nipper

I would call PenDot. The regulation says "may" which means in legal speak no one has to. Why do you want it inspected before you register it in PA ? Are you going to a full service station? nipper

I was using Goodyear aquatreads on my soobies. I could drive at close to triple digits in the rain and never feel insafe. Unfortunitly the nice afordable aquatreads were replaced with some tire-on-steroids version which is double the price. I like michlins, but they always seemd to have a way of telling you it was time to replace the tires, I always had them loose chunk of tires. nipper

OK mental note, if/when i get the next used sooby, if a warrenty is available for purchase to buy it. nipper

DAMN! Post that dealers URL! He deserves a huge pat on the back. nipper

All aluminum engines (except MB) use liners. Anyone remeber the Chevy Vega fiasco? Aluminum cylinder walls chewed themselves up at about 54K like clockwork. Chevys fix was to re sleeve the engine. The liners are installed while both the block and liners are cold. I have never heard of a liner seperating (despite my poor spelling ive been doing this for over 20 years on the engineering end). If the liner did seperate, MAN the engine would blow itself apart, as the liner would turn into a hammer. That said there are tow terms here, a liner and a sleeve. a liner is installed in the engine bore. a sleeve is installed usually due to over boaring a block, since what happens is that you breech the water jacket. Just an FYI. nipper

On the 2.2 L, I ahve a 98 2.2 with 184K on the engine. Aside from the HUGE DENT in the back, the engine runs fine. I just got a check engine light (car is going to be totaled so i will live with that). Oil has been changed religously, and antifreeze changed every 2 years. Only thing i noticed is that with the ac on the temp gauge climbs, ac cuts out, temp gauge comes down (typical cloged radiator sympton). Now heres a question, im looking at getting another sooby once the dust clears, and im getting fearful of the 2.5L engines. ONce the head gaskets are replaced, is that a "do only once" job, or has anyone had it happen more then once. This would tell me if its a gasket design issue or an engine design issue. nipper

Could be, though with enough variation between the three so that they can all say thiers is patented. nipper

Normally i would say its foolish to by a soobie in sweedish drag, but at these prices i would jump at it myself. nipper

There an be so many reason for this, from worn wires to a bad injector to a bad plug. We need more info, how many miles on the car, when was the last tune up, and under what conditions do you feel the miss? nipper

found this : The Legacy GT automatic and all VDC models come with Variable Torque Distribution, which combines the electronically managed center clutch with a planetary gear that splits torque 45/55 front/rear, for a sportier feel. and With VTD, an electronically controlled, continuously variable hydraulic transfer clutch works with a planetary gear-type center differential to control power distribution between the front and rear wheels. and There are actually two different all-wheel-drive systems used in the WRX, depending on the transmission. Cars equipped with the optional four-speed automatic get Subaru's Variable Torque Distribution (VTD) all-wheel-drive system, its most advanced system ever offered. It employs an electronically controlled hydraulic transfer clutch and a planetary gear center differential to distribute power in a 45/55 split between the front and rear axles. The VTD system uses multiple sensors to measure front-and-rear driveshaft speeds, throttle position and gear selection. Then it actively transfers power accordingly between the front and rear wheels for optimum traction and handling. Enter a turn under braking, and the system will bias the power toward the front for greater steering control. Lay on the throttle out of a turn, and the VTD will send the torque out back for maximum thrust; all of this done in a matter of milliseconds completely imperceptible to the driver. hope that answers your question. nipper

I'm in a little bit differnt situation, since im pretty well banged up, we have to sue )not to mention the other insuracne company is denying I even exist). I will tell you what my lawyer told me. He is surprised that the other insurance company is not kissing my rump roast right now (which is the reason im forced to sue). He also said that usually all it takes is a letter from a lawyer to get what you want fomr the other insurance company. If you really like the car, and you want it fixed, it may pay for you to go beyond the free consultation (trust me i went thru 15 of those till i found a lawyer who i liked and would take the case) and pay the 75.00 or whatever for an hour of a lawyers time and have him write a letter to the other insurance company statiung what you want, and unless you get it you will sue. That is usually enough to kick them in the rump roast to get things going. Sadly it seems most lawyers like really big numbers, My case is giong to be bewteen 20k-350K (i see a foot and knee dr this week..that will make the determintaion). To me thats a lot of money, to laywers, its not. ALso another think my lawyer said, since i was stoped and rearended, once we walk inot court, there is no defense for the other side. Do get esitmates, do submit the bills to the other insuracne company, do hold your ground. You have an advantage aside from being rear ended, Your car (like mine) drives fine. I have rental coverage which im not starting yet untill I get a fair value for my car. Insurance companies want thest things settled in 30 days (sometimes 45, depends upon the law in your state). Wait them out if you can, and when you do settle on a price, demand a rental car. nipper

I've had the same thing. A little drop of oil makes a lot of smoke. I have had a engine seal go bad where the car was an embaresement to drive, and still no fire ( i was sort of hoping fof it at the time). I dont think its a problem, but do get it fixed. You wil have all that good stuff sucked in by the heating/ac system and it wont be pleasent. nipper

HOLY S**T! if your car was silver, it could be my car. I am going theu the exact same fight with my 98 leagacy. I was sitting at a red light, and the kid coming up behind me didnt see me nor the red light. I got slammed at 50mph. I will say its a tough little car. Right now I am fighting my insurance company, the other insurance company, I decided to call in the lawyers. I am as battered as the car is. I hope you are ok, but i got a guesstimate of about 4600 and a car values of 3125 (car has 180 K miles on it and in exclenet condition) from the insurance company. Good Luck, and stick t your guns about replacement value to the other insUrance company. It may give you enough to fix the car. You can figure out the net worth of the car by looking on line as there are a few places to find it. nipper

