Bmm001

Yeah, that sounds about right. This is what the book told them at autozone about the code: Probabal Causes: 1st-Catalytic converter defective 2nd-Engine misfire or running condition 3rd- Large vacuum leak 4th-Engine oil leakage into exhaust valve , guide seals, piston rings It's probably not a vacuum leak since the car runs and idles fine. Also, he hasn't noticed any smoke out the tailpipe that would be a sign of an exhaust valve leak. The cat part is what confuses us, since it passed emissions inspection just fine at the beginning of the week. I guess misfire is a possibility, are they always noticeable? Brian

My brother was on his way out the door but I called him. The code is PO420. Again, he said the car runs fine, idles fine. The car was just inspected when he bought it (on Tuesday), and passed the emissions inspection. Brian M.

How far do you guys think one can reasonably go before replacement once it starts slipping? I ask because my brother just got a '99 L 30th ann. with 120,000 miles. The clutch engagement was really high and we asked them to adjust it. They did, we brought the car home, and now it's slipping in 4th and 5th gears. Not a ton, but definitely slipping. We called them last night and they said something about "glazing" when a clutch is adjusted a certain way and then re-adjusted. They said it might slip for a few days until it gets "used" to the new adjustment (which, by the way, is still not tight enough for our satisfaction). I've never heard of such a thing, and wondered what ya'll think. My mom's clutch went last year at 90,000, so we know what a Subaru clutch going bad feels like. Basically, we want the place to replace it, since we don't feel it was right to begin with. But in the meantime, how long can he actually go (driving gently of course) before it must be fixed? Brian M.

No one else drives the car, and I don't recall hitting any curbs. Nipper, what do you mean by "describe the wear?" The first set of tread blocks (about an inch or so wide) on the outside edge have worn down more than the rest of the tire's tread on that wheel. I would estimate the average tread depth at 6 or 7/32, but on the edge of that tire, it looks more like 4ish. I guess you could say that the wear is sort of "tapered" toward the outside edge within that inch that's worn more than the rest of the tire. Thanks for all your helpful input! Brian M.

I actually just noticed it last night, so I don't know how long it has been. I usually notice stuff like that right away, but this one seemed to sneak up on me. I just happened to notice it as I was pumping gas, since I was standing right next to it. I looked closely at my other tires today, and none of them are exhibiting the same type of wear. Brian M.

Yeah, that sounds really high, even with the stuff they fixed. Closer to $4,500 would be more reasonable, in my opinion. On the other hand, your market may be different than ours, so maybe that is a good deal. How does that price compare to similarly-aged Subies with less miles? Brian

What could be causing my right rear tire to wear more, but only on the outside edge of the tread? The car (a '95 legacy sedan) was aligned this summer, and I just adjusted the tire pressure (33 front, 31 rear) 4 days ago. Also, I had them rotated at the last oil change. The tires were new when I bought the car with 81,000 miles on it, and I only have 97,000 on it now. Thanks, Brian M.

For any of you that are confused, Kevin is my younger brother, heh. Anyway, a chin spoiler is the black thing under the bumper that Subaru put on starting in '98. Brian

http://www.global-accessories.com/lebra/ They're all $93. Brian

As I have heard (correct me if I'm wrong), true fog lights are yellowish. Subes have just plain white lights that are more correctly classified as "driving lights." I run mine all the time because they light up more of the road without the high beams, plus they help in the rain/snow. Brian M.

Good post, Nipper! We have never used synthetic in our cars, always regular dino oil (15w40), changed every 3,000 miles. All our subes have over 100,000 miles on them and we have never had ANY mechanical engine problems. I think if you stretch out the oil change intervals, even with synthetic, other minor problems tend to get overlooked, such as torn cv boots, a leaking gasket, irregularly wearing tires, etc. Because of the mileages on each car, it seems like one is always due for service (each car is about 3,000 miles apart in mileage), but we like the extra piece of mind knowing that the car is getting a thorough look-over every 3,000 miles. Brian

That's why it is great to find an independent Subie mechanic that will do better work for much less $$! Brian M.

Every Subaru I've ever been in clicks (or taps or ticks... however you want to describe it) a little bit in the cold until it warms up. I don't think its anything to worry about unless it doesn't go away once it's warm. Brian M.

I go to a small (1500 students) liberal arts college in Lebanon County, PA. I would say there are at least 20 Subies in the parking lot, of all types. Brian M.

