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chiseled the chunks out with a philips screwdriver :-\ still won't go in, urge to use a hammer, but if it only goes half way, its back to the machine shop. triangle file is a great idea the black chiseled stuff is magnetized what I really need is a dentist I'll try bearing grease, or maybe crest toothpase, tartar formula hehe

15 ton press couldn't budge a '97 obw front axle, stuck in hub splines (210k miles on mid-atlantic salty roads) Finally hammered out with an air tool at the same machine shop for $50 A look into the hub reveals severe black corrosion, very hard, the new axle won't go in and kroil doesn't seem to touch it. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54444&highlight=spline+corrosion&page=3 Never greased the splines before, think permatex anti-sieze would work or do I need better grease? I'm using a steel scraper to get between the splines, not too successfully, probably time for a new hub.

Wheel bearing is more of a growl and mine got louder with speed, may change pitch or go away with side load (this was the rear, so may not apply) Just a guess, can the rotor back cover (see #13 below) bend and rub against the rotor? Driven through deep snow recently? My '97 obw after sitting for a while made a metallic noise from the front only when turning left at low speed, it went away before I tracked it down. For some reason I can't add this url as an image...says invalid file. http://static.opposedforces.com/epc_img/366494926204.png

No prob, it happens. Yesterday we found the phone in the refrigerator. Welcome to the board.

I'm guessing its under the dash, drivers side like the legacy, maybe built into the panel under the steering wheel, far left side.

If your traveling takes you near the Bay Bridge I could meet you to loan out a seal puller...

That's a helpful link on the climate control bulbs. The radio bulbs are basically the same idea, just require a bit more effort to get to them, and the radio bulbs don't have the little plastic twist-off bulb holders. If you can solder and keep track of miniature screws, you can do the job. The radio shack bulbs will work just fine, the oem bulbs have wrappers on them to change the color, unsolder, swap wrappers and re-solder the new ones in. Getting to them is the hard part as has been already mentioned, requiring removal of the metal bezel around the lcd screen in some versions. If you are tempted to switch to LED's to get longer life, only do so with the absolute brightest versions.

Dumb idea but check lug nuts, if they are loose it will sound like a thump

I think 25 in 1st, 45 to 2nd gear, 65 in 3rd and to the end of the speedo in 4th which really means about 80. But for mileage you'd want to shift about 10 or more mph earlier than that.

Is the connector spliced into the door speaker pair...I don't think there's a separate wire pair going to the head unit for tweeters...thought there was eight speaker wires standard (four pairs, one per corner) hmmm...that might explain the 2-pin connector taped into the rear harness (near right taillight) of the '96 obs...

A fun fact about vehicle fuel Flash point temperature gasoline -40 F diesel +143 F Quiz: Which is the best choice when you've run out of charcoal lighter fluid, if you want a free eyebrow trim?

What happens when lugs are loosened with full weight on the wheel? Can this warp a rotor against the pads? What causes warping? Uneven heat transfer to the wheel...rapid cooling...do alloy wheels have an effect on this? Bad wheel bearings can contribute to overall wheel temp, I suppose just one hard braking with a hot wheel could warp a rotor. Just wondering if there is any correlation between EJ's vs. EA's (heavier, alloy wheels, tendency for bad wheel bearings...) In my limited experience (one EA, two EJs) the only one I've had rotor problems with is the EA...front rotors have been warped its *entire* life. Even new rotors warped soon after installation. I've just learned to live with it and figured early in its life the hub warped somehow... Just read that Endwrench mentions marking the rotor and hub to match at reinstall...I'll be doing this from now on. Tire guy...Impact wrench...hub rust...oh my!

Thx for confirmation on the wheel bearing. 95 stock is 195/60/15 iirc, lowered body style. So I'm 500 miles from home and no tools. Gotta decide if the wago will make it back or burn something up along the way. 164Kmiles. From the sounds, huge guess here but its 'early' in its failure mode considering I noticed it halfway on the front side of the trip, and its still hard to hear.

Thanks. Good to know since I just did the same WRX wheel swap on the OBS. Now to figure out why the wagon has a noise like a wheel bearing from the rear while driving straight, goes away when in a hard turn.

Gotta love the vocab, I understood bellows very descriptive no problems at all . I think the rubber can swell if the wrong grease is used...so I can understand having to remove material to help things move properly. Suggest the caliper rebuild kit for the next time around...the lower bellows is where problems seem to show up first.

Hmmm...trying to picture what we have here...may be different than what I'm used to (older outbacks) Caliper Removal 14mm lower bolt removal allows the caliper to pivot up on the hinge pin giving access to pads. Lower 14mm bolt housing has a protective grease boot, this can fail and then the sliding portion seizes. The caliper hinge pin also has a grease boot. The entire caliper can be removed by sliding it off via this pin, and then the only remaining attachment is the brake line. I think what you are saying is this upper caliper fastener doesn't have a grease boot? Yes I would think it has to slide somehow since the pad thickness shrinks over its lifetime. Pictures?

WRX wheels fit great on the wagon. So I'm taking this car in for an alignment to correct some minor odd tire wear. I'm assuming that since the overall wheel size + tires is the same, I don't need to request some special type of hybrid alignment, even though the tire width has gone up from 195 to 205. Any issue with wheel bearings?

(+) California = no rust Don't know if Calif. emissions are a factor... 88Kmi is a good find for 2000 Re: timing belt Tensioner replace unless have a hydraulic press and gauge Two options on Idlers much discussed here replace (ebay kit) includes water pump or inspect for bearing play and roll on I'd replace if the car came from desert conditions Tbelt replacement is 105K, sooner if harsh conditions (desert) 'serviced by the book' is pretty much inspect only until past the mileage for replace crank seal replace cam seals replace if leaking

How about the dash lights, can you control their brightness with the dimmer? Not sure about the 2006 but earlier models have an 'illumination control module' which controls the voltage on the illumination wires to the radio and dash, etc. In the 90's subies its a small black box about the size of a pack of cards with one harness connector attached. Has a few other names such as illumination controller, illumination module, etc.

Remove the fuel pump connector. Run the engine until it stops.

Yep, these are good. Wirebrush and antisieze the hub/rotor contact faces. Yes, rotors can be removed as you have stated with two 8mm bolts in the small holes to push them out. Not all rotors have this feature unfortunately. Rotors are held onto the hub with lugnuts and rust

If you suspect the alternator isn't charging the battery, a quick check is while the car is running put a voltmeter across the battery connectors, you should get 15 volts or so.

Topping off is good but may cover another problem (leak). If the light came on due to low fluid from extremely thin pads, when the piston is compressed to make room for new pads the fluid reservoir will overflow

How old is the battery? 4-5 yrs replace it if cleaning doesn't help.

Car prices are subjective, one buyer will pay a premium for pristine body condition and overlook mechanical stuff (especially if they can do the work themselves), another buyer will not care a whit about body dings but if you say which mechanicals (clutch, tb etc.) have been recently replaced then you'll help buyers figure out which is their type of 'hot deal' quicker. Post pictures including close ups of obvious dings if any (the ones you can see from my house). (+) for the 2.2L 'Maintenance is up to date' means a lot of different things to people...explain but don't write a book...too much info will confuse the avg buyer and probably turn away the rest. I think a lot of folks use blue book sites as a point to deviate from. If you are looking for a quick sale stay low.