adwolf1

The drivers-side low beam burned out on my 2003 legacy. What is the proper OEM replacement bulb that matches the other side? Should i just go in and preemptively replace both sides? Hopefully autozone will have the proper replacements in stock. thanks!

cool, thanks for the advice. in terms of the stock headlights, i found this link Do you know what the difference is between the "TYC" headlight and the "OE Replacement"? they look identical to me, even though they are $20 different

i'm curious too -- where did you source them from? did they go in easily?

My 96 legacy's headlight lenses have finally gone past the point of no return -- foggy, scratched, a total mess. I'd buffed them out the past 3 years, but at this point there's no working on them, i'm going to fail inspection. Any idea how much each one of those lenses runs? Are they easy to replace? Will it actually make the car usable at night again? (the gen-2's headlights seem to suck relative to my gen-3 legacy's... not sure if it is just a function of age or what.) cheers

The price may be a little high, but again, i've been so happy with their work (and their customer service/attitude) in the past I don't mind paying it. They have a sort of unique business model, in that in order to become a client your car must be: 1) less than 10 years old when you start working with them and 2) a sube, toy, nissan, or honda. Assuming that criteria is met, the first time you come in they talk to you for like 45 minutes about the car's history, your "goals" for the car, and you go out on a 15 minute test-drive with the shop owner where he tests the car. It feels more like a trip to a doctor than anything else. They really get to know the guts and history of each car they service, and actually remember details about their clients and their cars between each service, etc... So, yes, their prices are a bit higher than most places, but it's amazing how with just a little "care" they can get away with bigger profit margins.

It might be a bit high, but the shop is known to specialize in subes, and they've always done a great job. Trust is worth some $$ to me (especially b/c when a car breaks down in the dead of winter in VT, the results can be lethal... not a lot of passers-by on the desolate routes I drive. I'd be like Cartman, they'd discover my frozen corpse 500 years in the future or something .)

I managed to get the car in this morning (barely.. what a horrid noise). It wasn't the wheel bearing, apparently the right-rear brake "froze" (guess the caliper got stuck). Apparently when they took the wheel off the brake was hot as hell... as they told me "the only way this brake is coming off is in pieces" :-) I needed a 4-wheel brake job anyway. Also said the links on the rear sway bar were goners & needed replacing. And there were big leaks in the valve cover gasket. Whole thing is going to run around $1500. They are very good sube mechanics, and otherwise the car is sound, so I figure its worth it to keep the old beast running for a few more years.

thanks for the help! If it turns out to be the bearing, i'll be sure to get the CV joint replaced too. I've had the old beast since new (11 years, where does the time go..) and am starting to get the dreaded "new car itch". I find myself drawn to the new legacies, but... $30k for a new beast that'll get destroyed by vermont roads.... nah!

Hi, 1996 L AWD with about 120k miles on it, Over the past couple of months a noise has been coming from the right-rear, like a "whomp-whomp-whomp" that gets faster and louder with speed, and today it finally turned into a horrible growl/squeal. (loud enough to be embarrassing.) I'm guessing that this is a wheel bearing, and its reaching the end of its life. About how much should it cost my local shop to replace it, and considering the cars age, should I consider doing the opposite side as well? (or do these things sometimes go for 200k without a problem?) The car is also scheduled to get its brakes done (first time since new, i drive like a granny), and there's apparently an oil leak somewhere, so i'm trying to tally up all the costs in my head b4 i bring it in, to see if its worth doing at all.) thanks!

blizzak WS50's on the legacy. unbelievable grip in snow and ice; it's their 1st season, so no clue as to how fast they are going to wear.

i think the AT fears may be overblown, i've got a 96 and it shifts as well as it did when I took delivery of it (new) almost 11 years ago. * Make sure to take it for a thorough test drive, do the figure-8's in a parking lot, make sure all the shifts are crisp, and that it goes into gear quickly when taking it out of park. * Check his receipts closely for AT maintenance -- like changing the AT fluid regularly! So many people let that go, and (IMO) its one of the major causes for the self-destruction of the 4EAT. * One expensive but overlooked issue is the tires; what kind are they, and what kind of shape are they in? bring a penny with you, and measure the tread depth of all the tires; if they are significantly different, you've got issues. Those tires will need to be replaced, and its possible that the different tread depths were putting undue stress on the transmission (see the plethora of other posts about this issue..) * If you're planning on going into the mountains for skiing, consider picking up a set of snows as well. As many can attest to here, AWD is good but like any other car, bad tires can lead to some unexpected handling issues, especially on snow and ice.

