Stevo F

Continuing to look for a potential car for our 16 year old to start learning to drive on and I saw an ad for a 2000 Outback sedan for sale locally. Looks very clean in the pics. The owner says timing belt done 25K miles ago, runs well. Potential issues are AT temp light comes on occasionally, sounds like it has an exhaust leak and it will need a new set of tires before too long. It's never had headgaskets done and he says it's never overheated nor is it leaking coolant. He's asking $3,500 which sounds high- wondering what it really would be worth? http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/cto/5914813870.html

I had an ad pop up on Facebook today for a '91 Legacy wagon that won't stay running (the owner says they were told it's the coil- will start and run for a minute then quit), 175K miles, body looks fairly solid except for normal quarter panel rust.Owner claims car drives OK otherwise. They are asking $300 and will haul off to the junkyard in a day or two if no one takes it (which would be a shame in any case, IMO). I'm wondering if its worth the 50 mile drive to look at it. The owner says they can tow if (not sure ho far they are willing to go). Do the '91's need to be towed on a flatbed like newer Subies? Also, if the car ended up being a real beater, would it be worth the $300 for the EJ22, and would a '91 EJ22 swap easily into a late 90's Outback? (If I can locate a cheap one with a bad EJ25).

I ordered a new master cylinder, slave cylinder, and hydraulic hoses and installed them today. I bled the system pretty thoroughly and when I went to try the pedal- same thing as after I bled the system last weekend- pedal will only come halfway up on it's own and the slave cylinder movers the clutch in a little but not enough to fully engage it to shift the transmission. It still feels like there i sair in system. I suspect my vacuum brake bleeder may be at fault- maybe it is sucking air into the system from somewhere, so I may buy a different one and try it. BTW, the clutch pedal is already adjusted to come up as far as I can adjust it for maximum travel.

I went ahead and tried to flush the system yesterday, as I noticed I was losing even more pressure in the system after driving it yesterday morning (the pedal was now seldom returning all the way up after being released). Now the problem is even worse- barely enough pressure in the system to engage the clutch at all, even after pulling about 1 pint of fluid through the hydraulic clutch system. So I am going to go ahead and replace the master cylinder, rubber hydraulic line, and a new slave while I'm at it. Does anyone have any particular aftermarket brands they like, or avoid at all costs? I've generally gone with Beck Arnley when I order form Rock Auto. Also, regarding the rubber line replacement- how does the line disconnect at the rear coupling where it connects to the steel line? The fitting on mine is pretty corroded there and it's not obvious how to remove it.

Thank you. I inspected the rubber line and it looks OK, but it's also covering with a plastic sheathing that might be hiding a pin hole. It seems to be that an air bubble got into the system somewhere and may have caused the laggy pedal (it now feels OK). I'm think of just doing the whole system (master, slave and hydraulic hose). I can get Beck- Arnley components from Rock Auto for about $106 shipped.

When I got in my 2005 Outback sport this morning, I noticed the clutch pedal wasn't coming all the way up, so I had to pull it up all the way with my foot, then it was working OK. Go back to 2 years ago- I noticed it was grinding gears occasionally and the pedal was getting sluggish to come up all the way. I replaced the slave cylinder and all was good until now. I'm thinking some air has gotten into the system from somewhere... I'm thinking of replacing the slave again or maybe the slave as well as the master (original I believe). There are no signs of any leakage and the fluid level has not dropped.

Yes, seems to me too. Also gave me more info: Absolutely no rust, thats why i got it. Even undercarriage is clean behind rear wheel wells. Clearcoat is in okay shape, it would shine up pretty well with a full detail job im betting. No clear coat peeling of any kind though. No torque bind that i ever felt, all tires are matching and same size same tread depth. The only common Subaru problem it had when i got it was oil separator plate was leaking so i replaced it and did all the timing components and pressure tested cooling system. Found a couple minute cracks in the rad so replaced it did genuine subaru water pump and thermostat at the same time as all of that was done.

I ran across a Craigslist ad for a '96 Outback today. A big plus that than manual transmission model has the EJ22. From the ad, it sounds like the owner has replaced most anything it would need at this point. He also told me that he just replaced the front axles and the tires only have about 4K on them (I presume they're a matched set) I like the lift from the Forester springs/ struts, but I wonder if that will cause alignment/ uneven wear issues down the road. It has not be realigned since the lift. Here's the ad: http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/5651694803.html

I saw an ad on Craigs List for a '99 Outback with a '97 EJ22 (so it piqued my interest). 220K miles on the car, 130K on the engine.Lots of stuff replaced- axles, front wheel bearings, struts, etc... Timing belt, water pump done 12K miles ago. He does mention that the transmission has a rougher 1- 2nd gear shift, depending on throttle position (which I know is not uncommon with the 4EAT), but saws it only started when the transmission was recently rebuilt- how concerned should I be about the rebuild, in this case? Car sounds rust free and sounds like it needs nothing for the most part. Asking $2,500 If I'm looking for a longer distance daily driver for a few more years, how concerned should I be about 220K miles on the car or that the transmission rebuild may have issues down the road?

