subiefan

Subarus tend to be finicky about aftermarket parts. I don't know about alternators though. I would say the NAPA one is probably the best out of those though. I have had good experiences with their parts.

Need more info. Is it a wagon or sedan? AT or 5 Spd.? AWD or FWD? How many miles? General condition?

That's nothing. When my windshield gets dirty, I take my car to the dealership and trade it in. To each his own. But my motto concerning car ownership is "till death or deer, which ever comes first." So once I get a car, I plan on keeping it until something goes terribly wrong and it's no longer worth fixing. The average age of American cars is 9-11 years. My '93 Sube is still providing excellent service, and I haven't done much else than regular oil changes/tires/brakes/timing belt. There are people on this board who have 25+ year old Subes still providing good service. It's probably a good guess to say that mantaining one's car (unless LOTS, and I mean LOTS of major things start falling apart) is quite a bit cheaper than regular car payments AND full coverage insurance. Just my .02 cents, so please don't harass me over this.

It may have been replaced and was not recorded, but to be safe, I would change it anyway. '96 was the last year for non-interference engines, so your '97 has the interference engine. If you don't replace it, and it breaks, your going to have some serious damage on your hands. (It's called an interference engine because the pistons will "interfere" with the valves if a timimg belt breaks. The valves could be in the wrong position at the wrong time and get struck by a piston. Bye-bye valves.) Better safe than sorry. I would replace it. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks everybody. Sounds like this should be fairly simple to do. I'll get started as soon as UPS delivers my harness and DIN pocket I ordered.

*I know this is a long post. Plese forgive me.* Well, I've decided to upgrade my audio system in my Subie. The car had one rear speaker blown when I got it a little over a year and a half ago, and it blew the other rear one last month. The driver's front speaker rattels insanely, so for all practical purposes, I've got one good speaker and the stock radio. So I bought a Pioneer CD player w/ 4 speakers combo deal from Wal-Mart for 98 bucks. It doesn't look cheap (160 Watt total), so it seems to me that Pioneer boxed together a retired HU and some speakers to get rid of them and sold it for cheap. It has a Pioneer DEH-6 head unit and two pairs of TS164P 6.5 inch speakers. I ordered a wiring harness adapter and a universal (Mistubish, VW, Subaru) DIN pocket kit off the internet and am currently waiting on UPS to deliver it (not 'till Tuesday). I wanted to buy all my stuff from Wally World, but they didn't have the harness or DIN pocket for my Subie. (and even if they did, I couldn't have found it:banghead:. They've got the whole store here turned upside-down for remodeling. Yipee!) I am a DIY mechanic and have put stereos in other cars before, but never a Subie. The speakers should be a breeze. Getting the front door panels off probably won't be fun, but I can handle that. The only thing I'm worried about is the HU. The wiring should not be a problem with the harness adapter, but I don't know much about the actual install.So I have three main questions: 1.) How do I remove the stock radio? 2.) How do I put the new unit in? 3.) Which speaker wire is positive/negative? Instructions and pointers would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

I don't really think I can help; I'm sure the other members here can. Some mpg figures and a more detailed description of the "vibration" would probably be helpful though. *please help this member*

Maybe it is Valvoline's specific formula that caused my troubles. The Mobil 1 may actually work, but I would still be afraid to try it. Also, I think my seals are in pretty sad shape. The previous owner was a non-mechanically able person, shown by the oil change sticker from, of all places, Wal-Mart. Yikes! I have a feeling that when the timing belt was changed (I should say if the t-belt was changed - oh well, its non interfearance) that the seals were never replaced.

I'm with you blitz. I put Valvoline Max Life 10W40 for 75k mile plus engines in my '93 Impreza. Baaaad idea. It sealed my tiny leaks for a few days, but then the oil seals started leaking like someone had opened the flood gates. I had several people come up to me when I was stopped and tell me politely that they thought my car might be on fire. Everone else just stared. I quickly changed my oil to Castrol GTX 20W50 and haven't switched types yet. Suprisingly, this actually sealed my leaks to a reasonable degree - no more smoking; just maybe a burn oil smell after a long drive. I just check the oil every now and then and add a little when needed. I'm not worried about it. I'll change the seals when I change my timing belt. So it is probably NOT a good idea to use any type of high mileage oils or oil additives. Just my $.02.

