Commuter

Before you can answer that question, you have to refine it. Best for gas mileage? Best for engine protection? (Least wear?) Best for long life (oil life that is). Best for hard running? Best for least $/mile? And so on. I prefer synthetic myself. Stick to a reputable name, follow reasonable change intervals, and you should be fine. Personally, with what I've learned over the past few years, I think the oil filter is more important than most people realize. Putting a few more $ towards that may mean as much or more than the oil that you use. Commuter

The general concensus seems to be that Subaru's like the NGK plugs. You can get into the debate of copper vs platinum if you want. Some have claimed even smoother running with the Iridium plugs. I've seen mixed reports with people who have tried the Bosch +4's. Just seems to be one of those things. Bosch is a good product - just doesn't seem to be the best match for Subaru engines. Commuter

Go to the cars101 site. You will find the info there. The 96 to 99 Legacy Outbacks all had the Phase I 2.5L DOHC engine. The 96 had a reduced hp (155 vs 165) compared to the other years. I'm not up on the other models. Most of the Legacys had the 2.2L engine. But then models like the Legacy Wagon GT had the 2.5L (I think). The site above will give you the full scoop. Commuter

I'm at 364k km on my 97 OB, however, only 100k on the new engine. My gas mileage has held pretty steady. It did drop off about 5% (perhaps 10% at most) over the past year. Changing the O2 sensor seemed to help. I'm still averaging about 24 or 25 mpg year round (mostly highway miles). Commuter

As someone who has worked in the metals heat treating industry for years, and has a smattering of metallurgy, I find it not totally surprising that a sway bar fails now and again. There are a lot of (small) variables when it comes to metals. The compositon and impurity levels, the micro and macro structues of the metal, the heat treatment, etc. Add to that the forming process and it's related variables and stresses. Now factor in all that the underside of a car sees in its lifetime. A sway bar flexes; this is classic fatigue situation. Add road salt, corrosion, grit, flying bits of stone, etc. Anything that causes even a minor scratch on the surface can act as a crack initiator. One day, the combination of hundreds of thousands of flex cycles, a surface crack, cold weather, higher than normal stress, etc. and "bang", it fails. I'm not saying that it should be taken lightly, or that you shouldn't notify Subaru. They may do something, they may not. But anything man made, can, and eventually will, fail. Mother nature and 'chaos' will eventually win in the end. Commuter

In my 97 OB, the A/C button slides out the backside of the climate control unit. There is one of those little twist in bulbs (short one like in the dash switches) in the side of it. The RS bulb should work fine there too. I used the RS bulbs in my climate control unit and dash switches the last time I did them. Commuter

Subaru's website states 1/4" on circumference. If the tire's circumference is 80" (for argument), then that is only 0.3%! Everything I've read indicates that the VC used with the manual transmission Subaru's is not as sensitive as the clutch pack used on the automatics, but Subaru does not make a distinction between them. You cannot disable the VC center diff, hence the warnings / limits about speed and distance when using a donut spare tire with a manual. Liability being as it is, the 1/4" spec is probably conservative. How conservative, I cannot say. But I've seen a few reports of people burning up their clutch packs in short order by running an oddball tire. And one guy that fried 2 VC's, then found out that he had 1.5" difference between front and rear tires. Some AWD systems are more forgiving (Torsen based ones) than others. I'm not versed in the various systems currently out there though, so I can't comment further. Even Subaru has 3 (or is it 4?) variations with the VDC stuff, etc. Just one of those "the beauty of AWD" things we have to acknowledge and live with. Commuter

97 Outback... ~227,000 miles (365,000 km). Second engine though :-\ Still only half way to what I put on my 85 Civic over 14.5 years... And that was one engine, never opened, and original clutch. Commuter

I have a 97 OB (not Limited). You will give up a few toys (eg variable intermittent wipers I think, leather perhaps?), but the 99 is the better choice, especially at the same price and mileage. Some things were improved, updated as they went thru this generation. Headgaskets are still an issue. Expect about $1000 US if you have to do them. Start a "car fund"... good advice no matter what the vehicle. Listen for piston slap. Check for torque bind. Check for front end clunk. Look for leaking front crank / cam seals. See how many climate control bulbs / dash switch bulbs / seat heater bulbs are burned out. Check the tires. They should all be the same with equal wear. Look at the black metal strip that the hatch handle and license plate bulbs attach to. Sure to be rusty, especially on the 97. (I think I posted a while ago on all this stuff when someone else was looking at this generation of OB's.) Good luck. Commuter

Stock wattage is 55/60W (or is it 45/60W in the USA?). Anyway, 60W maximum for headlight bulbs. Higher wattage bulbs usually jump up to 80/100W. And "off road" use only. Once, I saw a 70/80W bulb, but I think it is quite rare. The SilverStars are expensive. Sylvania also has another bulb in between a regular one and these. Cool Blue I think it's called. Their website gives the details. Commuter

