Lesbaru

How do you tighten and adjust a bearing? I had a good independent mechanic replace the bearing the first time ($217), and I find it hard to believe he could have screwed up so badly. Yeah, the price the stealership quoted me included a zillion parts and a new hub. And seeing how much I can wobble that front wheel has me so scared that I'm willing to pay it!

Well, now I know why my beloved 96 Legacy creaks and groans when I make left turns or go slowly over bumps. It's not pretty...:boohoo: The left front hub is loose. I had the bearings replaced in February, but the hub either got damaged then or the non-OEM bearings did something bad to the hub over the last few months. The whole wheel wobbles side-to-side about 3 or 4 inches! That's where the noise is coming from. (worse thing is I didn't notice the wobbly wheel until the dealer showed me!) Gonna let the Subaru stealership do the work of replacing the whole shibang which is gonna run me $560.

My clutch pedal does the same thing. How do I make it stop?

Just as a bit of trivia: my 96 Legacy (102k) gets 24/30 mpg. Now I gotta check to see if it' on the recall list. No electrical problems that I know of so far. (Except the standard goofy gas gauge and blown out dash lights)

So is mine.

BTW, I have 102,000 on the 96 Legacy.

"Dull rubbing" sounds exactly like when my 96 Legacy had a bad bearing in the front. For a long time I couldn't figure out WHICH bearing it was, sounded like it was in the center of the car. My best impression was that the noise sounded like I was driving a tractor tire or a snow tire... it kinda sped up as my speed increased. By the time the noise was unbearable (couldn't hear eachother talk as we drove down the road) and I got it replaced, it still hadn't damaged anything. Just very noisy. You'll need a hydraulic press to change the bearings.

I'd get a used car inspection if you're at all concerned about the car. The $100 or $125 that costs is well worth the investment, considering how much you may spend on the car itself as well as on any repairs. My mechanic did a very thorough inspection on a used car (Toyota), and then deducted the price of the inspection from the cost of the 2 or 3 repairs I asked him to do after I bought it. (I could do the others myself. Little things.) Later when I was considering another used car (Honda), he warned me away from it, and only charged me half price for the inspection.

Do the '03s have the same oxygen sensor problems the other 2000-ish subes have? Your CEL and mis-fires sound like when our Forester's O2 sensor first started to have problems. (at around 4,000 miles) As to the mountain folks coping with weird AT shifting.... um, I think most have manuals. I was amazed when I moved to the flatlands and it seemed like every car I peeked into was an automatic. My new friends couldn't understand why someone from the mountains would have a 5 speed. They figured I'd want an AT to cope with all the hills! I will say that I looooooove my hill-holder. Both my 1986 GL and my 1996 Legacy have 'em. Much easier than the ol' tap-dancing on the pedals when at an uphill stoplight!