Rooster2

Yea, my vote is head gaskets too. I experienced that with my 98 OBW. Swapped in a 2.2 from a 1995, and happily motor on. Power down a little, but that 2.2 runs so smooth. Glad I had the conversion done.

what parts are you searching for??

They are not interchangeable..........as seat belt receptacle is built into the seat. What can be done is to take the foam stuffings from a passenger seat, and install into the driver's seat to make that seat comfortable again.

Suggest you get a second opinion............if you take your car to an auto parts chain store like Autozone or Advance auto, you can ask a counter guy to bring his test gear out to the parking lot. There, he will check out the charging system, and advise results of how well the alternator is charging, and if the battery is good or not. This service is done at NO cost. The idea being you will buy something to fix the problem, though there is no pressure to buy anything at all. As new as your car is, I would be surprised if there would be a short, that would be drawing down the charge on your battery I wouldn't be surprised if there is something wrong with either the battery or alternator. Even almost new batteries and alternators can fail.

Was the 1.8 over heated, when it blew up, or maybe run out of oil?? If either happened, then a replacement motor would be the way to go. A 2.2 motor would be my choice, but would need to be 90-94 model 2.2 (OBD1). 1995 and later 2.2 motors use the OBD2 scan system, and would not plug and play. Though maybe the intake manifold off your 1.8 could be bolted to a later model 2.2 to make it work. I have only limited knowledge of swap ins, but plenty of others on this forum, I am sure will chime in with more valuable information. I see by previous post that a 2.2 swap in won't work............disregard above info.

I had gone to Rock auto website, and found it hard to navigate. Returned again per your suggestion, but nothing is listed specifically for Legacy Outback fronts, only Legacy and Legacy GT. I looked for KYB part # KY235633, and KY235632, which is the correct part number, but not found on the Rock Auto website..

My wife's 98 Outback needs top hats.Tie rods and ball joints are tight, but when hit a bump with front left, the car will shutter for a split second. It has been this way for a while, but now is getting worse. The front struts are prolly the originals with 166K on the odo, and are still serviceable, but I can tell they are not the best. I checked multiple on line auto parts stores for replacement struts and top hats. KYB struts are what I have bought in the past, but like everything else they have gotten expensive. All KYBs are priced near, or over $100 each from vendors. Add the cost of new top hats, and overall cost is around $325.00. Our 98 Outback is on its last legs. The body is not that good, so prolly only keep for a couple more years. So, I am thinking cheap fix to last a couple of years. In my on line search, I came across Sensen struts. Yea, they are cheap Chinese struts, selling for one third the cost of KYBs. Anyone have experience using Sensen struts?? Will they hold up for a couple of years??

With the soaked carpeting, if it were the heater core, you would smell the strong odor of antifreeze. You just can't miss that odor. So since that is not the case, I am betting your heater core is good. All the advise on it being just water is spot on. (no pun intended). I agree with others, it is either rain water leaking in, or plugged up drain on the A/C unit.

Suggest you take your car to a reputable body shop and seek their advise. Since you live in PA, you don't want to let that little rust spot stay unrepaired for very long, as road salt will change that spot into a much larger spot.

IMHO.............my experience... My wife drives a 98 OBW, and a couple of years bacck, her engine blew a head gasket. She drove on and totally cooked the motor. So transplanted in a 2.2 from 1995. Yes it is slightly down on power with 35 less hp. So, it lacks umph, but runs much smoother then it's original 2.5 motor. Cost wise, I bought a used 2.2 motor from a yard for $400. I had a shop swap in the motor for about $1400. My 99 OBW, blew it head gasket about 180K miles. I caught the problem early, so was able to avoid problems from over heating. I had a moon light mechanic install new head gaskets, and a kit I bought from ebay, that included a new water pump, TB, front seals, and pulleys/tensioners. Total cost was about $1800. The bottom line is that cost to replace the motor, vs rebuilding the motor is about the same. Consider your '97, is the body, and the rest of the car mechanically sound, and worth dropping $s into it.? Back in the day of the 80's and 90's, I owned many VWs, and Audis (really just larger VWs back then.) All drove nice with great suspensions, and bullet proof motors. The problem with every one was reliability. VWs and Audis both had a lot of plastic parts that would break. Finally, I decided to drive Subies. Much more reliable.. VW reputation for quality control and reliability still remains questionable from what I have read and heard. Please let us know how you proceed.

check out car-parts.com. It is a listing of wrecking yards, that you can search in your area for a used pump. Parts listed by price, and they ship directly to you. Prolly more trouble then it is worth, looking for just the pulley. As I posted earlier, Subie P/S pumps are well made, and don't often break. I would feel confident that a used pump will last.

The bubbles are an indication of exhaust gas entering the cooling system through a breach in the head gasket. If SOHC 2.5, this can be fixed with a special coolant additive, but I suspect you have a DOHC 2.5

Merry Christmas to all. Safe driving to all driving over the holidays. May your Subie serve you well. Larry (Rooster2)

Pumps seldom fail on Subies. It may be that the belt is too tight, that would cause a bearing failure, and a pulley wobble. If it were me, I would buy a used pump at carparts. com. It gives a listing of wrecking yards in your area, and pricing for a used pump. I have had a good experience with several purchases through carparts.

Pretty easy...........mine stopped several years ago. Upon dis assembly, found leaves and crud build up that had found its way down to the motor. Cleaned out the mess, and blower motor works just fine.

If any part of the plastic housing is broken allowing the head light assembly to move up and down, when grabbed by your hand, then I suggest wedging something against the assembly to remove the free play, and at the same time use the wedge to aim the head light. If no free play, then simply use the 8 MM socket on the adjuster to raise or lower up and down.

Glad to read that you found a part to fix the problem.

Any auto parts store will have a rack with various plastic fittings for under the hood applications. They will be generic,and often are listed under the "Help" brand. If you look at the various offerings, many times you will be able to find something that will work, tho may be a slightly different design than OEM.

If you do a T/B, then suggest you change the water pump, as there is minimal additional labor time involved, and a new water pump is good insurance against a future W/P problem.

E=bay motors lists kits for sale that include T/B, water pump, seals, and pulley/tensioners for a good price. I have one of these kits on my Outback for several years now, with no issues. Everything had a recognizable brand name. Not a bad way to go.

From personal experience, seems like the Trans-X fix will last about a year, then shifting From R to D will return. Drain and fill tranny 3 times with short drives between drains, then add Trans-X will again give you a year's worth of trouble free tranny action.

Agree, fluid flush should be done first. Car bought used, so who knows the history of current P/S fluid. Will ask # of mile on odo, but think under 100K.

Fairfax, Thanks for the good advise. Both of which I will check out. Regards, Larry (Rooster2)

A friend owns a 2007 Impreza with sluggish power steering. Problem only presents itself when the weather is cold. He says the steering is hard to turn until engine warms up. Belt is tight, and fluid level is good, with no system leaks. Says this is a seasonal problem, that only presents itself in the cold of winter. Is this a pump problem, fixable with a kit, or Is it better to simply replace the pump?

With drum brakes, it could be a problem with one of the springs. Since the click noise is loud enough for you to hear, the problem should be evident upon tear down. Yea, take it back to where you had repaired, along with your receipt. At such low millage, and short period of time, they should make it right at no extra cost.