Commuter

I think you can forget the turbo on this car. A friend of mine had a 2001 Outback with the H6 engine. He was collecting turbo parts for it, but then ended up dropping the whole idea. As I understand it, there is one exhaust port for all 3 cylinders. The guy he was dealing with has done quite a bit of work on imports. When he found out about the single port, he didn't recommend the turbo. The exhaust temp inside the head in the port passages would increase too much and likely cause problems. The guy is a reputable tuner. I don't think there is much of anything out there yet for the H6 engine. It's quite new, and it is in cars that people normally wouldn't be looking to tune. You might be able to use some sort of aftermarket ECU/chip, but it will cost $ to do it right. And I don't know that you'd gain much if you don't do anything else to the car. Sorry... but it's not really the right starting point if you are looking to 'play' with things. Commuter

There is a prior thread on this. It might be better to do a search and bring it up, rather than start a new one. 97 OB = 400,000 km (almost 250k miles). Second engine however. But I have a ways to go to reach the 712k kms (~440k miles) that I put on an 85 Civic. Commuter

My dealer acknowledged a LOT of HG replacements in 2002. The prior year, very few, and they said that those were cars that were not dealer maintained, probably had old coolant etc. But the rash of failures came for them in 2002. In my research, I found suspicion of head bolt torque issues (procedure as well as value) as it pertains to the failures. This came from 2 totally different sources. Whether the current procedure, with the current part no. is ok, I don't know. I hope so... or mine will fail again. It's over 2 years and 130,000 kms since my HG's were changed. I have my fingers crossed. Commuter

I wouldn't know about an 89, but a lot of people with early to mid 90ish cars have had the starter contacts fail. Inexpensive part and not too difficult to replace if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. Do a search and you'll find a few threads. Commuter

How old is the vehicle? How much longer do you plan to keep it? In the old days, one would just get the garden hose and spray thru the radiator from the backside to flush out the bugs and dirt. You might have to remove the fans and shrouding to do this fully, but you could try. I suspect that the bugs and organic matter dissolves when a rad shop soaks a radiator. Doing all the work to do remove a radiator, have it cleaned, reinstall it would probably cost a good part of a new radiator. And can you even do that with plastic tanks? Or do they have to tear the core out? I'm not sure on this stuff. I had a Civic years ago. After about 6 years and many miles of highway driving, the rad was so hammered from stones and road grit that the fins were practically blocked right off in the grill area. The temp kept slowly rising. I was trying to put off the expense as long as I could at the time. I recall a few long 'commutes' where it was 90F weather and I had the heat cranked in the car just to keep the temp gauge from climbing! No A/C either. You might do some things to extend the life of your rad, but it sounds like it is coming to the end of it's life. I'm assuming it is not "just" a bug issue. Commuter

Ok, I'll bite and reply. Plugs - NGK are typically favored / recommended. I don't know if your car specs platinum or not. That is up to you really. Some prefer copper, some prefer platinum. Some are trying the Iridium with mixed results (usually favorable I'd say). As for other brands, you'll find a range of opinions / comments / experience. It seems to be particularly hit and miss with Bosch. Personally, I'm running TorqueMaster plugs. A different animal in terms of plugs. Works well. I've had no issue in roughly 200k kms. They were out briefly when engine work was done. I seemed to get just a 'hint' more when they went back in. I bought them as part of my fight against the carbon issue with my engine (97 OB). I think it has helped, but I really don't have a way to tell. Wires - I had no trouble with the OEM ones, but I chose to put Magnecor (8.5mm) wires on a few years ago. I haven't had any issue personally. They are a quality piece of work. From everything I've read, the OEM ones are very decent. Some opt for NGK wires as well and they seem to be fine. It's not a problem area with our cars from what I know. Commuter

Hello neighbour. Welcome. I just moved from the TO region. I'm in the Niagara area now. I've owned a 97 OB for 5.5 years now. My first Subaru too. I wish you luck... We have the infamous 2.5L Phase I engine. I know all too well the ills of it. Commuter

Everyone can make a mistake, but that is a little sad that they guy didn't even clue in on the "Phase I" reference in your email. The answer isn't even pertinent! Commuter

