heartless

2002 may have the style that unbolts from the strut (i know 06 does), but if not, it is easiest and fastest to to cut/clip the bracket to get the brakeline out. There are 2 common ways to accomplish this. One is to use a hacksaw or dremel with a cut-off wheel to cut the bracket - has a high risk of damaging the brake line. The other is to use a pair of bolt cutters - small ones will work - to clip the bracket - much lower chance of damaging the brakeline leaving the brakeline attached does make it a little more difficult to wrestle the old strut out around things, but not impossible.

it isnt the wheel that will change the odometer output, but the size of the tire mounted on that wheel. if you want to get as close as possible, use this tool to figure it out: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html put in your stock wheel/tire size on the left, and the new wheel/tire size you are considering on the right to see how far off your speedometer will be.

hazarding several guesses here, but like grossgary suggested - control arm bushings possibly ball joint, worn out tophat and/or strut, broken spring... if that one tire is wearing more than the others/in an odd pattern, it is more than likely suspension related, not brakes

Aww that sucks! Glad you are OK, tho Hopefully you will get a good enough settlement to be able to replace the Outback.

I dont know about your diff - I will leave that for others with more experience, but mismatched tires is a BIG no-no on an AWD Subaru. All 4 tires need to be of a matching brand, type, inflation, and treadwear, and within 1/4 inch of circumference of each other or you can end up with transmission issues (torque bind)

for pictures - most host thier pictures on a free picture hosting site - photobucket, flicker, etc - then use the links provided by that site to post them here. ATF drain & fill - the general consensus is that you get roughly 1/3rd of the fluid per drain, so doing 3 times will get the greater majority of the old fluid out. If you are comfortable with only doing twice, that is entirely up to you.

yes - all warning lights should come on when the key is turned to the "on/run" position. Engine does not need to be running, but key does need to be turned to the "on/run" position. I think the SRS fuse has to do with the airbag system

I had never seen one do that before either! thanks for the upgrade idea guys, but went the easiest (and cheapest) route for now - swapped in the coil from my old 90 Lego - plugged right in, car started right up, no more sparklies. Will have to wait for another damp/humid morning start to see if it still exhibits the same symptoms or not (thinking not) May try that upgrade idea at a later date - especially if the current one starts giving problems. maybe it is just my imagination, but i think she is idling a little smoother now, too. Thanks for the help!

awesome! thanks guys! I will try to get that video posted tonight so all can see - my jaw just dropped when I saw it.

Have had an intermittent misfire problem on my 95 Legacy for several months - only when it is damp out and only on first morning start. It would kind of stumble a little & throw a cylinder 2 misfire code. once the engine was fully warmed up it would run fine. Clear the code and the code wouldn't come back unless it was damp again the next morning. today, started engine, it was stumbling a bit - popped the hood and dropped jaw... have sparks jumping on 2/4 side of coil - the coil-pak itself is bad (I have a short video I can upload later tonight - can't do it at work) so my question is: will the coil-pak from my 1990 Legacy work on my 1995?

while this is true, at 300,000 he may be further ahead to get a lower mileage engine.

if you look closely there should be two levers down there on the floor - the plastic handle(s) may be broken off making it difficult to see (mine was) - one lever is for the gas filler door, the second - closest to the door jamb - is the rear hatch release. Dont be surprised if it doesnt work - mine didnt. It is a cable operated system and on 25 year old cars they tend to be non-fuctional. cables break, latches get corroded and dont work properly, etc

the tread is pretty worn, too, so it isnt just the age cracking driving this - he needs new tires before the snow flies

mine are the Avenger Touring LSR (T rated - 80,000 mile) I am running the 205/65R15 size on Forester 15" rims (also have Forester struts/springs on my 95 Legacy, so no rubbing issues - awesome upgrade over stock) I am very happy with these tires so far. And yes, the Mastercraft tires are made by Cooper - as I said in my first post... The other half is thinking about picking up a set for his Outback soon - the Michelins he has are age cracking... I have had the Cooper CS4 (80K tire) - great wearing tire if you do a lot of driving - ok in winter, but not great. I didnt put enough miles on at the time to really warrant having these - they began to develope sidewall cracking long before I wore them out. I have had Kelly Explorers (45K tire) - very good traction, even in winter, but wears faster and fuel mileage does suffer (stickier tire) I have also run Roadrunner branded tires - fairly cheap, but not too bad for the money - decent traction, decent fuel mileage, decent wear.

in all honesty, i wouldnt even mess with that engine anymore. if the body is in that good of shape, go to car-part.com, find a used low miles motor (and possibly tranny) for a few hundred and swap it out.

something to check in regards to the stiff steering issue - have the front strut top mounts checked out - there is a bearing in there that allows the fronts to turn - they can & do get bad.

again - Mastercraft Avengers rained quite heavily today - standing water on the road in places - not once did I feel like I was going to loose control of the car, it felt very stable. my driving is a mix of country (gravel), city, and highway. The tires have performed well regardless of the conditions thus far. I will say that I have not used these particular tires on snow/ice, but may leave them on for a while this winter just to see how they do (i do have a set of snow tires - also Mastercraft - Glacier Grip II - awesome tire!) These are also quieter than the 2/3rds worn out Michelins that came on the other halfs 06 L.L. Bean Outback - probably not the quietest tire on the market, but very tolerable

I have used both the Monroes and KYBs over the years - I like the KYBs better, but that is kind of a personal choice. the Monroes tend to offer a plusher ride, but also seem to wear out faster the KYBs are a little stiffer (not overly so), but seem to last longer and offer better handling imho. I think you should get a second opinion on the power steering, tho - sounds to me like the shop is fishing for dollars...

I dont know anything about the Goodyears. If you want a name brand, the Cooper CS4 touring is a very good tire (I think they are changing over to a CS5 now tho). ran a set of CS4s on my 90 Legacy wagon, and our 04 Mercury Sable wears them as well. I can also recommend Mastercraft Avenger touring tires - I have a set on my 95 Legacy wagon and really like them. They are wearing very well so far - put on this spring. Mastercraft is made by Cooper Tires

i go here when I need FSM info: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ Bookmark for later reference. pick your model, then year, then the section you need. file names arent the greatest once you get into them, but the info is all there.

dont know on the newer ones, but on my 95 it states right on the power steering cap what fluid to use - might look there? but yeah, should be the dexron type 3, or compatible, transmission fluid. if you pull the cap and touch the dipstick, the fluid should be red in color

how old is the battery? there should be date on there somewhere, either as a sticker with month/year or engraved right into the casing. Most batteries are only good for 4 or 5 years, and the more electronics the car has, the shorter the life of the battery My brother/sis-in-law have a Chrysler Town & Country minivan that goes thru batteries every couple of years - it has the remote opening doors, rear dvd, all kinds of electronic goodies.

go here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ select model, select year - entire FSM available for perusal, including wiring diagrams.

if the car is nose diving you have other suspension issues and a spacer will not fix that. I have all new forester struts, springs & tophats on my 95 Lego - body movement going over bumps is almost nonexistant. were the struts you put in new or used? if used, I would bet they are worn out how about the springs? springs can & do wear out...especially if worn struts are left in for extended periods