rverdoold

I just got a KKL vagcom USB to OBD2 cable (from deal extreme) and used it with free-SSM. It worked. Suprisingly because european cars did not support obd2 until 2003 so my 1999 impreza only supports subaru select monitor. http://developer.berlios.de/screenshots/?group_id=10320 If you find any other software i am interested. I was able to see real-time data, read and clear errors You will have to make a bluetooth serial port i think with a com number for the software

The 2-doors was never sold in Europe, it looks like the wheelbase is shorter than the normal 4-door impreza. Nice toy/driver unfortunately anything that comes close overhere is unaffordable.

I thought I read somewhere that it is likely to damage the wheelbearings when no driveshaft is present and having the weight of the car on the bearings.

Sorry to say but it is the so many-thhh question about the 2wd fuse! It is to drive home with a space saver spare tire. Why would you want to drive FWD if you have a AWD car. Actually the automatic is 90% FWD on a normal road (straight line). AWD will be always a winner. Imagine turning into a corner where there is sand on the road or a sudden moose-test like maneuver the AWD will allow more control and response. no worries Zoltan be happy you got an AWD car

if you can still access the pump, hot wire it with 12v and take the fuel from the line into a can. If possible after the fuel filter then no rubbish is in the fuel.

I get 35 mpg with my 1.6 MT impreza (AWD) on gasoline and 30 mpg for propane. The trick is not to pass 2750 rpm when not needed. I usually shift at 2100 when not in a hurry, it then comes back at 1600 after changing. The biggest saver is leaving in gear when possible. When getting off the highway just let go of the gas and only change it back to 1st when at stand still. Second thing I have my tires inflated to 2.8 bar (40 psi) for 185/65/14 winter tires. I just mounted my summer tires and will see if it remains the same. Same pressure but at size 205/55/15 but will change them to low resistance continental or michelin tires with size 195/65/15. I monitor using Mycar-monitor to register all expenses and to see how much it actually cost to drive. At the moment I am at 0.16 euro cents per km all including maintenance, insurance, tax, fuel and 1000 euro depreciation per year. edit: I found the SEA paper of subaru for the new boxer engine in 1989 there is a graph (32) which shows the fuel vs rpm consumption http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/files/SAE_boxer.pdf (thanks to http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1338)

3rd gen has lots of new safety features. Not saying the 2nd is unsafe but the 3rd is an evolution of the previous one.

I had it once that both bulbs burned at the moment I turned the lights on. I never turn them off but my brother did and I turned them on while starting (never do that again I think). Last week one of my bulbs did not work anymore and it was a bad contact, the plate of the lamp had high resistance so I sanded it and moved the plug a bit and then it worked again.

Crash comparison is very hard among cars. I also think the impact was not at 80 km/h. 5th gear (UK motor program) did once a 80km/h into a tree. While the cabin was still stable the secondary impact (organs with the body and seatbelt/airbag) was to high to survive. You can see in the images the dash came loose from the firewall and the steering wheel looked moved up a bit. The roof collapse shows the car was at its limit of protection. Curious i am at the footwell. I know subaru completely redesigned in the 1999/2000 the side parts of the footwell preventing intrusion of the front wheel and pedals. Remarkable this car was fitted with an airbag and that most likely was one of the biggest savers here. In europe nearly none of the first gen legacy was fitted with an airbag. Even the early 1995 555 impreza just had a steel steering wheel. Also mentioned were the aluminium fender brace. In an impact like this they would transfer energy through the roof, lower frame and the doors. First gens do not have steel door beams to transfer the energy. Good cars evolve to safe transport methods, however the more safe a car is the less safe people will drive. I have seen a crashtest of a toyota yaris (viz is think in us) versus a volvo 940 estate at a 56 km/h offset the readings were lower on the yaris (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c28_1237212037) I think it was good you did not try to avoid it and hit the car offset that would have been worse. All the best in recovering, insurance and a nee subaru!

Good you got out of it OK, hope the post-analysis remains ok. The pros and cons of seatbelts I think. Good subarus have relative long front, at least compared to most european cars. Curious if indeed the sunroof makes the roof less strong. It bend there.

Also do not forget the clean the magnet in the drainplug bolt. This will contain shavings from teethwear. You can also try a bit to clean inside the drainplug hole with a fiberfree cloth. I have 70w95 synpower from mobil i thought

I forgot to mention to try and loosen the bleeder bolt before you remove the clamp from the car. It is easier when still mounted on the car. Just break it loose and tighten it a bit again.

When the side of the brake piston of the calliper is off the car you can push the piston out (well you need a friend to push the brake pedal). At the moment the piston comes out of the calliper brake fluid will leak out of the reservoir. I used a crowbar to have the brake pedal fully pushed in and topped the reservoir up with dot 4 brake oil. I cleaned the piston itself, mine had a bit of rust on it so used very fine sandpaper to remove that. The cylinder in the calliper contains a rubber seal ring this one you usually will have to replace. I did not had one so turned it around. I also honed the cylinder a bit with a drill and brake cylinder hone to remove little bit of rust. Then I put the rubber ring in and placed the rubber dustcap back on the calliper. Then some special brake cylinder fat on the rubber ring and dustcap rubber thingy. And as well on the piston to make it slip nicely into the cylinder. I needed two paperclips to keep the rubber dustcap open enough for the piston to fit. Installing the dustcap after the piston is put in first did not work for me. At least now I am sure the brakes will be trouble free.

