2X2KOB

[/url] That's "Gateway to the west". The person who wrote that Realty Times article was mistaken. Sorry about the off-topic reply. If anyone would like to know which Subaru dealer in STL can fix your car right and which one is likely to put two and a half gallons of oil in the crankcase during a normal oil change, ask me and I'll spill the beans with extreme prejudice and rancor.

Thanks for the detailed response. Next time I do plugs, I'll go one cooler on the heat range.

Otherwise known as knocking or pinging: The car is a 2000 Outback, Phase II 2.5, 4EAT, 110K miles. It has pinged since new, a little bit, usually when going uphill at low rpm, which is when you would sort of expect it. When we took it to the dealer five years ago, they said "use better gas". Didn't think too much of that brilliant answer. So, I've pretty much been ignoring the problem since then, except that last month I decided to change the knock sensor ($97) to see if that would help, and it did not, not a bit. It knocks bad on 87 octane, and just a little bit on 89. So what's the deal? Should I expect it to knock like that? My other 2000 OB doesn't knock a bit, not even on 87 octane gas. What's your experience with this engine, and do you have any suggestions on fixing this? It can't be good for the engine, but it hasn't killed it yet obviously.

Well, the book says install it at a 45 degree angle, and tighten it to 17 ft/lb. Not much to it, really.

Brilliant! Thank you for the followup.

Really... Not to ask too stupid of a question, but what kind of warning should I be looking out for? /Thanks...

Good plan - thanks very much!

Bad PS racks are a well-known and expensive weak point on some Saturns.

It will gradually run better as the ECU re-learns the engine parameters and makes fine adjustments. I'm glad you found the problem!

How do you keep the axle from turning? I don't want to rely on putting it in "park" - I don't want to break anything.

What's the best method for loosening and tightening the axle nut?

Can you go fishing with a magnet to try and find that clip, or its pieces?

Dave, you do anything with this yet, or are you still on the couch?

All right, if that's the case, how come all cars don't exhibit this behavior? The fix of second-to-last resort (right before a new $900 cat): search for "mil eliminator". It's just voltage.

Ja, get under it and follow the exhaust back from the heads. The first oxygen sensor you come to, is it.

Prior to cat replacement, try a new rear oxygen sensor. It worked for me. Personally I don't believe all these year 2000 cat convertors are crapping out, I think the monitoring system is too sensitive. Please let us know what you do with this...

I pulled the UPS truck out an icy stuck situation one time. There were surprised faces all around.

http://www.yakima.com has one that will work, if you can stand all the flash trash and popups on their website.

I bet it was 25 years ago that I bought my pickle fork. I won't say it was the best investment I've ever made, but it sure has saved me a lot of aggravation over the years.

What's the deal with this disconnecting of the shift resistor on the passenger side strut tower? Never heard of that one before. Is this something I might see on a 2000 OB? Is this documented somewhere? Thanks,

Hardness = quite. A test: Can you file it, or does your file sort of bounce off of it?

I'd advise a new gasket. For sure.

Did he say what he paid for it?

Good job - I'm glad it's better.

If you have ever successfully changed a timing belt on anything else, you can do this one. Do a forum search and read about the process a bit - it's not too difficult.