No, I wasn't using the defroster. What sensor could it be? Like I said, I had the thermal temp. sensor replaced (I checked my records, it was last March) and I have no driveability issues or CEL's. As far as I know, I wasn't even using the fan/heater. I set the control to warm, and let the vent effect blow warm air. Brian M.

The engine cooling fan always seems to be runing in my car (a '95 legacy auto with 96,000 miles). It was 35 degrees yesterday, and I thought it was odd that the fan would be constantly running. Is this normal? The car runs and drives absolutely fine, no CEL or anything, gets up to normal operating temp. (smack in the middle of the gague) and stays there. I can't help but wonder if this is cutting into my MPG. I'm gettin the car serviced on the 13th, should I just mention it then? I had the thermal temp sensor replaced about a year ago due to it causing a CEL. Any thoughts as to what this could be, if anything to worry about? Brian M.

You might get higher compression, but, as hatchmonster says, they don't flow as well. Wouldn't that make the increase negligible? As far as I understand, the heads on the EJ22 are an improvment over the EJ18 ones, so wouldn't reversing them be going backwards in terms of performance? Brian

As far as I know, the climate controls and radio are illuminated until the bulb behind them burns out. The real design flaw is the fact that the bulb is suceptible to this burnout, and it's more trouble than it's worth to tear the dash out to replace the bulb. An improvement in the design would be either A.) making the bulb last longer or B.) making it simple to replace. This bulb in my '95 Legacy as well as my parent's '98 Legacy burned out years ago. We're waiting for my dad's '97 Impreza to burn out. Brian M.

Imprezas switched to the Phase II (SOHC) design in 1999, so you should be fine. Brian M.

Orbach's in Denver. PM me for more info, unless you already go there heh. Brian

We run 15W40 in all of our Subes all year, to no ill effects, and they all have over 100,000 miles on them with no major problems. Sure, my car is a little tougher to turn over in the winter than my parents' since theirs are in the garage, but unless it is REALLY cold, I don't think it matters that much for me in central PA. I know a lot of people use 5w30, but my '95 owner's manual also does not recommend 5w30 for "sustained high speed driving," which I do a lot of. From what I understand, the diesel oil keeps the engine MUCH cleaner inside and protects it a lot better. The boxer design seems to like the heavier oil. It's what my independent Subaru garage puts in, and I trust them. They know what they are talking about since they've been in business working on Subes for 20+ years. Our cars probably have the least amount of miles of any cars that they work on, so if it works for all the others, it works for me. Brian

I get about 24 in my '95 Legacy. I think it depends a lot on how you drive, where you drive, and the condition of the engine. I think the pre-solid lifters 2.2's (before 1997) don't get quite as good of mileage either. That's based on my experience in my own family. My mom's and dad's are '97 and '98 and their mileage is much higher, even if I drive their cars. Brian

Capri, I don't mean to cut you down, but cars are like anything else. You can get good ones or bad ones. I think a lot of it is luck. Doesn't matter whether it's a Honda or a Toyota or a Subaru. Sure, my mom's clutch went in her '98 Legacy at 88,000 miles. Bad luck...yes... a problem with Subaru's reliability? Maybe, probably a bad clutch to begin with. We didn't get rid of the car because of it. On the same token, my brother's '91 Toyota has been burning oil ( a quart per 500 miles or so) and fouling its spark plugs every 10,000 miles since 80,000 miles (it has 135,000 miles on it now) due to bad valve seals. I thought Toyotas were supposed to be so reliable and trouble-free. See what I mean? A friend of mine needed the entire axle assembly replaced on her Civic (which only had about 90,000 miles on it. I have had no major issues with my '95 Legacy, nor has my dad on his '97 Impreza, with over 110,000 miles. I guess what I'm getting at is that you can't make generalizations about a brand of cars just based on ratings. Remember that ratings are for the brand overall, and do not always reflect individual experiences of owners. Almost any Japanese car, with proper care and maintenence, will last a heck of a long time. Just enjoy your car, take care of it, and it should last you a long time. Brian

You could do it, but it's not a good idea, as the WRX's motor, like most turboed motors is closed-deck. The regular 2.5 is open-deck which does not hold up well when a you add a turbo. If you can't afford a brand new WRX, why not get a used one? Second, to do an engine swap or add a turbo, wouldn't you end up paying almost as much as a new WRX anyway once you finish the mods? Just some thoughts... Brian M.

My mechanic just welded them. Brian M.