1999 Forester: What to Expect?

keep an eye out for oil and coolant levels : 2nd gen 2.5 liters leak cooland and oil, too .....in the beginning externally but then through the fire rings, too :( -----------sorry to say that but i just traded-in my '00 outback ltd. to buy new toyota yaris sedan ( amazing appliance) and i will NEVER EVER go back to subarus...... just my $ .02

i'd heard that the second generation engines had some issues with this, just nothing like the first generation engines did. Steve (the independent Subaru mechanic I go to) didn't think that this would happen before the car had 120K or 130K on it, even if I were one of the unlucky ones. (Apparently only about 15% of the second-generation engines has shown this problem.) I'm a fanatic about regular oil changes and fluid checks, so this will happen.

I can understand that, given your experience. I haven't found anything in the Toyota or Honda lines that does what I like to do, though. My Subarus frequently go offroad in areas that would stretch the capacity of a Jeep or genuine SUV. I love the outdoors, and my husband is an archaeologist.

It really is a pity that Toyota hasn't been interested in putting a good AWD on one of its sport wagons....

actually Japanese Yaris sedan, called Belta over there ( not a wagon, though) comes in a AWD version; from what i was told the engine layout was (obviously) changed from transverse to longitudinal but it' still the same engine, i.e. 1fe-nz

I have 1999 Forester ... purchased new. L series 5-speed. currently has 106K For the most part it's been a great car...here are the problems worth noting: Burned through a distributor cable on a long road trip. Probably isolated incident (we'd gone 16 hours straight in August) Had to replace the center diff at 95K due to the well-documented torque-bind issue. This little repair cost $1600 Otherwise it's run well. I too am fanatical about 3,000 mile oil changes and fluid checks and have pretty much followed Subarus recommended maintence sked. I am starting to actually see more 99s on the road than before, so I take that to be a good thing. I also replaced the radio and speakers because, well, they just s-- ked. Clutch is still the original as are my rear wheel bearings.

Okay, average mileage. Mine is an S-series and has automatic.

I hadn't heard of this issue. Could you tell me more/point me to where this is documented? Thanks!

Sounds good. :) Thanks!

If you search the message boards for Torque Bind you should find what you need. Essentially it seems to be caused (at least what I've read AND what the dealer told me) by improper tire wear and inflation. If the tires do not ride evenly it puts undue stress on the AWD transmission and causes bad things to happen in the center diff. Mine had basically seized to the point where the car could no longer "shift power to the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip." I'm just glad the problem surfaced in summer, because if I had been on snow or something I think the whole drive train would have exploded based on my understanding of the problem. Bottom line: Keep close eye on tire wear and inflation.

Ah.... I hadn't heard about this, but this is my fourth Subaru, and AWD cars are always sensitive to uneven tire wear. In fact, I replaced all four tires on this car a week after I bought it because one of them was defective. Hope it wasn't driven on that one too much.

Thanks for the summary!

Hello Catherine! I'm another NANAE poster who owns a 2000 Outback.

You already got most of the information on the headgasket issues. The SOHC also has problems. You may want to have Suby Specialties or a dealer check the VIN against the recall list. I lucked out when one gasket went away last summer, and the extended warranty covered it all (other than the cam belt that I had them put in while it was apart). It was hard to believe that Subaru would honor that on a car pushing 8 years old with 98K miles at the time.

Did you hear Hacker X is back? I don't post there much these days, but I lurk.

Been done. No recalls open on that vehicle. Suby Specialties is on the ball, and that's definitely something we both wanted to know.