The Dude

I highly recommend investing in a torque wrench. Overtighten a spark plug, and you'll strip the threads. Undertighten a spark plug and the engine will spit it out. Once a spark plug has been spat out, the threads are usually permanently damaged. What you save on labor by replacing the plugs yourself will more than cover the torque wrench.

Hi Librarygal. Mileage should be averaged over three complete tanks of gas. Subaru recommends that you stop filling the gas tank when the gas pump first "clicks" off. But different gas pumps "click" at different points. It's also possilbe to "stuff" over a gallon of gas into the gas tank after the first "click". So, try to fill the gas tank consistently, if you could use the same pump for all three tanks that would be a plus. Are you driving in city, open highway or mixed traffic? Heavy stop and go traffic will always result in very poor mileage. Moderate speeds on highways with little traffic will usually give the highest mpg results. I live in suburban/ rural South Carolina. I averaged about 24-25 mpg in my driving mix while driving my 99 Forester. Country roads usually yielded very good mileage with one exception. If the roads had slow moving vehicles, tractors for example, the constant passing absolutely killed my mpg.

Michelle. the cost of replacing the head gasket varies from shop to shop and from location to location. I would say from reading the posts on this board, the average is about $1,500. You could probably say under $2000 with a clear conscience. Of course, that is IF there is no damage to the heads. The "goo" is for Phase II engines ONLY. Generally Phase I engines, like the one in your car, suffer from an internal head gasket failure. All the "goo" in the world will not repair an internal head gasket failure. Only a head gasket replacement will permanently fix such a failure. When the head gaskets are replaced properly, using the lastest genuine Subaru head gaskets, very few Phase I engines have additional head gasket problems.

Why do you need to remove the cam pulley? I'm not certain that it's necessary to remove the engine. SOME of the Subaru engines have special flat spots on the cams where you can put a wrench. You have to pull the valve covers to get to them. You have the DOHC 2.5L, I am not familiar that that engine. I would wait for a few posters more to chime in before renting an engine hoist.

I changed the front axle on my 99 Forester. It was not necessary to pop the ball joint to complete the job. I ended up buying a 3/4 inch torque wrench at Northern tool. The torque measurement required when installing the new castle nut exceeded the limit on my 1/2 inch torque wrench. The 3' handle on the 3/4 inch wrench made removing the castle nut a breeze. Do a search, there's plenty of good information on changing the front axle. It's hard to believe that your car's ball joints aren't worn. The ball joints on my Forester were extremely worn when I replaced them at 150,000 miles. Depending on where you live, removing the castle nut can be the toughest part of the job. I live in the South, no rust, so easy for me. If you live in the rust belt it may take several days of soaking the castle nut with penetrating oil before it budges. Good luck.

A strange, intermittent, and mildly annoying problem. Say I want to slow my car's speed a bit. I lightly press on the brake pedal, and the car shakes a little. It seems like the front end is shaking, I can really feel the "shake" through the steering wheel, and my passenger can feel the car shake too. If I brake HARD there is no shaking. It doesn't shake everytime when I brake. I would say "warped discs" except the problem comes and goes. Also, I would expect the shaking to get worse when I braked harder if the discs were warped. In fact, I am almost certain that this is a case of warped discs, but I can't explain the intermittent shaking. The shaking isn't very bad, would a very slight amount of disc warping expalin this problem?

Most gas tanks have certain amount of "dead space" that can not be used. I believe there is about one gallon of gas in most Subaru tanks that can not be removed by the fuel pump.

Anyone know the idle speed for a NA 2006 Forester AT? If I'm reading the tach right, mine idles at 750 rpm. I thought the spec was 500 rpm, has it been changed? Thanks.

Gee, that's deep, Doctor Phil.

Gee, that's deep, Doctor Phil.

In Utah, you need Legacy, or two, to carry around all your wives. LOL.

Yeah, pretty cool, until the hot bi-curious chick you're dating hits on your sister. Then, maybe not.

Doesn't everyone in Alaska wear a plaid shirt?

Subaru has been marketing to the "gay community" for well over a decade. They were one of the first major car companies to advertise in gay orientated publications. It's a fact, the Legacy is known as a lesbian car of choice. Of course my Forester runs on high octane testosterone. And the fine chick in the passenger seat wouldn't have it any other way. Word.