A few things here: First off the front differential in a turn turns faster then the rear differential. This is the need for some sort of differntional or or dissconnect in the center of the car. The center differential can be a viscous coupling (some have manual locks). This is a bunch of discs with holes in them and filled with silicon fluid. As the speed misnatches, the fluid is sheered, and this creates friction, which creates heat. Heat causes the fluid to get thick (one of the odd properties of silicon fluid) and causes the center differential to move as one. These differntials are calbrated to allow slip as in turns for short times. There are center differntials with clutch packs like automatic transmissions, and a computer decides to do what when. Then there is the good old second lever sticking out of the floor kind, where it is just another gear box. All these systems are sensative to mismatched tires, within the tires specs (meaning the tread life). The viscous coupling is most sensative to this action. This is also why heat is very bad for it. An over heated viscous coupling will lock up the drivetrain into 4wd. The clutch pack system depending upon design may not care. The manual system wont care untill you have it in 4wd and on a straight line you will immediatly notice it. The viscous coupling will care as the miles add up and the differnce in speeds slowly raises the temp of the fluid. If all you do is drive around town, you may never see this happening. It is highly recomended that you stay within the same tire faimly (meaning same series all the way around be it 70 or 75 or 85). As far as i know, subarus are biased towards the front, meaning in 2wd they are front wheel drive cars, or most the power goes to the front at all times. New tires should go on the front. This will slow down the front differential speed. I think the newwer subies now use a computer to control the AWD, but it still applies. ALWAYS ROATATE TIRES ON AN AWD VEHICAL. There is amount of allowance for diffrent rotational speed in the system, but all you need is one tire down 5psi of air, ir with a slow leak, then add in 2 new tires on an axle, you are starting to ask for trouble. Also if you have a limited slip differential it is IMPORTANT that both tires on the same axle match. You can wipe out tires, bearings, the driveshaft, carrier bearings, transmission mounts, transfer case (center differntial). Which leads us to the question, why for not get a 300.00-400.00 set of tires vs. a 1500.00 or more repair (and still have to get a set of new tires after that.

YAY very good the day of the 300.00 transmission is long gone. 1500 more like it. lots of cars in the parking lot (lots of fish in the sea)... sorry a bit sily from the pain pills from my car accident. i will say the sooby took a hell of a hit, er thats another post. nipper

hrmmmm ... coming from the same side when cold weather turning left or right in first gear. Have you tried starting off from second gear? Could it be a motormount going bad? Rubber is hard when cold and soft when warm. ANother possability is a binding cv joint that gets better as the grease starts flowing. Check the cv boots to see if they are cracked. What ever it is these things do have a way of letting you know exactly what they are with time. nipper

AH i didnt catch the auto/manual part. How about mismatched tires, or for a weird longshot, an underinflated tire. nipper

It sounds liike, that when cold the 4wd is engaged. Is the car figting you on hard turns (steering wheel fully locked). There is (or was) a fuse under the hood marked 4wd. Read under "tonwing" in your owners manual what to do to dis engage the 4wd (inserting a spare fuse in this i think). Let the car sit overnight then drive it. If the shudder goes away, its your 4wd enganing. Leave the fuse in and get it to a dealer before it chews itself up. nipper

RUN!!! RUN AWAY!!!!! Yes it is a VERY reliable way to see the condition of the tranny. It sounds to me as if somone replaced the fluid in hopes of getting rid of the burnt fluid smell, they may even have changed the filter and cleaned the pan, but there is always fluid left in the torque converter, and that will always betray somone trying to mask an issue. In my opinion, this tranny is on its last legs. nipper

Thats a high price for pads. I usually pay 25.00 for name brand. For some wear parts, it pays to go retail. For others, like a waterpump, i would go to subaru. I figure the originalk waterpump lasted 130K, why cheap out and get another one that wont last that long. Depends upon the part. how hard it is toreplace, and how long it lasted as to weather i go to subaru or retail. nipper

Back to pinging .. Modern engines do run on the edge of pinging. They run ultra lean. There is the "popcorn" pinging and knocking. Knocking bad VERY bad. Popcorn pinging can be normal, can also mean that there is heavy carbon buildup in the cylinders that create hotspots. The pinging you hear is "autoignition". The hot carbon spots is igniting the fuel air mixture. If ist been like this for 60K and still running, i wouldnt worry about it. Have you tried just for the hell of it using 2 tanks of premium or a can of octame boost to see if it changes or go away? nipper

oh about the Sooby emblem .... i forget where i heard this. It's been called a map of the universe so that the sooby engineers can fiond thier way back to the home planet: clap:

Saab/gm/sooby ... in the automtive press its been interesting. Originally a sooby was supposed to be a replacement for the cavalier. GM came up with the wonderful ideal of taking a sooby and making it a Saab. The only problem is that GM never asked sooby or saab about it. At this time neither is happy that the parent has forced them to play nice together. Saab also is not at all happy about having an (rebaged) SUV shoved down their throat. The days of Saab's uniqness may be numbered. Odd how evertime GM Eurpoean division head gets involved in something (which is where Saab falls under), it get greatly messed up.