LanceGillette

I emailed the symptoms to my mechanic and here is what he says: "Common problem on tight turns when the rear clutch (a coupler but not fluid) in the back of the transaxle gets used up. It will squeak worse when it needs tending. Parts are expensive, about 3 hours labor. Back of trans comes off, new parts stuffed in (carefully)."

The tires are all the same size, same brand, and same mileage. But the tires are getting low on tread. We've put about 40,000 miles on them. The tread wear looks identical on all the tires.

I took the car out for a test drive to see if the problem shows up when the car is cold. The car rolled freely around sharp corners. So I drove it about 7-8 miles and still the problem did not show up. So it seems the car needs to be driven quite thoroughly and the viscous coupling unit needs to be thoroughly warmed up before the binding starts. A few months ago we made a 300 mile trip and when we stopped for gas I noticed it distinctly as the engine stalled while making a sharp turn and the car stopped rolling.

I noticed a similar thread from someone with a 99 Forester and manual transmission. One person said this: "I own a 90 Lagacy AWD 5/m with 210k I don't think the viscous coupling has ever been changed. When making slow tight turns (ie, turning in to a parking space) my car shudders a little, this is normal. If the viscous coupling unit went out you would have either no drive (unit is not coupling) or vary notisable binding (unit is locked up). A quick way to tell if the unit is locked up is to jack up one tire and try to turn it . If it turns with some resistance your OK if not The unit is locked up. Good luck" The guy with the forester jacked up a rear wheel and it would not turn compared to another Subaru that would turn. I just jacked up a back wheel on my Forester and it does turn with some resistance. Then I jacked up a front wheel and repeated the test and the wheel turns with resistance regardless of whether the steering wheel is turned to the left or right. I do think this binding issue happens mostly when the car has been driven a distance.

I rarely drive this car, but I first noticed it quite some time ago and then forgot about it since I rarely drive it. So it is not a recent problem. I think it is necessary to give a bit of gas to keep the engine from stalling.

I check the tire pressure regulary so that is not the problem. It dogs at low speeds only when making sharp turns.

It is a manual five speed transmission.

When making a sharp turn such as for parking, there is apparently something binding and the 1998 Forester will stop rolling. You have to give it some gas to proceed. Tire wear appears normal, I replaced the front axles about three years ago and the cv boots are still intact, cv joints are not making any noise. The car tracks down the road nice and straight and does not pull to the side. Could this be just a case where an alignment is needed? Since I don't notice any unusual tire wear, this possibility didn't come to mind. Is there something else that could be causing this problem?

Rear defroster on 98 Forester has not worked in sometime. Yesterday I found a burned out fuse. I replace the fuse and check again today. Burned out again. Any suggestions?

I found them exactly where you said they would be. Thanks! I've hunted for them before with no luck.

I've found the main fuse box on the left side of the engine compartment on my 98 Forester. But there must be another fuse box inside the passenger compartment somewhere but I can't see any. Any clues where the other fuse box might be?

Here in Fairbanks Alaska it can get very cold (-50 F or colder) and I don't have a garage so I use the Mobile 1. Car starts pretty good after it has been plugged in for a while.

I got the check engine light to go out after replacing the front oxygen sensor. I replaced the rear as well since the 1998 Forester has 133,000 miles on it. I read somewhere that if the car's computer does not detect the code after running the car three times, the check engine light will go out. The error code is stored though. So I started the car four times not having much faith the light would go out. I was so pleased when the light did not come on with the fourth start. Both sensors came out easily. I sprayed a bit of PB Blaster on the day before.

Replacing the front oxygen sensor did the trick. I replaced the rear one for good measure since the car has 133,000 miles on it. Hopefully they last for the rest of the cars life. Thanks all for the advice.

