jp1gt

Thank you. I will get one. The one I replaced about 5K miles ago is starting to make noise under a very light load. I have to wait until it gets worse to get some play out of the joint to tell if it is the right or left. As far as I remember it is always the outer joint.----Jack

I am near sacramento ca and shipping would be a pain when they go bad. we only have 85K on this one, but sold the 89 and will be driving our sunday driver all the time now!!! I will keep looking, thanks---Jack

I have been using rebuilts. Does anyone know of a brand that has a lifetime guarantee? It only takes 1/2 hour to change one. About the only thing that I would think could cause the problem is that the transfer case is not slipping enough and binding on the axles. Never had one apart, so don't know.

I am wondering if anyone knows why early foresters have problems with front CV joints going bad. Mine is always the passengers side front. I have talked to some subaru mechanics in the area and they said, yes they go bad more than normal, but had not idea what causes it or if anything can be done.

Mine is exactly like that. I was connecting the green connectors and looking at the light on the dash. I need to look at the lights on the ecm I guess. I will post my findings when I have some time.---Jack

Thanks again. I want to make sure I am testing it right. There are 2 connectors near the master cyl. One is green and one is grey. I have tried all combination's and the light just stays on with them connected, or disconnected, engine off, key on. Engine on with it connected the light goes off, connected light on. There is no code for light on not flashing. I went out there and checked the advance and timing. The timing is correct and you rev the engine up and it advances. It is the same with the green wire connected or not. Mileage is good, emissions are good, performance is good (for a 1.8). Since this is an early computer system, could it still be OK? BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. I FOUND OUT THAT THE CODE FLASHING LIGHT IS ON THE ECM, BY THE STEERING COLUMN, NOT THE LIGHT ON THE DASH, WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.

My car is an 89 GL wagon with fuel injection. I looked at the website that grossgary mentioned, but it does not talk about the 1.8L The Chilton manual says that you check the timing with the green connector connected. The connector I am talking about is near the master cylinder. So if the light stays on with the green connector disconnected, and goes out with it connected, I guess I have a problem. It passed smog out the tail pipe, but not the light. Tomorrow I am going to see which way it kills the timing advance, connected or disconnected. Any help would be appreciated.

I had my car smoged and the check engine light was burned out. I went to my junk yard of old subarus and got a bulb and put it in. The question is----Is the connector under the hood to check the timing supposed to be connected or not, under normal driving? When it is connected the light goes off, but it was disconnected for the last year. IT IS A CALIFORNIA CAR WITH FUEL INJECTION. I checked 2 manuals and it is not clear.

Now I have the WHOLE story. It was my wife's car before we got married. She bought it new. She remembers it doing it from the beginning. I asked her why she did not take it in to get fixed and she thought it was normal, since it is not a backfire, just a putt. I got involved after the warranty ran out. You kind of wonder, if it was doing it from new, is it the exhaust? I will still check it. How come my problems are never simple!!!!

Like I said, after I got the smog check, the check engine light never came on again. Really weird!!!! I live in a small town and the mechanic at the local Subaru dealer will talk to me. When I asked him about the light he said that they were replacing cats and Subaru said 80% were still good. So, if you were going to fix the problem, it gets a little complicated. You have 2 cats and 4- O2 sensors. Which one is causing the problem? Luckily it has not come on in 4K miles! I will post a note if I have a cracked Y pipe.---Jack

It has about 85K on the car, low mileage. It has been tuned up 3 times including adjusting the valves once. I bought the used exhaust system before I got the smog check thinking that I would solve the mysterious random check engine light problem. I called the dealer and they said that the code that my car had would be caused by the converter or the O2 sensor, so if it comes on again, I have both. nickb21 you seem to have the same problem. I hope some else has had the same problem and found a fix. The situation for me is that the problem is not that bad, just annoying. WELL, I CALLED THE DEALER TODAY ON THE BACKFIRE PROBLEM AND HE SAID THAT THEY HAVE HAD SOME CRACKED Y PIPES JUST BEFORE THE CONVERTERS (UNDER THE HEAT SHIELD) When I get some time I will take the shield off and take a look.---Jack

No I have not done any maintenance other than oil changes etc. There are no exhaust leaks. It seems to me that the backfire is occurring under the car rather than out the tailpipe. Another weird thing happened in the past. The check engine light was coming on about every 500 miles. It said that there was a problem with one of the cats. I would use the scanner to shut off the light every 500 mi. What is even more weird is that it quit setting the code after I got a smog check( I live in CA) Before I got the smog check I bought a used exhaust system with the cats and O2 sensors, but have not put them on. Unfortunately I don't have the code written down. The check engine light and the slight backfire did not seem to be connected, just throwing it out there in case it helps.

My 2001 forester 2.5 non turbo with manual transmission backfires when shifting from one gear to another. It does not do it often and is just a putt, not a big backfire. It does it on flat land, up hill and down hill. I am worried it will knock the inside of a cat loose. Any ideas?

Thank you for all the comments, got some different perspectives. As an ex auto mechanic, I still like a light. Must be to costly to have a gauge and a light like the gas gauges have. Next time we go car shopping I will see if other makes feel the same way!

I was wondering how long Subaru has chinced out not putting a temp gauge in their cars? We are kind of interested in a new Legacy and was shocked that it had no gauge!! They gave me the Cadillac owner answer that it is easier to see a light. Most Subaru owners are smarter than that. I would not be able to figure out that my engine was not burning up in my 2001 if I did not have a gauge. Is there a retrofit to replace the useless economy gauge?

It has not used any coolant before or after and not overheated going over US 80 from Sac to Reno after I replaced the cap. The original cap had about 60K on it. Do aftermarket caps not work well on Subarus?

We have a 2001 Forester with 90K miles on it. It has gotten hot (not overheated) twice. Both times it blew out water in the overflow. The first time, I filled it with coolant mix and a new radiator cap and it was fine for 20K miles. The second time the upper rad hose was collapsed shut, the cap was holding a vacuum. Anyone else have cap problems?---Jack