wendybradley

Thanks everybody for all the great answers. I feel a lot better after reading them. Of course a person never really knows but my car seems to be in OK shape. I guess after owning all those non-soobie cars I'm just paranoid! LOL. However it still might not be a bad idea to start putting pennies in the piggybank toward a brand new soobie someday....

OK so now I'm scared! lol. I'm a newbie here to this board, I posted a couple times about my soobies, I have an '01 4 cyl Outback and an '84 Brat. I also read a couple threads here recently, Anyway, regarding my Outback, do I have a "Phase I" or a "Phase II"? I love my car and it's been really good so far (56K, knock on wood!!!) other than some pinging. What should I be looking for and what should I be preparing for? Mostly I've owned older American cars (and we all know their reputation) so I thought I was doing real well to buy Subaru, which seemed to have a good reputation...now I'm not so sure!

Thanks for your reply, man that sucks! Sounds like as I suspected, maybe its' something I just have to live with. It's not horribly loud but because I've always had older tempermental cars I am always very aware of any noise, smell, smoke, etc that they may make, lol. So I'm always paranoid of any weird thing about my car. And of course I worry that the pinging will cause damage. I mean how could it not over time? But it sounds like there's not a whole lot I can do. I did have the plugs changed not too long ago and it didn't make any difference. Oh well.......

Thanks for the reply! I wouldn't say the pinging is really "serious," it doesn't do it all the time and probably no one would notice but me, but I am very anal about my cars and have always had old cars before so I am very conscious of any little noise. The oil I am currently using is 5w30, I am in a climate (central Wa state) where we have very cold winters and very hot summers. The dealer does all my oil changes so we'll see what they put in next time, lol. Also I think I read somewhere that there's a lot of crap added to our gasoline to prevent smog etc etc, I'm sure that doesn't help the problem any

Thanks every body for your replies! I did recently try putting the clutch all the way in while driving to see if it made a difference in the road noise and it did not, it made no difference, clutch in or out. It's hard to describe but like I said the best way to describe it is, it sounds like it has studded tires on it or something, which it does not, they're just regular all season radials, it's just this constant humming noise. I am thinking maybe I am just spoiled by my Outback because its so quiet. The Brat doesn't really seem to have any handling or suspension problems. I think the exhaust is OK too although that's a good suggestion. It doesn't really seem like exhaust noise tho. Maybe it's just me, lol. So anyway it has a cracked windshield, what do you all think it will cost to get a new windshield for it? I am thinking wrecking yard is the best way to go....but these cars are getting pretty rare I guess so it might be hard to find one. What do y'all suggest? thanks!

Thanks for your reply! I'm in Central Wa, Yakima area. Not a lot of rust out here in the desert, lol! I think our Brat has been here all its life and has been garaged a lot, it is nice and dry and very little rust. I am originally from the West side so I know all about rain/rust/rot! lol.

Hi everybody, I'm brand new here. I have an '01 Outback 4 cyl auto w/56K (and an '84 Brat 4 spd w/148K). I have a question about my Outback, (which I love!!) Ever since I bought this car 2 yrs ago w/36K on it, I have noticed that it "pings" a lot under load, for example going up hill or on acceleration from a stop. Even tho I switched to premium gas it still does it, although not near as bad as with regular gas. I asked my dealer service dept. about it and the manager said that the Outbacks' timing is set at the factory and is not adjustable so there's really nothing they can do and what I am hearing is "the sound of fuel economy," in other words they're designed to run lean so as to get good mileage. That's all well and fine but I am worried about the long term damage that all this pinging will do to the engine. I intend to keep this car for years and years and am worried that over time all this pinging will do damage. Does anybody else know anything about this? Is it normal? Is my dealer jerking me around? With the outrageous gas prices I have a hard time continuing to buy premium, but I don't want to damage my Outback's engine either. Any advice? Thanks!

Hi everybody, I am brand new to this site and would like to say Hi. I have an '01 Outback that I love, and just recently purchased an '84 Brat. Some years ago I had an '86 GL Turbo. I am curious about the Brat, never had one before, don't know a whole lot about them. This one seems in pretty good shape, 148K mi, very little rust, silver w/blue interior, 4 spd, T-tops, has the jump seats and belts in the back. It has a minor oil leak, cracked windshield, and it needs a CV boot in the front. Paid $1300 for it. One question I have about the Brat, it seems very loud underneath when driving it, I don't know if they all sound like that or not. I mean it runs and drives great, it's just loud. I don't know if it's because I'm so used to my nice quiet Outback or what. Driving the Brat reminds me of riding in a 4x4 pickup with big mudder tires on it, or riding in a car with studded snow tires. Just a lot of road noise. Is this common in Brats? Thanks!