My old Volvo wagon died yesterday (which wasn't totally unexpected) so I went out and bought a used '98 Forester at Carmax. It had everything I was looking for. A wagon with a good engine, manual, AWD, and it's black.

I know a lot about Volvos and where to find parts and whatnot, but not Subarus.

First off, I need a repair manual. For the Volvo, there was a company called Bentley that made a manual that was leagues better than the Chilton's or Hayne's manual. Is there any manual that everybody seems to think is best for the Forester? I couldn't find a Chilton's book for a Forester anyway. Am I supposed to use a Legacy manual?

Also, it seems really slow to shift. I'm not sure if that's because of the hydraulic clutch, or me just punching the gas too early. It feels like it takes half a second to finish shifting after I let off the clutch. Does anybody know if that's normal?

TIA

 

I found out why the shifting and acceleration were slow. Turns out the clutch was bad. It's back at CarMax getting fixed now.

 

hi lothar. hope you like your subaru. unfortunately you're barking up the wrong tree, as this sight is for wannabe street racers only. if it's not a wrx, they really don't know and don't care. try http://pub1.ezboard.com/bultimatesubarumessageboards and go to the new generation forum. they are very knowledgable. good lucka

 

Thanks for the info.