Could have been nothing more than a loose gas cap. My wife has apparently set that code off on my 2014 Impreza again.If it's a continuing problem, it will return. Mostly likely culprit are O2 sensors or problems with the hoses going to the evap canister (has these 2 CEL's on my 2005 Impreza)

I didn't think the older EJ25D's suffered from external oil leaks from the head gaskets. I would think that it would be mixing oil with the antifreeze before it would leak externally. My '05 Impreza is seeping a little oil from the headgaskets, as is common with the later ones..

I was inquiring about a '97 Outback on Craig's list and the seller indicated there is an oil leak from the top part of the engine and he has to add about a quart between oil changes. What might this leak likely be from and how bad a repair would it be?

I tapped it with a pick hammer. Some more metal flaked off, but there is still some solid metal there (not sure how thick). Hoping I can get at least a couple more years out of the car.

My 2005 Impreza Outback Sport spent its first 9 winters in Northern Pennsylvania before I bought it. I already replaced the front subframe because it was rusting out. My concern is a couple of areas of the rear suspension that have heavy surface rust and a little flaking off. I wonder if this is compromising the structural integrity of these components at all, as I hope to keep this car a few more years. I attached the some pics as files and are at the Dropbox links below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9xvo5n5jrttvxd/IMAG0650.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/frkkbzan74efzrf/IMAG0651.jpg?dl=0

Thank you. I let it pass anyway- From the Autocheck, looked like somebody rolled the odometer about 50K a few years ago. Good suggestion about the FWD fuse though.

Not my car, but a '96 Outback I'm looking at on Ebay. It initially sounds pretty good, headgaskets and timing belt just done along with tie rods, brakes, CV boots. I asked about torque bind and the ownder described what he feels as "The car is shuddering sometimes on initial acceleration while turning. Not every time though, and it may not even be noticed by a less perceptible person. I researched the issue and it likely is the torque bind starting to rear its head". Does this sound like torque bind or another issue? There is one tire with approx 1/16" less tread than the other 3 nearly new tires so it sounds like it was run with unevenly matched tires for a while.

My 2014 Impreza Premium has the CVT and I generally like it. With the 2.0 engine feels laggy in comparison to my '05 Impreza with EJ25 and 5 speed manual. Also, I drove a 2016 Legacy with the FB25 and CVT and the acceleration quite a bit smoother with the extra power. I would definitely only want the CVT with the paddle shifters, if for nothing else than the benefit of engine braking on slippery roads.

Bill Haas of Haas Automotive in Manassas has worked on Subaru's for many years (worked as a Subaru mechanic and has had his own shop for a number of years). My parents have taken their 2000 Outback to him since it was new.

I cut out the rust with my Dremel tool, then pop rivet in a piece of galvanized duct metal (just did this today on my Impreza). I also spray undercoating on the back side of the patch panel. In the past, such repairs have lasted 5 years or more before rusting though again

I've got a 2005 Impreza Outback Sport and noticed there is no fuel filter under the hood to replace like our '98 Legacy has. Apparently around 2005, Subaru began to put the filter in the tank instead of under the hood. As the car has 151K miles, and probably the previous owner never changed the filter, I would like to replace it, if it is in fact a replaceable filter... Is there an actual fuel filter, or is it merely the mesh type sock that fits over the fuel pump intake in the fuel tank? If the sock is the only thing acting as a filter, should the sock ever be replaced or just replace it when the fuel pump is replaced eventually. If there is a filter, I'd like to replace it before the fuel pump itself gets clogged up and dies at some inopportune time.

Better to have an oil leak than antifreeze- can just keep adding oil until you save up money to fix it. Shouldn't have to fear overheating like with an antifreeze leak.

I'm thinking headgaskets that are leaking oil will have more oily residue on the bottom of the engine. My '05 Impreza has a small amount of seepage coming from the bottom ogf the headgaskets, but not an oil drip yet. At 151K miles I think I have a bit more time before they start leaking oil steadily. I know the EJ253 (used in 2005) is known for external oil leaks at the headgaskets.

I have a 2014 Impreza Premium with the CVT. 18K so far and no issues whatsoever. Hasn't burned a drop of oil. High oil consumption was common on the 2012's, some 2013's and a few 20144's that I've heard of. I'm curious myself if the FB series engines in these cars will have headgasket issues down the road, but probably not enough high mileage ones at this point to tell.

I picked up a used climate control panel off Ebay for $30 for our '98 Legacy. Also need to replace the bulbs (another $17 for the set on Ebay) and it fixed the problem.

If it's the dark green (Spruce Pearl metallic), I believe it was the same color from 1995- 1999. Same color as our 1998 Legacy (the middle car in my avatar).