swi66

The rear of the first cat to the front of the second cat., it was the built in "ears" which the bolts go through on the back of the first cat which kind of disintegrated..........the actual bolts were pretty much gone, but for the most part the actual exhaust still seems pretty solid...........All the aluminum heat shielding has fallen off though as well................rust never sleeps swi66

Happened to me so many times here that I can't count.Work your way up to a sledge if necessary. Worst one I ever had was a alloy rear wheel on a rear wheel drive ford. literally went out into a parking lot and had to cut several donuts with the rear lugs loose to break it free........... swi66

Well, I/ve just had to make some "repairs" to the exhaust on my 98 Legacy. First the gasket between the front pipe and the cat pipe gave out. Replacing the gasket didn't stop the leak as the flange is also badly deteriorated. Ingenuity and working with what I had around, I discovered a Corvair exhaust manifold donut fit between the two flanges perfectly. Issue # 2 was the flange on the end of the cat had rusted and collapsed. An aftermarket replacement flange from NAPA took care of that. Car has 128,000 miles, and I live Near Buffalo which uses more salt than anywhere else............. swi66

the return for the handle is corroded inside the gate and the spring is weak. simply push the handle the millimeter or so back into full open position and the gate will most likely open...........corroded in there. Mine does it all the time especially when it's cold. took it apart lubed it and it lasted fine for about a month, just as easy to push handle open and try again. swi66

I have done axel shafts a few times on these. I have NEVER been able to separate the ball joint without using a pickle fork, and even with the pickle fork have actually had to get a "bigger" hammer. I have done dozens of other cars and have never had the trouble separating the ball joint as I have with the Subie........ Once separated, I have a long bar which I tuck under my arm to pry down and get the lower A arm out of the way, works good for getting things back in place as well. By the way, the pickle fork generally destroys the rubber in the ball joint. swi66

I actually had the nut loosen so the balancer wobbled enough to damage the end of the crankshaft. Had to replace the motor.............. swi66

I have a 98 Legacy, I have "tried" going through some deep snow with varying results. One time hit a drift which I didn't realize how deep it was. snow came over the hood heavy enough to stop the wipers. Of course I had to stop and found myself imbedded.......... Another thing I've had problems with over the years. snow pushing out those plastic air vents in the front facia and scooping the snow up underneath the plastic wheel well, pushing it down so it rode on the tire......not a pleasant thing to fix when it is bitter cold out and it is packed solid with snow......... My plastic air vents are now attached with screws.......... swi66

Bitter cold weather drains a battery for sure, It was -2 degrees for me, my 98 Legacy with it's second battery cranked a bit slow as well this AM. This is a check of any battery, cold weather and slow cranking means time to replace. Just about any battery store has a device to check the battery. swi66

They use salt on the roads, in mass quantities, here in NY I beleive the politicians get big kickbacks derpending on how much salt they use. Destroys roads, bridges, cars the environment etc............. Seen the salt shakers spreading it even on dry roads........... I've got nuts and bolts under that car that will never come off until they break swi66

Which JY would that be ?? Vince's Auto Wrecking near Lockport NY. I got my motor through them as well, they had "Crash Test cars" only 88 miles. on it! When I needed a rack for a left hand steer car, they got the part for me real quick! swi66

Traced problem down to it being the combination switch. Used the posted manual to print out all the details of how to "do it myself" started pulling the lower cover off the column, saw all those spaghetti wires and chickened out. Called the local junkyard, $200 installed................. I figured if he screwed up the clockspring or blew out the airbag, he had the pieces to fix it............. Thanks for all the advice anyway. swi66

Yes, NAPA sells good oil! And if you didn't know, their Oil Filters are made by WIX which are the best there is! swi66

Does anyone have a wiring schematic for a 98 Legacy they can post? I am having wiper problems and it appears to not be the motor or fuse and I am looking to determine if I am checking the correct fuse and if there is a wiper relay involved. If I had a schematic I could trace the problem with a test light. Thanks swi66

The mottor appears to work fine when not connected to the harness and power run to it with a test lead. There seems to be no power going to it from the harness? What I need to know is if there is a relay or another weak link to look for. The fuse inside the car by the kick panel is OK, and the washer works. A schematic would be great! The car is a 98 Legacy with a 2.2 swi66

For quite awhile just after getting warranty work done I would get a call from Subaru America within a few days to see if I was satisfied, and they would ask several questions. Then there was my 94 Subaru which was the Subaru from hell. Kept going back to the dealer again and again for the same problem. I would get the cheerful call to ask if I was satisfied, they were shocked to find that I was not! They had no idea how to respond to a disatisfied customer! And it was an automatic thing from them to call, and they really didn't have a clue. Now I readily admit to being quite beligerant when I am talked down to by a dealer, especially when I knew what the problem was and was getting sick and tired of them second guessing me and trying to band-aid fix the car. Especially when it was a 35 minute drive to the dealer to drop the car off, and they didn't offer loaners, and because I was 35 minutes away I was out of range for their "courtesy shuttle". So it was always 2 cars making the trip to drop off and pick up. For me it tooka threat to make them buy the car back through the lemon law as it was back so many times for the same thing.......which they certainly did not want as the market for a "used" postal legacy was not good. Then I got them to have a trouble shooter come out and meet with myself, the mechanic, and the service manager, and had him confirm MY diagnosis. And again I received the call to ask if I was satisfied.....................I asked if they ever did anything about any of my "other" gripes about the dealer, and they admitted they had no idea what I was talking about............. And every time I griped I also griped about the lack of a loaner, or a ride home...........not a thing done..........ever. Currently I have a 98 Legacy.............will most likely be my last as I don't have a local dealer I can trust..........I keep trying to fix my own. swi66

