Rooster2

If you are getting only 12.1 V output, your alternator is definitely shot. I have gone the AZ and Advance Auto as a source of replacement alternators. Sure, I know they won't last as long as a Subaru OEM, but the parts stores are so much closer to home then the dealer, and a lot easier to drive to. After experienceing all of which the original poster has endured, I surmise that it is either a bad alternator or battery, and get enough warning time to go to the auto stores for a free electrical charging test. If it turns out to be a bad alternator, I get a decent price on one of their rebuilds, or one free of charge under the store's life time guarantee program. Changing out an alternator takes me about a half an hour. That is a whole lot of time and money saved taking this approach, compared to taking the car to the dealer, or even just purchasing the alternator there.

Reminds me of the story a couple years back here in Indiana, of a kid driving an STI getting pulled over by the cops for speeding 155 mph. I think the cop is still busy writing up the ticket.

Could just be a bad tank of gasoline (petrol) from your last fill up. Suggest adding a bottle of "dry gas" product to your fuel tank. Its an additive sold by various manufacturers to remove water from the fuel. Had it been raining recently before your last fill up? If so, water can leak into your filling station's storage tank if their fill up seal is bad.

There was a post a week or so back, referring to the STI write up in Car and Driver Magazine. There were links to read the entire magazine article on line. You may want to check that out.

Gas milage for the 6 cylinder is at best 24 mpg on the open road, around 20 mpg around town. Expect to buy more gas compared to the 2.5 motor.

Problem is most likely with a wire connector. Check speaker wire connectors at back of radio first, if all seems well there, then check connector to speaker.

Welcome back, I am on my third Subie as well. They kind of get under your skin. Life is better with a Subie or two.

My 99 Legy OBW has the lazy A/T. It has been slow to switch gears to go the opposite direction, that is R to D, and D to R. Sometimes, it would take 3 to 4 seconds to switch gears. That is a real PITA, when another driver is wanting you to get out of their way. My fix is that I added a bottle of Lucas Trany Fix. The product is advertised to fix trany seal leaks, and promote shifting with less slippage. After running with the product now for three days, I can tell that it has really helped reduce the lag time in switching gears from R to D, and D to R. It shifts normally now. I do notice that forward gear change shifts are a little more positive, but not harsh. Acceleration seems more brisk, so maybe there is slightly less trany slippage. I am not much for cures from a bottle, but I think this one really helps. BTW, when adding the Lucas product, a funnel with a long stem is needed. The additive looks like ATF thick colored STP. It took about 15 minutes to get the thick product to flow through the funnel into the trany. I had drained a like amount of ATF from the trany before adding the Lucas. This is the best $10 that I have spent on the car.

I have seen dyed leather seats. It was not a pretty sight. It looked like liquid had been spilled onto the seat. Suggest replacing the seat for a much better look.

I agree, wrecking yards cannot legally sell used cats. However, I frequented a wrecking yard to the point that I got to know the guys who do the dismanteling. When the boss wasn't looking, one of the guys torched off a cat for me. I gave the guy $10 under the table for his work, and got the hell out of the yard in a hurry before anyone spotted what we were up to. Sometimes you just get lucky and fortunate.

That's insane getting quoted $2,300 for a cat converter by a Subie dealer. Talk about highway robbery! Last cat that I bought for a VW cost about $100from a family owned muffler shop. I would call muffler shops listed in the telephone yellow pages for quotes.

If you have a family owned muffler shop, not a national chain shop, you should be able to buy a permanent repair for under $50. They will be able to torch off the rusted out part, and weld in a replacement pipe. Job should not take more than 15 minutes. The national chain shops are only trained to replace the entire exhaust system at sizeable cost. If you are in the North as I am, crawling around under a car in freezing weather is not what I want to do this time of year.

Agree, you need to get this car into a repair shop asap, before it strands you some where, or causes a traffic accident. Have the shop check for a bad CV joint. Your car is not safe to drive!

