Commuter

Ditto with my 97 OB auto. I would not call it a 'hard' upshift, but it is firm. I've been running synthetic in my tranny for several years. You are right. If you accelerate with moderate or more throttle, you don't really notice it. I find that if I am accelerating slow, and then hit a point where I have to back off the throttle a little to ease up on the acceleration (eg, city driving), and the tranny decides to shift "right" at that point as I'm easing off the throttle... that's when it feels the harshest. Still, it is nothing that I would call a jerking nature. Just more noticable than other brands (I come from a Honda background too). I have 427,000 km on my car. The transmission feels as good as ever. Nothing more than fluid changes now and again. Commuter

You are always giving me a plug for that post Lesbaru. Thanks. Commuter

The head gasket was revised 3 times that I know of. I've heard claims of more, but have not seen it substantiated. Failure incident may be overrepresented, but that is of little consolation to those of us that have had it happen. (97 OB, failed at 160k miles.) Even if the estimates of 20 to 25% failure rate are way overstated, it's still "too much". I keep my fingers crossed all the time. It's nearly 3 years and 100k miles since my head gasket job was done. Knock wood (too). Commuter

Obviously, check the tire first. One set of tires I had were cupped on the shoulders towards the end of their life. They made quite a bit of road noise. I've had 2 rear wheel bearings go on my 97 OB. The sound is just as you describe, gradually getting worse. In both cases, I detected it via the sound long before the dealer could find any "play" in the bearing. Be prepared for a half shaft replacement. Both times, the seal had failed, letting water into the bearing, gradually ruining it. But, the shaft also pitted in the seal area, hence it needed replacement as well. Commuter

The 98 Forester has the Phase I 2.5L. The 99 and up have the Phase II. 99 to 2002 (?) engines are getting the "goop" and extended warranty. Nothing was done by Subaru regarding the Phase I engine (head in sand syndrome). There are other things that I'm sure other will bring up (eg wheel bearings). If you want the first generation Forester, try to get the newest you can afford (up to 2002). The 2003+ seems to be pretty good. Top crash ratings, etc. I don't think I've heard of many issues with them, but, they are only a couple of years old at most. Commuter

It has been done. A guy that use to post here did exactly that with a 97 Legacy GT. He ran into some issues. I have correspondence stored somewhere from him, as I was considering it myself nearly 3 years ago when the HG went on my 97 OB. Let's just say that it is not exactly plug and play. Btw, he used the existing wiring harness and ECU. Commuter

Note that the instructions were for a 97 Outback. I suspect that the 93 is similar, but i'm not familiar with the earlier vehicles. Commuter

Outback "Sport". Sorry, missed that. You have little to worry about regarding head gaskets with that generation of 2.2L engine. Commuter

I've been searching and looking myself on Canadian Tire, and can't find it either. Perhaps they no longer have it. They did about 2 or 3 years ago.The one you found is the exact same sort of thing though. No reason it shouldn't work. All you probably need to find is the main wire leading to the motor. You splice into it. Another one goes to ground. That's about it. Not much to it as I recall. Commuter

You probably don't have to worry about the water pump just yet. The oil pump should be serviced though. Change the o-ring and tighten the screws on the backing plate. I've gone thru 3 timing belt changes now on my 97 OB. I've had the crank and cam seals changed each time. I've never experienced an oil leak. I would do them as a preventative measure. It cost very little to have them changed when one is in there for the timing belt. Start a fund "just in case" you get struck with the head gasket issue. Regarding the latch plate - My suggestion would be to simply replace it. I wrote up how to do this. It costs about $15, if that. Commuter

This has been discussed before. I don't know if there is an "OEM" style solution. Others can speak up on that. In Canada, Canadian Tire Corp carries a small intermittent wiper device. It runs about $30 Cdn. I've heard of some who just mount it inside the hatch and set the knob to a setting that they like. You will only have intermittent this way. That's the trade off. But inexpensive, fairly simple to do. Just one idea. I used this exact device on an 85 Civic of mine (for windshield wipers). Worked fine. Commuter

Is this a Legacy Outback, or Impreza Outback Sport? Just wondering, as the Legacy Outback didn't get the SOHC engine until 2000 in North America. Commuter

I'm in S.Ontario as well. I have a 97 OB. As stated, you really need to determine your criteria. For me, long life is at the top of the list as I do a lot of driving. Performance criteria (ultimate grip, cornering, etc) is not near so important. I've gone thru a few different tires over the years. I've probably had the best luck with Michelin overall. I've had some very good Yokohama tires, but then I've had a couple of defective ones from them as well. I don't really have much experience with Bridgestone or Goodyear. I put 160,000 km on a set of Michelin X-Ones. Very good overall tire. Not the greatest in the winter, but ok with AWD. I keep hearing good things about the HydroEdge which has replaced it. I am just approaching 200,000 km on a set of Toyo 800 Ultras. Very similar overall to the X-Ones in character. They were even better in the winter I'd say. However, I've had to battle a slight vibration / balance issue at highway speeds from time to time, so I'm a little hesitant to recommend them. I've been looking around myself for tires as I am again in need. I'd like to try the Nokian WR all season tires. One thing I don't know is treadwear rating. I suspect it is a lot less than the 700ish rating of the X-One and 800 Ultra. I've heard very good things though about this tire. Equals most winter tires, but is an all season tire (that sort of thing). Call a few places and give them your criteria. 3 years ago, I had 4 out of 6 places recommend the Toyo to me as a result. Other than the slight vibration issue, they were bang on what I was looking for. Commuter

