1999 Subaru Outback Legacy AWD review from North America

At 98k miles, we replaced the left front wheel bearing, left DOJ boot, and valve cover gaskets. We had this car for five years and this was the first semi-major repair bill. The total bill was $2100 which included everything in the 90k mileage service, along with the left front wheel bearing, left DOJ boot, and the valve cover gaskets. The mechanic claimed that replacing the DOJ boot saved the axle because it was leaking grease.

All-in-all we are very happy with this car's quiet, solid ride and good gas mileage. The dog likes the back area. We are flat-landers so the AWD I believe really isn't necessary, living in South New Jersey. We initially were having trouble with the steering on wet roads at high speeds but buying 4 new tires (Michelin's) at around 50k miles fixed that. I have read about others experiencing head gasket troubles, but the mechanic said that as long as we back-flush the radiator and cooling system when changing coolants, we should not have that problem. Knock on wood.