Rooster2

Well certainly the newer, the better in terms of reliability and durability. With the 96, it is a 20 year old car, and like old people, it will have it's issues. Age and millage cause transmissions, clutches, half shafts, wheel bearings, and head gaskets to break. Subarus are engineered, built well with quality parts, and carry a reputation for reliability. I feel confident that models built in the new millineaum will hold up well.

Seems like adding oil to newer Subarus is becoming normal. I have heard a number of similar comments from others. Seems like Subaru is advising using very thin oil, I guess with the thought of reducing friction to gain just a tiny bit extra fuel millage.

Stevo............just curious..........did you buy the car??

check to see if your problem is electrical or fuel related.

I have both a 98 and 99 outbacks. I swapped in new struts on both cars last year. The 98 had 160K miles on the odo, the 99 had 183K miles on the spedo. The struts and mounts were the originals on both cars. I never had an issue with the mounts, or heard of anyone with complaints I question what the dealer told you. .

I see you are from Indiana, so am I, (Indianapolis). Check out used Subarus for sale on Craig's list. From where you live, Craig's list from Indy, Cincy, and Louisville should be helpful to you. I only look at cars for sale by owner, but that is just my preference.

Since it is heard in turns, I am thinking a bad wheel bearing. Does it have the typical rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr sound, especially when cornering one direction, but not the other direction?? If so, more evidence of a bad wheel bearing.

By "seized," are you referring to the slide pin(s) seizing?? I have had that happen twice on my 98 OBW. The solution is to grease the pins with a lube made for that purpose. I had been using anti-seize compound, but that didn't seem to hold up. I have heard of others say that they will clean and lube their slide pins as a precaution, even when there is not a problem.

Suggest you ask seller what maintenance has been done on the car, and hopefully receipts kept to be able to show you. Good that ball joints, tires, and brakes are new. That shows the seller kept up the car. Head gaskets would have been replaced once or twice by now. Hard to say how much more life left in the motor and tranny. Drive the car, and see how it drives. Still could be a good car, but needs to be bought on the cheap with the high miles.

From the conversion, that is a sweet looking conversion. Off topic..........where is the radiator placed, in what was originally a water cooled bug??

If your battery has caps on the top, pull a cap or two, and look into the battery. The battery may be low on water because of the over charging. The over charging actually evaporates the water from the battery. If so, add distilled water to the battery, and you may be able to save the battery. However, it is a possibility that the battery is now ruined.

+1 on swapping in a new alternator. A + 18 volt reading tells all. Don't damage the electrical system running your current bad alternator.

Be aware when voltage regulator is not working properly, that it will over charge the battery, most likely to boil the water out of the battery, and ruin said battery. Result will be that your battery will fail to start the car. I wouldn't drive too far, you need to replace the alternator. Not a bad job swapping out an alternator on a Subie.

A guy that cares enough to do the write up, most certainly would have maintained the car well. Still, things to consider>>>>>>> Check rubber half shaft boots on the outer side at the road wheels for any tears in the rubber Look for any oil drips, or coolant drips where parked. Oil drips would most likely be valve cover gasket, an easy fix. Any coolant leaks can be fixed by adding Subaru sealant to the cooling system. Check the tires for wear. How does it drive..........any steering wheel pull in any direction?? How does it stop........straight and true?? Ask owner for repair receipts. It helps to know the history of maintenance, to know when it may need a tune up, or brake work. Sounds like a nice car, hope you can strike a deal to buy it.

Had same problem with my 99 OBW, finally replaced the hatch hand mechanism. What may help you to get the hatch open is to spray with PB Blaster. The spray may not work instantly, but may a few hours later, if given time to loosen up the rust.

This makes sense, but hard to believe that a new 2016 model would have plugged drains.

Time to get in touch with a Subaru Regional Manager with your problem, and press for a solution, Maybe Subaru trust their service department's analysis of the issue, but having the dealer show you another 2016 with the same trouble was dumb and a waste of everyone's time. Doesn't sound like the dealer has a fix. Subaru's are built extremely well with minimal problems. Having toured the assembly plant, I saw the care and craftsmanship by the workers to build a fine car. A Regional Manager will solve your problem, and follow up with you to know the problem was fixed.

Is your exhaust system quiet?? Do you have power restored to the engine??

Sounds like you found an honest muffler shop, that works to correct problems. Report back if the lack of a resonator makes the exhaust system produce any more noise, then with a resonator. If like my OBW, as posted earlier, it won't.

Had a similar problem with resonator on my 99 OBW, so had shop replace with a straight pipe. Works great........not a bit louder then before resonator went bad..

Suggest you pull the plugs. Who knows, maybe just a bad plug causing the miss. Suggest you change the oil and filter, as prolly oil diluted with gasoline from the "miss."

Recommend KYB struts. Advance Auto Parts sells on line with coupons always available. Nice thing about AA Parts, is if you need to return anything, it is easily done at one of their stores.

I bought a full kit from E-bay, and the belt has been just fine. Got about 40K miles on the belt with no issues. It looked good and sturdy, and well made upon purchase.

I too, have a 98 leggie with a 95, 2.2 motor. You loose a few ponies, but the 2.2 seems to be a smoother running motor. You get use to a few less ponies, and no concerns about blowing a head gasket. Also, with the '95, it is a non interference motor, so breaking a timing belt causes no damage to the valves.

With 230K miles on the motor, possible or probable cracked pistons, scored cylinder walls, and good chance motor shavings went everywhere to plug passages, I think I would throw in the towel on the engine, and go with a different motor. Just my 2 cents worth.