New Member with questions
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:29 am
Hi everyone, I am new to this group and need some help with my subie.
I just purchased my first Subaru ever last week. It's a 1992 Legacy
2wd wagon with
auto trans. and power everything. I'm a long-time Ford Fiesta owner
(which is the
simplest car known to man), so this subie is quite different for me.
I've heavily
modified my Fiesta, so I understand low-tech engines pretty well,
however, this engine is
a whole new thing for me.
Last week, as my POS daily driver, a 1988 Plymouth Colt, finally died
on the highway, I finally decided not to fix it and get a new (used)
car instead. I
looked all day at a dozen used car lots and was at last directed to
this "dude" that fixes
up cars and sells em cheap. He had an old $500. Camry wagon that I
was considering,
when his partner pulled up in the Legacy. One thing led to another
and the Legacy was
mine for $1200. plus my Colt (good riddance!). The Legacy, which had
a minor front end
accident when he aquired it, now has two new unpainted front fenders,
a used hood, and a
used front bumper cover, but the car runs and drives perfectly. It
only has 96,000
miles, which I'm told is next to nothing for this engine. I feel like
I'm in the lap of
luxury with this car. I think I'm in love.
This weekend, I did all the standard stuff; oil change, filters,
belts, slick 50 in the
tank, pcv, fuel filter, wiper blades, Rain X, and cleaned the car
totally in and out.
So now I have a few stupid questions that I hope someone can help me
with. I don't have an owner's manual yet, so I'm kinda scewed until
my Chiltons arrives
from eBay.
Here goes;
1. What does the "Manual" switch do on the shift lever? It seems to
do nothing at all
to the transmission no matter when I push it. However, when pushed, a
little idiot light
lights up orange on the bottom of the instrument cluster that shows
"Manual". This
light is next to a green "Power" idiot light which only lights
upbriefly when I turn the
key to ACC. as I'm starting the engine.
2. Is there a parking brake idiot light? If there is supposed to be
one, mine does not
light when the parking brake is engaged. Once again, there is an
idiot light in the cluster
that says "Brake", but I don't know if that's just for low fluid in
the Mstr cyl. or my
parking brake light switch is not functioning.
3. On the steering column, there is a switch to turn on the parking
lights. Why? Can't
the headlamp stalk switch be used to do this? I have left the car
twice forgetting to
turn them off, and I'm afraid it will kill the battery. Are they on a
timer when I use
this switch??
4. When the car is driven over irregular bumps at slower speeds, the
passenger side
seems to bang a little from underneath, like the shock is loose. The
"dude" I bought it
from told me it had new front wheel bearings, front rotors, front
axles, but did not
mention struts. The car drives straight, stops straight, accelerates
straight, and goes
over road-width bumps (when both front tires hit at the same time)
without banging. Can
anyone give me some insight to this problem?
Okay, all for now. I hope someone can help me on this.
Dean
I just purchased my first Subaru ever last week. It's a 1992 Legacy
2wd wagon with
auto trans. and power everything. I'm a long-time Ford Fiesta owner
(which is the
simplest car known to man), so this subie is quite different for me.
I've heavily
modified my Fiesta, so I understand low-tech engines pretty well,
however, this engine is
a whole new thing for me.
Last week, as my POS daily driver, a 1988 Plymouth Colt, finally died
on the highway, I finally decided not to fix it and get a new (used)
car instead. I
looked all day at a dozen used car lots and was at last directed to
this "dude" that fixes
up cars and sells em cheap. He had an old $500. Camry wagon that I
was considering,
when his partner pulled up in the Legacy. One thing led to another
and the Legacy was
mine for $1200. plus my Colt (good riddance!). The Legacy, which had
a minor front end
accident when he aquired it, now has two new unpainted front fenders,
a used hood, and a
used front bumper cover, but the car runs and drives perfectly. It
only has 96,000
miles, which I'm told is next to nothing for this engine. I feel like
I'm in the lap of
luxury with this car. I think I'm in love.
This weekend, I did all the standard stuff; oil change, filters,
belts, slick 50 in the
tank, pcv, fuel filter, wiper blades, Rain X, and cleaned the car
totally in and out.
So now I have a few stupid questions that I hope someone can help me
with. I don't have an owner's manual yet, so I'm kinda scewed until
my Chiltons arrives
from eBay.
Here goes;
1. What does the "Manual" switch do on the shift lever? It seems to
do nothing at all
to the transmission no matter when I push it. However, when pushed, a
little idiot light
lights up orange on the bottom of the instrument cluster that shows
"Manual". This
light is next to a green "Power" idiot light which only lights
upbriefly when I turn the
key to ACC. as I'm starting the engine.
2. Is there a parking brake idiot light? If there is supposed to be
one, mine does not
light when the parking brake is engaged. Once again, there is an
idiot light in the cluster
that says "Brake", but I don't know if that's just for low fluid in
the Mstr cyl. or my
parking brake light switch is not functioning.
3. On the steering column, there is a switch to turn on the parking
lights. Why? Can't
the headlamp stalk switch be used to do this? I have left the car
twice forgetting to
turn them off, and I'm afraid it will kill the battery. Are they on a
timer when I use
this switch??
4. When the car is driven over irregular bumps at slower speeds, the
passenger side
seems to bang a little from underneath, like the shock is loose. The
"dude" I bought it
from told me it had new front wheel bearings, front rotors, front
axles, but did not
mention struts. The car drives straight, stops straight, accelerates
straight, and goes
over road-width bumps (when both front tires hit at the same time)
without banging. Can
anyone give me some insight to this problem?
Okay, all for now. I hope someone can help me on this.
Dean