bluebird

I have 2003 outback wagon 2.5 with about 170,000 on it. The steering wheel slowly oscillates back and forth at slow speeds, 25 and under and stops at speeds higher than that. There is also a cv joint knocking, sounds like inner passenger side to me. Could these two things be related or is the oscillation a separate issue? Also I have replaced axle shafts on a number of outbacks up through 1999 model year. Is the 2003 pretty much the same procedure or will it be different in some way?

Thanks for the replies. The strut, swaybar, ball joint were all sound so since the noise went away when the brakes were applied I focsed on the brakes. After jacking up the car I could create the noise by hitting the tire with the heal of my hand and it sounded like it was coming from the brake area. I took off the caliper and removed the pads and blew everyithing off with my air hose. Put it all back togehter and the noise is gone. got lucky on this one.

I have 2003 outback wagon with about 165,000 miles on it. It is now has a clunking noise coming from the passenger side front wheel area. I live on a gravel/dirt road that is always like a washboard so the noise is pretty noticeable on that road but quiet on smooth roads. I was thinking broke spring or shot strut but the other strange thing is the noise goes away when the brakes are even just lightly applied. I took off the front wheel thinking maybe the brake caliper had come loose or something like that. Everything related to the brakes is tight, the spring is sound and the strut appears to be fine as well. Any ideas?

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about that too but I’m used to the wear indicators sounding more tinny than this sound I have and making the sound when the brakes are applied rather than going away. But it is a good suggestion and a good place to start looking when the snow goes away. We don’t drive the car much and if it needs pads I’ll do the rotors too.

I have a 2003 outback wagon with about 160,000 miles on it. It is making a high pitched whine or squealing noise only when backing up. Hit the breaksand it almost quiets down but doesn’t completely go away until the car stops moving. I have a lot of snow on the ground and I have to work on my car on the ground so I can’t really look at it yet. But it would be good to have any thoughts about where to start looking when it warms up some.

I have a 2003 outback wagon and the strap that you use to get the bottom of the rear seat up has disappeared under the seat. I have had this happen many times and usually manage to fish it out. But this time I can’t locate it as hard as I have tried. Is there some way to get at the latch with a screwdriver or other tool?

Thanks for the reply. I went out to look at some of your ideas and sure enough the noise is gone for now. If and when it comes back I look into your suggestions

Thanks for the reply. The noise is steady and does not reflect the frequency of the wheels turning. Would that change your idea about it being a pinion bearing?

Hi I have a 2003 outback wagon, auto, 2.5 with about 140,000 miles on it. A couple of days ago I noticed a high pitched whine that seems to be coming from the front. It only occurs when the car is moving forward at a very slow speed, like crawling around in a parking lot. The whine does not change if the car moves a little faster but goes away completely at normal driving speeds say 10 mph and up. The noise does not occur when going slowly in reverse. Any ideas would be much appreciated. thanks in advance

Thanks for the reply. Yes when checking hot the engine is running and in park. When checking cold the engine is off. I'll check it again tomorrow and leave the dip stick out for a few minutes before putting it back in.

I just changed the transmission fluid in my 2003 outback 2.5 today. I did the three drain and fill method driving the car for about 15 minutes after each drain and fill. I measured the fluid that came out with each drain and it was right around 5 quarts. So I put 5 quarts back in each time. Now when I check the fluid level with the dipstick it seems overfilled by quite a bit. Pretty much the same reading either hot or cold. Am I missing something here? Is there fluid collected on the inside of the tube that is giving me a false reading? Car is shifting fine. Any help appreciated.

I posted about this before and didn’t get any replies so here goes again with more information. 2003 outback 2.5 about 130,000 miles. CEL on. code reader says P0030, heated Oxygen sensor, Heater wire circuit, Bank 1 sensor 1. Turned it off with the reader came back on in about 2 days. Is there a way to check if it is the wiring or actually the sensor that is bad? Another point of confusion is that the part that comes up at Subaru based on my vin is actually an air/fuel sensor not an ox2 sensor. Is that right? And is the sensor indicated by the code the upstream, or front sensor? And if so how to you get at it? And to you find them easier to get out warm or cold? I don’t want to spring for a sensor, not cheap, if it is the wiring that is bad. Thanks for any advice.

I have a 2003 outback wagon with about 120,000 miles. Check engine light came on and code reader gave a P0030, Heated oxygen senor, Heated circuit wire, Bank 1 sensor 1. I was able to clear the light with the reader but have a feeling that will only be temporary. Any ideas on how to trouble shoot this? I have read that it might be a fuse to the sensor. Where would the fuse be located if it exists? And where is the senor itself located? And are these difficult to replace, hard to get out etc. I searched the forum for this but got almost nothing back… maybe didn’t hit the right key words. Thanks in advance

I have a 1999 outback wagon 2.5 automatic trans with about 190,000 miles. I am having an intermittent problem with the motor not turning over when the key is turned. There is no click and the warning lights on the dash dim but the car motor doesn't crank. If I wait a bit and try it again it usually cranks over and at a normal speed. The battery has been checked and it is good. When this happens it is always with the first start of the day or after the car has been parked for a number of hours. If I'm out running errands and in and out of the car in short intervals it always starts right up. I have tried jiggling the gear shifter when this happens but it doesn't change anything. Any ideas?