Honestly maybe it should be considered a new section because a new engine platform is used. I mean: Older subarus = EA New gen = EJ so Next gen = FB Very interesting article next things subaru should look at are: Direct injection (mentioned), new transmission (mentioned), electric power steering, regenerative braking, and perhaps WEDACS airco system (dutch invention http://papers.sae.org/2009-24-0063/ )

I had a dragging brake for a long period. So I replaced the pads and pushed back the piston. But once I made a emergency stop (cyclist in Holland are careless) my left front brake was very very stuck. So I took out the pads and mounted the calliper back but I could not slide it at all. The top pin came out easily but the lower one did not. After an hour with a teflon hammer I got it out. I noticed a gap in the end of the lower sliding pin. Cleaned it all and put it back together it slides nicely. So checked the other side. That slides nicely but still took out the pins. The lower pin had a rubber washer on the pin. On the place there was a gap on the left side pin. I removed the washer and mounted it back together. It went well for few days. But again it jammed up. The piston was stuck. A friend helped me to removed the piston, replace the piston ring and hone the cylinder as well as sanding the piston itself (very very fine sandpaper). Put it all together with grease, bleed the brake lines and it was working as Subaru meant it to work. So next time on a brake job I will do Pads, slide pin re-greasing and piston maintenance. Also learned that for the slide pins you will need special high-temp grease which does not affect the rubber seals. My aftermarket brake pads did not slide nicely in the holder so I ground the edges a little with. Since stopping is the most important thing on a car after driving it, it is really worth spending some time on brake care.

As said shims reduce rattling. I have 1 on the out side of the brake clamp (housing) and 2 on the inner side at the piston. The shims close to the brake pad usually are coated with a high-temp resistant rubber-ish coating. The reason for the coating is to reduce the rattling. How? Well at the moment the brake is applied the disc and pad heat up very rapid, the heat is transferred to the piston and the brake clamp. The heat makes the metal expand. From the moment the brake is released the disk and the pad are the first to cool down shrinking the metal. The clamp and calliper cool down somewhat later. The rubber backing of the shim overcome the small space that appeared due to the quicker shrinking of the brake pad. The reason there is a second metal shim on the calliper side is to have the piston equally pushing the brake pad. Removing shims will eventually result in rattling because there is no rubber-ish side to avoid that. I usually put a thin layer of copper grease between the shim and the pad and then some on the clamp and piston, but only on the places where contact with the pad is made.

Hydrolock without bending anything? Good subaru puts the sparkplug key with the standard tools.

Nope unless some person put it in himself we do not have those. The standard wrx costs around $75K. Tribeca is not sold here because it is way to expensive. We have the diesels though.

Why are those cars so affordable over there?!! It is unfair!!! Really nice car

Does the plug ground properly through the engine block. It should with such an amount of thread. Unscrew plug or measure resistance between sparkplughead and block it should be very high. Also could be some oil came into the cable end which goes onto the plug when the valve cover seals are worn.

Most interstates are 2 lanes indeed, closer to the big cities as Amsterdam and Rotterdam they get 3 to 6 per direction. However speedlimits there are 100 km/h and on interstates are 120 km/h so not that fast. Keep in mind that most sold cars here are size of an Impreza or smaller. 1.6 is a real average and fast enough. Fuel efficiency, weight and co2 emmision determine the road tax with an exponetional increase for co2 emmision. Subaru is really really bad with co2. They should make a 1.5 turbo or even smaller, also a smaller diesel is welcome. Propane is a good alternative now, being very clean and green (is a waste product). And in bi-fuel configuration so spare tire is at behind the seat. Prices per gallon I will not calculate I figured out that JECS is actually the original supplier.

Thanks for the info. I know where it is located, found JECS for about 80 euros (still expensive compared to USA but better than 120) It is a 1.6 never mind the performance

Would it make sense to take it out clean it and put it back and see for few days. I think it is only failing when the CEL is on. So only for short moments. If I get a replacement does it have to be Subaru, or Bosch or will others also do. (I know the ECU is picky with O2 sensors)

Was driving yesterday on the highway all of a sudden CEL comes on for few seconds, and half a minute later again. And stayed off for the rest of the trip. Passed subaru dealer and managed to read the errors without charge (not very common here in Holland). Knock-sensor error, all codes cleared. This morning again CEL for just a second or two and then off. I Washed the car 2 days ago and cleaned the engine bay a bit with a sponge so no tons of water. Checked the sensor this morning. It is a 2 wire plug but there is only 1 wire. Engine is a 1.6 but is identical to the 1.8 (which is nearly identical to the 2.0) So what makes the CEL go on. I assume malfunction of the sensor it self. Or also when heavy knocking is detected? Since it is a single wire I think assume the grounding is via the engine block, anything I should check here before I buy a new sensor? Sensors cost here about 120 euros (which is about 180 dollars which is stupid). Car, 1999 Impreza plus, 1.6 with direct propane injection (108 octane) about 106k km (~66k miles)

Honestly the first thing I read about subaru when i was young that it they were made by Fuji Heavy Industries which was well known for making CVTs.