Mark W. Martin

Thought I would give an update as to the resolution with my issue. Finally got the shop to experience the vibration when it became more obvious and they had me leave it there. The mechanic drove it around and was able to feel the vibration. They ended up replaceing the new axle and that solved it. Said that the one the had just replaced was a little shorter.

Here is a development. When I am at a stop and it starts to vibrate - I think it is that rather than a rough idle - I can make it stop by turning the wheel, usually to the left. If it is not vibrating I can accasionally get it to do it by turning the wheel back and forth. On a side note, is there a way to get an email notification when someone replys to this thread?

Thanks for the advice everybody.

I have not had any low egr flow codes. I was running around today and it still is idling rough at times but it will smooth out in neutral or park. The mechanic said when it does idle rough to see if the rpm's come down at all... they do but it is barely noticeable, maybe a needles width. What is the BPT? I have noticed that my gas millage has gone down a bit. Also, my car is a 1997 Legacy GT with about 208,000 miles if that matters.

Thank you for the responses. I tried the above trick from @Fairtax4me sugested of moving forward with my foot on the brake about 12" or so and that did seem to help although it seems to come back after a while a few stop lights down the road. I tried this before I swung it by the shop that did the repairs and since it wasn't as pronounced as before it was hard to replicate for the mechanic. I did show him this thread and he checked out the axle and we both did not see it moving during the test. He also said that they had used the FWE axles.

Interesting… I searched for rough idle and in this thread some body mentioned if an axle had been replaced. After having the passenger side axle replaced I noticed the rough idle. Called the shop and mention what I read here but they had not heard of that. He said to bring it in tomorrow and they would check it out. Why would having an axle replaced cause the idle to become rough? Is it because something was not tightened after the axle reacement? Thanks in advance do any insight.

Thanks Suzam, That worked!

Hello, I have a 97 Legacy GT wagon and I have noticed that when i raise the front passenger side window all the way to the top that it is about an 1/8th of an inch too hi. Then when i try and close the door it hits the metal bezel along the roof and leaves a gap. Any ideas? Thank you, Mark

I have a 97 Legacy GT wagon with 171,000 miles and I get a clunking sound when I go over small bumps like the road turtles or expansion joints in the road. It will not do it while braking however. I notice it when the windows are down and as far as i can tell mostly on the drivers side. I don't feel anything while turning or during acceleration. I have used a rubber mallet to hit tie-rod ends, sway bar end links taken the rims off and inspected brakes, checked for loose heatshieds on the exhaust but can't dplicate the sound while up on jack stands. I did replace the struts at 90,000 miles but this started about 6 months ago (within the last 3,000 miles). I did notice that if I grab the drive line at the inner CV joint there is some in and out play where it goes into the transmission and the sound that it makes could be what I am hearing. Is there suposed to be some play in that area? I've read the posts on front end clunking sound and read the suggestions but know one had mentioned not hearing the sound while braking. Any help would be appreciated.

After I posted my question I checked out some of the links and I just got done replacing all three bulbs It took about 20 minutes and cost about $15.00. The suggestion to remove the cable from the heat control down in the passenger side foot well was great. Much easier. This is the best website. Thanks to all who share there knowledge. Mark

I have a 1997 Legacy GT wagon and the lights for the heater controls have gone out. The one on the temperature slider is working but the ones that tell what vents are open have stopped working. Does anyone know how to change them out and what type of bulbs it takes? Subaru only or something that I can get at the auto parts store. Thank you, Mark

Thank's to all. They went on without a hitch and worked fine. That is until i blew the headgasket.

I have spent my Independence Day morning reading all the relevant posts for my year Subaru and the symptoms that I have and I decided that I most likely have a blown HG. My legacy GT has 110,000 miles on it and has not had many problems. I was going home from work last Thursday and turned on the AC. In a couple of blocks it started blowing hot air. I turned it on and off a few times and I could not feel the lag of the compressor kicking in like I normally do. I thought my AC pump was going out or something so I rolled the windows down and kept driving. I was on a road with a 35mph speed limit with no stops for about 6 miles. When I got to the stop sign and waited for some cars to pass I went to accelerate and noticed that my engine had died and my temp gauge was pegged at HOT. I got the car off the side of the road and noticed that the reservoir had over flown. I left the ignition on and let the two fans cool down the radiator I added exactly 100oz of water and it still wasn’t enough. (I know it was 100oz because all I had was my camelback that I had just filled to go mountain bike riding with.) I got down to the gas station and had to add a little more. I figure that it was about 1 gallon low. About an hour and a half later after I got done riding I added little more water and drove home watching the temp gauge all the way. It stayed right at normal. The next day, Friday I rode my bike to work and just went the store at night and had no problems. But I don’t think it ever got a chance to warm up. Saturday morning I changed the oil and the plugs. I didn’t notice any water in the oil at all and the plugs all looked the same. The porcelain was kind of a gray color and the metal after the last thread was a little oily I didn’t drive my car until that evening and didn’t notice any changes in temp or fluid level changes. Sunday I went bile riding and didn’t drive until that evening. I drove about 15 miles on the freeway and stopped off at a friends house to pick them up so the car sat for about 15 minutes. We drove for about 20 minutes with some stop and go and then I noticed that the temp gauge was pegged at HOT again I pulled over and popped the hood the reservoir was full and boiling over after it cooled I added about a quart and we went back to change cars. About 4 hours later I went home and the temp gauge was right at normal but the water had just started to bubble into the reservoir. Today Monday I backed it out into the drive way and checked the fluid level added a little water and let it get good and warm everything seemed fine I then decided to check the tailpipe and it was dripping water and had some steam coming out. I went up to the grocery store about 2 miles away and was inside fro about 20 minutes when I started it up I had my hand over the tail pipe after a couple of minutes I looked at it and there where some drops of water on my hand. When I got home it was dripping water again That is when I searched and read all the posts on this message board determining that must be the head gasket. And after my very long story these are the questions that I have. Is the water and steam coming out of the tailpipe a sure sign that it is a head gasket? Should I even bother changing the thermostat or doing a CO test? If 2.5 liter engines are prone to head gasket problems will I still have problems later on or will this fix it? I have a good independent shop that has done some minor repairs like changing the valve cover gaskets but is this something that I should take to a dealer? Thank you for any info in advance. Mark

When I took off the pads on the worn side I did notice a small amount of rust on the end of the piston. It was however easy to push in with a big pair of channel locks. When I install the new pads can I use a small coating of anti-seize compound on the ends of the pads and the portion of the piston that touches the back surface of the pad? Thanks, Mark

Thanks for the info WJM. I had just replaced the front pads about 30k or so ago. I took the rims off for further inspection and could see that the driver’s side did not have as much wear as the passenger side. That was the side that the wear tab was touching on. Any idea why one side would wear faster than the other?