

Well, I hate to tell you this, but when the car overheated the first time it damaged/blew the head gasket some where. What is happening now is that you randomly get a break in the headgasket seal that causes the cooling system to become pressurized by the the engine's gases (intake charge/exhaust gasses) When that happens the coolant stops circulating. This causes the temp gauge to go up and the heater air to go cold. Heat goes cold because there is no more hot collant flowing across it to heat it up, and the temp gauge goes up because there is nothing flowing through the engine to carry the heat away to the radiator. Sorry, but I'm pretty sure you need a head gasket job. Keith

Why not? I've been using red on my crank pulley bolts for years with no problems. I'm curious.