You might try the Sylvania SilverStars. A lot of people have been pleased with them. I put a couple in my wife's Honda van, but can't say I really noticed much difference. The light output was very good to begin with. I'm running higher wattage bulbs in my 97 OB. The lenses are cloudy. The connector gets quite warm, but I haven't melted anything yet (knock wood). Commuter

Could be many things... but I believe you. Others have had similar problems. Didn't this year have trouble with bad Oxygen sensors? And wasn't there a recall on the ECU (reflash?) around this time too. I'm sure others will be of more help. Commuter

HUGE supporter of Rust Check. I've been doing it on all my vehicles since the late 80's. Nice to see someone else recommend them. Commuter

I have a 97 OB and have the same code right now. I just haven't gotten around to taking it back to the dealer. I just keep reading and clearing the code. However, I had this happen in the spring this year (same code). I have an auto. It turned out to be a little pressure sensor (more of a manifold vacuum sensor actually) that mounts on the passenger strut tower. It "checks" the EGR by looking for a change in pressure when the EGR is activated. In my case, it was this sensor that was failing. The sensor has some purpose as an input to the TCU. I had noticed that my shifts were a little "off". Bit sluggish, almost as if something was slipping at times. I thought I had some transmission problem developing, but it was the sensor. My shifts went back to normal after it was changed. And the EGR code went away (until now that is). Be forewarned... it's an expensive little sucker! Just another possible source of the PO400 code. Commuter

The silicone spray products are good. Definitely better than doing nothing. But I have also read a number of times that they slowly deteriorate the rubber as well. It's a bit of a catch 22. (Sorry, I don't recall what the issue is.) Based on a recommendation from this board, I started using 303 Aerospace Proctectant. It looks and even smells (somewhat) like ArmorAll, but it is water based, not petroleum based. It's biggest selling point seems to be its "sunscreen" factor. I find it great on interior vinyl. It's not as greasy and you don't seem to get that "off gasing" of the vinyl that clouds the windows as ArmorAll does. I've been using it on the weather stripping as well (about twice a year). Seems to be working well. 1997 car with no wind noises so far (knock wood). It is also suppose to prevent ozone attack that deteriorates rubber. Safe for your tire sidewalls too. Just something else that people might want to consider. Girots (sp?) Garage has a similar product (perhaps it's just rebranded, I'm not sure) that others have recommended. A google search will turn up the websites. Commuter

When my problem surfaced (full write up on the board here somewhere) on my 97 OB, the first thing I noticed was an oil residue in the coolant expansion bottle. (I thought it was oil but it's a product of combustion gases mixing with the anti-freeze.) My temp guage never moved actually. It was at it's normal position and I was watching it closely back then due to all the reports that were surfacing. The leak was small and might have been that way for several weeks. After highway driving for a while, the expansion bottle would be nearly full and there were little bubbles coming up thru it. I caught it early. In my research at the time (mostly all the threads on i-club), it appeared quite common that the failure mode was these "small leaks". The leak would not appear unless the vehicle was run hard (eg - highway or towing). Pressure testing etc with an idling cool engine would reveal nothing. The car could be fine for weeks just running around town. I can't comment on the "sniffing". I'm not sure what to make of that coming up negative. You also mention the overheating occurred on a down hill. I presume that you were driving "up" a hill just prior to that? This could trigger the overheat. And does anyone know... would the forward tilt of the engine cause coolant to move off the temperature sensor (that is, be hit with a pocket of combustion gases) and the temp to shoot up? Sorry... but given the year, the mileage, the Phase I DOHC 2.5L, the symptoms, it all strongly suggests head gasket failure to me. Commuter

I don't know what the "originals" were... but NGK will work just fine. Commuter

I've seen tool loan signs in the Canadian Tire stores where I live (Toronto). I don't know how the program works, or if it is a store by store thing. I've never made use of it (yet). Commuter

I don't know if Walmart has them, but Canadian Tire defintely has as Frag points out. I've seen them. As for the tension, I think they are somewhat adjustable. That is, even thought it is a spring, one can twist it enough to cause some permanent deformation of the metal, thereby increasing (or decreasing) the pressure that it will exert once on the wiper arm. And usually, a higher wiper will increase pressure slightly as it typically stretches the spring out a little more. People bend the arms for the very same effect when springs start weakening. I'm in Southern Ontario and while we do not get as much snow as Buffalo, I've never had much trouble with just running regular blades year round. Yeah, you gotta smack the snow and ice out of them occasionally, but I just don't like the visual distraction of the winter covered blades. I guess you probably adjust to it. Whatever works for you. Commuter

They were sold here in Southern Ontario. Did they not continue it with the model change in 2000? I thought they did. Has it been dropped? The cars101 site would probably tell me... but no time to look right now. Commuter

Sport Utility Sedan... A raised up, Outback looking sedan. I don't think they were too popular... Commuter