They would be fools to do so! Because, the domestic auto makers pay heavily for their adveritisements. At least,last time I looked at that journal. I am sure that all car rags face the same problem when evaluating vehicles they test. It has to be difficult for them to write negative press against car manufacturers that advertise with them. I would hate to be the car rag's ad salesman calling on a manufacturer to increase ad space, after the magazine's last edition just lambasted the manufacturer's latest offering. The car manufacturer would be so pissed, they would tell me where to go! BTW, C & D had a full page Subie OB ad on the page proceeding the STI article. Makes me wonder if car manufacturer's ad budget buys "car test evaluations" in car rags. Hmmmm.

I just received the latest edition of Car & Driver Magazine (Feb 08). The Highs: Neo-rally-car performance, livable ride, a practical hatchback, packed in flaring fenders. The Lows: Control-button overload, frequent tank-ups, pricy and despised by insurers. The Verdict: The original juvenive deliquent gets cleaned up for dinner with parents. The full article is worth a read, get your at a news stand.

I am not familiar with the power device that you are using, but when you say "No sure how to get rid of the air without sending it all through the brake system," I too would be worried about adding air to the brake lines. This doesn't sound like a devise that I would want to use. I have posted a couple of times in the past few weeks about using a simple "one man bleeder" unit. It is low tech, inexpensive, and super simple to use. I suggest using one of those.

I left it parked with a half tank at the airport for 5 days. Temperatures were around 30F the whole time I was gone. I wonder if you have some water condensation in the gas tank, or may have gotten some bad gas contaminated with water. Suggest you add a can of "dry gas" product to the gas tank. Maybe this will help, certainly couldn't hurt. Also, like you say, it can use a set of plug wires with 85K miles on the odo.

From what I have read, the HG problem presents itself as exhaust gas entering the cooling system. The bubbles you see is actually exhaust gas that should have gone out the tail pipe. The exhaust gas heat and pressure can actually get so hot that the radiator will start leaking. That is what happened on my car when wife was driving it. I have no idea how long she drove it when over heating. Just continue to keep a close eye on the temperature guage.

You got that right, I have been there, done that. I wish Subaru would have made access holes through the inner fender well directly in front of the spark plugs. So, with the front road wheels removed, there would be direct access to the spark plug. My Subies are 98 and 99 models. Maybe Subie has wised up, do the newer models have direct access through the fender wells?

does anyone know the order in which to bleed the brakes? I usually start from closest to brake cylinder and go out-- LF, RF, FR, RR Thanks. Hmmm........... I have heard just the opposite on brake bleeding order, that is, starting first with the wheel the farthest from the master cylinder, and proceeding to the wheel closest to the MC. So with that thought, that would mean, RR, LR, RF, LF. Just my 2 cents worth, see what other opinions are offered.

I don't know the code read outs, so I can't help in that regard. However, if it has been several years since this car has had a tune up, then I would suggest that you change the spark plugs and plug wires. A new oxygen sensor would also help driveability if the existing one is many years old.

The replacement 02 sensor will come with antisieze cream on the threads to aid installing, and replacement, if it ever needs to be done. Be careful not to accidentally smear some of the antisieze cream on the tip of the 02 sensor upon installation, or it will cause a problem.

Sorry to hear about your accident. No mention of anyone being injured. That is always a relief. It is always much better to just have to repair a car, then have to repair people in a hospital. Glad you are okay. Your Subie didn't look too bad, I hope repair costs are easy and low cost.

I have on several replacements on Subies, and had no problem.

When my 2.2 blew a HG, the exhaust gasses entered the cooling system to the point that the added heat and pressure caused the radiator to spring a leak and loose a lot of coolant. Not knowing about the over heating problem, as my wife drove the car and never said anything about over heating, I thought a new radiator would cure the problem. When finally I realized the car was over heating, I figured out the HG problem. It is rather amazing how an exhaust pressurized cooling system can cause the cooling system to leak mass quantities of coolant in a short period of time.