Subaru Books

This book is a high-level overview of different directions you can go in when it comes to modifying your subaru and an overview of available parts & manufacturers. Do not buy if you are expecting a step-by-step guide on how to do anything yourself. As far as what the book IS: It is (I guess) a pretty good product overview. However, you can get all that online, in much more detail and with individual people's comments about each part of type of modification. I have been a WRX owner for only 4 months now, and didn't find any new information in this book (new from research I already did online). In my opinion, this is just not worth buying.

That book is simple to read and understand for an owner that is learning the basics and the how to do. Information is sufficient to make good and safe choices for any level of upgrading
Highly recommend to buy
Jacques Dufresne

This is a very nice book if you don't know much about cars. If, like me, you were hoping for a more in-depth type of content from that offered in Subiesport magazine, don't bother. I learned absolutely nothing that I didn't know before. For me it's pretty much useless, but I do want to emphasize that the author has good intentions and that it is a well crafted book. I used to love this kind of book when I was 12.

I was looking for a book with good information specific to my Impreza WRX. This is an excellent source of information. It shares some specific upgrade information, which is OK, but also goes into specific differences between various engine/chassis specifications and their positives & negatives, which is an invaluable.

This book is an informative read. While it is not a "How to" book, it does offer interesting ideas, with brief descriptions of the wheres & whys. The photograhy was done well. If you want some ideas as to what you can do to customize your Subaru, this is a good book to take a look through.

In my opinion this manual is lame at best and largely useless to me because it does NOT cover all models. I bought it because I have a six cylinder L.L. Bean Outback and have waited 6 years for this to come out, and guess what? There is absolutely no mention of this engine in the manual and this engine has been around since 2000 or 2001. (Apparently I have a top secret engine in my 2002 Outback.) I guess if you have a four banger, it may be alright but I resent being snookered by the deceptive description of the contents. Shame on the author and Chiltons. Pass on this "manual." Spend your money on the shop manuals from Subaru and get something useable.

Pros: This manual can show you how to do just about anything in a fast\easy manner for your Subaru. Used it recently to learn all the tricks for changing headlight bulbs, took me a matter of minutes.
Cons: I have a 2000 and didn't like waiting so long for this manual to be released, I blame Subaru for making 6 years of similar cars, not Chilton.

This manual is significantly better the various other Chilton/Haynes manuals I've owned over the years. Usually it doesn't take long to discover critical information that's been left out- but I've had no such problems with this one. The photos and illustrations are plentiful and helpful.

this manual is nothing more than a haynes with different covers! shame on you people!!!! why can't the repair car manual producers create a decent manual!!!

Typical Chilton manual. For basic maintenance, this will help you get the job done. Don't expect this to be a factory manual.

This book is identical in content (word for word) to the Haynes manual. Their layout is slightly different. Buy one, but not both. Chilton seems to have larger diagrams, Haynes has more efficient print layout. Take your pick.

Not bad but like most haynes manuals it lacks a certain level of detail that the serious DIY wants. The chapters cover the cars fairly well and should help you do most things.

I have been an avid user of automotive manuals for some time now. I perform all repairs on the vehicals that I own. I have used Chilton's, Haynes, and vaarious other manuals, and they all are about the same. This manual is a little more informative then the others. I really like the way that this manual was organized.

Amazon's performance was trouble free and quite easy, but I certainly wish I would have been notified that my engine, a 6 cylinder, was NOT included in the book. I'll still hold on to it as a reference for other repairs, but I'm pretty erked that my motor is not covered in the book because that's the reason I bought the book. Oh well.

to tell you the truth, it is quite lacking. important things like how to change the cabin filter were omitted completly. actual pictures on how to change spark plugs and many other reasonable chores on this car were not present. haynes really needs to do some work to get this manual up to par.

Typical Haynes fair. For basic maintenance, this will help you get the job done. Don't expect this to be a factory manual.

This book is identical in content (word for word) to the Chilton manual. Their layout is slightly different. Buy one, but not both. Chilton seems to have larger diagrams, Haynes has more efficient print layout. Take your pick.

Despite RnB's negative review of this manual, I went ahead and got one and it's fine for what I need. It's up to Haynes normal standard, i.e. some good clear parts, some confusing ones, some good photos and some unclear ones, but there is enough in here to get most jobs done without too much pain. I have used it to work on the cooling system successfully.

