Suzam

How long have you had the car? Sometimes if there is a problem like torque bind the pervious owner could pull the FWD light bulb and put a fuse in so that the problem isn't apparent to the prospective buyers. Unfortunate, because if the buyer doesn't check for a fuse installed they are getting cheated.

Yeah the LSD in the MY01 Outback (Limited) does make it nicer. I've climbed over a few snowplow piles and up a few inclines I know would be more of a challenge without it.

Well "all four" might be a little strong, I'm not churning all wheels like a 4x4. But I can get it into a powerslide in an open area. Climbing up a small incline the rear end will slide out to the side if I jump on it, so I know there is power to the rear while the front is spining too. And there is a BIG difference if I put a fuse in to run it in FWD only, the front will spin and slide side-to-side while the back end just follows where ever it's lead to by the front without sliding on it's own. BTW, the MY95 AWD seem to kick in fast than our MY01 Outback. I guess this is due to design changes , the mother-in-laws MY98 seems to be closer to the MY95 than the MY01 setup.

Our MY95 has pretty tight AWD, you should know when the AWD kicks in. I can drive on a flat surface and tell the AWD is working because I can, in fact , get it to break all 4 wheels loose on snow without much trouble. A test would be to insert a fuse so that your sure it's in FWD and see if it's any worse.

Yeah, I agree with Josh. However after that amount of time, if the engine was quiet with the light on I'd bet your pressure was OK. However don't roll those dice too much more.

Yeah, I've used bungee cords to, they do OK for short runs or lighter weight stuff, but to me they have to be pulled too tight to get rid of the elastic play. If I got for a road trip over 20 miles I'd like the knowlege that the load is secure enough to do 60+ mph for an extended period. I get really paraniod because I once saw a kitchen table fly off a car while it was passing a tractor-trailer on the PA Turnpike, that sucker flipped up and soared like a frizbee! Hit the road about 20 yards down and skidded across the right lane and shoulder another 30 yards. Once the air gets lift on flatter stuff it can create a lot of pull.

I have a set of the nylon ratcheting straps that I got at the Depot or Lowes that I use for a variety of things I've had on the racks. I've had doors, a 40 ft extention ladder, a futon bed frame, plywood and drywall, etc. As long as it has solid contact to the rails and/or crossbars you should be OK, If possible I weave the straps into the cargo so that the tension pulls down on the load and it won't slide side to side. For safety I use an extra strap and go front to back as well, in case of hard braking. Just stop and check you load after you drive a few miles to make sure everything is staying put. Grab the load and shake, if the whole car rocks and moves as one solid mass, you should be secure.

On our MY95 L Sedan has OEM foglights. They are the rectangular lenses, I belive the round JDM projector type for these years also fit since the seem to have the same bracket.

I'd just do what you plan on and have someone start it up for 5-10 minutes every 5-7 days. Cars can sit in for months and just get a battery boost before you move them. If you battery is in good shape you should be OK. Besides, if it snows you want it to get cleared off afterwards, a good idle would melt some of the snow off the windows and hood. Best of luck with your surgery.

Welcome to the board. There is a lot of info about synthetics and how they behave in various engines, try the search feature with a keyword for links to these posts. Not sure about the "hop" to the left over bumps, just double check you tire pressures (which is important!—more searchable info on that too) and maybe a 4 wheel alignment check. One noise you may here is the heatshield rattle that Subies seem to be prone to develop, again search the board for various cures for that. Best of luck with your new-to-you Subaru!

MY01 2.5 can get the external heagasket leakage. Make sure the dealer installed the antifreeze additive so the warranty is extended to 100k. Make sure the dealer checks those heads!

There are a lot that will fit the lug pattern, but the offset is a factor also. Are you looking for steel wheels or something fancy? I put WRX wheels on my 95 Legacy.

I don't know if that's possible, however you can find out tonight after the 5-8" of snow predicted hits. Was your engine running long enough to get the exhaust hot enough to vaporize the H2O? Subies do create a lot of condensation in colder weather, so short trips without a full exhaust warm-up could produce moisture in there. Also check the small drainage holes in the mufflers to make sure they are cleared of dirt or undercoating.

If the car is in good shape otherwise it would be worth the headgasket fix. Search for more posts here about these issues. The Phase I 2.5 DOHC up to MY99 (Forester) & MY00 (Legacy, Outbacks) suffer from internal leaks while the Phase II SOHC that follow has a less potentally damaging external leak where coloant seeps to the outside. Hopefully all this has been addressed in these later models, but time will tell.

Sorry no prizes for guessing. First off no one was hurt, just a good shake-up. My wife (sorry, can't post her model year) was driving down a 35mph road with the right-of-way. She was oddly surprised when a national company package delivery van rolled through a side road stop sign and struck the driver's rear quarter panel and wheel. The Outback was knock around 180º to face the opposite direction. The wheel took most of the force; the lower body panel and undercarriage along the floor height took the rest (you can see the white stripe from the truck bumper impact). The rear door was just grazed on the plastic cladding. The side door and hatch are fine with no noticeable body warp at the seams. The inside door/hatch that covers the jack is sprung so the was some intrusion into the interior. My biggest worry is the rear suspension, if I get these pictures attached you can see the wheel has a good tilt to it. The tire rubs inside at the top. It isn't the wheel that's bent because the angle remains constant (tilted in at the top about 10º). Any thoughts on possible damage? I had it flatbeded to an excellent body shop in our area, so I will trust their work, but there's always a chance it will never be the same again, I hope not anyway. DSCF0156.pdf DSCF0161.pdf DSCF0164.pdf DSCF0159.pdf

The rear quarter panels are part of the unibody. Cutting and welding are the only way to R/R.

Remember that the phase I is an internal high presure gasket leak, the phase II is an low presure external leak. The phase I gasket issue has the potential to cause more engine damage, and the phase II, if the sealer was installed by a dealer, has an extended 100k warranty.

Sounds like tourque bind, do a search on the board for symtoms other owners have had. If it's an automatic try inserting a 20 amp fuse in the FWD plug under the hood to see if the symptoms go away, if they do it's tourque bind. Some have had luck changing the fluid etc. search "bind" or "tourque bind" for more info. Good Luck!

I'm 99% sure they are identical. You could call a glass place or research the part number online to see if they match. MY95 sedans, wagons and Outbacks have a lot of interchangable parts.

Good to go another 200k! Looks like this Subie has a good new home and people to care for it.

Could be a bad sensor, but are you using your windshield defroster? The AC compressor runs with the defroster and the cooling fan runs whenever the compressor does.

The big question is how much abuse the car took before the engine went. If the owner kept up maintainence and drove the car in a normal fashion that's would be a consideration. If they ingnored the car and flogged it all the time, you maybe looking at other considerable costs down the road. Any idea how many miles on the car now?

Hey Cannonball, if you haven't already, you can disable the honk. Just hold both buttons on your remote until it honks at you. Repeat to reset. I'm not sure if it matters that the driver's door is open or not. Try it both ways

Yeah, I don't think you'll have much luck. You could try a test fit but those brakes are pretty close with a 16" wheel.

I've got a MY95 2.2 auto the transmission number is: TZ102ZAAAA Engine number is: EJ22ECAAGL in case you wanted to know that also.