This thread raises an interesting question. What do you when have a flat on a MT Subaru and an "emergency" spare? With the AT you can slip in the FWD fuse and drive away.

You realize that a Subaru AT will often automatically downshift when going a steep hill? The car is employing "engine braking" on its' own. Some people find it annoying. The ECU reset may have made this feature more noticable. Then again, it could be something else.

I recently sold a 1999 Forester with 200,000 miles trouble free miles on it. As with many cars here in the salt-free deep south, the body was in pristine condition. I sold it because 200,000 miles is a lot of miles on any car, even a Subaru. At 200,000 the following repairs are likely to be needed: Automatic transmission- at least a major rebuild at some point soon Wheel bearing-200,000 miles is about average for Subaru wheel bearings Timing belt replacement- at 200,000 miles new idlers and a tensioner are in order Oil separator/rear seal-pull the engine to stop the minor, but annoying, oil leak Altenator-I was lucky to get 200,000 miles on the original Starter- same as above AC-same as above For someone able to pull the engine himself, two or three grand would go a long way toward restoring this car. For someone with the right equipment, a low mileage AT from a wrecking yard would be a good deal. A high mileage car can be a very good deal, if you have the ability, time, and desire to do the repair work yourself.

That's about a quart every eighteen hundred miles. I've owned two 2.5L SOHC Foresters, and neither one of them even used half a quart over a 5,000 mile oil change interval. Normally, unless they are physically leaking oil through a seal, Subaru engines are very, very tight. However, the general "industry standard" is one quart per thousand miles. Prepare to be hosed. Big time. Guess who set the ridiculously loose "industry standard" ?

There are at least two dozen distinct alloys called "stainless steel". They all have different properites. Some grades of "stainless steel" even rust to a limited extent. The proper grade of s/s is can be a very good choice of material for an automotive exhaust system. Monel would probably be a spectacular alloy for an exhaust system, but you wouldn't want to pay for it.

It is really, really cool. This Honda is one of those cars that you probably only want to drive on a 2 or 3 year lease. Because as cool as this car is when it's new, I bet it has a real potential as a truly serious money pit when major maintenance or repair issues arise. All those extra clutches, variable speed units, and fancy electronics inevitably wearing out and failing- the horror, the horror.

Unfortunately, a class action law suit may be the ONLY thing to force Subaru to act responsibly on this issue . The www. subaruproblems.com address should be made a "STICKY".

C'on Nipper, the Forester and OBW are practically the same car. Same engines, same transmissions, many of the same steering and suspension parts. What's the difference between the Sport Outback and the Forester? Not much. Just curious, why do you dislike the Forester so much?

It's a small world. I just took my 06 Forester to the dealer for the same problem. Car AC blows cold, then not so cold, then cold again. You can actually feel the temperature change if you put your hand by the vent. Anyway, the dealer did a very thorough check, and then the reported the car as being "normal". Bottom line, the Subaru AC unit is never going to win any awards, but it does keep me cool enough here in South Carolina summertime. The unit just barely keeps my car cool enough, but the AC in my 1999 Forester went 200,000 miles without a problem, so that's a plus.

Most people don't know it, but an AT runs hottest at very slow speeds or when stopped. That's right, highway speeds genereally put very little thermal strain on an AT. Using synthetic AT fluid is very good advice. AT fluid actually runs hotter than engine oil! Even better than than an oil cooler, put your AT in neutral when stopped, especially in hot weather. Of course, you have to remeber to shift back into drive before your remove your foot from the brake.

I'm on my second Forester, and I agree that a Legacy would be a much better choice for carrying backseat passengers. I previously owned a Dogde Caravan, and I can say that a Forester holds probably about a third as much as a minivan. However, overall a Forester is a much higher quality vehicle than a Caravan, and is a real pleasure to drive. For under $1,000, I purchased a flatbed trailer for my Subaru. I now feel that I have almost all the advantages of a full sized pickup truck with none of the liabilities. Full sheets of plywood, bales of straw, landscaping timbers..... no problem. Drop the trailer and I'm back to a fun, excellent handling car.