Hi suby fans,

We've got a '99 Outback Sport that of course we're totally in love with. Nothing like having a car that compels strangers to leave purchase offers under the windshield wipers periodically. But recently it's been having a strange problem.

Here are the symptoms as far as I know...

1. It's making a high-pitched whine, almost like a knock but higher frequency, at high rpms (say above 5k or so) but mostly only under load. I can just barely trigger the noise if I mash the pedal while it's idling but it's much more apparent when, say, accelerating onto the highway in 3rd or 4th gear.

2. The gas mileage seems to have worsened of late. I haven't checked it yet, this is just a hunch, but it seems a little worse than normal.

3. About two weeks ago, the check engine light came on. I figured that whatever was causing the whine had failed, and fixing it would fix the whine. Took it in and wound up paying $500 & change (ouch) for a new mass airflow meter. Which made the engine light go off but has not fixed either the whine or eased my suscpicions about the gas mileage.

We're supposed to be driving from Santa Barbara to San Francisco this weekend, (300+ miles) but I'm a little hesitant. I'm also hesitant to take it in again seeing as how I just parted with a half a large. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Dan