chhalter

Glad I found this thread because I too am embarking on the suspension upgrade journey (05 LGT Wagon 5MT) and have been positively overwhelmed by all the old threads and options. My current set-up is swifts on stock struts and is absolutely bone jarring over bumbs cuz 20 year old struts, duh. I think in general the swifts are more of a drop than I need, so I've been looking at some JDM bilsteins (rev c's I think, 20310AG401) with STI pinks on them ($500 on ebay). Two primary concerns/questions with those: 1) I've heard the rev c's don't pair too well with pinks, anybody with experience? 2) Am I a chump for buying used struts? Anybody have experience doing so? Ebay seller claims they have 50K miles on them and I guess worst case scenario I just get the struts rebuilt, or throw the pinks on new bilstein HDs, so not terrible given a new set of pinks is ~$400. Worst part would be having to do the job twice. Final question: yay or nay on bumpstop mods for the pinks? Seems like I should definitely do it if I decide to stick with swifts (unlikely). As a side note, also planning on doing all new bushings, and maybe aluminum LCAs up-front. Should be a lot of work lol

Happy Monday Everybody, Pretty stumped by what I'm currently experiencing and hoping y'all can help out. As stated in the title my '05 LGT Wagon with the 5MT feels very sluggish while coasting. I'm talking 5th gear coasting down hill and the car isn't even picking up speed, more often than not it's slowing down. Feels like something is pulling on the car from behind to keep it from speeding up. Also, doesn't roll back nearly as rapidly on small inclines. I know what you're thinking and sticky brake pads/seized caliper was my first idea as well. I just swapped pads and rotors four weeks ago so I figured it must be that. However, I've had a front seized caliper before and I'm not getting any similar symptoms. I'm getting no steering wheel shake, none of my rotors feel excessively hot after driving the car, and no drivers seat vibrations - which I imagine would mean rear rotors? Anyways, I'm thinking about popping out all the pads and inspecting them + greasing the portion where they insert to the caliper to see if that solves my problem, but I am skeptical given the lack of rotor heat. FWIW I've checked tranny oil level, looks good, and I'm not getting any concerning sounds from gearbox or diffs. Any ideas? Don't want to take it to a shop and pay hundreds for a small job. Thanks!

Nah you're good! It is the lower rad hose where it enters the block. Gonna wake up and tighten the clamp tomorrow AM to see if that's all I need to do before going in on a new lower hose. Appreciate the follow up though!

Sounds like the factory spring clamps are the way to go! Appreciate all the helpful comments, don't know how beat up my wallet would be without this forum.

Good to know, looks like the lower radiator hose where it enters the block so going to replace the hose and tube. Thanks for the help!

Sounds like pressure testing kit is the way to go, I'll rent one this weekend and see where that leaves me.

Radiator was replaced right before I bought the car (8K miles ago) so I'd be surprised if it were that. I'll be sure to check all the hoses and such when I get underneath. Looks like I can rent a pressure testing kit from my local autozone.

Howdy Folks, So I posted awhile back (link below) because I saw some minor overheating under heavy loads. Burbed the coolant to get air out of the system and everything was good for awhile. I think I overfilled because I would get the faintest coolant smell if I popped the hood after driving, but that subsided after the coolant level in the overflow settled just below full when at temp. https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/engine-getting-hot-only-uphill-284073.html?t=284073 Fast forward to this morning. Very cold in the morning and on my way to get a window replaced (break in ) I noticed a faint coolant smell and then some steam rising from driver's side of the hood. This happened just as the car was getting up to temp. The steam and smell stopped within a minute but when I checked the overflow tank (driver's side not turbo) when I arrived at safelite the level was much lower than usual when at full temp. Topped it off for good measure, but baffled by the source of the leak. I searched the forums a bit and saw two things mentioned most often: leaking water pump, or bad clamps. I'm skeptical of water pump because I would expect that to be a more consistent and slower leak. I'm doing an oil change this weekend so I'll have the car up, should I change out some clamps or hoses? How do I check to see if the water pump is the problem? BTW I did a hydrocarbon test back in Oct and it came back negative so I don't think it's the headgasket. Anything helps! You guys rock.

