AdventureSubaru

Thought the pads were getting low because the brakes were getting less responsive. Back ones were about shot so i replaced them with a slight improvement. Fronts are still in good shape. Got a rotor that's a little warped up front but it's been that way for a while. Shudders as you slow at higher speeds. But good meat to the pads and rotors all around but the brakes feel weak. Am I looking for a new master cylinder?

Nice find for $400! Body looks in great shape for that sort of price.

Picking up some struts for a friend of mine. There was an old light post foundation (Light post long gone) that I backed into. The car was just high enough that I couldn't see it in my rear view mirror. WHAM! Nothing but a bumper scuff.

Gotta update this with a few of the summers adventures. The longest of which spanned 11 days traveling from Wisconsin to northern Pennsylvania, to Niagara Falls New York, To Ontario Canada and back again to Wisconsin. About 2000 miles round trip. The car performed without so much as a hiccup. I missed the working air conditioning from last year a few times though. Here's the trip in a nutshell. Packed, loaded and ready to depart. 700 miles later, had a beast of a bonfire at the family cabin in PA. Burned up some branches down from the old willow tree in the back yard. Picked some huckleberries (wild blueberries) on the mountain tops. Made great muffins. Even though I live in the midwest these days, I still feel that this is a mountain car. SCORE! Best PA has to offer! Niagara falls! This was Kira's birthday gift to me. She bought us passes on Maid of the Mist. It was a little damp and breezy to say the least. Friendly's provided some tasty treats that evening as we headed east through rural NY. Climbing ever higher. Slept in the car in Oswego. Arrived in Canada the next morning. Did a bunch of fishing over the next week. Kira out-fished me of course. Got engaged! Proposed on a remote island with the help of my brother and sisters. Surprised her with a banquet dinner in the middle of nowhere. It was in all ways a fantastic trip and a much needed break after a very busy season of work. More to come.

If I'm remembering right, primer will soak up and hold water. It won't be a protection for recently exposed metal from rust. Learned that on a mustang a few years back. I hit some rust spots with an angle grinder to get back to bare metal and sprayed primer over to "protect" it. The rust came right back. I'd get at least a $1. spray can of indoor/outdoor to cover it before I'd let that hood see any moisture. Looking fantastic though!

Grew up in Reading area and lived there until about 2 years ago. Was actually out there this past Thursday. Welcome aboard! Jeep bumper? This I gotta see. More pics of how you're going about this would be helpful. Lots of wisdom on this board should help as you get farther on your lift.

Did this change in 93? I have options for both 1990 and 1993 rear struts.

Rear struts about the same between a 1990 Legacy and a 1997 Legacy? Mostly wondering if the tophats are the same. Neither is an Outback so good to go there.

I had to research after the post on the 3 million mile Volvo. Does the 1.7 Million Subaru still exist? If so, are you keeping tabs on it so it ends up in a collection or museum and no a junkyard.

Yup. Fuse. Replaced it and got to work on time. Thanks!

Got another thread already trying to figure out how to remove the wrong key from my ignition, but now I have a new problem and I really need to use the car tomorrow. So I put the wrong key in the ignition - (Impreza key but for my 93 not my 97) and it worked to start the car but wont come out. I tried pulling the ignition cylinder and took the back off. (The rear part of the cylinder had the wiring and the little slot for the lock cylinder to turn. This started it just fine by using a screw driver to turn the rear part of the cylinder. This morning, I got up to go to work and the car wont start. Checked the battery and there's no problem. The key cylinder turns just fine. I reconnected it with the key still in the ignition and nothing. Parking lights work. It beeps for key stuck in the ignition so I know there's power. But no accessories, no headlights and no crank. What's going on here? My girlfriend and I will need both cars tomorrow so I gotta get this thing started tonight. Any thoughts?

Interesting... So how would I go about fixing it if this were the case? There's no good way to pull the cylinder.

It's a 5 speed. Will try the paper clip trick though. That sounds promising.

Been reading up and Torque bind is a safe assumption. If it doesn't go away with new tires, what's the best way to get rid of it? And how do I pull trans codes?