I think that's $3900 canadian

As others have said, it's a great machine, and if it was reasonably cared-for, it should last for a long time. The price is a little high, but not totally out of the ballpark if the car is in good shape. Get all the receipts. Make sure: 1 - Belts have been changed, and at this age, hopefully the water pump as well (you may want to pre-emptively change the H2O pump if they current owner hasn't). Also get some evidence that this person changed the oil frequently. 2 - The CV joints are in OK shape; these cars tend to eat them, who knows why. 3 - no torque bind. Do figure-8's with it in the parking lot, make sure it doesn't "buck". 4 - Alternator. I think there was a recall on the alternator in this car (anyone know for sure?) If there was, make sure that the owner put in the new one.

Before replacing the headlights, you may want to take them to a shop & let them sand them down. Here in vermont, for 6 months out of the year, every subaru is covered in filth and scum. After a while the headlights just get pitted, yellow and nasty. My mechanic buffed my 96's out for $50.. they look like new. It's certainly better than replacing the covers ($$)

it's very cold in Vermont today, and this morning when i went out to the sube all the doors were frozen shut! The windows were sticking to the seals. I didn't dare pull too hard for fear of tearing something... fortunately one of the rear doors gave & I was able to climb over the seatsbacks to get into the drivers seat. What's the best stuff to put on the seals to prevent the windows from sticking to them in frigid weather? thanks!

dumb question, but... is all the wiring already pre-installed on the L? How about the switch? is it literally a matter of removing the plastic cut-outs & hooking everything together? Thanks

my 2.2l 96 legacy sedan averages about 24-25mpg, with a high of around 30mpg on the highway, but way way worse around town. i think its pretty typical.

If it will make you feel any better, i rented a brand new '05 prius last year, and was driving it through the mountains of big sur. There was a large temperature change (maybe 30 degrees in an hour), and the windshield cracked right up the middle while i got out to get it gas. The car had maybe 1,000 miles on it. So i guess it's not just a subaru thing.

Oops! guess i wasn't clear. The nozzles in the 03 look like they aren't even designed to move. In my old subes, each nozzle has two little round outlets that you can stick a pin into & move around to aim properly. in the 03, the assembly is just a big "square" with one hole where the fluid shoots out. It doesn't look like it can move at all. So the fluid is coming out, but is so forceful that it flies over the car to the rear window!!

Just tried to adjust the washer nozzles on my 03 legacy, only to discover that they don't look adjustable! With every old car i've owned, could could stick a pin into the nozzle & aim it. Not so here. Is there no way to adjust this, b/c the fluid shooting over my car

I suspect, too, that part of the great longevity of the old AT units (like in the gen-1 and gen-2 legacies) has to do with the fact that the 2.2l engines weren't very powerful. Contrast this with the SVX. There are probably very few SVX's left with their original transmissions intact. You routinely see cars today with 300+hp and similar gobs of torque, i can't help but wonder how long those AT's are going to hold up.

Agree with what everyone said, my 96 L shifts the same as it did when new. To me, the tranny shifts even smoother than the one in my 03. (and with no lag.) I've noticed that trannies on many newer cars (toyotas especially) have terrible problems with lag. Not sure why.

I have to concur with the folks who say history is important. No matter what you do, make sure the car that you get has a good, clear history and has been well maintained. The gen-1 legacies & early gen-2's (with the 2.2 non-interference engines) can run forever, as long as they are well maintained. Your MPG probably won't exceed 30mpg, even if you feather it on the highway.

Me and my 1996 Legacy recently moved to Vermont. It is very, very dark here at night -- apparently street lights have not made it to this part of the world yet. If the moon isn't out, it's pitch black, even on the interstate. Just curious about replacement headlight bulbs, as the stock low beams in this car are horrid. (Surprisingly, though, the high beams work great..) Any ideas about what I can just drop in, without violating and laws or melting a wiring harness? I keep seeing ads for those sylvania bright white bulbs, but i'm not sure if they are just hype. thanks!

If you have any desire to learn about how subaru's have been marketed in the past, pick up "where the sucker's moon", a great book about the launch of the legacy & the marketing campaign around it. The upshot is that until very recently (like the last 10 years), subarus have focused nearly all of their marketing energy on rural areas, and places with terrible weather. Their attempts to sell anywere else went nowhere. (and, as an historical footnote, the reason that Subarus got their start in rural areas had little to do with AWD -- rather, their quality was so poor in the beginning, that the subaru execs thought that it would be best to sell the cars in the sticks, where no one read Consumer Reports. AWD's popularity just flowed naturally from the demographics of their existing customers.