By the way, there are 2 pages on spark plug replacement, with photos, and the cabin air filter replacement is covered in the Subaru owners manual, so don't be put off. Subaru's are pretty bullet proof so you shouldn't need this too much, but it's always good to have a manual like this on the workshop shelf.

I bought this book attracted by "maintaining, modifying" words pointed in the title, however, this book has nothing to do with aforementioned subjects. Mostly it is the history of Impreza. This book has a zero practical value for maintenance. I am very disappointed by misleading title.

If you like the WRX or the Impreza in general, then this book does a really nice job of covering the differences between model years, and various international models, with some maintenance and modification information information to boot. Also contains some great photos for the various models and options.

this is a good book indeed for those new to impreza history. that's mostly what it talks about....thats all that it talks about.

3 stars because they took every single page of this book out of other magazine reviews.

I have generally preferred Haynes manuals over Chilton's but the first time I used this it has some incorrect information in it. The headlight adjustment screws on a 98 Legacy GT I had just bought were rusted and could not be turned (both lights were pointing right at the ground in front of the car). I removed both headlight assemblies and sat the screws in penetrating oil to free them up. However, the manual had reversed which headlight controlled the horizontal and vertical adjustments. While this is faily minor and obviously easy to figure out, it has reduced my confidence in the rest of the book somewhat.

Yes, it is printed on thin paper and it is a paperback, but this is the norm. The directions are complete and basic enough for a non-mechanic to understand. If something is not in here, check the owner's manual.

This manual, with flimsy news print pages, is specific to a rebuild and did not have the basic info I needed. If you are going to rebuild your Subaru's engine, this is what you want, if you're just trying to do maintenance and basic repairs, move on.

The only thing this book is good for is to set your drink on when working on your car. The instructions are not only confusing. In many cases they are just wrong.

This book claims to cover Subarus up through 1996. The cover shows a '95-'96 Outback, which is exactly what I have. I bought the book to help me fix a faulty power window switch. In the section on removing the door panel around the switches, the newest Legacy shown is a '91, whose door panel does not have power switches at all, and is completely clipped on and must be pried off. After two of us pried around the switch area on my own car with no success, we ditched the book and discovered that the switch area of the door is firmly screwed in, and in multiple layers. Had we followed the book and kept prying, we would have damaged the door. I understand that you can't cover every difference on every model in such a wide range of model years, but I don't think it wise for the book to imply it is complete when following the book could end up in damage to your car because of inaccuracy or incompleteness. I also couldn't find information I needed on the glove box hinge and how the front passenger seat anchors to the floor. I have used Haynes manuals on my two previous cars, and am going back to buying those. They are more model-specific and contain more relevant information.

This manual is garbage. I've tried to use it for three separate jobs on my 96 Legacy and every time it has proven worthless. The latest example concerns the camshaft position sensor. The manual lists trouble codes that would confirm the diagnosis, but lacks sufficient info to get the car to display the codes. The book gives only a vague arrow in the general direction of the sensor location. It details the steps to remove the timing belt in order to change the sensor on the Legacy. As I look at it, and as my mechanic assures me, the sensor can be removed and replaced on a 96 Legacy without disassembling anything else. Worse than worthless, this book would have me spending hours on a 2 minute job!

I'm going to buy the Haynes book, and never buy another Chilton.

I bought this book to help with some work I wanted to do on my Girlfriend's FWD Subaru Legacy. I highly recommend finding another book.

This book is first, aimed at AWD models, is too broad to cover specifics, and as it is, the pictures are so dark that it's hard to see small pieces. I've done about three minor jobs (replacing the factory rear speakers as they were blown- it didn't even tell you how to take the rear deck apart, drum brakes, and trying to locate the sensor in the gas tank), and all three, the book was worthless, even as a reference point. Aside from basic info, don't count on this book for much, unless you have the exact vehicle they used to illustrate the book.

This book has errors of omission and commission. It will contradict itself from one section to the next, and doesn't portray information in a coherent format. I have learned to regard the guidance given in the book with a certain amount of skepticism. Only recommend this book if you absolutely cannot find anything else.

Virtually no information in here that is not in the original shop manual.
This book is pages from the original vehicle's shop manuals, reduced in size so that 4 pages will fit onto one page. You will need a 4 power magnifying glass to view them at their original size.

If you work on a variety of the cars covered in this manual, it would be useful. If you only have one car I advise you to spend your money on a shop manual for that one specific car.