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after 17 years of ownership, today I discovered that the DS window defogger vent in our '03 OB can be flipped to direct upwards to the windshield!!!

Yep, pretty awesome feature. Was true about some of the BD/BG models, too. I remember the day I pointed it out on my friend's '98 LGT (he's owned that car for ~12 years, maybe more). I was very disappointed when I discovered they stopped it for '04 (I now own 2 '04 Outbacks). Easy enough to swap out, though.

If the system is working correctly, it is 'self adjusting' . This is a very common failure on 15+ year old cars. Many people have fixed this. Of course, it's possible to have more than one problem, it's possible to get a bad new part, but, it is not anything special, expensive or requiring a visit to a dealer.

Regarding the twin cup holder, it began in the 2002 model year. It is a nice and easy upgrade to the '00 and 01 models, you just need the armrest piece (console) and the piece with the cupholders, it installs in place of the original single cup holder. In my area they are getting harder to find in the pick n pull but they go for about 15.00. The brake upgrade started mid year 2001, I think the date is 10/01/2001.

I think for an enthusiast with some time/money on their hands, or someone with a race whip, there may be some utility in experimenting with gear lubes - maybe moreso if you live in the SW or extreme north, further tailoring the lube chosen for extreme temps. but, the OEM lube (Extra-S ? made by Idemitsu I think) or a name brand non-synth lube probably works fine for most people. If you have a leaky, or older car and no money to spend, there is a synth-BLEND at walmart (supertech ?) that folks feel is a good value. Local tuner shop (the guys that fixed my trans) use Amsoil Severe Gear 75W90 . It's still in there. feels OK to me. BUT, I also had to rebuild my shifter and since putting in new poly bushings, kinda have the itch to try something new. But, not driving the car much right now - lost my job. I also have a feeling the trans prefer quicker shifting, seems like I get more balking if I'm slow about shifting - could be a lots of factors really. if you want to go down a rabbit hole - try this link; https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920674

It's about the same time, but I don't know if it's the exact correlation. And occasionally, if a shop bought pads/rotors/calipers, they might convert the car from one system to the other without knowing.

www.car-part.com, take a look in your area. Here's the driver's side defrost vent. on the '00-'03 ones (and previous body styles), it can be flipped between sending air along the LH window or to send extra onto the windshield right in front of the driver. I'm driving a 2004 these days, and boy was I wishing I had it this morning (25*F), I'll probably steal it from my '00 parts car. 20170211_104858 by Numbchux, on Flickr Mid-2002 got a front brake size upgrade and center console change. 2004 VDCs all have on-star. All minor things that are easy enough to change (I have swapped all of those things one way or the other on all my cars), but if I were to pick one that's as close to perfect as it can be out of the box, it'd be a 2003. The FWD fuse on the MPT models is exactly for that purpose. No such function exists on the VDC ones.

I have had 'spurious' codes thrown 3 times on my 2 soobs, (even put my WRX into 'limp' mode) bad batteries everytime but, I suppose other issues like charging system or poor grounds or 'dirty' connections, etc. could cause the same type of problem. And often codes are thrown due to issues unrelated to the 'official' definiton/description of the code's involved. That is, just because a rear O2 sensor has 'catalytic converter efficiency' in it's description, doesn't necessarily mean the catalytic converter is bad.

This might not work or be the correct one but the process for extracting codes for yours might look something like this. Earlier trans have different procedures, so the process changes sometimes, but this might work for yours. So this is more of an illustration...but it might work. Either way, there's other info out there, this is just the first one I found. The ProcedureStarting condition: key off, headlight switch off.Steps 1 through 7 must be performed within 10 seconds.1. Turn key to ON position. This is the normal running position, the click just before starting, when all the lights on the dash come on, but before you twist to START. Don't start the engine!2. Within 3 seconds, turn the headlight switch ON.3. Press the Trip/Odometer button 4 times.4. Turn the headlight switch OFF.5. Press the Trip/Odometer button 4 times.6. Turn headlight swtich ON.7. Press Trip/Odometer button 4 times. At this point, the DTC display will begin.8. Turn headlight switch OFF. Not necessary for the procedure, but your display may be dimmed and hard to read in bright sunlight. Besides, why drain the battery?The DTCs for each module will display in order: ECM, TCM, ABSCM/VDCCM. Press the Trip/Odometer button to cycle between modules. The FSM states that the display will cycle between modules automatically every three seconds if the button is not pushed, but that did not happen in my car - I had to push the button to cycle the display.For each module, there are three display states:- Receiving DTC from module (blinking "P" or "C")- DTC detected & displayed ("P" or "C" followed by 4 digits)- No DTC found ("P" or "C" followed by "----")If there is a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus communication error, you will see only "----" in the display. Basically, that means that the network in your car is broken. That will need to be repaired before anything else can be done.

Those bolts sound a little loose.. I don't remember the torque spec off the top of my head. They are small, not grade 8, screwed into aluminum, so they aren't "head bolt" tight either.

Plugging the upper weep hope dosent make it last any longer, it just takes you longer to find out the shaft seal is shot. Once coolant is to the weep hole it has made it though the seal and bearing. Sealing the hole only means it has to work though the other bearing before you notice it. Gives you a much higher chance of the bearing seizing before you notice. Also if the fan and belts are in good shape, pumps should last 100k.

The water pumps will not likely last longer than 25,000 miles if you do not plug up the upper weep hole with gasket maker, or 40,000 miles if you do plug up the hole. In my experience. And when they go out, the fan wobbles so badly that it will cut into the radiator, requiring a new one. A trick to setting the timing belt over the camshaft gear, is to temporarily set the tension adjuster wheels so that the spring is fully extended. Then you can install the camshaft gear without having to deal with the timing belt. And then the timing belt slips on easily over the gear, afterward. Otherwise, you will be fighting the timing belt while trying to line up on the pin that puts the gear in the correct position. For back cover clearance, trying taking them off, laying them flat, put some weight on the high points that have warped outward, and apply heat from a heat gun until the warp is taken out of the back cover. For attaching the front cover, use plastic washers beneath the bolt heads in order to keep those bolt threads from seizing inside of the back cover threaded inserts. 1986 GL10 Wagon 480,000 miles original owner

Regarding the choice between an auto and a MT, I agree the Auto is the best choice. it is reliable and robust, just keep clean fluid in it and change the filter on a regular basis. I had one that had 350K on it and was still going. The MT is more fun, but it no doubt more prone to failures and higher cost of maintenance. In my area it is harder to find a used MT and they are more expensive, and there are differences between model years so you have to be careful to get the right one.

Im not sure who this is addressed to, but I'll answer. I upgrade cars once there is significant safety updrades. Eyesite has been around for a while to seem reliable. The CVTs seem debugged. And due t my present situation a power liftgate would be a godsend. However I do agree with you, but also I am shopping (for me) fairly new. Its going to be weird buying a subaru with less then 100K on it

Solved the issue; one of the terminal wires into the battery broke away and was hard to see, easy fix.

Get a nice 01-04 H6 from a rust free state. I see them from time to time in CO. Good ones always go fast! Have to be ready to buy.

Yes, but the internals of a phase 1 EJ22 manual gearbox are identical to the GL box. To the point that it is possible to recase a GL gearbox using an EJ front housing to avoid the need to use an adapter plate when EJ swapping... this is what El Freddo has in his. Subaru strengthened the gearboxes a bit with the move to the SG series Forester.