Howdy folks, so I figured the flush was overkill, so I just did a proper extended flush with the burping funnel (reviews are in, that thing rocks!) and I took a lot of air out of the system. Went through at least 10 cooling cycles, by the end I was getting maybe one bubble so I suspect a small leak somewhere. Hopefully it's not a HG, but I'm going to keep an eye on the coolant levels and see how things develop before diving any deeper. Thanks for all the good advice, you guys are the best!

Quick update, used a block testing kit and the fluid did not change to yellow (changed to green when I held it in front of the exhaust) and the coolant that I removed to do the block testing kit was clean, green, and free of milkiness as far as I could tell. So, I am gonna move forward with a full flush (running distilled water through everything to get out any weird stuff) and then fill it up with Zerex Blue. Again, no obvious leaks so I'm pretty stumped. Though, here's a picture of my lower hose, as you can see everything is dirty, but the hose has residue on the end, and it being right by the exhaust manifold makes me think it could be leaking onto it and burning off (given I only see temps go up under hard driving). Does this hose look like it needs replacing? https://i.imgur.com/v1ZWPL4.jpg Anyways, any pro-tips for the coolant flush? I'm using the special burping funnel from Amazon to make sure I get all the air out of the system. Cheers and thanks for the continued attention and support.

I haven't done this, and I'm a bit dense so might need a little more explanation. So I should just push on the radiator fins and I'd be looking for tubes coming between the fins? Sorry for the meat-head response

Awesome, thanks for the advice! Guess I'll run that test before diving in on doing a full coolant flush. Will follow-up with the results tonight.

Good to know on the power steering fluid - maybe that'll solve some of the squealing when I'm parallel parking. What's the best way to check for bad HGs? I know they aren't common issue on 05 LGT but want to be sure. The exhaust doesn't smell sweet, or have white smoke, but I saw the bubbles (almost foam) in the turbo side reservoir tank and want to be able to say for sure it isn't (or is) HGs.

Quick update (not sure if it'll get any responses) but went through the whole burping process again to identify any leaks and I was surprised to see a red fluid (not the green that was in the reservoir) dripping on the passenger side. Not sure whether that's coolant dripping from having the cap open and picking up different colors on the way down, or what. Any ideas on why that would be? That being said, the lower coolant hose had some residue where it connects to the block and has discoloration from the exhaust being right be it. Not sure whether that is causing the leak, whether the PO improperly burped, or whether something else is going on. Either way, that lower hose seems easy enough to replace and I think I'm just gonna err on the side of caution and do a complete drain and refill of the system with Zerex blue. At least then if the problem persists I'll know something else is going on. Using one of those special burp funnels from Amazon so hopefully that helps. Appreciate the help, any additional insights would be appreciated.

So you're thinking that the leak could be a cracked radiator as opposed to a coolant line or hose? Looks like it would be coming from behind the radiator, not underneath. Either way, looks like I need to get underneath her and see what the story is. I'll update when I get down there.

Also, checking on the thermostat, the fans turning on at temp and the coolant dropping a bit indicates the thermostat should be AOK right?

Alright, woke up this morning to do the coolant burp and had some confounding results. Jacked up the passenger side as high as my jack would go (definitely at least a foot), removed the turbo side coolant cap (a little spilled out cause I had just driven the car to re-park), accessport said 114F before I removed the cap. Started up the car, turned the temp on the AC all the way up but had the blower on low. As temp started to creep up could not determine whether I was seeing bubbles or tiny particles, but either way nothing conclusive. Finally car reached operating temp (accessport said temp peaked at 203), fans kicked on coolant dropped a bit in the reservoir but I didn't think enough to warrant topping off. At temp though I did start to see some bubbles coming through, decent sized ones. That being said, exhaust smelled like exhaust not maple syrup, no white smoke from exhaust, but maybe I'm just trying to convince myself it isn't a head gasket. The other big thing, I was walking around, and suddenly my shoes are moist, look on the ground and there's definitely coolant puddling! Like I said, a little spilled out at the beginning, but after that I had a rag by the cap to prevent more spillage. I'd say there's a leak somewhere. Weirder thing: on the drivers side the coolant drip was green (same as in the tank) but on the turbo side there was a smaller drip going on that was a reddish color. Pretty confused by that, any ideas? Previous owner replaced the radiator himself, had previously never DIY'd on the car before so I'm wondering whether he messed up? Would a coolant leak be letting air into the system? Any advice would be appreciated. Final thing: the under-carriage shroud is a little loose and not in place on the drivers side, I've heard that can cause problems but seems like I have other fish to fry currently... thanks.

