tbolt1003

Oh, we have (3) Subarus in the family. Daughter's '01 Forester, better half's '99 Forester, and my '95 Impreza wagon.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm going to look over her car this weekend and see if anything looks odd with the cables and/or grounds. Worse case, she gets to be without her car while dad fixes her starter. Who knows, maybe she'll want to get her hands dirty, too. She changes her own oil and filter :-)

What is it about the manual starter vs an automatic starter that's different? A manual unit is almost $30 more than an automatic unit.

Rooster, yes, battery was fully charged when installed. She's still having the slow to crank issue after a lot of driving for a few days. The alternator is putting a good charge to the battery, 14.2v when running.

2001 Forester, 5-speed manual, 156k. This is my daughter's car. Last week, she complained her car was hard to start, like the battery was going bad, and had to jump start it a few times. I tested the battery and, sure enough, came back as bad. I tested the charging system, as well, and everything checked out fine, alternator putting out 56 amps at idle. I put a new battery in for her and the car turned over faster, but still seemed sluggish. This morning, I asked her how the car was, and she said the battery is doing ok, but the car still is slow to crank, but will start. When I put the new battery in, I cleaned all the terminals before attaching them to the battery. Could the starter be on its way out and needing replaced shortly? She goes back to school next week and want to be sure the car is operating normally.

If you're asking about Harry's having wagons, I counted at least (10) Impreza wagons and at least 10-15 Foresters when I was there in September.

I love Harry's!!!

If you end up needing a new driveshaft, check out www.wholesaleimportparts.com. They have brand new shafts available. I'll be ordering mine from them shortly.

Thanks. Good info to know about the speakers!

We have (2) Foresters in the family, along with my Impreza. One Forester is a 1999 and the other is a 2001. Both stock radios. The 2001 has the 6-disc CD radio and the 1999 has the cassette. Are the plugs on the back of each radio the same, meaning could we swap the radio in the 99 to the 01, and vise-versa, and everything be plug and play? Daughter wants mom's radio and mom wants the radio in the daughter's car. Thought I'd ask here first before tearing both dashes apart. Thanks!

Year, model of car?

That's what I'm also beginning to think, as well. I'm also now curious if the attaching points for the fog brackets are behind the bumper, too, or if I'll have to fabricate something for them.

Jerry, I believe the interior was tan, although not 100% positive, the exterior was red. The yard is Harry's U-Pull-It in Pennsburg, PA. They do not keep an inventory list of what is on their lot, as they have probably close to 1000+ various cars in their lot. They have (3) different locations, and I've found the Pennsburg lot has the most Subarus. Their website is www.wegotused.com.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I was recently walking through a salvage yard and came across a wrecked '99 Impreza 2.5RS, as it was marked as such. I'd always wanted fog lights for my '95 Impreza L wagon, and the RS's were the same shape as the cutout area on my '95, so I grabbed them both. I've heard about the wiring for the fog lights being under the headlight housing for the fogs, plugs and all. I can't seem to locate the plugs. Were fogs an option on the '95? I have enough electrical knowledge to be able to wire them up if the factory option is a no-go, but wanted to ask here first. Thanks, and again, Merry Christmas to everyone!!

We got her (4) new tires, knowing the issues with mismatched tires on a Subaru. From what I can gather from her, she hit something in the road and both tires went down, leaving her stranded. Luckily, it happened just before the parking lot to her college. She's a happy camper again and back up and running. Thanks, everyone, for your help and input. One of the many reasons I love this forum.

Good point, Rooster. Yes, every time we've called AAA, they ask what type of vehicle and have always sent a flatbed for our Subaru's.

Thanks everyone. We have AAA, she's having it towed to a tire shop.

I got a call from my daughter, (2) tires blew out on her 2001 Forester, 5-speed manual. Her spare is a full size. She's stuck at school. The spare in my '95 Impreza is a mini. I know tires need to be similar on Subaru's. Do the Foresters have the fuse holder under the hood to convert to FWD only, like my Impreza has? If not, is it completely unsafe to lend her my mini spare so she can get to a tire shop? She'd be driving on (3) full size and (1) mini for the rest of the day. Thanks for input!!

We just started having this same issue on our 99 Forester. Oil was just changed about (2) weeks ago and when I checked it last night, there was no oil on the dipstick. Had to add (2) quarts for it to even appear on the stick. I changed the PCV valve today with a Subaru unit and added (2) quarts of oil. See if the consumption goes down now (fingers crossed). Great thread!!!

I crawled under the car today. With the car in park and the emergency brake on, I could not feel any looseness between the yoke and U-joint, nor between the flange and joint. The shaft did spin slightly, perhaps 1" of free play before the trans and/or differential prevented it from turning any further. Should there be any free movement of the shaft? In the little bit the shaft was able to spin, I did hear some sand-like grinding around the center of the shaft, which I'm assuming is the carrier bearing and it just didn't seem "right" to me.

Thanks. I'll crawl under tomorrow and see what I can find.Taking the shaft out does look very simple, indeed!

Thanks, Fairtax. I was hoping you'd be one of the people to respond. I've did some searches for the center support bushing and I can get a completely new driveshaft with new center support bushing, new front yoke, new rear flange and greasable u-joints for $385, no core charge. I thought of going to a local salvage yard and pulling a shaft, but I won't know if it's good or not until I get it in. With a new unit, I'd be killing multiple options in one shot, ie bad joints, bad center bearing, etc.

Thanks, Fairtax. I was hoping you'd be one of the people to respond. I've did some searches for the center support bushing and I can get a completely new driveshaft with new center support bushing, new front yoke, new rear flange and greasable u-joints for $385, no core charge. I thought of going to a local salvage yard and pulling a shaft, but I won't know if it's good or not until I get it in. With a new unit, I'd be killing multiple options in one shot, ie bad joints, bad center bearing, etc.

I have a 95 Impreza, 2.2, auto, 135,000 miles. About 2 months ago, the car developed an intermittent whine and humming sound from what initially sounded like the rear of the car. Fast forward to the last few days and it's now hard to tell if it's coming from the rear or the center of the car. Initially, I thought wheel bearing, so when the car was in for its annual inspection a few weeks ago, I mentioned the hum to my mechanic and they said they'd look at it. After (2) individual mechanics looked at it, they cannot find where the hum is coming from, although they did say my rear hub bearings and the rear differential are fine. The sound starts off as a very low hum at low speeds but gradually increases in pitch as speed increases. I'd say it begins to be noticable around 15-20mph and only can be heard on acceleration or when I'm inbetween throttle/no throttle. Sometimes the hum is very ear-piercing at highway speeds and I have no choice but to let off the gas. The gear oil in the differentials is clean and has no burnt smell to it, both diffs at full mark. The car drives fine, no vibrations or shaking felt, hum pitch does not change as suspension moves (I purposely drove down a bumpy and hilly road to rule that out). I read about the center support bearing on the rear driveshaft going bad and causing a humming sound. I crawled under the car and worked the driveshaft around. There is definitely a fair amount of play. I can move the driveshaft all around, up and down, side to side a good inch. What is acceptable play for this bearing? Could this be the culprit? One final note: when I put a fuse in the FWD holder under the hood and drive the car, the noise disappears completely, so it's something from the rear driveshaft back, I'm assuming, correct? Any thoughts? Thanks!