dasaan

This is an excellent thread excepting that there is no finish. Steve, have you fixed this problem, and what did you do?

Thanks for the replies. It seems as though everyone thinks that my rotors are at fault. I am planning to take the wheels off this weekend and give it a look over. I will post what I find. I did notice that nobody answered my original questions about cleaning off uneven deposits, diagnosing caliper problems, etc. I am still curious about these issues, if anyone would like to comment on my original post material.

1997 Outback 2.5L 5-speed 130,000mi I had an at speed blowout (complete separation of tread from sidewall) of the driver rear tire on the interstate this summer, and, not knowing, put the spare on and drove at highway speeds for another 300-400 miles. I was heading to the airport from my last work station for the summer, and when I got back I still had to drive home. I did not / do not seem to have any issues related to this, but that is probably because it was already on the rear tire? Still, next time, I will put the fuse in.

2001 Outback 2.5L Auto 65,000mi The car has been having an issue for about two months with a strong wheel shake when braking downhill, especially when turning. Recently, I have begun to notice a catch in the brakes when slowing down. I took it to Monro, and they said that it has a bad caliper and that the rotors were warped because of it. Quoted to flush brake fluid, replace 4 pads, 4 rotors, and 2 calipers ~$950 (after discounts). I decided to look into it myself as I tend to work on my own cars, but I have never done brakes before. I have been reading on this forum and others about faulty calipers, "warped" rotor issues, and diagnosing and changing these parts, but I am trying to work out the "grand method" of correcting this problem short of paying Monro or buying all new parts. It seems as though this could be caused by uneven deposits on the rotor. Is there a way to clean these short of machining? (I would probably just put on new ones if not) If it is a caliper problem, then it seems that fixing my rotors would still result in brake issues sooner than later. What is the best way to test for a caliper problem? I assume if it is bad, then rebuilding would be the cheapest way to fix, but under what instances would rebuilding be inadequate? I suppose what I am looking for (and what would be a great reference for this forum) is: Given that there is a shake in the steering wheel when braking during a turn and a catch in the brakes at low speeds, what would be the progression of steps necessary to correct with minimal expenditure on unnecessary parts?

I have a 2001 Subaru Outback Limited with a broken rear finishing panel (the plastic "Subaru" stamped part in the center of the hatch). I cannot seem to find any information about replacing these. Any suggestions? Also, I found a new replacement for $150 (dealer wanted $375).

Final note. I had the wire spliced to repair the connection, and the knock sensor code has gone away. I had two other codes for the catalytic converter and a Subaru specific problem that cleared with the knock sensor code. All set for NY standards.

I have driven with this code since I bought the car over a year and 25,000 miles ago, but I moved to NY so now I have to clean it up to pass inspection. I am glad to hear that I can just do the splice. I thought that the change in resistance might affect the system too much and the CEL would still stay on.

Nothing really. It was a little slow through the range acceleration-wise, but I just use it get around and only noticed on the on-ramp to the highway. I was just replacing the sensor to clear the code and meet NY inspection standards.

My 97 Outback CEL was on for a knock sensor, so I bought the part and went to change it. While attempting to disconnect the sensor the male end from the harness broke off still attached to the knock sensor female connection. My question is what I should do to repair this break? Can I just have the old male connector spliced back onto the wire harness? Are there any specifics of the wire that might be important? Can one find the whole wire back to another connection or the ECM and just replace it? Or will I have to do what the dealer says and replace the whole wiring harness?!?