[.ca] Haynes Subaru Legacy 1990-1998 (ISBN 1563923262)

This manual failed me in my first simple repair:
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.

It is OK:
The book was good enough to guide me for head gaskets replacement. With the book description, a little imagination, and some web sources (especially for torque specifications) I was able to accomplish the work. The electrical schemes are very general lacking a lot of information (like rear power socket, heated seats, etc.) Some of the diagrams are inaccurate. The one for automatic window switch, for example, on 1997 Outback reverses the contacts for "up" and "down" position.

Inaccurate And Lacking Detail:
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.

Best Option for doing it yourself:
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. ;-)

A Must-Have for all Subaru Owners:
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.