I'd be careful with non-subaru oil seals. I've heard of problems (leaks) if you don't don't stick with OEM for this part. Commuter

From what I've been able to tell (I've cut a few different filters open), the Subaru-Purolator filter is pretty much a Premium plus. The PureONE has a different filtering media. The 'microfibers', greater number of pleats, etc. With some of the stuff I've read on filtering, the particle size that causes the most wear, the fact that many filters barely capture this particle size, etc... I think the oil filter is more important than we realize. The PureONE strikes me as a very good, readily available filter. If you buy 6 or 12 (a case), you can get a good discount. Just haggle. Commuter

A guy on the Toronto Subaru club put a 2.0L turbo engine in his late 90's Legacy. I think it was a 97 GT. From what I read, it did make quite the difference. Not inexpensive though. Takes some cash to do it up right. This was about 1.5, maybe 2 years ago. I wish I knew of an inexpensive way to get more out of these engines without blowing them up. Little things I've done have probably "added" 5, maybe more hp all tolled. If I could just get about 10% or so more, I'd be satisfied. The car is just a bit too much for the engine IMHO (97 OB). Commuter

I recall reading of a 'crankwalk' issue with the Phase I engine. AFAIK, it's not common, but Subaru did relocate the crank thrust bearing on the phase II engine. My understanding is that the thrust bearing is centrally located on the Phase I and it is at one end (rear?) on the Phase II. Just FYI. Commuter

Hard to say. You should have the most up to date gasket. Warranty would typically be 12 months and 12,000 miles, so nothing left there. Some have had multiple failures of head gaskets. For what it's worth, my headgaskets went in 2002. Then the bottom end failed. A new (but Phase I) shortblock was put in. It's been just over 2 years and about 85k miles since. Knock wood, everything is holding together. Commuter

Numbers are usually in the $1000 to $1500 US range. Less if you do it yourself, or know a good independent. More if they do timing belt, seals, water pump, etc. It's only a 4-banger, but we've got 2 heads. Used engine would be a crap shoot IMHO. Rebuilt engine (with warranty) is about $2800, plus cost of installation. Commuter

Front O2 is involved with the fuel maps. The back one just checks if the cat is doing it's job. E-test: Emissions test. Hydrocarbons, NOx, etc. The Phase II engine inproved the fuel milage some. The SOHC system has less frictional loss. But yeah... they are not exactly great engines in terms of efficiency. Subaru argues that the AWD is only a small penalty. And they are right... but small is still something. 5% I'm guessing, maybe more? It's there. You can do lots of little things to improve fuel milage. Try different brands of gas (that can be surprising sometimes). Synthetic fluids in the diffs and tranny. Free flowing air filter (maybe). Get rid of any excess weight in the car. Take off roof cross rails (if you have them). Proper tire pressure. Better tires. But these are are very marginal improvements in most cases. Commuter

Ditto what 99obw said. Sounds like head gaskets. After running the car hard (eg, hiway sprint, or hauling), check to see if you have bubbles coming up in the coolant expansion tank. And/or a sludge in there. Tell tale sign. Commuter

We really need a 'sticky' or some sort of reference post for this question... Ok... North America, 2.5L H4 engine. The DOHC Phase I was used in the late 90's Imprezas until 98 and in the Legacys until 99. (Why? The Imprezas come from Japan and they got the updated engine one year sooner. The Legacies are made in the States.) Therefore... 99 and newer Imprezas along with 2000 and newer Legacys will have the Phase II engine. It's quite easy to tell by looking, if you have seen them both. Look at the timing belt covers. You will see the evidence of 1 or 2 camshafts per side. The Phase II engine does have some headgasket issues in the form of external leaks. Subaru's response has been the anti-freeze conditioner or additive, whatever you want to call it. I don't really know if they have it under control now (say, 2004, 2005 models). Only time will truly tell. Subaru continues to bury their head in the sand regarding the headgasket problems with the Phase I engine. It suffers from internal leaks typically. Given that these engines are about 5 years old as a minimum now, I don't see Subaru ever doing anything about it (acknowledgementwise anyway). There are other differences in the engines, but it really was an evolution, with the most notable change being the move from DOHC to SOHC. Commuter

