wharfrat

Thanks for all the advice, y'all have been really helpful. Every car has its quirks and no amount of shop manual reading will tell you that in order to replace "x" you have to do "y and z" as well...either that or buy some ridiculously expensive tool from Snap-On. I expect to buy a car with 150-200K and get another 150K out of it. Head gaskets sound pretty straight forward and several other threads have discussed quality issues. I don't mind spending for good parts. With all the new emphasis on torque-to-yield fasteners and my experience with VW I have been burned at least once too often trying to reuse head bolts/studs so I' cautious about that. Turbone....are you really pulling that two axle trailer in the photo? That's one of my issues out here as I'm building an addition to and a roof over the Airstream and the nearest lumber yard is 75 miles away over the mountain. Use the Volvo and overload it or use the ancient F250 4X diesel and break the bank. Anyway, the search is on. BTW, any thoughts on a 3.0 Outback? Best Regards Pat Hayes, Keller, WA.

Hi Folks, I am a retired auto/diesel technician, ASE certified for many years and recently retired as an Automotive Technology instructor. My experience is European, Volvo and VW/Audi trained and dealership experience. I now live way up in the mountains of Eastern Washington at the end of a muddy steep driveway on a dirt road. My 1996 Volvo 960 wagon is a great car but navigating to the house is way too hard on the car....witness the broken transverse leaf spring I had to replace outside in the snow. After a lot of research the obvious conclusion is an AWD Forester...maybe 98-04 vintage. I do all my own work although I won't rebuild an automatic trans, just swap it out. What do I need to look for particular to Subs? For example when replacing head gaskets do the head studs need replacing as they do on VW water boxers? Are there tell tale early warnings on HG failure like seep at the lower rear corners? Problems with the AWD? Are the electronics straightforward or have they added bits and pieces prone to failure or affecting systems? I need your advice to make this a successful transition. Best Regards Pat Hayes Keller, WA