mikeamondo

99 Leg. Wagon Anniversary edition, 126,000 miles, auto. There was a loud noise when braking... kind of a loud sqeak, growl, not-quite-a-grind sound... didn't quite sound like bad brakes but the pads were low, so I replaced them. Old pads were super rusty and material was cracked. Took out one of the caliper pins because it seemed stiffer than the other one. Added some grease and tried to push it back in... it just pushed back out, and I couldn't even get it far enough in to slip the caliper back over it. Eventually, I removed as much grease from the inside of the hole as possible and it seemed to go in futher, making it possible to slip the caliper in place, but it was also pushing back out harder than the other pin. So, 1) Will uneven 'pushout pressure' between the pins cause me problems? (new pads seem to be working fine after test drive) and... 2) For future referrence, did I just have too much grease in the hole, or was there some other cause? It acted like it was trapping air in the hole behind the pin. Now, the second issue.... the squeek. Part of the brake noise involved some squeaking from the front driver's side tire. The brakes are new, and I still have a light squeak when turning right. Quiet to the left and straight. Sounds like a little bird down there. Any ideas on what's squeaking? Thanks! Mike

Thanks for the replies! Had the car looked at by the folks at the Sube Shop in Morgantown... Copper contacts in the starter were worn and he replaced them.... so 10 points to all who said starter! Always nice to hear from other Morgantowners! Ever see the Auto Expo mag? That's us! So after driving the car for a while longer, I've seen that the tach is working fine.... speedo just cuts out every so often and then comes back. Also, seeing as how the odometer is not digital.... it was just a coincidence that it cranked over to 000 just as my wife looked down at it.... so unrelated. I've got a brake issue as well, but I'll start a new thread for that issue. So.... with this '99 speedo issue, do I need to replace the instrument cluster, or is it the sensor at the tranny? Thanks1 Mike

Hello... any ideas of what might be causing these to problems, and whether they are related? 99 Legacy Wagon, 122k, 2.2L, Annivers. Edition.... 1) Car won't turn over when key is turned... just get a 'click'... then after several tries, it turns over at regular speed and fires right up. Battery check at Sears came back fine. Cable connection is tight and clean. 2) Speedo and Tachometer stop working occasionally.... speedo drops to zero, and Tach pegs at a constant rpm. A few minutes down the road and they both come back.... one clue: when they came back, the trip odometer had reset to zero. So... are they related? Any ideas about causes.... Thanks! Mike

Hi folks! On my 95 Impreza, 2.2L, the ac starts with a loud screech.... seems to work okay after that.... still cools the air and the front of the compressor clearly turns. The screech is loud enough for my daughter to hear over her music.... which means it is so loud that most of you have probably heard it now and again! So.... compressor or compressor clutch? And is there a difference in terms of repair. Do I need a compressor regardless? Thanks! Mike

Hello All... Our daughter's 95 Impreza, auto, AWD, has the "can't shift it out of park when it's cold" problem that appears in several threads here. A local mechanic replaced the switch with a used one, but the problem persists. I'd like to just replace it all and fix the problem for good.... So... I need some help finding the Solenoid and Relay... I'm assuming the switch is on the brake pedal somewhere. Also... are they hard to replace once I locate them, and are there any special hints you can offer about completing the job? Thanks! Mike

I will take a look to double check... but as usually happens, the car has made me look like an idiot by fixing itself! Go in this evening and it was idling fine now... maybe it 'learned' how to handle the additional power gained from the new plugs and wires. Or... Maybe I'm clinically insane. Thanks! Mike

Hi all... I've got a 99 Legacy, 2.2L, auto... and, as I found out yesterday, the California emmission system. Car has been weak since we bought it so I did spark plugs and wires. Also tried to un-do the Oxy. sensor, but decided it was too difficult for a quick tune up. Now the car has much more power (Yay!), but the idle is too high. It's idling constantly at about 1500 rpm. No surging and it doesn't seem to change with temp. I'm heading out to see if I can find something I disconnected and forgot to reconnect or a vaccuum line I may have knocked off.... Anyone have any possible culprits? It wasn't doing it before the tuneup and started immediately upon starting the engine after the tuneup.... ideas???? We're leaving on an 8 hour trip in the morning and I'd like to get this bug worked out this afternoon.... Thanks, Mike

