98obster

air, fuel or spark..take your pick. I'm leaning toward fuel. (pun intended)

so, okay, your boots are cracked-but until your new axles arrive you can protect the joints. just cover them in heavy plastic and duct tape. will last a week. I've also squeezed a little extra grease into the joint for any that I lost.

welcome, I think you might have to make a decision. I'm not sure what light off roading is (maybe well groomed gravel roads?) but if you're set up for auto-x you might not be satisfied with your off road characteristics and vise versa. With that, I think the Outback Sport is a great platform for whatever (it's an Impreza and born from rally ) but you would then need to decide if you were going to slam it or lift it.

you can start here: http://www.nadaguides.com/usedcars.aspx?LI=1-21-0-5002-844-923-59881&l=1 all over the map is right, you should look at Colorado's CL. if it's in good shape you might get 2500-3000 (just a guess) out here. bottom line is what would the new owner have to do immediately or shortly after taking possession.

Okay, I am refurbishing my OE axle and I have everything cleaned up from the inner joint. However, I don't see a retainer ring holding the bearings in the outer joint. reminds me of a puzzle I had as a kid. Yep, a whole roll of blue shop paper towels, mineral spirits and an old tooth brush.

just rhinoline the whole freekin' car. but don't touch the scoop, cause that's ***************in'

yep, my thoughts too. Very good copy of the Aussy Hi-Rise blocks. Did you get the camber and toe back into spec? Doesn't look like 2" should present problems that can't be fixed.

might have been sold in 1997 but forester first year was '98. anyways, 98-01 stuff should be the same. OB stuff might be a better choice (not quite as high as FOZ) you will need to keep your rear tophats. What size tires do you have-are you sure a lift will clear up the rub on turning?

Skier, I vote for stuck E-brake shoe. something to take apart and inspect I guess. Springs huh? are you a pirate?

try the big rump roast screwdriver stethescope on timing belt cover on each side. you don't have any codes, right, you're CEL light passes diagnostic test right? anyone know symptoms of main bearing going out?

any additional clues when you give it gas with you hand on the intake manifold? check PCV-it's cheap and not replaced nearly often enough.

dealer should sell both belts as a set. I've had the squeel in the mornings (winter only) for a couple years, I also have a Perrin crank pulley. I just think of it as a part of life. like when when a plane's tires hit the ground. could be PS pump bearing-but I doubt it.

Is this coming from the engine? bushing?

hmmm, just a shot in the dark...don't know how you would do it on your model (discount battery for 1/2 hr ?) but you could reset reset the ecu/tcu and get a fluid flush.

Nice OBS. imho, the 4eat is better in snow and the AWD system is better with the auto. I don't miss shifting at all especially in 5 mph traffic. I replaced the front seats in my 98 OBS with 02 wrx wagon stuff, the rears is not a perfect fit but can be done as well. I've done more for comfort and ride quality than trying to increase power. although I did put in a Perrin Lightened crank pulley, 2.5 inch axle back and removed the intake plenum for the ebay short ram (with the stock air filter). Oh, and forester springs and struts and center diff lock, primitive 1/8 skidplate and OE rear diff protector. Whiteline front enlinks and rallitek rear adjustable swaybar kit. front and rear strut towers. ha, pretty much done all I'm gonna do. now onto the 97 outback.

Corrected. thanks Frogstar. it was a cheap lesson I guess.

I was all set to swap out my strut assemblies on the 97 outback. I started on the driver rear-unclipped the brake line and secured it out of the way and disconnected the ABS and loosened the upper mount bolts. I got the upper bolt loosened with the breaker bar and socket on either side but the lower bolt was more difficult. I managed to round off the bolt head with the 12 point socket. Someone needs to tell me that the 6 point socket is better to remove the bolt. So, I went and bought a 6 point socket and wrench. I will have to remove the horked bolt with vise grips and the box wrench, hopefully and replace the lower bolt with the upper bolt and put a camber bolt in the upper position. the struts are giving me a lift so the camber bolts are probably needed anyway. I just hate being the first person this has ever happened to. So, tell me-for high torque situations-stay away from the 12 point sockets right? oh yeah, I've already opened a can of PB blaster rump roast on all 4 corners.

2006 san remo red OBS http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=24&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7cE-ALL%7cM-_45_%7cH-%7cD-_408_%7cN-N%7cR-10000%7cI-1%2c7%7cP-PRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cS-_7_%7cY-_2006-2005_%7cX-popular%7cZ-55488&aff=national&paId=137058621&recnum=32&leadExists=true

Man, okay, I vote for the 98 because if either needed a new engine-I'd rather put it in the red-which can take the 2.5 or 2.2? Plus, the 25K is not much of difference for 2 years newer better car. all this talk about the HGs on the 2.5. but if they need to be done-then you'e basically doing a complete top end right? Is it worth putting $1500 into HGs and valves etc.? what is the potential lifespan of the short block with rebuilt heads-assuming minimal abuse? try to get the 98 for 2800 :-\

in replacing the axle i follow this rule: first step-roll pin out; last step-roll pin in. Because stretching or ripping the boot on new axle is not an option-is it? definitely buy boot kits to refurbish your OE axles if you catch the rips early.

maintenance/repair records might tip the scales toward either car. if there's none for the 98 then keep looking-there's bound to be another candidate out there.

First, I also hate the bank thing too-but a couple year loan is manageable. From what you've mentioned-work wise-171k is great. I don't see any $2k repair bill listed but at this mileage that is probably the other foot you are thinking is getting ready to drop. As always, it's good to have reasonable repairs at reasonable intervals eh? And besides any fatal problems with the engine and tranny which can be replaced fairly reasonably-esp. since you have a shop you trust; there is suspension, steering, exhaust components that will always eventually need "refurbishing". I think you might be looking for another DD so you can give the 97 a rest. I think 3500 to 4500 can get you a lot of newer DD. bottom line, your high mileage DD (project car) shouldn't be your only mode of transportation. Jon 98 OBS 137k 97 Leg OB Ltd 202K

can one put 96 heads on a 97 block? i guess the question is how can you get 9:1 compression on a non-interference subaru

I could also learn to love the new GLK: http://microsites.mbusa.com/microsite/glk-class/index.do#/main/videos/index

barring any other issues with the filler tube-i'd try another filling station. also, I always fill with the trigger on the first notch-bad memories of beer bongs I guess.