Customer Reviews

Subaru Legacy, 1990-1998: Includes Legacy Outback and Legacy Brighton (Haynes Manuals)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

haynes is much better than the chilton for anything more in depth than changing oil and spark plugs. i only had the chilton when i changed my cv boots, and the chilton manual omits a lot of small but important details ie. pins holding the drive shafts on my legacy are inserted into a tapered hole. the holes look the same if you are not watching for this. changing the clutch is also a pain with the chilton book. with the haynes i have been able to do everything from the top end of my supra to replacing my brake system.

I've had Chilton's manuals for other cars I've owned, but Haynes was the first to come out with a Legacy manual. I bought it to learn about my 97 Outback, and I'm extremely happy with it. The pictures are helpful and the instructions are easy to follow. I'm not into doing rehauls or anything like that (which this manual covers), but it's great for doing scheduled maintenance, like changing coolant, oil, transmission and differential fluid, as well as all sorts of filters. I highly recommend this book for all Subaru Legacy owners.

Excellent DIY service manual but watchout for the published specifications, often times I've found the schedules and settings (torque, etc.) published here to be significantly different from what's listed in the factory service manual. Also applicable to the 1999 MY.

After having this and a Chilton's manual side by side, the Haynes book wins hands down. There is less ambiguity and more info, tips, tricks, and warnings. Diagrams are clearer. There's still room for improvement, but aside from experience, it seems to be the best option around for keeping yourself out of trouble. ;-)

This manual does pale in comparison to a Bently, but so do all other manuals. I have found that the manual is an excellent guide for anyone with some mechanical know-how, and it provides the most comprehensive information available. There are things that are a little inacurate that I have found, or have seen other sources that contradict how things work... But even the Subaru factory repair manuals have this problem. My major criticism of this manual is it does not get into describing what are 'common' failures; other Haynes manuals that I have picked up ocasionally hinted at what kinds of failures the owner can 'expect' to experience. In my opinion, there should be an section devoted to the whens, whys and hows of headgasket failure, oil seal leaks, and valve cover leaks. My second criticism is that it doesn't explain part numbers, nor does it describe some repair materials well enough; like saying 'anerobic sealant' or 'gasket maker' where Subaru technical manuals very clearly describe what materials should be used.

Combine this with all the documentation that is out there from the major Subaru message boards, and I doubt there is any repair you can't accomplish. Me? I'm replacing my headgaskets, timing belt and a whole lot of seals this weekend.

Based on other reviews this might be the best Subaru manual but it is a very poor shop manual in general. They need to learn a few things from Bently shop manuals.

I bought a used legacy station wagon and found a peice of weather striping (top of rear window) not properly attached. So I bought the manual hoping it would help me fix it. The manual doesn't cover how to remove the weather stripping. I have since found out how to do this by inspecting the replacement part I purchased. In figuring out what to do, I learned that I need to remove the interior molding in the back of the car. Guess what, the manual doesn't tell you how the remove that either. In the world of car repair this falls somewhere between Simple and Intermediate in complication. Well with the realm of a home mechanic and well with in the scope of this book.

This is a shop manual and therefore should cover everything. In my search to find out how to repair the weather striping. I found that the manual states that it doesn't cover how to repair the 'perminent' windows (i.e. non moving windows) becuase the authors believe that repairing the window is to difficult for us readers. The part I need to repair is related to a 'perminent' window, but not part of the window, and therefore might be omitted for this reason, but I don't really know why.

If something my be very difficult they should have a note saying so but then contiue explaining how to do it. IMO they should not decide for me.

To my above reference to Bently manuals. They are a company that writes shop mauals for VW (my previous cars), Volvo and a few others, unfortunatly not Subaru. They are exellent manuals. They cover everything. Sometimes a little hard to find the info you want but it is there somewhere.

From what I can gather Subaru sells a shop manual. I shall look into getting that one inthe hopes it covers everything.

I have found this book to be a great help in repairing and diagnosing my '97 Subaru Outback. Also, reading through this manual has allowed me to anticipate what I would be getting into before starting a project. This book is definately a great guide for the do-it-yourself Subaru fanatic.

This manual has failed me twice. The first difficulties were encountered when a forward CV joint became noisy. In direct contradiction to the manual the outer front CV joints can be replaced as serviceable parts without the need to replace the drive shafts. Secondly, I'm chasing a fault whereby my Subaru Legacy has difficulty changing down gears even when under load with the throttle pedal nailed to the firewall. The information on the automatic transaxle is very poor, plus there is a lack of depth surrounding how the engine management system interacts to achieve downshifting. The wiring diagrams are too schematic to diagnose which sensor I'm looking at, plus actual wiring colours often contrast those specified.

I have owned 3 Subaru Outbacks, 1996, 1998, and 2004, and I have found this manual to be useful with all of them. I am only doing the home mechanic types of repairs, so for things like changing and bleeding brakes, spark plugs, fuel filters, thermostats, it has saved me a lot of guess work. Not sure I would want it if I had to do a timing belt or head gaskets, or any other sort of major engine tear down. Great manual for GENERAL MAINTENANCE.

In my opinion, short of an actual manufacturer's shop manual, you can't beat a Haynes book for completeness. And, given that they are written for the non-professional, in some ways they are far superior. Based on complete engine tear-down and rebuild, and covering standard repairs and maintainence, I never buy anything else.
If you are even reasonably handy, like to save money on basic (or even complex) repairs, this is the book for you.