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Thanks for the replies! We live in a rural area with a lot of big hills that makes a normal auto transmission hunt for the right gear with the cruise engaged. I'm assuming that with a CVT one will only see an increase in revs to match the needed power to climb the hill. What actually happens, let's say, on a quarter to half mile 4-5% grade hill at 60 mph with the cruise set?

Has anyone driven one of these? Impressions? We have a 2006 Outback LLBean as our primary car, nice machine, but we are looking for better fuel economy and a more traditional car such as the Legacy 2.5i Limited. We also have a 98 Forester, a 2003 Baja, and a 94 Dodge pickup so we really don't need another utility type.

After the recent HG job on my 98 Forester I drove it for a few days with the ac not charged and the compressor wire unplugged. I got a CEL after I drove it a few times. A couple of days ago I had the ac charged and after a half dozen or so start/warmup cycles the CEL went out. Will the unplugged ac cause the CEL or is it probably something else that will show up again?

Why not install the OEM Subaru hitch, it comes with the light adapter, all cabling, and it looks like it belongs on the car. We had one installed on our 06 OBW LL Bean before the car left the dealer.

I use a mini bar clamp with the rubber pads and just snug it up horizontally between the two pulleys. It holds the cams perfectly. Just make sure the bars point to the middle of the engine or they will be in the way. The picture was taken with a Palm so its not real clear but you can get the idea. http://www.gpcom.net/minderman/CAMHOLDER.JPG

The problem is that when it is cold (20 degrees or colder) and the interior is just as cold the heater heats like crazy until the sensors recognize 66 degrees. They are mounted in the dash so until the dash gets warm its just like hanging an ice cube above the thermostat in your house. The air temp probably gets to 80 for 10 minutes or so. After everything gets warmed up the climate control works perfectly.

We recently bought a new 2006 OBW LL Bean and love everything about the car except the minimum temp setting. The lowest it can be set is 66 which is mighty warm during cold weather when heavy coats will be worn. I mentioned it to a salesman at a Subaru/GM dealer yesterday and he said that 60 is the minimum on the GMs. Does anyone know if there is an update avilable to change the lowest temp to something less that 66?

I used a couple of the mini-bar clamps with the rubber pads. Position them horizontally right between the two sprockets and snug them up. This works to hold them for the timing belt change but to remove the sprockets you will have to take the covers off so you can hold the cams with a 1" wrench.

I did decide to use new head bolts because of the torque/turn method. Got the heads back yesterday so this morning I started putting it back together. On the first head one of the new bolts was so crooked that it rubbed on the inside of the bolt hole as I turned it. I figured that if I was going to reuse one bolt to replace the defective new one I might as well reuse them all and save my $100.

I have the engine out of my 98 Forester for a HG job and was checking the clutch for servicability when I noticed that the center spring cushion assy of the clutch plate is off-set. I didn't notice this when I took it apart. Which way does it go; the offset side toward the flywheel with the flush side toward the pressure plate or the other way? It will fit either way but I'd hate to find out its wrong when I it back together and the clutch won't work. Thanks for all the info you have given me so far. This site is great!

I had a 2000 OB w/manual that hit 3000 rpm a little over 60. Traded it a few months ago for a 2006 OB LL Bean. What a difference, 2000 rpm = 60 mph. I know what you mean about the high rpm on the manual OB.

It's all of the other gaskets that I am questioning.

After pulling my engine this week for a head gasket job and reading this post, I'm wondering if it would be easier to unhook the torque rod, remove the nuts from the two motor mounts and jack the engine up a few inches. I've changed the plugs before so I'm familiar with the restricted space.

I pulled the heads yesterday on my 98 Forester because of the typical head gasket symptoms (engine out of the car) and noticed that all of the gaskets seemed to be assembled dry. I have the overhaul gasket set so what gaskets require dressing and what type? My shop manual doesn't mention it. I'll be taking the heads to a machine shop this week for resurfacing, pressure testing, and installing stem seals. Also, what are the feelings about reusing head bolts?

Thanks for the response.

I'm about to remove the engine, have most of the stuff out of the way but what should I tie to on the engine to lift it out without damage? I'm using a transmission jack under the pan to slide it away from the transaxle (manual tranny) and then plan to lift it out with a tractor loader. Any suggestions please. Thanks

Hey, is it possible to do an in-frame head gasket replacement? I realize that you couldn't replace the main seals or the oil separator plate or check the clutch out.

Yesterday was the first that I heard of this site and posted here; thanks for the replies on my "Random Overheating 98 Forester" question. There's plenty of info and encouragement here to make me want to do the job myself. I talked to my Soob dealer today and they suggested that I use new head bolts. Do most of you reuse your head bolts? Thanks for all the help so far.

Thanks for the reply, but I got the bolt loose by using the starter method. I just found this site this morning and have been doing a lot of reading. The more I read, the more I think I have a leaky head gasket that is causing the air lock periodically. Usually the recovery tank is overfull and it doesn't suck back when it cools. I can't really say there are not bubbles through the radiator, they are not apparent at idle. Should I put it back together with the new belt and pump and see what happens or pull the engine and do the head gaskets? There wasn't a thing wrong with the pump that would cause the overheating so I would expect the same simptoms later. I wish that I had found this web site before I started with the project. I'll welcome any advice. thanks

Over the last month or so my 98 forester would randomly overheat. It doesn't gradually increase in temp but within 30 seconds it goes from normal to the red. After it cools I can refill the radiator and it may run a week before it does it again. The last time it did it it I shifted to 4th gear to bring the rpms up to about 3000 and it immediately went back to normal. Usually the excess in the recovery tank will refill the radiator. I don't think it is a head gasket because I don't see bubbles in the radiator and it hasn't changed since it started. It seems like the water pump stops circulating. Could the problem be the tensioner and the belt is simply slipping on the water pump pulley? I picked up a new waterpump and timing belt yesterday. The question now is how do you get the bolt out of the crankshaft pulley? It is a manual transmission but am not sure if the bolt has RH or LH threads. Also can I loosen it by putting it in 5th gear and just use a socket and breaker bar? I bought the car with 127,000 on it a few year ago and now have 165,000 so I think I should change the belt and pump anyway. I'm sure the previous owned changed the belt @ 80,000. It uses no oil and runs perfectly otherwise. Thanks