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Comments
This looked like the best topic for me to join since I have 20 years experience with Subaru Parts and Warranty. I might be able to be of some assistance with those warranty and repair questions. I have access to factory repair manuals, so faxing copies is easily done. I can also get any recall information needed. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.
Darlene
Cheers,
WDB
Darlene, I noticed that you have cruise kits for the 97 Impreza. I'm not sure what cruise kit my dealer installed on my 97 but I'm guessing it's a 99 or 00 which are probably the same. It looks very similar to the 97 accept that instead of having the on/off switch on the dash, there's an on/of button on the end of the control shaft. Do you happen to know if the different control shafts have the same mount for the steering column; i.e., do they attach to the steering column in the same way?
Thanks for your reply, but don't bother if it's too much work finding out.
Mary
Do you have the 2.2 engine?
There is a different part number for the cruise kits by model year. They show that the switch is located on the column on all of the 95 and newer Impreza's.
Your comment makes me wonder what year model your dealer put on you car.
Darlene
The latest is the strut tower brace from the SPT catalog. Good news: it fits the Forester, as well as the Impreza it was designed for.
It is great to have you on board.
-juice
The real problem is that the dealer installed the lever either in the wrong place and/or at the wrong angle so that it's hiding behind the wheel. I haven't had a chance yet to bring it back to be corrected and would like to have an idea of the best solution before I bring it back.
Welcome again and again
Mary
I haven't brought it back to the dealer yet, and was wondering if any of you have any thoughts or recommendations. Thanks.
Ross
My '00 Legacy starts almost instantly, but all my experience so far has been in warm or cool weather; not cold weather.
Cheers,
WDB
How long does it take? Mine's usually within 2-3 seconds.
Joe: I would definitely have the dealer look at that tranny. Even if it's no big deal, you'll have a record of it in case of troubles down the road.
-juice
-Colin
I've long been harboring a couple burning questions about my '97 Outback and never knew who to ask--until now.
1. I seem to be burning about one quart of oil for every 3,000 miles. (I have about 36K on the car). Is this to be expected?
2. Some of the city streets in the Boston area have trolley car tracks embedded in the pavement. Driving on one such street, when the tracks were wet, I had a scary thing happen. As I came to a slow and controlled stop the car went into a spin. At this point I was traveling just a couple miles per hour, but the car, riding at that point on the tracks, spun almost 90 degrees to the right. I grew up in a city with these same kind of tracks and had never experienced anything like it.
Thanks for your help!
hs
One quart of oil every 3K miles seems to be a little on the high side. My 98 Forester burns hardly any oil over the same period. You might want to have a dealer check it out.
As for the slipping -- wow, that sounds scary. I know how slippery tracks can be. I've driven on wet cable car tracks in San Francsico. Remember, AWD doesn't help you stop any sooner than a FWD/RWD vehicle. It sounds like you had enough weight on one end of the vehicle and it simply pivoted!
In my area we have a bridge, nicknamed "the singing bridge" for the sound tires make when they go over it; the surface is an iron or steel latice. I never liked going over it in either fwd or rwd, because the latice rocks the car side to side. I like it even less in suby; all four wheels are rocking.
Mary
I 2nd KenS' point. Slippery tracks yield nearly zero friction, so there isn't a technology or tire in the world to make a difference.
Sounds like your rear tires were both on the slick metal, and when braking the rear tires are unweighted, so the back side came around.
-juice
Which Sony unit did you put into your legacy?
Was it one of the "xplode" recivers? if so how does it look?
I love the features and FM sensitivity but the red and silver case and red display seem a bit over the top for a family wagon. Sony needs a more sedate looking reciver with the same features.
Boy, rereading what I just wrote make me feel old. I hear myself saying "that radio is just too loud"
even if I'm not talking about the volume.
But I guess getting old beats the alternative.
Joe, reading your profile, Are you really looking to trade the legacy in on a Fiat :-)
As far as your spin out, Outbacks tend to "wag their tails", which was confirmed in the 3/2000 issue of Consumer Reports: "The Outback handles well enough, with nicely weighted steering, but it doesn't feel as crisp as the regular Legacy. A wide turning circle makes parking a chore. Emergency handling was sound overall, but this car could surprise an unwary driver: the rear end slides out if you enter a corner too fast and take your foot off the gas pedal. Our drivers needed skill to control that tail wag."
I realize you weren't in a corner when that happened, and the ABS should have kept the car straight when you skidded, even if only one wheel was on the steel rail. But, that is why the new OB offers the VDC model with it's sophisticated computer controlled traction system: ABS often isn't enough.
-juice
PS I'm not sure that VDC would have helped. It works by applying brakes selectively, and that may have worsened the problem.
I replaced the stock head unit in my '00 OB with a Sony MDX-5970 MD player the same day I bought my OB. It's the older model 'xplode' series receiver. What a difference it made though! Far better than the stock cassette unit.
