Phugoid

Resurrecting this really old thread I started to provide some closure. I've been driving this car for a couple of years now and I've always dealt with the touchy throttle. I learned to deal with it, especially in traffic where I'm constantly driving at low speed in 1st gear. Took my car to the dealer for a 120k service and they recommended a "Top Engine Clean". Talking to some of the techs, they told me this is basically nothing more than a bottle of Seafom in the intake for $129.95. I decided I'd do it myself. Based on the information in these threads... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65012&highlight=seafoam+intake http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42623&highlight=seafoam ...I put a half a can of Seafoam in my PCV valve today with the engine at idle. After it had all gotten sucked in, I turned off the engine and waited about 10 minutes. Got back in, started it up, smoke screened the neighborhood and went for a drive. All the throttle touchyness is gone! It idles and accelerates more consistently with no stumbles, and definitely no sensitivity in the throttle. If you're having this problem, I'd at least give this a shot. A bottle of Seafoam is only like 6 bucks and it takes no more than 20 minutes to do. Plus it's fun to have a smoke system on your car for those first 5 minutes of driving. BTW, my cark has now 125k on it and runs better than it ever has (in the 30k I've owned it....knock wood.) Reid

You should have seen the salt caked on the rim and the tire! I could have saved it and bottled it. They used a grinder with a wire brush wheel and blasted it all away. Definitely a MN thing from the roads.

Got all 4 removed, cleaned and re-sealed today. Hopefully this will stop the leak. $42 out the door. Thanks! Reid

Running the 97 stock alloy rims. They seem to be in good shape. No rust, a little corrosion and wear on the edges. This car was 100% dealer serviced before I got it, maybe I'll give them a call. Thanks, Reid

On my 97OBW, I have 3 leaky tires. 1 leaks about 2 psi/week, 1 does about 5psi/week and one does about 10psi/week. It's a huge pain keeping on top of these, but I've done it now for a couple months. Short of new tires (coming soon, >10k), what can I do to stop them from leaking? I've seen the "fix-a-flat" stuff, but that seems like overkill. Thanks! Reid

Does this mean a clutch is on its way out? Mine does this from time to time at 118k. My old Saturn did this a lot at 150k. Thanks, Reid

Problem solved. Two shot front wheel bearings. I got them replaced and the car is whisper quiet now. What I used to perceive as "road noise" is now completely gone. This car is now a quiet smooth ride. I think because they failed so slowly I acclimated to the increased noise. Now I know what it sounds like and I won't miss it again. Reid

Just had my fronts done...3 hours of labor per wheel was the best I could find. Lots of other shops wanted 4 hours per wheel. The maximum I found was 4.2 hours per wheel. The bearings are anywhere from $50-75 per.

I'm sorry, this is for a 97 Legacy Outback. The bearings are $60 a piece from subarugenuineparts.com. How many hours of labor does this take? Reid

How much would you expect to pay for 2 front wheel bearings installed? Assume this is from a dealer whom you trust and know to do good work. I have a quote from my local dealer and I want to compare. Thanks, Reid

So...... I got my tires rotated and the sound got worse for about 25 minutes, then it went back to normal. Still coming from the left front, still only in turns. Dealer did their "25 pt inspection" and came back with nothing other than my PS seal which had put PS fluid all over the block. Is there a new axle in my future? Someone said earlier the OEM remanufactured ones are a good deal and are available online or from the dealer...anyone have a price or a link? Thanks, Reid

Those RPMs are fine. They put a short 5th in the 97s so you can tow trailers and the like. All 97 OBWs are the same way. Reid

I took my power steering reservoir off and found a damaged o-ring! I replaced the o-ring and am waiting to find out if the leak has stopped. There's so much PS fluid hiding under my hood, I can't tell what's new and what's old. I mopped much of it out, but I can't get it all. If the level doesn't decrease like it has been, I'm golden! Tires will be rotated soon, couple weeks. That should eliminate one of our guesses. I'll also do a wheel bearing check at that time too. Reid

Okay...I checked both the front inner and outer CV boots and they look brand new! They weren't even dirty let alone torn or otherwise damaged. Does this rule out the CV or axle possibility? I may try to check wheel bearings tomorrow by giving it the test prescribed in the Haynes manual - wiggle the wheel, if there's any play, then the bearing is bad. On another note, I found out where my PS fluid is going. Olnick may have hit it on the head with the pump/reservoir seal. Below the reservoir is a greasy trail leading to 4 or 5 puddles of PS fluid. It's collecting next to the EJ25 stamping. Here's a question...what are the outputs on the PS reservoir? I see two lines going out. Is that it? Or does the reservoir feed the pump directly without a hose? I'm trying to isolate where the leak is. The two lines exiting the reservoir are in good condition and not greasy. Yet, everything below the reservoir is soaked. Thanks for the help. Reid