I'm pretty sure I'm not pressing the gas pedal when starting. Just to be sure, would pulling the negative battery cable reset the ECU just in case it has learned some sort of bad habbit?

Hmmm.... Very interesting. My '93 Impreza does the EXACT same thing. I don't have a good idea as to what's causing it though. Do you mean idle air control vavle? Sounds like that could be the cause. I am suspecting that with mine, because if you just give it a touch of throttle and start it, it doesn't stumble. As to where it is, I don't know that. My Chiltons doesnt cover your year.

Does it "bump" into the next gear all the time? Or only when accelerating hard/quickly? I do not own a Loyale. However, my 93 Impreza does "bump" into the next gear when accelerating hard/quickly. It shifts smoothly when accelerating slowly. Since its a new gen Sube it has the 4 speed Auto and could be completely different though.

Subarus do not get great gas mileage compared to other 4 cyl. vehicles due to their weight and engine design. But this is made up for with their overall long life, reliability, and AWD. I would expect gas mileage similar to a V6 like the Impala. The two cars are about equal in this area. Like others though, I seem to actually get slighlty better mileage than what my Subaru is rated for. That is odd about the warranty though. New Subarus usually have very good warranties. I do not own an Outback, but I did drive one once. I actually thought it was quite roomy in the leg room department. But I'm not very tall, so that is your decision to make. I would not be too concerned about head gasket issues. Those seem to have been pretty much resolved by Subaru. Compared to an older 2.5 engine, you have very little to worry about. I hope you get a good deal out of your truck. The Subaru is definately worth the extra money over the Impala. If you treat a Subaru well, it tends to last practically forever mechanically, and you have the added bonus of AWD and, as you said, the sport shift and other goodies. Even though the cost to buy the Subaru may be more than the Impala, the total cost of owning a Subaru will most likely be less do to their reliability and long life (no need to buy a new car soon). My Subes are about 10 and 13 years old, respectively, and they still run like tops, go like tanks, and still manage to get good mpg. If you treat a Subie well, it will serve you well for years and years to come. Good Luck!

Go for the Outback. Personally, I've never owned the Outback, but I love my Imprezas. You can't beat AWD! (said while passing snow plow on highway) My '96 AWD Impreza does require snow/ice tires in the winter, but it's well worth it. (I had a bad experience similar to ice skating with the normal all season radials.) The thing will stick to the road like a snowmobile with snow/ice tires though. Now about AWD always beating FWD, that depends. I have a '93 Impreza FWD as well. Put studded snow/ice tires on it and personally, I think it sticks to the road just about as good as the '96 AWD. But that's probably because its a Subaru. Plus, studded snow tires are not legal in some states, so thats not really fair. The rule of thumb, though, is that AWD is better. Regarding gas mileage - Subarus do NOT get great gas mileage. Thats a trade off for their long engine life and AWD. The AWD adds weight, which hurts mileage. It also seems to me that the Subaru engines are tuned to run richer than most engines for longer life, rather than more lean for max mpgs. It may just be the boxer design itself. I really don't know for sure. Just remember that it will get mpgs similar to a V6. Personally, I think its a good trade off though. Subarus are quite peppy and have a fairly impressive amount of umph for a 4 cyl. anyway. Regarding their value -Subarus DO hold their value well MUCH longer than an Impala, mostly because they are AWD. Regarding breaking down - It's not often that my Imprezas ever break down. Actually, for the time I've owned them, ('93 for 1 1/2 years / '96 for almost a year now) they have never actually broken down. -crosses fingers- The '96 threw a few Check Engine Lights, but that was the fault of the previous owner. It turns out they never had throttle body cleaned, which caused it to run lean and misfire. But I digress. I assume that the Outbacks are similarly reliable. But...I kow the 2.5 engines used to have headgasket issues. I don't know about the new ones though. If anyone knows about the headgasket issues 2.5 engines, pleae let mtmra70 know. Regarding repair expense - I can't really help you much there since I've never really had to repair anything major yet, although I don't think it's much more than most domestic cars. I really don't know if the price you are getting is a good deal or not. I haven't bought a brand new car in.......hmmm......I forget.:-\ (My motto: Why buy new when if you keep a car long enough it will eventually be new again anyway.) Actually that doesn't apply to Subarus very well, though. It worked VERY well with my old Crapalier -oops.... did I say Crapalier....I meant Cavalier- I had to replace so many parts there were more new parts than there were orginal ones. To sum up, I would absolutely go for the Outback, or any Subaru for that matter, over an Impala. Thats just my 2 cents. The other more experienced New Generation Subaru owners can probably help you with your questions more. I have only owned my Subarus for a year and a half now, not counting an old Brat I had years ago. It was eventually dissolved by the SRV -Subaru Rust Virus-. (A gust of wind comes through and the Brat collapses into a pile of dust on the ground, kinda like the B9 Tribeca ad.) Don't worry. New Subes are immune to the SRV. Good luck! And keep us updated about your decision. ~Edit~ I did a search for the head gasket issues on the new 2.5 engines. No one really seems to agree if it has been fixed or not. Check out this thread for yourself. Has the Head Gasket Probelm Been Fixed? _______________ subiefan 1993 Impreza FWD - 184k and steadily advancing to 200k:) 1996 Impreza AWD - 84k