I haven't changed the stock speakers, but in February I added an extra set of xplode 2-way speakers in the rear. That also made a huge difference, and filled out the sound in the rear while providing extra bass support.
I'll be adding a third party amplifier (to drive the rear speakers with more power == more bass) and sub soon as well - as I think the OB (wgn) probably has the best sound dynamics of a car I've heard yet, and I intend to take advantage of that...
-- ash
If so, I feel that the PCV breather hoses are allowing oil to slosh up the line and into the intake tract. Now your Subaru may not look like this--
If your car does look like that (mine does) then open the air resonator box after a spirited drive and check for oil. You should find some.
If not, check the plugs. You will need a plug socket and at least one long extension, if you've never removed them from an OHC motor before they are way the heck in there.
They should all be tan to light tan. Lighter than that and you're running lean a lot -- which our engines actually are built to do during part-throttle cruise. If you see oil on the THREADS, then there is something wrong with your head gasket or valve cover gasket. If the tip is sooty but nothing on the threads, then you're burning rich or burning oil.
Oh, and even if they look perfect if they are Champion plugs get rid of them. Install NGK copper or Bosch platinum (not +4) in the stock heat range. I noted considerably better idle and driveability dumping the stock Champions.
Patti, if you're reading this-- why were so many Subarus outfitted with these horrible Champion copper plugs when the brochures said they came with platinum tipped plugs? I noticed that the brochures for 2000 don't make the platinum claim any more... hmmm....
-Colin
Mary
I wonder if anyone had an opinion on what kind of gasoline (I mean manufacturer and type) is best suited for the Subaru engines (I have a 00OB). Does it help/hurt using gasoline with various additives that are on the market (detergents, lubricants, etc.)?
On the same note: why can't I find consumer reports and ratings for gasoline from different manufacturers? It seems that there is a conspiracy to prevent comparative analyses.
Mischa
With that said, I've seen the same trucks pour gas into Exxon and then go to local no name shops. So you can guess where I buy gas.
-juice
I agree with ateixeira completely. The major brand companies need to try to differentiate themseves from their competitors somehow, so they advertise about additives. You probably could not find ANY gasoline sold in North America that didn't have some mix of additives, detergents, colors, etc. Your dealer is, refreshingly, telling you the truth.
The reason that you have not been able to find "ratings" is that any brand of a specific octane gasoline will perform the same as any other brand. The only exception being that some gas stations (irrespective of brand) may have a bit of water at the top, or dirt at the bottom, of their underground tank. Gas station pump filters and your car's gas filter should take care of dirt before it becomes a problem. Putting a small container of "dry gas" in your fuel tank every few months (or tankfuls in winter in cold climates) would preclude water problems.
Save your money and buy your fuel where the price is most in your favor.
-juice
Trim: 810
Body: 8W6
Can anyone confirm if there is a touchup paint for the side panels?
You can "buff" out any scratches, though, since the plastic is the same color all the way through, not just at the surface.
-juice
I just read (don't remember where) that even if you use 87 octane regularly with no performance issues, you should occasionaly buy a tankful of premium to keep the injectors clean. This contradicts what I've always heard: that all major gas brands use the same additive package between grades, and just the boosted octane is the only difference.
I remember seeing some guy on TV from some federal regulatory agency saying that gas companies push premium because it costs them $.06/gallon extra to make it, but they sell it for about $.20/gallon more. Shortly after that, a few majors got fined for misleading consumers with ads claiming their premium kept engines cleaner. Notice that now the wording is carefully vague in gasoline ads.
The bottom line: I'm not sure what's true, but for the 1,700-1,800 gallons I buy for two cars each year, I'm not taking the risks involved with buying generic brands of gas to save about $100.
I have written several diatribes about octane in several forums and I just don't have the energy here. Read the consumer information at the American Petroleum Institute's website if you actually care (www.api.org) or continue to believe whatever you want if you don't care.
All you really need to do is start with the cheap stuff, or whatever the manufacturer recommends and increase the octane rating if you hear knock or notice a performance or economy problem. You can also experiment with higher octanes to see if your performance or mileage is increased-- new cars have very aggressive base timing maps and can benefit (or require) higher octane dependent on the local conditions.
-Colin
On a related point, before I bought my '97 OB I had a Tercel 4WD Wagon. The Thule cross bars stuck way out over the roof, but I was too lazy to cut them back until I transferred them to my new OB. Unfortunately, I cut before I looked, sizing them for the car instead of the canoe. You canoers (sp?) out there probably know Thule makes canoe clamps which do a great job of holding the boat solidly in place. Well, I cut my crossbars so short I left no room for those canoe clamps to fit anywhere near where they would have to be to hold the canoe. But I'm wondering if it matters--no matter how far forward and aft I place the Thule attachments on the Subaru rack, my canoe sits right on the brackets that attach the crossbars to the rack (the one place where you cannot put the canoe clamps). Does anyone else face this dilemma?
