Rooster2

Update.............I bought the seats. My buddy, who helped me snag the seats had a big bottle of Leatherique, so we applied the product to both seats, and he advised covering the seats with large plastic trash bags to help keep the product on the seats from evaporating away. Today, one day later, I applied my own bottle of Lexol, very heavily without wiping off, and again covered with the trash bags. Already, the leather is softening up, and getting pliable. I will let the seats sit for a while, adding more Lexol in a few days. I think the seats will rejuvenate to near new. Thanks for advise on Lexol and Leatherique. Regards..........Rooster2, Larry

I just bought a nice pair of heated leather front seats from a yard. Donor car was a 97 Leggie Limited OBW, into my 99 Standard Leggie OBW w/ simple OEM cloth seats. Sure, it is easy to bolt them in. The hassle is trying to figure out the wire harness to get the "heated" seats to work. I took a large portion of the wire harness with me from the donor car to convert my 99, but it looks like not an easy plug and play to heat the seats. I don't see any simple portion of the wire harness dedicated to the seats. The wiring harness seems to be three separate large connecters, with wiring going back and forth among the three wire bundles. The result is a jumbled mess of confusing wiring. Has anyone done this swap out, and have advise on how to do this job? Thanks..Rooster2 (Larry)

Thanks.............Rooster2 (Larry)

Where can Lexol be purchased? Thanks Larry (Rooster2)

Thanks guys for all the leather products info. Think I will buy the seats, and buy one of the products suggested.....................Rooster2

Yesterday, I saw a good pair of leather Outback seats in a '97 at a yard. The passenger seat was perfect, the driver's seat had no tears, but the car has been sitting in the yard for a while with the driver's window half way down. Rain has gotten in, and turned part of the leather into "hard cardboard." I can buy both seats for $75, if I pull. That is a good price. Is there any leather product available that will bring back leather to be soft and flexible? If so, I will go back to the yard, and buy the seats, and treat the leather. They sure are a lot more comfortable then the standard hard bottomed cloth OEM seats in my 99 OBW. Thanks for any help.................Rooster2

My battery won't stay charged. I have heard that pulling off one of the battery cables, while engine is running, is a good test to tell if the alternator or battery is bad. I was told using this test, that if the car stays running with a battery cable pulled off, then this indicates the battery is bad. If engine stops, then this indicates that the alternator is bad. Is this a reliable test? Could this damage the alternator doing this test?? Anyone know?

Bosch Platinums are a matter of opinion. I have used them in 3 Subies, and two other cars for years with no issues. I use their single tip, not the ones with two or three tips.

When I bought my 99 OBW used with 148K on the odo, I swapped out the plugs and wires, on what I am sure was the originals that came with the car new. It was still running well, even with worn plugs. Changing plugs at 30K mile intervals seems way too early to me.

You might do well to take that part and soak it over night in a solvent, or even gasoline. Wipe it out real good with rags or paper towels to remove the gunk, and reinstall. Like someone else said, I would be surprised if cleaning or replacing the part solves a misfire. I would be more inclined to replace the spark plugs and spark plug wires, if they are old.

It might be possible for your mechanic to install a helicoil in that hard to reach spot. Suggest he loosen the motor mounts, and tilt the engine up to gain access. If that doesn't work, then maybe it is better to retire the car. Putting $1,500 into a high millage car is not a good investment. I would put that money towards something newer. Why are you and your wife having spark plugs come out? If tightened down properly, they should not ever come loose.

Trans-X is known specifically for fixing the "delayed tranny engagement" from R to D on model years 1999 & 2000. There is a seal in the tranny that gets lazy to cause the problem. Trans-X fixes the problem for a year, then needs to be added again to provide another year of service. It may fix your 06, maybe not. It can't hurt to try Trans-X. Suggest you add & drain your ATF three times with 5 minute drives between ATF changes. You need to do this 3 times, because only about half the ATF can be drained from the system at one time. The remainder stays in the torque converter, and won't drain out. Add the Trans-X at the last ATF change. You will know within 5 minutes of driving the car, if Trans-X solves your delayed shifting problem. The stuff works that quickly. Also, be aware that the tranny dip stick Low mark to full mark is only about a pint of liquid, so it is very easy to over fill if you are not careful. Good Luck, and report back your results...............Regards, Rooster 2

A parts car parts store such as Auto Zone, or Advance Auto Parts, will pull the OBD11, upon you asking them to do so. Neither shop charges for this service. They will then tell you the results of the code read, and tell you what needs to be replaced to fix the problem. Usually the code read points out some deficit in a pollution control device.

My experience...........I bought a press from Harbor Freight. It cost about $100. I had a devil of a time removing the old bearing, and pressing on a new one. Then, the new bearing went bad in 6 months, so figured out the hub was actually bad. I finally went to a wrecking yard, bought a hub unit for $75, installed that, and so far, so good. Yea, it is possible to buy junk at a junk yard, but if it is junk, they will guarantee for 30 days. In the future, I will go this route again, when I have a wheel bearing go bad.

I enjoyed reading again all the posts up to the present on the dialogue of your Subie tranny & clutch. With clutch and tranny repair, it sounds like your "new" car will be back on the road soon...........enjoy!!

I agree with others that there is a vacuum leak somewhere. Spraying WD-40, or using a squirt gun filled with water on all vac lines may show you were the trouble is. I would spray along all vac lines, as it may be a line that has a split in it

Yes, that is correct. Replace the bushings, and you won't believe how smooth it is to shift gears in your car.

Yes, that is correct. Replace the bushings, and you won't believe how smooth it is to shift gears in your car.

Are there any pictures that you can post?

+1, my same thought, the starter is going bad.

There is no guarantee that you still don't have a bad O ring or low on refrigerant even if you worked on the system back in April. I would still add a can of R-134a, and see if that fixes it. If so, then it must be leaking refrigerant somewhere.

I use a large "C" clamp, pressing against the old pads to compress the piston back into the caliper. Best to use anti-seize cream on all sliding surfaces, an on the guide pins.

Well, I guess you could remove the rear door handles, fill in something over the glass in the rear doors, and paint. You would then permanently fold down the back seat for extended cargo area for that panel wagon look. It is not something I would find appealing in function, or look that great as I try to envision it, but that is just my opinion. If you modify your OB significantly, you will prolly destroy any resell value, and what you would then have would be difficult to find anyone interested in buying it. Overall, it doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

Saw your condenser video. The leak looks like it is unrepairable, just because you can't get to the spot where it is leaking. You should be able to get a condenser pretty easily at your favorite wrecking yard. Shouldn't cost much. It is an easy swap out. If it were accessible, (and maybe it is if you tear off, or bend back some of the fins, that are in the way of the leak) you could seal the leak with JB Weld. I was able to do that once, and the JB held for years. I sold the car, JB is prolly still holding. The trick with JB, is to clean the surface really well, apply JB, and wait 24 hours for it to dry, before adding R134A.

Brake fluid just by itself, will degrade anything made out of rubber, that it comes into contact with. It will also damage paint.