Yup. It only happens when moving and it can definitely be related to an axel or wheel, or something rotating at that speed. The more I hear it, the more it sounds like tires, although this PS issues still needs to be taken care of. The noise does not occur when idling sitting still; it only happens when rolling at slow speeds. Thanks! Reid

Alright. Thanks for the help. I'm going to try to track down this leak and report back. I have Friday off, so that might be a good opportunity. Reid

Bah! That was the most expensive choice! Also the easiest for me to replace though. When I added PS fluid the noise level did seem to go down. I'll check for leaks where you have identified. Is there a way to identify a bad PS pump for certain? 1stsubaruparts.com quoted ~ $250 for a new one. I don't want to be wrong. Reid

I now believe I have a PS leak somewhere as the fluid was awfully low when I checked it. This may or may not be related. Perhaps the pump is failing causing the pulsing and is leaking fluid. Nipper...it's interesting that you ask that because I don't feel it anywhere actually. It's just audible. So far we have: 1. PS pump 2. Axles 3. Wheel Bearings 4. Tires Rotation should eliminate tires if the sound moves. I don't know how to eliminate the other three. Any suggestions? This is good stuff. Thanks guys. Reid

Nope...5MT! I'll try to look at the CV joints, boots myself. Otherwise, I'll have the dealer do it next time I go (1k miles), maybe they can look at bearings too. Here's an interesting note...got to my destination today and the power steering fluid was just barely on the dipstick. I'll refill it tomorrow. Where could my PS fluid be going? I just filled it in Oct! Thanks, Reid

My 97 OBW with 108k has developed a pulsing when rounding corners. It seems to be in the frequency band of wheels or anything spinning at that speed. It's definitely not an engine sound. It's most noticible traveling on cloverleafs, i.e. where there's a slow sharp turn. Even when turning out of parking lots, you can hear it. It's a quiet low frequency pulse. Wum wum wum wum wum.... It goes away when I'm traveling straight, so only when turning. I was thinking tires or CV joints? Tires are up for rotation on my next oil change, but that's not for another 1k. Thanks! Reid

108k on my 97 OBW with the original HG. So far so good! Coolant looks clean and no bubbles in the overflow. I've got money earmarked for this repair if it does go. I love the car too much to give it up. Good luck to you and all the rest of us with original HGs! Reid

I just got in from the garage where I sucessfully fixed my HVAC lights on my 97 OBW. I've had this car since March and I didn't know they were even supposed to be lit until I started reading some threads here. (The lights I'm referring to are the lights behind the fan knob, heating slider and the row of buttons that make the air come out in different places.) I ordered the parts on Sunday from subarugenuineparts.com and they arrived today. I followed the instructions given here: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=91 The only thing I did differently was, as mentioned in one of the replies to the thread above, disconnected the heating slider at the heat unit in the passenger side footwell. If you do that, there's no fooling with circlips or anything. Just pop out the cable and slide it over the white plastic post. It's just as easy to replace too. I replaced all four bulbs mentioned in the thread. The fourth one was for the hazard light button. When I started the car and hit the headlights, the dash came alive for the first time in a long time. This is a very easy fix, anyone can do this. This is the first time I took apart anything on this car, and I did it in about an hour and a half. This was also the first time I took apart anything on a car and had everything go back exactly the way it was and look and function just like it did before too. Reid

Why is this such a common problem? My 97 OBW has this exact same thing plus the hazard light too. It seems that it's so concentrated, and so common...bad grounds or a short somewhere? I think I'm going to order the parts and give this a try. Seems simple and low risk. Reid

I always see people tooling around with their fog lamps on with their headlights. Seems they don't wait for the fog to roll in anymore. I've just started using them in rain and slop and they help a little. I think I'm going to use them more because the soob looks to tough with 'em on. Reid

Reading this thread brought up two questions for me. Is the radiator the best place to check for coolant bubbles? Would they also appear in the reservoir? The min/max line...if I understand correctly, min is the level when cool and max is the level when hot? Is that true? Sorry to hear about your HGs AJ. I've got $1200 earmarked in case mine go on my 97 OBW with the 2.5 DOHC. Thanks, Reid