1 Lucky Texan

I vote for slipping clutch. Likely coincidental. How many miles on the odometer and what kind of side street/highway mix do you drive? 75 in 5th at 3k sounds about right. I believe you. Bet the lower gears seem normal too - classic slipping clutch.

In all fairness, any number of other vehicles she might've been in (including a Volvo) may have served as well at protecting her. I DO realize that personal anecdotes like this can have an effect of increasing brand loyalty and certainly a new Forester should stay on your list of replacement vehicles assuming it still fits other aspects of your selection criteria, but I wouldn't limit myself JUST because of the wreck. glad everyone's OK

Might be worth triple-checking the tires. They should be the same brand/style/wear/CIRCUMFERENCE and not exhibit any tread seperation etc. I dunno

I've had 2 different vehicles flip their CELs on altitude changes so I'm sure there is some effect on the 'system'. It wouldn't hurt to reset the ECU and recheck the tire pressure.

Probably the same ugly-@55ed way it's hung on my outback.

does a sweeping turn left sound different than a turn right? Some folks report the bad bearing sounds worse when it's on the outside of a turn.

I just wondered if reverse is also full time 50/50. actually, i dunno what i was thinking! lol! yeah - I probably should mix up my sig again - it's kinda getting old.

There's a coil inside the radiator that has tranny fluid pumped through it to help cool the tranny. I suppose if the tubing/whatever had a pinhole leak, you'd get the emulsion in the rad o'flow. It may mean you're trading HG problems for tranny problems though. I dunno how 'tolerant' the tranny would be of coolant mixing in - if it can even flow that way. Worth investigating.

How would it behave in reverse?

But how would you know if they had already been 'activated' in shipping or were otherwise broken/maladjusted? can you go back to the dealership and confirm that ALL the Foresters on the lot are like that or just a few or ?

Doesn't sound good. Look under the oil fill cap for 'chocolate mousse' too.

I JUST got some Kumhos on my new ride. So far so good. So, you figure my '06 takeoff wheels and tires are worth only about $250? I'm very disappointed but - at least it will help offset the cost of my new wheels. sigh

Well, it's a weird question. Um - like if you want to accelerate faster, take out as much weight as possible, seats, spare tire, tools. Keep windows rolled up - even in summer the savings in wind resistance at highway sppeds makes up forrtunning the a/c. maybe remove the intake 'snorkus' in the fender. Keep it waxed and clean. Run the lightest weight oil suggested in the manual - and change it on schedule. Keep the plugs gapped properly. Keep a clean intake filter. Use 'touch up' paint on the 'parking lot rash' areas. Use 'wet tire' or similar product on the tires. Maintain proper air pressure in the tires - check at least monthly. Use maybe 5%-10% more pressure than the manual states. dunno what you're really wanting to do

Probably some from the junkyard. Cars with very new/good tires do get junked occasionally. I have been in the position in the past where I actually bought used tires. It was never a great value - just an emergency maneuver. Shop at tirerack.com but take a printout to you local tire store (Discount, NTB, whatever) and see if they can beat it. Or, ask around one of the tire shops at quitting time if there is a way a guy who's strapped for cash cou;d get some good used tires. Sometimes folks jst but new tires before their old ones are wornout. The big problem nowadays is the liability that a shop incurs if they sell and mount used tires. They are reluctant to do it and in sime states it may be illegal. But giving a guy a 50 dollar bill when he's walking outta the tire shop at quitting time MIGHT fix you up. It's tough when you're strapped and the vehicle needs shoes. We've all been there. Don't be ashamed to ask your relatives, friends - even your boss. They don't want you to risk your life on crappy tires. good luck

Additionally here in the States, a manufacturer has a much greater incentive to recommend lighter weight oils to help meet CAFE standards, and I suspect they do that even if it means your engine may 'only' last 150K instead of 250K miles. I dunno

thanx to browsing the above links to other links, I found the map I recalled; http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq12.htm Seems their average for my area is approx. 41 months. I'd say my personal average is a little lower - probably other folks get a better average.

I suspect that when my cars sit in the summer sun here in Texas it would be quite easy for under-cowl temperatures to reach 140-160 F . At those temps for a coupla hours, what amount of 30W versus 40W oil is not squished out from the cam lobes? What about the oil squirters spraying oil directly on the underside of the pistons in the turbo engines? What about shutting the engine off after a hard run and the water stops circulating? What temp spikes can the valvetrain see? How much oil will be on the cam lobes the NEXT time the engine is started? If I could get Mobil 1 10W-40 at the same great price I always find the 10W-30 I'd run it. I may switch from 10-30 to the 10-40 after I get few thousand more miles. I dunno

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vintage-Subaru-FF-1-owners-manual-HTF-REDUCED_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6762QQitemZ8009033054QQrdZ1 fyi

I wouldn't rule out a wheel bearing in addition to your thoughts.

In the north I think you guys need CCA - but in the south we need something called 'reserve capacity'. I saw a map once and it indicated where I live had an average car batt. life of 2-3 years. My personal experience tracks that fairly closely. So maybe I could just throw in a $40 batery every coupla years and maybe never worry about being stranded. Or get a $75 batt. with a 3 year full replacement, maybe 'win' the bet or maybe not - either way it's the 'sword of damacles' waiting to get ya'!

batteries have such short lives here in N.Central texas I have 'almost' convinced myself to just schedule a new, cheap battery every 2 years instead of waiting to be stranded. The 3 year full replacement battery from Autozone is what I have used a coupla times, and actually got a free replacement one! But it is expensive and you still are waiting for failure or other 'issues'. cars need lighter/better batteries or fuel cells or 'something'. where's the technology?

JUST replaced the stock B'stone RE92 215/45R17 tires and 17x7 e55(IIRC) alloys with Kumho EASX 225/45R17 on SSR 17x7.5 e50 alloys. Using the freight scale here at work it appears I also reduced the weight at each corner by approx. 3.5 lbs. I think the Kumhos are a little bigger diameter though - since the aspect ration is the same. Still, not bad - plus the white spokes look good on my white car! No other changes made yet, no apparent rubbing issues this morning in normal drive to work. Slightly more noticeable road noise. Not bad and perhaps will settle down after a few miles. wonder how much my stock wheels and tires are worth? fyi

I think that is 'disappointing' oil usage but maybe not indicative of any particular failure. I'm sure you car would have the PCV valve system and it may very well need servicing. You might consider a heavier weight oil - at least through the summer months and see if that helps. Examining all 4 spark plugs may be a good idea, in case one cylinder is exhibiting a problem. A better test might be compression/leak down but I would start with the PCV and maybe heavier (higher viscosity) oil.

I always wanted to end a post with the word mayonnaise.

Yeah, maybe I jumped to conclusions. I just figired the same general system would be operated either by the TCU (Transmission Control Unit) based on various inputs or by hand. I suppose it may vary by model too. I dunno, I guess I'm outta my league here! lol!