AND THE WINNER IS: Over the past week, a "whorp, whorp, whrop" sound began and then grew louder, as the weak power condition increased. Would not be there when cold and then get worse as the car got hotter. Eventually, the telltale pulsation in the brake pedal would start... but there was not a hot-brake smell until two days ago. Turns out, the front pass. caliper had siezed up, but was not squeezing hard enough to really fry the brakes... only enough to slow her down a little and make them get moderately hot. Took it to Sears and had them replace the calipers and machine the rotors. Wow, what a difference it makes when you're not driving with a brake on! Better yet... the shifting issue is GREATLY imporoved! It's not perfect. I still notice that hesitation to shift back into 4th after a moderately agressive hill climb... but the hesitation is more like 8 seconds instead of 12 and is much less common. My wife will likely not even experience it, as she drives very conservatively. I'm going to watch it over the next few weeks and see if I can qualify it a little better with some driving tests and maybe if I get a moment, I'll test the TPS as discussed.... but for now, it's the Legacy we've been dreaming it would be! thanks for the help! Mike

I was beginning to suspect the TPS as well.... but I have no idea about how to test or check it. Can they do that at the dealership? What kind of tester would be needed?

Thought of that... if there is a sufficient downhill section at the top of the grade, I can actually take my food completely of the accelerator, and the car will still remain in 3rd for 12 seconds.... I've tried letting off the gas, adding more gas.... cussing, begging, pleading..... still.... 12-14 seconds at 3,000 rpm before it downshifts. Here's my next test.... I'm going to try pulling the shifter into 3rd manually and right back into fourth to see if that will make it up shift. We'll see what that does. It gets around 20 mpg. That's all I was expecting... should it be higher? I'll try to get to the tune up this weekend and also do the test I described above in the next day or so.... thanks for the help, guys!

UPDATE! .... and clarification. The fluid is, I think, at the correct level, though it seemed nearly impossible to get it there. (Might be a clue... is there a tranny issue that results in different fluid level readings under identical conditions?) Even with the fluid correct, the aforementioned transmission shift issue is still prevalent. However, in looking over my description of it, and the replies, I don't think I've described it well at all.... I've now timed the hesitation and qualified it a little better, so here goes.... As I start up a hill, the car will shift down into 3rd gear, as I climb the hill at around 40 mph. At the top of the hill, the rpms start to increase as the speed increases. By 45-48 mph, the rpms are hitting around 2800 or 2900. I then hold it there, at 48 mph, as I crest the hill and enter the level section of road. It will stay in 3rd gear, taching 2900 rpm for a full 12-14 seconds after creating the hill before finally upshifting into 4th. (my earlier descrip. made it sound like the rpms were fluctuating... they don't, but only increase as the speed increases after cresting the hill.) It DOES NOT do this when accelerating from a stop... only after downshifting to climb a hill... and, regardless of the steepness of the hill or whether it goes to level or downhill at the top, the 12-14 second hesitation remains the same. Now... 12 seconds in 3rd gear might seem normal at first... but I suggest you check out your shifting pattern under similar circumstances next time you are out.... it's an eternity! I'd be interested to hear how long some other trans. take to shift back up under a similar load. One other point: the car is weak. Sometimes 40-45 is all it will do without shifting down into 2nd on steeper hills. I'm thinking it just needs a tune up.... plugs, wires, etc. What suggestions do you have for tackling the power issue? And.... is this tranny toast? Thanks! Mike

Well... you know how you get used the sound of you car, and just know by intuition when it should shift? It goes higher than that. I'll check later today when we head home to see just how high it goes before it shifts. I'm hoping to be able to drain the fluid a little this evening. It's been snowing and nasty here, so I need to head over to my folk's house where I can use a nice, slightly warm, garage! --Mike

Ah Hah! I'll get the fluid drained off to the right levels and test her out. I'll also check the dipstick for frothy-ness over the next few drives. Thanks! --Mike

No delays from park to reverse or at any other time. As far as being normal, it seems to last way to long and lets the rpms climb pretty high... can't say how high right now, but I'll check next time I drive it. It's enough for you to think "hey why isn't the tranny shifting?" and then a couple seconds later it shifts. I've had several Subs and countless other automatics... this sure doesn't feel like anything I'd call "normal."

Thanks for the replies! I verified that they did a complete fluid change at Monro... connecting the pump to a vat of fresh fluid and all that. They normally do a detergent rinse, but had no problem skipping that part. The first time I checked the transmission fluid a week or so ago, it did look frothy on the stick. Today, it looked less so, but it was not as hot as the first check.... So, I will let it get good and hot and check the fluid again. Sounds like if it's getting frothy, and by extension 'spongy', that it might not be moving the internal parts quite as quickly as it should... and might cause the slow shift issue? Possible? I followed the link and read the description of the shifting patterns on the 99's. When I was on a very slick road last week, with mediocre tires, coming downhill, the tranny did in fact shift down into third, but then began shifting back a forth between 4th and 3rd (I think) at about 3 - 5 second intervals. We've since replaced the tires, and this morning it did not behave the same way, however the roads were nowhere near as slick. Not sure if that's related, but thought I'd mention it. Sure would like to find a way to shut that downhill assist off! --Mike