For quite awhile just after getting warranty work done I would get a call from Subaru America within a few days to see if I was satisfied, and they would ask several questions. Then there was my 94 Subaru which was the Subaru from hell. Kept going back to the dealer again and again for the same problem. I would get the cheerful call to ask if I was satisfied, they were shocked to find that I was not! They had no idea how to respond to a disatisfied customer! And it was an automatic thing from them to call, and they really didn't have a clue. Now I readily admit to being quite beligerant when I am talked down to by a dealer, especially when I knew what the problem was and was getting sick and tired of them second guessing me and trying to band-aid fix the car. Especially when it was a 35 minute drive to the dealer to drop the car off, and they didn't offer loaners, and because I was 35 minutes away I was out of range for their "courtesy shuttle". So it was always 2 cars making the trip to drop off and pick up. For me it tooka threat to make them buy the car back through the lemon law as it was back so many times for the same thing.......which they certainly did not want as the market for a "used" postal legacy was not good. Then I got them to have a trouble shooter come out and meet with myself, the mechanic, and the service manager, and had him confirm MY diagnosis. And again I received the call to ask if I was satisfied.....................I asked if they ever did anything about any of my "other" gripes about the dealer, and they admitted they had no idea what I was talking about............. And every time I griped I also griped about the lack of a loaner, or a ride home...........not a thing done..........ever. Currently I have a 98 Legacy.............will most likely be my last as I don't have a local dealer I can trust..........I keep trying to fix my own. swi66

I screwed up, las t night when I parked the car I left the wipers on when I shut it off. This morning when I got up there was 4 inches of snow on the car.......heavy stuff. I started the car to warm it up then started cleaning off the snow. When I went to leave, then I realized the wipers were on but not working! I checked the fuse in the foot panel marked wiper/washer, it is fine and the washer works. Pulled off motor, found 2 prongs where I supplied power the motor worked both fast and slow speed. plugged motor back into harness, it doesn't work....... On the plug which goes into the wiper motor I found both a constant hot and a constant ground. Nothing that appears to change with the switch.......... Is there a relay I missed? A different fuse?? Did I burn out the switch on the column? What do I check next? Any suggestions???????????? swi66

A couple of years ago. My wife went to a tire store and had new tires put on the Subaru before heading off on vacation the next day. Got out of the 45 MPH area on our way to vacation and the car was all over the road. 45 PSI in all 4 tires! Delayed us a couple of hours trying to figure it out. I pulled off the road and pulled all the wheelcovers as I thought a wheel was coming off........... swi66

We have gone through a 91, 94, and now own a 98 Legacy, all Postal versions with the right hand steering. We also live in western NY where they spread salt like they have stock in the company. For the most part, the bodies have held up quite well, on the other hand though I have noticed disintegration of just about every fastener underneath the vehicle! Even worse, on the 94 we had the transmission oil pan rust through.............This also happened to me with oil pans on a Dodge Dakota, and an AMC Eagle, so it is not like it is an only Subaru thing. I also wash quite frequently, but when the rioads are white with salt.......... swi66

Aluminum wheels are notorious for tightening slightly "off" so they will loosen up. Always use a torque wrench, and re-tighten. I have what is known as a torquestick for my air impact gun, and have hads no problems. Another note: Aluminum wheels are also notorious for "welding" themselves to the hubs. If driven in the winter, remove them at least once a year to prevent this. swi66

I have been getting a delay in shifting out of first, changed the fluid in tranny but no better. Didn't really think it was the trans as it waqs rebuilt 2 years ago.

My son borrows a scanner, all that comes up is the same EGR code. Problem is I can't keep borrowing the scanner. He cleared codes last Sunday, test drove the car for about a half hour. The next day the light came back on again on the way home................. Is any other sensor possibly faulty, as I saved all the sensors off the original motor........... swi66

Check engine light has been on for 2 years now. mainly due to the fact that when I did a motor change, the replacement motor did not have an EGR valve. And no provision to mount mine in this motor. Mine was an automatic, the other a stick car. It came up with the code for EGR when I had a scan run. I recently installed the motor harness from my original motor and installed the EGR vacuum switch so it would read the EGR. Ran great for a couple of days, then the light came back on and is running rich................. I may have a no-win situation, but in 6 months the car is due for inspection, and now OB11 is part of the ritual. I hate the thought of still owing money on a car I will no longer be able to drive....................... Any suggestions! swi66

Using a baster certainly does not qualify as a fluid flush! I would like to know what he charged you for this. The whole point in changing the fluid is to make sure there is no moisture inside the lines or wheel cylinders or calipers as this promotes rust or failure. Now if you are actually having a flush done, are you going to a silicone fluid? I myself have never changed the brake fluid in a car unless I was doing a system rebuild or converting to silicone. Is it recommended? I have seen some of the Instant oil change places change transmission fluid by using suction to siphon it out the dipstick tube instead of pulling the pan. This of course changes the fluid, but what about the filter? swi66

My 98 Legacy 2.2 auto. stinks from running rich! The exhaust will burn your eyes going down the road. What if anything can I adjust to make it run leaner? swi66