I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect that in Canada, they probably still spec a timing belt change at 96k km for this engine. That, along with servicing most (if not all) fluids, brake service, plugs, probably fuel filter and air filter and some stuff like that, etc. Yeah.. it adds up. This is the biggest service point. Still, $1000 is high. But if you went by the book (again, assuming that the T-belt is part of it), you'd be into the $800 range I'd say, at a dealer. Canadian loonies. Commuter

My 97 OB does not fall into the warranty extension. I don't know if Subaru of Canada ever followed the States' actions on the 1999/2000-2002 (?) models re: 2.5L SOHC headgaskets. I haven't spoken to my dealer on it. I would just call a dealer up and ask. It is often the case that we lag behind the States by several months on stuff like this. Some years ago, there was a 'recall' concerning front spring corrosion for "salt" states. I fully expected to see the same for Ontario, but never did. (I don't know for sure if there was anything done by SoC on this particular issue or not.) Our market is 1/10th that of the States. Canadians aren't as vocal either. Sometimes, I think what happens is that warranty stuff that goes thru in the States just never happens here because we don't make enough noise. And what noise we do make is small enough to be ignored in some situations. Commuter

I'm not sure that I have ever heard anyone talk of A-pillar gauges on this board. I'd suggest you try the nasioc (old i-club) board. Good luck. Commuter

Ditto what cookie said. One other thing you can do. When it overheats, pull over and immediately look in the coolant expansion bottle. If you have bubbles... bingo. See any sludge building up in there now? Commuter

Alfa Romeo - Yeah, that's it. Sorry, I didn't think I had it right. Commuter

This comes from that designer they picked up from... was it Peugeot? [Edit - see below. Alfa Romeo] Someone correct me if I've got the wrong company. The guy is just trying to slightly rework "his" signature grill design. To me, I wasn't all that crazy about the original, but it more or less worked. These "new" versions just come across as watered down, distorted, a-step-in-the-wrong-direction yada yada. I mean, he's taken the center element and turned it upside down. Whoop-de-do. It's as if he had it as good as he was going to get it, and now he's trying to "improve" upon it, and can't. I'm not crazy about it. I do give Subaru some credit though for trying to be more distinctive. But as someone else mentioned... too much Edsel in it for my taste. Commuter

Buy a used one off ebay, or look in the for sale section on nasioc. A lot of the WRX guys pull them almost immediately and install something else. I don't know if the latest version of this unit fits your vehicle. Someone should be able to tell you. Commuter

I doubt it, but yeah, it is a lot. Headgaskets and a conrod bearing failed at 260k km though... Otherwise, its been a pretty good car. I expect to keep it for a few years yet. Long ways to go to match my 85 Civic though... 712,000 km over 14.5 years. Engine was never touched. Clutch was even original. Commuter

At what rpms are you getting the hesitation? My understanding is that the knock sensor problem affects the mid range (eg 2000 to 3000 rpm sort of thing). If you are having hesitation when starting off with a light throttle application, then it is probably carbon build up. Ask me... I know. 97 OB with 425,000 km. Mostly highway driving, Esso or Sunoco gas, and it still happened... twice. The second time, a sluggish O2 sensor was agravating the problem. Also, the knock sensor issue should disappear briefly after an ECU reset. The carbon issue won't. Commuter

I saw quite a discussion on this on another board a few years ago when Subaru brought out the 3.0L H6 and people wondered why it had timing chains instead of a belt. (See answer below.) There are pros and cons to both belts and chains. This is just a very quick summary. Belts are less expensive, quieter and have lower losses. The downside is that they have to be changed more often. Even a chain wears and stretches over time. In the H6 engine, the chain reaches linear speeds of nearly 50 mph as I recall!! I saw a post of an article right form a Subaru engineer as to why they chose a chain for the H6 engine. One word... packaging! That is, they wanted to minimize the size of the engine, the length in particular. A belt would have added about an inch to the length of the engine. As it was, they managed to design the H6 just under an inch (22 mm) longer than the the 2.5L H4 engine. See where they were going? So sometimes the reason is not what you might expect. Commuter

I'll throw in a good word for my dealer, Subaru of Mississauga in Ontario Canada. It has helped some that I actually know the Service Manager, (even before I got the car), but I really haven't had to go to him very much at all. They know how I like to take care of my car. They haven't given me any grief when I wanted them to put on stainless steel braided brake lines, or a Whitleline sway bar, or a light weight crank pulley, etc. The service writers (one in particular) are quite knowledgeable and I feel they capture what I tell them. They even rotate the tires in the pattern I ask for. I usually get some discount on parts, even labour. They treated me exceptionally well a few years ago when I went thru my head gasket issue and conrod bearing failure. I feel I'm still in their debt for that one. I've heard complaints about them, and other dealers in the area. You are never going to satisfy everyone. I do agree that in general, the dealers need to improve customer relations. And this is not just for Subaru. Commuter (97 OB, 425,000 km)

External head gasket leaks, drivers side at the rear. Brakes were a bit undersized on this year. They upped the size in 2001 apparently. Be prepared for more brake work than usual. I can't really think of anything else. Commuter