I have a 97 OB, 2.5L, Phase I engine, auto, AWD. I routinely get about 25mpg with virtually all highway driving at 70mph. I've seen some claim up to 30, but I have never come close to that. I now have almost 250k miles on my car. These engines are known for carbon problems. I've been thru it, which really surprised me with all the highway miles I travel. However, I didn't suffer much, if any loss in gas milage. My issue was a low rpm hesitation. It will take something like a MotorVac treatment to properly get rid of the carbon. After that, routine use of some sort of treatment should keep the carbon at bay. The second time I ran into the carbon issue, it was a result of a weak O2 sensor. I did not have any codes. The mechanic said it was 'cycling' fine, just a bit slow in its response. I finally changed the O2 sensor anyway. My 'hesitation' drastically lessened, then gradually went away after several weeks. But again, I was not suffering much in the MPG. 1, maybe 2 at the most. It did return to the 'usual' after changing the sensor. You don't have many miles, but you have 8 years of 'run time'. The senor is probably nearing the end of its life. As an aside, my E-test didn't look very good to me 2 years ago (old sensor), but it did pass. This year, the E-test was quite a bit better (new sensor). (Even at that, the E-test results for this engine look pathetic next to my wife's 99 Honda Odyssey.) I'm not sure what else to suggest. I'm not saying that carbon is the only issue. I just wanted you to be aware of what I have learned and experienced. Commuter

Is this a manual or an automatic? (I'm guessing manual.) I know that the Subaru's that I've driven have a more aggressive 'on' throttle response than is typical. I don't know about 'off' throttle. Perfectly fine with my automatic (97 OB). You might check into whether there was any ECU reflash recall for your car. There was some stuff going on a couple years ago regarding that, but I'm not sure of makes and models. As suggested, it can be mitigated by altering your driving style a bit. I know... you shouldn't have to... etc etc. But, learning to 'ease' off the throttle instead of 'lift off' will become second nature if you do it for a while. Perhaps a check of the throttle mechanism? I don't even know... what 'cushions' the throttle return these days? It's something I haven't messed with in years. Is it done electronically now? Have you driven other 2003's to see if they are the same? That is, is yours typical, or distinctly different. Commuter

I made a quick list of the "things to look for" in this thread. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16588&highlight=Outback The Outback and the GT wagon have similar mechanical 'bits', so it should provide a good reference. Commuter

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2513&highlight=hatch+latch Here you go. Commuter

A valid point in terms of 'global' strength. The failure however between an aluminum block and head bolts would most likely be 'local' in nature. The threads would strip out of the block before the bolt body itself would snap. Commuter

I have a 97 OB. Some (and I quote, "some") have claimed considerable milage improvements from putting the vehicle into FWD. I drove for about 2 weeks this way a couple of years ago after a tire was replaced. (Until I could confirm that the difference in tire size was within limits.) I didn't notice any difference in gas milage to speak of. (I do mostly highway driving.) What I did notice though was that it took very little to spin the front wheels (summertime, road grit, dirt, all on pavement btw) when starting off and turning at a corner. You've got an AWD vehicle. Use it. Commuter

What vehicle do you have? There is a thread around where I posted about replacing the metal strip that the handle and license plate lights attach to on the hatch of a 97 OB. You get at the entire "hatch latch" mechanism as part of doing this. Frag has also posted valuable info on how to deal with sticking lift gates. One hint... push "in" on the hatch as you try to activate the handle. Commuter

The 2.2L engine was still available on some Imprezas and Legacys up to 2001, but most Legacy based vehicles will have the 2.5L. The Phase I 2.5L DOHC engine was used up 98 in the Imprezas and 99 in the Legacys. The Phase II 2.5L SOHC engine became available in the 99 Imprezas and 2000 Legacys. The Phase I is problematic, with it's known penchant for head gasket failures (internal leaks). The Phase II also is less than stellar regarding headgaskets, but it is a less (potentially) damaging external leak. Subaru has started a campaign of using some sort of sealant in the anti-freeze on the Phase II engines. Do a bit of searching a reading. Lots of info. Commuter