I have an 1998 outback wagon that isn’t running right. Background: A while ago it was running badly and had a code for knock sensor. I replaced the sensor and it seemed better. Shortly after that it began to running poorly again, it felt like how it was running when the knock sensor was bad; overall lack of power. So I replace the plugs and wires which helped some. The plugs while looking worn out were not oil fouled or carbon fouled. This is where I am now. No check engine light and just a general lack of power. I also have a 99 outback wagon and the difference is definitely noticeable. I know this is a very vague question but if any of you have any ideas about where and how to start looking into this I would much appreciate it.

Hi, I have a 1998 legacy outback wagon and the temp control cable has come of where it attaches to the door below the glove box. I’m trying to figure out if there is a cable holder of some kind down in that area or do you think it has come off the clip that holds the cable on the back of the control box? If I can fix it without pulling out the heater control box that would be nice. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I have an embarrassing question about changing plus in my 1999 outback. First time I have done a 2.5 and I have read all the posts and feel like I’m ready to give it a try. Well I can’t seem to get the plug boots off the plugs. They are tee shaped and I have tried pulling, twisting and pulling etc. I’m afraid the wire or boot might pull apart. Any suggestion would be appreciated, it is not a good sign have trouble with the firs and very basic step. Thanks

Hi, I have a 99 outback wagon and one of the rear seat/shoulder belts is locked in the fully retracted position. I can’t get it to release. I’m not sure if it was in the auto lock or emergency lock mode when this happened. It was working fine then all of a sudden it was locked. I have a feeling there must be a way to release this but have not had any luck yet. It is the side I use for my daughter’s booster seat. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have a 1999 outback wagon. The other night when I started out I noticed all the backlights for the upper control buttons were out and half of the speedometer was dark. After driving for a few minutes suddenly the heater lights were back on and a while later the half of the speedo that was dark was lit again. Now a week or so later the heater lights have gone back out and have not yet come back on but the speedo light is still on. So before I take the center console apart to replace the heater light bulbs, I have done this several times now a number of cars, is there anything else I should be looking for? Seems strange they would all burn out at once. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Thanks for all the responses. This is my wife's car and she would appreciate the keyless entry if it is possible. I'll have a look soon. I also have a 1999 wagon with keyless entry so I'll be able to compare what is there in terms of black boxes. happy holidays

Hi, I posted about this a while ago and got some good tips. Since I bought the car used and it came with just a “hardware store” key Is there anyway to tell if the car is equipped with keyless entry. If it is I found out from the last post I can get a fob on eBay and program it. But first I want to determine if it has keyless entry. Thanks Frank

Hi again, I just bought this 1999 outback wagon, limited. It has seat heaters but they don’t work. The little indicator lights on the switches don’t light up. I checked for voltage at the switches and found none so I thought blown fuse. The owners manual says that fuse is in the 3 fuse box under the lower dash cover. I’m not sure how to remove that cover to get to the fuse box. I removed the two screws at the bottom and it still attached with clips or something at the top. I pulled pretty hard and stopped because I didn’t want to break the panel. What’s the trick to getting this panel off so I can check the fuse. I have decided to wait and see with the vibration issue. Kind of learning to drive around it and as it gets worse it will be easier to figure out. . As one person suggested it may still be an inner cv joint even if it is only 20,000 old. I’m leaning that way. Thanks again for the feed back

Hi, Thanks for all the responses. I checked the tire pressure this morning hoping to find a low one but not to be, all were right at 30 lbs. When I bought the car last week I was given a two inch thick stack of maintenance receipts. I spent some time this morning going over them and here are some highlights which seem to indicate that some of the ideas suggested have already been taken care fairly recently. 80,000 1/10/06 Timing belt water pump etc 83,000 3/26/06 Right axle 97,000 1/05/07 Left axle Also plugs and wires and front and rear brakes 99,000 3/29/07 changed trans fluid used Mobil synthetic 102,000 5/31/07 Head gaskets to the tune of $2900.00 Current mileage 104,000, I only paid $3900.00 for this car so I’m thinking I got a good buy even with my vibration problem. This car has had a ton of work done on it these are just the highlights not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I was heading toward inner cv joints as the cause of my vibration problem but now not sure since both axles have been done within 20,000 miles or so. I have noticed that the vibration seems to be getting worse each day. Any other ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi, I just bought another Subaru Wagon, number 7 over the past 20 years some for me some for my wife. This one is a 1999 Outback wagon Limited with 104,000 with automatic trans. I’m going to be selling my 1992 that has 240,000 miles on it. It is a nice clean car but it has a little vibration when you slightly accelerate. For example if you are in traffic and going about 30 and the traffic begins to move as you gently accelerate I feel a vibration. I can’t tell if it is the engine missing or something in the drive train. Inner cv joint perhaps? Once you reach a new crossing speed there is no vibration at all. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I have always received good advice here.

Hi, I have 1992 legacy wagon. The wiper on the drivers side bangs against the windsheild post when it is raining. When the winsheild is dry it stops about an inch short, but as soon as it gets wet, rain, hose or even washing cycle you can see it move further and hit the post. I have thought about taking the whole arm off and moving it a bit away from the post but then I'm sure it will then hit on the bottom. I have a 20 inch on the drivers and an 18 on the passenger. I'm pretty sure that is what is called for. Would the quality of the blades have any impact on this? I tend to use cheap ones since I live on a dirt road and they don't last very long anyway. Any thoughts owuld be appreciated.