Thanks.
Harvey
Nonsense. I wonder what impurities they use to remove the color.
-juice
From what I've heard, wind fairings do help cut down on noise. Try one. If you go to a reputable outdoor goods store, I'm sure they would accept a return if you're not satisfied with it's performance.
I don't use a fairing myself, but I've found that putting my Yakima round bar an inch behind my Subaru factory bar actually has less noise than with the round bar alone. The Subaru factory bar must help deflect some of the air around the Yakima bar.
Ken
Consumer Reports has not done a report on gasoline since 11/96. I don't remember what they said in the report, and the oldest issue I have is from 1/97. It's extremely difficult to perform any real world test comparisons between brands and it could vary from station to station anyway. Chromatography tests might be helpful in a limited way.
I can understand your reluctance to expend energy (nice pun) trying to discuss gasoline. The issue here was more related to quality and detergent, not octane, which is a whole other debate. One interesting thing I stumbled across in the API site is that based on a study of the percentage of cars on the road that require premium vs. the percentage of premium sold in the U.S. reveals that Americans really don't unnecessarily buy premium, at least in 1994. They probably didn't factor in the ones who require premium and don't (leased high-end cars), but it's probably a marginal error at best.
Do you own experiments, stick with the big guys if your car runs good.
Once it leaves the refinery is when the majority of locale-specific additives and detergents are added-- at fuel terminals. If you live in Houston or Bakersfield there is a wide array of terminals, but in many smaller cities or non-petroleum producing regions there is but one or two providers. So like someone said earlier, if it arrives in the same truck it's the same. The tanks all have to meet a certain spec, and the reason you saw some gas stations closing temporarily was because the owner waited until the last minute to comply with regulations that had been in effect for 10 years.
-Colin
www.kochind.com
Darlene
But my Forester L is solid, one-color plastic. I have a couple of pretty deep nicks (ouch!), and they are the same color as far as I can tell.
-juice
On another note: I just got my new OO OB/Auto back from the dealer who installed some accessories. He gave me a Toyota Camry for the time it took to install the stuff. When I drove my Outback again, I noticed a few things compared to the Camry. First, the Camry's air conditioning system is much more effective. I live in Dallas where it's above 100°F at the moment. Is there anything one can do to boost the AC ? Similar: The black dashboard and even the steering wheel get awfully hot (during driving), almost too hot to touch. Interestingly, the cover for the passenger's airbag, which is dark-grey instead of black, is noticably cooler. Is there a way to paint the dashboard? Of course, I will need to get my windows tinted too.
Another thing, maybe more worrysome: I noticed something funny (I hope) when driving between 30 and 70 mph (I didn't go faster, so far). If I step off the accelerator, there is a little jolt, and the car slows down more than the Camry (or any other automatic I have driven so far). It's almost like a manual (engine brake). But then when I step on the gas pedal again, the car accellerates in two steps, first a little jolt followed by another little jolt about have a second later. It's not the smooth acceleration that the Camry had. I also have the impression that there is more acceleration on the left side of the car than on the right side (I am not entirely sure as I didn't sit on the passenger side while someone else is doing the driving). It does, however, not pull to the side. The jolting and jerking is not very pronounced, but annoying enough in city highway traffic.
Any idea what is going on ?
Mischa
As for the steering wheel, I've seen wraparound cloth steering-wheel covers that might not absorb heat as badly as the dark bare plastic, but I've never seen one I actually liked enough to try it.
But I still do fantasize occasionally about those pricey poor ventilated seats available as an option on at least some Saabs.
I recommend you go back to the dealer and ask to drive one or two other OB's for comparison. If something is wrong, best to find out now. If not, no worries, you'll just have to get used to it!
Good luck!
I think you asked this a while back and I finally remembered to check last night on my drive home:
On my S with stock tires, @65mph in 5th the engine revs at about 2700RPM. At 60mph, it's 2500RPM.
How's that compare with your new tires?
Mary
That makes sense, because if you calculate by tire size it should be 1.8% or so. I still don't get how I got so much lift, though.
Mischa: the Camry has 5 windows and you have 7, and they're bigger to boot. You're also cooling a much greater area, since the cargo area is not separate.
Go for some nice tinting, it makes all the difference. Also, use the cargo cover if you have one, and at least put your sun shades down when you park, which may also keep the steering wheel cool.
As for the deceleration when you let off the gas, the tranny may be holding a higher gear. This is good when descending hills, for example, since it helps out with engine braking.
-juice
None of that means that there isn't something amiss with your transmiss...ion. If the jolts are prononunced I would definitely bring it to the dealer's attention.
Cheers,
WDB
-Colin
-juice
We have two things in common...both own Subes and both have had unfortunate bike encounters with trolley tracks in Switzerland! Hey Juice....maybe we should start another topic! :(o)
Frank P.