So I drive to work the other day in my 97 Impreza outback. Park in my usual spot, try to turn the car off and the key wont back off past the accessory. I realized then that the key i put in was for my 93 Impreza L. :banghead: So I can turn off the headlights and radio and lock the door with the real key. (Surprised that the 93 key worked at all!) But I am taking this car on a 3000 mile trip to Canada in a week. The 93 is currently for sale and I don't know if I have a spare. I have tried wiggling, jiggling, tugging, pushing, pulling and about any way I think of to get the key to back out. Any tricks or tips? How hard would it be to take the cylinder out and take it apart to remove the key? Any help is greatly appreciated.

$100. worth of parts from a local guy. Just got a Haynes manual that should help speed the process. Anybody seen one of these in a junkyard somewhere? I have a shopping list.

We used to fry plug wire sets that way. Some water under the hood in the right place will get in to the plugs and fry the wires and make the car run like crap... really this can happen to a few places if stuff is getting wet under the hood. a bit of silicone on the wires, ignition coil, fuse box etc. can prevent some of this. Could be your problem. Worth checking out.

Okay. Is there a writeup for pulling the codes manually?

Okay. Here's the scoop. Looked over the car today and could use just a little more help. Oil leaks were minor. Looks like a bit from near the camshaft pulley and another from the back that is probably the oil separator plate. It's not consuming much. just enough to keep the bottom of the engine wet. The AT TEMP light is flashing on startup. Am i correct in that would indicate a trans code to be pulled? Either way I am suspecting a little torque bind. It doesn't quite buck around when taking tight turns but something seems a bit unusual. Like one of the tires is skipping a bit or something. I advised new/matching tires for it. She has all 4 same size but 3 different brands of tire on it and probably a little variety in tread depth/inflation. Struts were weak in the back. One at least seems to be leaking. Maybe both. So am I right in advising 4 matched tires as priority 1, new rear struts priority 2? I put in some trans x as an added help. Stuff is great on subes. Would autozone or anyone pull the codes for that AT TEMP light? or what am I looking for there. The car is OBDII I think.

Thanks guys! Good info. I suspected the "mechanic" was up to no good most likely. She's a girl... in Chicago... and she wants this thing to last a while. I'll be looking at it either Sunday or Wednesday and we'll see what's up.

A friend of mine recently contacted me for help with her Legacy. It's a 95ish L sedan with the 2.2 and automatic transmission. Bout 175k on the odometer. The symptoms she described are unusual to me so I figured you guys might have a better explanation than what's in my head. 1. The trans shifts with a bit of a clunk every so often. 2. When the car is put in park, it sometimes drifts forward a little after it is turned off. 3. She said her mechanic told her that "the tracking when turning was off" and that this was a trans related issue. (Or at least that she needs a new trans.) It was explained that the wheels are out of alignment when she turns the car. All this has me wonder if she's being fed a bunch of B.S. or if there is an issue here such as the front diff? Can the trans cause such alignment issues? I will be looking at the car myself in the next week. Any thoughts or advice or things to look for?

I'm in as much as my crazy schedule allows. I'm also cooking up an idea to get a 30 inch tire under the Impreza... One of many things waiting on the new welder. The car is looking good! how'd the spacers turn out?

Not sure on the rears, but I'm told the 2WD Impreza axles had the same spline count as the EA transmission. Strut mounts are probably different though.

I can't picture the EA strut tops off the top of my head anymore. But how hard would it be to make HDPE spacers the way we lift our imprezas and legacies? I would think you could get at least an inch without putting a whole lot of stress on the bolts.

Man, could be tough either way. Got advantages and disadvantages to both. Impreza - Forester/spacer lift, 215/75/15 tires - good power, no true 4 wheel drive. 87 Toyota pickup - Carbed 22r, IFS, 31/10.50/15 tires of varying tread - not so much on power, dual range 4x4 5 speed. most of what I've been through have been the rocky hills of central Pennsylvania so all that dirt looks new to me.