Rooster2

Yes, I used a remanufactured starter from Auto Zone. I know, not the best, but for $79, and a life time guarantee, I can live with it. If it breaks, they will give me another starter at no cost. That is why I asked if there was an easier way to remove the lower mounting nut, if the job has to be done again. On the bottom nut and washer, I used a 17 MM deep socket, and two different size extensions. I got the handle length just right to work the nut. On replacing the nut, I stuffed a plastic bag under the starter to catch the nut and washer should I drop either upon reassembly. Other wise, if I dropped the nut, it would be impossible to find. Thankfully, I didn't drop either, but threading the nut was by finger touch only, because impossible to see where to thread the nut.

I just replaced the engine starter on my 98 Legacy OBW. I found it to be a nasty job removing the nut/washer from the lower threaded stud of the starter mount. There was very minimal access space to get a socket on the nut when working on the top side of the motor. Would it have been easier had I have put the car up on ramps to gain access to the nut from the car's underside? If so, I would like to know, in case I ever have to do that job again.

Little vibrations like that are hard to diagnose. Like you say, it could be a CV joint, maybe some wear on a wheel bearing, maybe needs plugs and wires, or a tire with a minor problem. Sometimes, it is just better to live with a minor problem like that, until it gets worse to the point that it is easy to diagnose, and repair. Like you, I recently bought a '99 Legacy Outback wagon. It ran fairly well, but I didn't know how many miles were on the spark plugs and wires. So, I replaced them myself. Turned out the original plugs and wires were still on the car at 149K miles. Changing these items, made the car run better, and gas milage increased a little. You may want to do the same.

Congrats on your new car! Sounds like you are very happy with it. I hope it gives you years of good service. Sounds like you are on top of what needs to be repaired. Funny how Subie owners keep coming back for more. My wife and I are on are third Subie. Still own and drive two out of the three. Great cars!

It is possible that you over tightened the bolt, which results in cracking the knock sensor unit. When I installed a knock sensor on my 98 OBW, I couldn't figure out any way to tighten the bolt using a torque wrench, as I used a wobbler that kept wanting to slip off the bolt head. I just snugged the bolt up tight, but not super tight, and called the job done. I haven't had any trouble since.

hmmmmmmmm. maybe best to call Jason to verify if you got the right set of wires. The last set that I bought were after market. All seemed a little longer then the OEMs. I just let the wires loop to take up the extra wire length. Two years later, the car is still running just fine.

There's a drain plug on the bottom of the AT pan. Pull the plug, and drain out the transaxle oil/ ATF mix. This will drain out about 4 quarts, and leave prolly another 4 quarts still in the trany. Refill with ATF, and see if you can get some movement forward or reverse. If not, let car idle for a while. Maybe that will circulate the new ATF throughout the system to free up the torque converter. Regardless, it is prolly best to fill and drain the the AT about 4 times to rid the trany of transaxle oil. Hope this helps.

I have used the basic screw type spring compressors to change put KYBs on a VW, and long ago on a Datsun 240Z. Using one of those screw down compressors scared me to death. I was always worried about the "hooks" slipping, and causing someone to get hurt. Later models had clamp "hold downs" to prevent slippage, but still plently scary to work with. So be careful. One bad slip, can put you into the hospital. BTW, I remember using a bottle jack placed under the assembly to raise the replacement strut unit into place for rebolting. It really works slick, so try that if you haven't done so before. As far as tire sizing, it may be trial and error to find a tire that is larger, but will not rub the fender or suspension parts during suspension movement. My suggestion is going to a 195 X 75 X 14 as you are already thinking. Going to a 195 X 70 X 14, will be a little wider, but not quite as tall as the 75 series (195) tire. You may want to go to a small independent tire shop who will work with you. Going to a large tire store wanting something unusual for an unusual car set up, is not their strong point. A large tire store wants volume production in sales, with as few customer returns as possible. Because of that, I have had big tire stores only willing to sell me the tire that's specified by the car manufacturer as OEM size tire in their computer. The store did not want to take a chance of me coming bad because of a tire rub problem. I hope the advise helps. Good Luck!

I have been looking at upgrading to a newer Subie. Looked at several OBW and Foresters built in the early 2000s. What's the differences between the vehicles? Is a Forester just a taller OBW? Is the OEM equipment the same on each vehicle? Is cost about the same per year of manufacturer? Does one keep more resale value? Interior space seems about the same, except that the Forester offers more vertical space, or maybe that is an optical illusion. Any thoughts and advise would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have had the same problem on my 2 Subies. To fix a low tech problem with a low tech solution, I put the car on drive up ramps, with the motor running, I crawled under the car. Using gloves to keep from burning my fingers, I pressed and pulled on the shroud at various spots to figure out where the shroud is loose and vibrating. Once I located the spot or spots, I would take a hammar and pound in a good size bolt as a "door stop wedge" to stop the shroud from vibrating. I found this "fix" a lot easier then working to remove the shroud(s). It has been a couple of years now, since I have done this, and the bolts continue to stay in place and keep things quiet. If one does ever fall out, I will simply replace a bolt. It really takes less than 5 minutes to complete the work.