I will absolutely get that done! Thanks for the quick feedback. Quick question: if the coolant level in the reservoir begins to drop, is that an indication of air in the system, or would that just be low coolant levels? Question 2: If I do see bubbles and I am confident it isn't a head gasket, do I need to do a full flush? Cheers!

Howdy, Hope everybody is safe and healthy during these insane times. As the title suggests I am running into a weird issue where if it is warm out (+85F) and I am ripping up a grade my 05 LGT (5MT) starts to get a little bit hot (never higher than the top white line, never in the red). No issues at idle, no issues in stop and go. Oil and filter changed ~1k ago. Previous owner replaced radiator before I bought the car, and I had to top-off coolant once (figured it was a burping thing?). That being said, have never burped or checked for air pockets. Anyways, perused older posts and spent a lot of the time scared shitless that my heads are deformed, my HGs are busted, or other scary stories. No signs of HGs as far as I can tell. Looking for step-by-step trouble shooting. Again, the overheating is pretty intermittent and a recent issue so I'm confused. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Hope I'm not too late to reply for more advice. Fairly certain now it's a sticky caliper, rust on the driver side rotor is much redder than the rust on the passenger side. What is the common fix to this? Do I need a new caliper assembly or is there simper solution?

Appreciate the insights! Next chance I get to Jack up the car I'll check for a sticky caliper and the wheel bearing. Watched a few videos on the wheel bearing and it seems like a straightforward job apart from the potential for a TON of seized bolts and the need for a press. Thanks for the help

Will give these a shot! Beginner question: is the front hub akin to the wheel bearing? Quick google suggests they are kinda the same part albeit just with different designs. What's it like to replace these?

Hi Everybody, So here's the story. 4th Gen LGT wagon, in Seattle, and a month or so ago on a drive (90 east) I noticed that once I got up to 60+ mph the car started shuddering (wheel vibration) and then after a bit it stopped and I kept on my way. A few weeks after that, driving at speed (~60 mph) south on 99 and the same thing starts happening, albeit this time once I park the car I notice a bad smell and some smoke coming from drivers side wheel. Tried to get to the bottom of it but couldn't replicate the issue until yesterday when I was driving down a different part of 99 (SoDo area) when it started AGAIN! In standard fashion the wobbling stopped after a bit. I've read on the forum before that this could be a wheel bearing issue, especially given the fact that it happens at speed but only on certain roads. Honestly at a loss here and have a big road trip coming up so would prefer to figure it out sooner rather than later. Any ideas would be appreciated as I'm trying to avoid a trip to the mechanic. Thanks!

Hi there, Have three issues that I'm hoping to get solved on my '05 Legacy GT Wagon Limited. First: My rear passenger side door won't open from the outside but opens from the inside. Seems like a common problem and saw on the forums that I'll need to replace the assembly, but it also sounds like I'll need to get the assembly color matched to my car? Will I be replacing the whole door handle for this? Where did you guys source your part from? Second: Rear wiper won't activate and the window washer also won't operate leading me to think it's a wiring issue as opposed to bad wiper motor. Read on a thread that there might be "broken wires in the rubber boot up by the hinges." Anybody have any tips/ideas what's going on here and what's the best fix. Finally... trunk dome light won't stay on. Flickers when you open the door but then goes out. Light turns on when not on the door setting so I know the bulb is good. I'm suspecting another wiring issue? Anybody dealt with this and have any tips? Sorry for the long post, I'm a noobie here but loving the car and the community. Cheers!

Hello all, Just purchased an 05 Legacy GT Turbo Wagon a couple of days ago (absolutely stoked) 128,500 miles. Got a PPI done at a local Japanese car specialist and they told me it was time to replace the drive belts, which I assume is referring to the timing belt? Helped me knock 300 bucks of the purchase price, but the previous owner had the belt and water pump done at 95K. What is the standard maintenance interval like for the timing belt? Mechanic claimed they saw cracks on the belts, but need to inspect myself. If I do the repair, what's the standard life of the belt? Also, found a link to this Gates Belt kit on an older post: https://www.amazon.com/Gates-TCK328-Timing-Belt-Kit/dp/B0033DM4UA/?tag=viglink20901-20 How is this kit in terms of durability, etc? Sorry for the noob questions, stoked to be a part of the community!