In reply to SickLegacy's question - Likely Causes: a.) still debris somewhere in the cooling system. Run some kind of cleaner through and flush again. b.) head gasket. hang your head and weep for your poor subie.

hmmm.... my 93 Impreza does something similar. It starts fine, but then rpms drop till it nearly shuts off. Then it revs itself back up and runs fine. If you blip the throttle while its trying to shut off, it revs up immediately and runs perfectly. I have noticed that it seems to idle a little slow all the time though, sometimes reving itself back up to the right idle speed if it drops very low. It doesn't surge. This only happens every few minutes while idling, not up.....down.....up..... every few seconds. It doesn't really happen when the A/C is on, though it will still try to die at startup. Your problem just sounds like what mine does, only a little worse. As to the cause, I'm just as clueless as you are though.:-\

Sorry everybody. Double Post.

I agree with you Andrew. It does seem like a linkage problem (happening when going over bumps or when shutting door). Also, this only happened last week when we had a bit of a heat wave here with temps in the upper 90's. Now that it has cooled down back into the normal 80's, it hasn't happened again. -crosses fingers- However, if it does happen again, JaySun's solution seems easier. Thanks again everybody.

Hmm... 20 views and no replies. Must be a confusing little bug. :-\ I don't mean to sound impatient. It's just odd, that's all. Please take your time.

(I apologize in advance for the long post.) I know I have not posted here in a while, and I have a good reason. I have had no problems with my subie! I posted a while ago about my mystery misfire and gas guzzling. I tried just about everything I could think of but finally gave in and ended up taking it to the dealership. There diagnosis: "Plugs not torqued properly" and "the throttle body looked like it had never been cleaned before." They re-torqued the plugs, cleaned the throttle body, and sent me home with advice to put in a good fuel injector cleaner and premium gas. (I think my stealership - oops...I meant dealership- wants me to loose as much money as possible. EXPENSIVE fuel injector cleaner and premium gas at $2.70 something a gallon!) I guess I shouldn't complain though, because it seems to have fixed it. The car does not run rough now and gets good mpg. But now my poor subie has a new problem. The doors now like to lock all by themselves whenever they want to.:-\ I discovered this about a week ago when I was getting into the car. I thought I had just bumbed the switch with my arm, but then they locked again when I pulled the door shut. However, when they lock by themselves, the driver's door does NOT lock; just the other three doors do.The problem happens completely at random. It doesn't matter if the car is parked, stopped at a light, moving, etc. This isn't a major problem but it is annoying. It is a 96 Impreza Sedan. If any of you have any ideas about my "lock phantom" they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. ~edit~ Before you ask, I have read some posts about aftermarket alarms causing this sort of probelm. As far as I know, my car does not have an aftermarket alarm sytem, remote starting system, or anything similar.

Thanks for all your help, but the car was NOT in good condition at all. I went to drive it yesterday. The first thing I saw was a fairly large dent in the front left fender. I thought, "I'll drive it first and if everything else checks out and it drives OK, I'll try to get them to come down on the price." Well, as soon as I took off in it, I felt like I was riding on the back of a bucking bull. The car definately has torque bind. (buck....buck...clunk...buck....while accelerating.....then smooth while going in straight line at highwayspeed.....then buck....clunk....buck....buck....clunk while slowing down and turning) Thanks for all your help though.

I do not have a Forester, but in my 96 Impreza there is a fair increase in mpg when using 93 octane instead of 87.

Thanks everybody.

Bump

Sorry. Double Post.