Hello! We have a 99 Legacy Wagon, Ann. Ed., 2.2L, 4EAT auto, AWD with 85k miles, which we purchased a month and a half ago. It was having some rough shifting issues and the fluid looked orangy brown, so we had it changed at Monro. Fluid change, new filter, no detergent. The shifting improved, however, after driving it a couple weeks, it's become obvious that it's still not quite right.... Here's what's happening: Going uphil, the car downshifts into 3rd as you'd expect. When cresting the top of the hill, the rpms increase and the car seems to lag in 3rd about 15 to 20 seconds longer than you'd expect. It does finally shift into 4th. All other shifting seems fine. So, I checked the fliuid level. It is overfilled by maybe a half pint. I drove the car till hot, parked on the level, removed the dipstick, backed the car up and pulled it forward and ran through the other gears, then back to park, waited a couple minutes and checked it. Fluid comes up to the T on HOT... Could the overfill situation cause the shifting problem or are we looking at something more ominous here? Any ideas? Thanks! Mike

Quick update and a big THANK YOU! Had the tranny flushed and a new filter put on our 99 Leg. yesterday. It now drives like a different car! We had it done a Monro, fluid only, no detergent. Cost us about $120 with the new filter. The car is smooth and quiet and stays in 4th gear at speed! The mechanic said the fluid was dirty, but it smelled more "old" than "burnt". I'm hoping that's a good thing. Also... we had a belt squeal. I came back to ultimatesubaru.org and searched the archives, learning from everyone else's posts. Took a look at the car and sure enough, whoever last changed the belts forgot to re-tighten the lock nut. Tightened it all up... no squeal! So ... a great big thank you to Nipper, OB99W, njdrsubaru and everyone else who has helped a novice like me to diagnose and fix my own subaru! This forum is an AMAZING resource and I direct everyone I know who owns a soobie to check it out!

Ah... yes.... well I guess that would explain it. Don't know why I assumed something would illuminate on the dash. I'll dig into the center console to see if I can find a burned out bulb in there. Thanks! M.

Hoping someone has a quick, easy answer to this one..... Our 99 Legacy, AWD, auto, 2.2L, we just bought seems to be lacking indicator lights on the dash which tell you the gear you've moved the shifter into. There is a black area just under the tack, which I assume is supposed to show a P, R, N, D, etc, while the engine is running... but we get nada. Didn't notice it till we drove at night and you can't be sure the car is in D3 verses D, etc.... Any ideas? Mike

Yep.. even checked the stickers and what not around the compartment.... The L and Ann. Editions had the 2.2L... the GT's and Outbacks got the 2.5L's. From what I've read, I'm glad for the 2.2... I'm much more into longevity than speed! M

I've got a 90 Legacy (for sale, by the way) which has a major problem in super sharp turns, which I assume to be torque bind. When turning very sharply, the shifter will shake violently and there will be a horrific noise. If you ease up on the turn it stops.... Anyway... our local GM dealer (a good customer of mine) said he had fix and proceeded to sell me a bottle of GM Limited Slip Axel Lubricant Additive. It made a HUGE difference. It still does it a little, but he also told me it might need two or three doses. The bottle is only 4 ounces, and does not have a list of ingredients.... just says it's a 'specially compounded formulation'. Is this really a good solution to TB, or am I just putting off.... or even making worse..... a looming problem? M

Yes... the car does have cruise control. Would that cause/add to this issue? I thought I remembered something about a decent assist. In fact, I noticed at least once or twice that the downshift occured when I tapped the brake pedal... however, it certainly happened at other times as well. That left me looking for a switch/button/magic chant to turn the damn feature off. (There's no owner's manual in the car.) Let me guess. It's a 'stay on for the life of the car' kind of feature! M...

Will do... thanks for the advice! I'll let you know whether it helps or not... M

As far as determining the shifting pattern.... I waited until I felt it down shift, going down a hill, and then pulled the shifter back into D3, which resulted in no change of rpm or gear. Then I pushed the shifter back into D, and it immediately shifted up into 4th and the rpm dropped as you would expect. The problem then repeated itself shortly thereafter. I have not had an opportunity to see exactly at what speeds it does what. I was on a typically twisty WV road, so I was likely not over 55 or 60 at most... but still... solidly over 40 or 45. M

Just ran down and double checked.... the car has the 2.2L, not the 2.5L... Does that mean something good? M