I found a website that says one can test a sensor like this: "Next step is to measure the voltage at the oxygen sensor on Bank 1 (the rear sensor, or the sensor after the converter). The voltage should be low and steady (~200mV, depends on the vehicle). If the voltage varies (e.g. 100mV to 600mV) then it's time to replace the catalytic converter. In fact, it would be a good idea to test each oxygen O2 sensor while you're at it." I'm looking on comments on this test. I've read that if the cat. converter is bad, that one should put in new sensors with the converter. So I'm tempted to start with a rear sensor replacement as the prudent approach.

I understand code P0420 could be caused by failed oxygen sensors, an exhaust leak, or failed catalytic converters. I intend to at least replace the front oxygen sensor. I've read that one controls some engine functions and could result in poorer gas mileage. If I replace both sensors and make sure there is no exhaust leak and code P0420 still shows up, is it important to replace the catalytic converters right away or can I wait a year. My next emissions test is in about 18 months.

Here is the URL for the longer more detailed 20 page document: http://www.endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/Wheel%20Bearing%20PDFs/MSA5TT0201.pdf

There is a six page instruction document at http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/WheelBearing.pdf There is also a much longer set of instructions (more than 20 pages) online but I didn't find it just now (document #MSA5TT0201). I printed it recently.

The two interior lights of my Forester by the rear view mirror do not work. How does one gain access to them to replace the bulbs?

Thanks for all the help. I found a document online (http://www.mightyautoparts.com/pdf/articles/gb0405.pdf) that says "trapped or captive rotors are rotors that are placed behind the hub... This style of rotor gained popularity in the 80's and 90's, mainly on Japanese vehicles. They stopped being used in the early to mid 90's and not too many technicians mourned their death." The rotors on my 98 Forester can be removed without removing the hub so they are floating rotors.

Does my 98 Forester have trapped rotors or floating rotors? What is the difference?

Unlike my Forester's (98) front axles, there is no pin holding the axle on the shafter coming out of the differential. So does it just slide off if I give it a pull or is there something else I must do to remove it? The wheel end of the axle would of course have already been removed from the hub. Also, Napa says they have left and right rear axles in their database but just a left one in stock. What is the difference between left and right axles? Can one use a left axle on the right side?

I've examined the parts list carefully and it has: 1. Sleeves 2. Sleeve plates 3. Bushings 4. Sliding screw with long nut 5. Washers I went through the instruction list and it sounds like everything is there that would be necessary. Just need to rent the slide hammer to pull off hub. The Subary roller bearing outside diamater is looks to be 2 5/8" and the bushing nearest that size is 2.5" outside diameter. They do have a 2 11/16" bushing also OD, which is 1/16" larger than 2 5/8" So I'm not sure if the 2.5" bushing will be too small and rest on the inner bearing area. If the inside diameter of the bushing is larger than 2 1/8" then it should work, as the inner bearing is about 2 1/8".

These type tools are low force tools. There is a Subaru Wheel Bearing replacement document at http://www.endwrench.com that says: "To reduce the possibility of repeat premature failures, Subaru has introduced a new procedure to service the rear wheel bearings of the models listed above that entails replacing the rear wheel bearing on the vehicle. This new procedure eliminates the heavy forces needed to service the rear wheel bearings that occur when using a hydraulic press. This smooth, low force installation eliminates the chances of deforming the wheel bearing housing and increases the efficiency of the repair." So I guess shops do not need heavy hydraulic presses if they have correct tools. I can rent a slide hammer for $6/day from Carquest.

You can download the instructions which includes a list of what is in it: 1. Bushing range: 2 1/4"-3" (10 sizes) 2. Sleeves (four sizes) 3. Sleeve plates (5 sizes) 4. Sliding screw (7 3/8" long x 3/4", diamter/ 16 NAT 5. Washer size (1 1/2" od, 13/16" id) Net weight 19.9 lbs. They have a precise parts list in the instructions. I've never used anything like this before so I'm not familiar with what one needs. Anyone think this would do the job for my Forester's rear bearings?