Daniel

Need some advice regarding new tires.... I have a '99 OBW with 122k miles, they have 205/70/15's on them now and I would like to go to a 215/60/15... Does anyone have any opinions either way?? Thanks,

Thanks,

Can anyone recommend a good Mechanic in the Chicagoland area? I will need quite a bit of work done to my '99 Outback. It's got 122K miles and about $2500 in work before the winter sets in... Please help!!

I have a '99 Outback with 122K miles that I recently acquired. It's a long story... I posted the whole thing last week when I introduced myself to this fine group of people. Anyway, I have no information about this vehicle and I was wondering if there is anyway I can tell if the timing belt had been done.... Can anyone shed some light?? Thanks,

You're exactly right, there was hardly any oil in it. I put in 2 quarts for now, I plan on changing it this weekend. There is a loud humming noise from the rear and I had someone I trust look at the vehicle and he believes it's been hit a few times. No frame damage or anything, but there has been some body work done to it. Does anyone know of any good mechanics in the Chicagoland area that can do wheel bearings and the differential? Thanks,

Yes, it sure seems like this is a warm group of friends. I need some information on a rear differential for this '99 Outback. Can anyone recommend a good shop that can handle this job in the Chicagoland area?? thanks,

Thank you...

Vicky, Thanks for your response and encouragement. This morning I was a little worried that I had made a mistake. I know my Buick is in very good condition and that it will serve the older couple very well, but I am concerned that this Outback Restoration project may be bit more than I thought. I was reassured by your message and I know this circumstance was in my path for a reason and I hope that both of our families will benefit.... Thanks again,

Hi, My name is Daniel and I live in the Suburbs of Chicago. I just aquired a '99 Subaru Outback with 122K miles last night. I've never owned a Subaru before and never had any personal experience with Subaru's before. My neighbor has an '03 WRX and two of his friends both own Forester XT's. They all absolutely LOVE their Subaru's and are fanatical about them. It's kinda a funny story of how I came across this OBW (outback wagaon?). (as you can see I'm trying to pick up the lingo...) It's a bit of a long story, but I would sure appreciate any help or assistance that anyone could offer. There is an older couple that attend a church in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago who found themselves in some financial difficulty and without a car. Another member of the church donated this '99 OBW to the church so the older couple could use it. Unfortunately, it was manual and neither of them could drive stick. They really needed an automatic vehicle so with the help of another chuch member they went around trying to find a dealer that would take in this Subaru on trade for a reliable automatic. The cars that were offered for trade were not even remotely in good reliable condition. Well, a co-worker of mine told me about this story and wanted to know if I would be willing to give them my '94 Buick Skylark. The Skylark has about 128K miles and is in excellent running condition. I've had many the required maintence done over the past 2 years and I feel 100% confident in the reliabilty of the Skylark. I talked it over with my wife and we discussed that this must be both fair and honest for the older couple as well as for ourselves. So I decided to have a look at the Outback to see if we could make a fair trade. I had my mechanic look over the Outback and he found that the rear differential needs to be replaced along with the rear bearings, new front pads/rotors, new battery and cables, spark plugs, A/C belt, new set of tires, alignment and few other misc items. All in all it will need about $2500 in mechanical work and another $700 or so in body work (car was hit on the driver's side rear door and door is off the hinge). Sorry that this message is so long, but I'm almost done.... Anyway, I decided to go ahead and make the trade and give the older couple a cash gift to help them with their financial problems. Well, I feel happy that I helped these folks and I believe that the deal was fair and that the older couple will have their needs meet with regards to my Buick. (I plan to keep in touch with them and help them in any other way I can in the future) Now, I have a pretty decent project on my hands to get this vehicle in good running condition before the winter starts. Well, that's my story and that's how I made my way to this message board... (again, sorry for being so long-winded) Thanks for listening, Daniel