I posted earlier that I think it is a bad idea, others think so too. Therefore, it doesn't take much imagination for a cop seeing this towing rig to think it is a bad idea also. If so, expect to receive a hefty violation ticket for breaking some law. Next, their would be towing fees and in-pound lot fees, when the whole mess is hauled away.

Agree prolly a good price is $4500. That is about what I spent on my 99 OBW last December. Suggest you do an internet search for used car prices by looking at Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds Used car prices. Print out the prices, then use the info to get bargain the price lower. I have both a 98 and 99 OB Wagons, and have not had any trouble with blowing head gaskets. I have heard that the problem affects about 10 to 15 % of these cars. So, I keep holding my breath that I own a car in the 85 to 90% side of the ledger that never has hg problems. BTW, I am very satisfyed with both cars. They both drive nice, with no unusual expensive repairs so far.

Have you looked at the calipers behind each road wheel? Have you traced the brake lines back to each road wheel looking for any wetness caused by a leaking brake line. Usually, any substantial brake fluid leak is not that difficult to spot. I am surprised that so many mechanics have looked at your Subie, and haven't found a leak.

I think you are asking any Subie to do more than what it was designed to do. Towing a loaded car hauler is too much for any vehicle that is of unibody construction such as a Subie. Your tow vehicle needs to be something with a full frame under it, like a full size p/u truck with a V-8 motor.

I have a 98 also. I don't think the headlight unit can be disassembled. The unit is glued together, and would break the plastic before the glue would separate. On my car the clear plastic lens gets cloudy. A good rub down with tooth paste brings back clarity. You may want to try doing that.

Blow up the pictures. You can see the sparkplug wires going through the valve covers.

Agree with Nipper, you are over thinking the problem. I have had a number of window washers go bad in a number of cars, and it is ALWAYS the little pump motor that goes bad. Suggest taking the old unit off, take it with you to an auto parts store, and ask the parts guy at the counter for a replacement. They are somewhat universal, mostly a matter of matching the electrical connector to a replacement. Years ago, I replaced a broken pump motor in a VW with one that was made for a Ford. It worked perfectly. BTW don't run a windshield pump motor very long if it is not pumping washer water. The water flow is used to cool the pump motor. Running without water for a long time will burn up the motor.

Thanks for the advise. I will try the epoxy fix first. If that doesn't work well, then I will replace the steering wheel.

Insert a fuse in the holder under the hood near the fire wall on the passanger to deactivate the rear diff. This will let the car drive in front wheel drive only. Depending how long you drove with the rear diff over heating with the smoke rolling out will be the determining factor on wheather you fried the diff or not. A used diff from a wrecking yard shouldn't cost too much.

I bought my car used recently. Only after I bought it, did I realize that the top arc of the steering wheel cover is loose from its steel core from about the 10 o'clock to the 2 o'clock positon. It is annoying to drive the car with the loose cover wanting to rotate in my hands. I can't think of any way to repair the existing steering wheel, so I guess my next hope is to find a good steering wheel in a wrecking yard. Would a used steering wheel be expensive considering that the air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel? What work is involved in doing a swap? What steps do I need to take to prevent the air bag from blowing up in my face during replacement? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

I don't go out of my way to use Mobil oil lubricants, but I have alway held them to be of high quality. What kind of difficulty have you found with their motor oil, that has you shopping for something else?

I replaced my plug wires and plugs on my 99 Outback, before joining this forum. Most posts that I read say to use OEM wires and OEM plugs, but I bought plug wires from an up scale foreign car parts house for $40 some bucks. For plugs, I use the basic Bosch platinum with single electrode. This setup keeps my Subie running just fine. I don't think that I would buy cheapie wires from Autozone or Advance, or a parts retailer like them. With that lower grade quality, you would be asking for trouble.

Car looks good, nice to have the po receipts too. Could use a good engine bath. When my motor looks like that, I squirt about a half bottle of dish washing detergent over the motor, then rinse off with a garden hose. Let it sit for a couple of hours with the hood up to let the sun dry off everything before restarting the motor.

Suggest adding an extension to the end of the tailpipe to make up for that missing 4 inches. Otherwise, carbon deposits will dirty up your bumper cover with black soot, and the heat may distort the plastic bumper cover over time. I know, that is what I encountered on my VW a few years back. Yea, the engine sounds mean and great for a while, however you will want to listen to your radio or a CD, but the exhaust noise gets in the way. The extra length on the tailpipe will quiet the system down a little inside the car, but well worth it to get the best of both worlds of a sweet sounding car, and a low restriction muffler system.

Whew.........gotta be a relief that the problem is just the fork, not the clutch itself. Lots less money to repair.