My sister in law got a set on her car recently. An Oldsmobile. I have no idea how they are. She's not the sort or person that could tell you anything. My one concern would be the fact that they are directional. IMHO, one gets the most even wear on a tire if they can move it around to "all" positions on the car. That means, reversing the direction of rotation. That is not possible with a directional tire. (One could have the tires "flipped" on the wheel at the half wear point to move them to the other side of the car, but you still can't reverse the direction. And there would be the added cost of re-mounting the tires.) I partly steered away from the Goodyear Aquatred 3 a couple of years ago for this reason. I wore out a set of X-Ones on my 97 OB. Good all around tire. I've been running Toyo 800 Ultra's for the past 2 years. A little better grip all around then the X-Ones I'd say, but a tad noiser, and I've had to battle a slight, but persistent vibration. (They just seem to be sensitive to proper balancing.) Commuter

I don't have time to dig it up right now, but I think the "How stuff works" site has some info on viscous couplings. They are a sealed unit with thin closely spaced (not touching) discs that have holes and slots in them. The odd numbered disks are attached to one shaft, the even number discs to the other shaft. The whole unit is filled with a silicone oil. Silicone oil (fluid) thickens dramatically when it heats up. There is a huge swing in the viscosity around 100C. If both wheels are turning at the same speed, the discs are as well, there is no relative movement between the disks and the fluid is at it's low viscosity, allowing slight movement for turns, etc. When one wheel spins, there is relative movement between the discs, the fluid is sheared, it heats up, thickens and "locks" the plates together, thereby transferring torque to the wheel with grip. This happens very rapidly, but not instantaneously. The center differential in most manual transmission Subaru's use a VC to power the drive shaft to the rear wheels. (Auto's have the clutch pack.) Commuter

Paul, That stupid little sensor (< 1" black cube with a couple of mounting tabs, a vacuum line nozzle (or 2?) and a 3 wire connector) listed at $430 Canadian IIRC. Definitely worth shopping around for... or even trying used. It was one of the few times that I felt that a Subaru part was out of line, price wise. For me, the telltale sign was that my shifts were "off". They seemed a bit slow... delayed... sluggish... almost as if something was slipping. Not real bad at all... and not every time, but there. This cleared up totally after the sensor was changed. The mechanic told me that this sensor monitors the manifold vacumm and provides some "input" to the TCU's shifting algorithm. As a secondary function, it "looks" for a change in vacuum when the EGR is opened. Therefore (since it was failing), it erroneously triggered a ECL with the PO400 code (EGR malfunction). I don't know what is going on now. I'm basically letting it develop and get worse, then I'll take it in. It's not something that I feel inclined to tackle myself, especially with colder, rainy weather setting in. The Code reader I bought in the spring is seeing it's use now. Commuter

I have a 97 OB. Live in Southern Ontario Canada. Do mostly highway driving. I wore out a set of Michelin X-Ones, 160k km. They were a very good tire. Still had some tread left when I got rid of them. I replaced with with Toyo 800 Ultras. The Toyo's have slightly better grip in rain and snow I'd say. (More open tread pattern). Wearing like nails. 700 treadwear rating. I have 125k km on them now and probably 1/3 tread left. They are a little noisier than the X-Ones. Ride about the same, perhaps a tad firmer. The shoulders will feather a bit, but tire rotation (one that crosses over side to side) will keep this in check. My only gripe really has been that they are sensitive to balance. Half the time after rotating the tires, I have to have them rebalanced. Luckily it does not cost me anything. I get a mild vibration at highway speeds only. Anything under 100km/hr is fine. I once put my entire car up on jacks and put it in gear. All 4 tires had 1 to 3 mm of runout. A couple had 1 or 2 mm of wobble as well. I queried the dealer as to whether this was "in spec" and never got a straight answer. They have been very good about rebalancing and even kept the car for a day to test drive it, etc. 6 months ago, I had the tires rotated and everything was fine. A couple of weeks later, the car was in for servicing. The wheels were off for brake work, but not rotated. I get the car back, and the vibration has reappeared. Got them rebalanced, and everything ok. This indicated to me that wheel "position" on the hub is factoring into things. Perhaps my rotors/hubs are not 100% balanced. Anyway... the wheels were recently rotated, and again, the vibration returned. I took the (fronts only) off, turned them by 2 studs, put them back on... vibration significantly reduced. Hmmm... The thing is, I NEVER had this issue with the X-Ones. So... I have mixed feelings about the tire. Great life. Very good grip for such a high life tire. Noise ok. Ride firm (ok by me). Roundness? Not totally sold... This tire has also been around for a number of years and is considered 'older' technology. I've heard that a replacement is due, but I don't know just when. I will consider Toyo again, but I don't know if they will get a repeat purchase from me. (Actually, if I keep up this commuting, I will wear them out within the 4 year life guarantee and will probably end up with a replacment set for next to nothing. They do have "excellent" warranties. ) Commuter