nickb21

You can definitely pull the ABS fuses - (there are 2 on my '02, not sure how many on the previous gen). I'm sure someone else will chime in, I am not very familiar with the ABS workings and these codes: 42 - Source voltage is abnormal 44 - A combination of AT control abnormal Clunking and scraping sounds a bit more serious than an ABS malfunction though, have you taken a look under the car?

Ah: http://ae64.com/Legacy_Gen4_HU_Transplant.htm Well that's annoying that you can't "easily" add an AUX to 05-06 cars. Hope the info helps, good luck!

I have seen replacement surrounds that let you mount DIN radios, they look fine. If you go FM transmitter, consider using an in-line type. More time to install but better sound quality. You could also look for someone selling a newer OE radio, they added an aux in maybe in 07? Lastly, I thought someone had made an adapter that would plug into the SAT or changer input or something to give you an AUX in without hacking wires/etc..

I believe WRX (up to 07 or 08?) seats will also work. Need the rails and might have to swap the seat-belts. No idea if they would be better or not, just another option.

Wow, heck of a saga. :/ How's your gas mileage? Due to some, uh, rust 'issues', I've been running without my rear O2 for about a month or so. Gas mileage has stayed the same; right around 26mpg mixed driving. Has the mechanic logged/looked at the fuel trim values? I wonder if that info would help out..

Hehe, lot of lengthy threads on 'best hose clamps'. I like those OE 'wire' ones, but they never seem to last through the rust and salt. Agreed - I pickup stainless worm drive clamps from TSC or the Orange Box. (The 'T' style ones are pretty nice too, $$.)

Excellent research, thanks! This is on my to-do list as well. That water pump bypass hose is like $16 (OE), a bit pricey, but it does have 2 or 3 bends in a short span. Now, what kinda new hose clamps to use..

I don't have any definite specs for 2nd Gen, but here are the specs for my Gen 3 base model (no premium sound). Maybe they are similar. Size: 6.5 inch. Depth: 2.5 inch. 4 ohm, 30W. Model/Part number on the back: EASA16P48AR1 I replaced my front's with some older (but still better than stock) 2-way Kenwoods I had that were 6.5". Here in the US www.crutchfield.com is a pretty large retailer of car audio components. $60 should get you a pair of pretty decent after-market (Kenwood/Pioneer/Sony/JVC) speakers. Again, on my 3rd Gen, I had to pull the door card, the grill isn't remove-able. Edit: Crutchfield.com says 6.5" fits with "minor alteration" for gen 2's.

Are you sure? I've seen them listed on car-part under "Exhaust Assembly". Though I wouldn't be surprised if they can't due to the metals or some kinda emissions regulations...

What year/model/miles? The rear O2 sensor is only used to check that the cats are working correctly. It does not affect how the computer calculates fuel mix or anything else. (No idea if this is different on 2010+). I agree that you need to figure out the problem first (maybe an issue with wires, plugs, injectors, etc) before getting a solution for the cats. Maybe it's time for a front sensor? Maybe the mechanic just wants to spend your $? You could also buy some used OE cats - I've seen low mileage ones go for less than 100$. Depending on your model/year there could be a good number to choose from (not to mention availability in your area should be wayyy better). I read somewhere about folks running gutted cats and putting a simple diode in-line to trick the ECM. Never tried it myself, but maybe worth a shot, otherwise you might be stuck with the anti-foulers.

I have these on just the back of my Outback. Never really saw much of a benefit to them, but then again, I'm not parallel parking in large cities very often. That is until about a month or two back when I backed into, let's just say something immovable, at a friends - split the rubber molding in half (still stuck on, just looks a little rough). I'm guessing it saved the bumper from cracking, but who knows. Not sure if they would look odd on the front bumper. Color matching them could be good way to hide them a bit.

What year? Check this thread out: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/138689-dashboard-bulbs/

If they're 17" they must be off something fairly 'new'.. They sorta look like LGT, but aren't. There are aftermarket wheels that use that style 'subaru' cap. Anything stamped on the inside of the rim?

Sounded sorta familiar.. but guess this doesn't apply to '99.. unless the ECU was swapped or something? http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/documents/newdocuments/subaru/1996_OBD_check.pdf

Ugh. How annoying. I didn't realize that - but disable the stability control? How is that safe? Sorry for the hijack. (But I learned something new at least).

Did they not tell you what the codes were? That's kinda annoying... What fairtax said, if they said Cat it's probably code P0420. Strange that the stability control light comes on, is this normal on the newer gens when the CEL comes on?

Are these the original wires at 125k? I would replace those first before anything else. Even if they look okay, they could still be arcing. (Sometimes you can test this by spraying/misting the wires with water while running).

Like you said, not efficient to run at idle, but it works. I wonder what the amp/rpm curve looks like for the alternator? I would wager a guess it only puts out 20A tops at idle. Which only give you 200-300watts AC. Certainly enough to charge stuff and run lighting small appliances. Maybe enough to run a fridge or freezer depending on running vs startup load. You don't like the semi-yearly fridge/freezer clean out? Can't be all bad _having_ to eat all that ice cream. I think we overstate the risk with regard to electronics. I've run laptops, TV's, etc, never had an issue. That's how most RV's operate when you think of it (on generator power). I would say an inverter is maybe a bit more reliable, since you don't have engine rpm regulation to deal with. (With that said I probably wouldn't fire up a $1000 LCD TV). You might also consider an older APC or TrippLite UPS (one with bad batteries). Many (most?) of the higher enterprise/data center units put out very clean power. Find one with dead batteries and you could probably hack it apart and hook up your own battery storage. Some off-the-cuff calulations: Figure a fridge is 5A-AC running (600watts) - which might be a bit high; also 'listed' startup/surge current for fridges can be as high as 10-15A. Convert to DC-Amps 600/12 = 50A-DC. 10% DC-AC conversion loss, so let's say 55A-DC. How long does the fridge need to run? I'll admit I have no idea what the cycle is; maybe 4hrs a day total runtime? So 4hrs*55A-DC is 220Amp-Hours (needed). Some quick googling says Walmart Marine batteries are rated for ~100A-hrs. Probably don't want to discharge these much below 50%, so they're good for 50A-hrs each. So you would need 5-100A-hr batteries to run the fridge for 4hrs/day. I did some reasearch a while back, so I think these number are right. Maybe someone can check my math. If you've got a clamp on multimeter you can figure out what the current draw of an appliance is, or grab one of those kill-a-watt devices and you can get a daily electricity usage. Cheers!

Re-read your post, not sure, but may have ignored your original question. Were you thinking of running an alternator to drive the inverter directly (or with a minimum of batteries inline)? It's kinda late, but the power/RPM/fuel/etc required for a 12V alternator to drive a 2kw load is gonna be a lot. Like.. 160A from the alternator a lot. Your amperage draw on the DC side will be different from the AC side since you have to step up the voltage. You'll also lose, I dunno, 10%? converting from DC to AC...

What are you trying to run? 2kw is a good amount of juice to be sucking out of batteries, especially if it is a high duty cycle. While there are inverters that put out 'pure' sine waves, they also cost a lot. Stepped or Modified sine wave power is common on most generators, inverters, etc. Depending on the inverter though, some will have more/smaller 'steps' and be closer to a pure wave, vs fewer/larger steps (more $ = better quality). Like Tsuru said, motor loads, heating elements, simple circuits could care less. It's the electronic loads that are more sensitive. With that amount of capacity you'll need a pretty good power source for recharging, especially for extended outages- either generator or line power. And it should be smart enough to charge the batteries 'smartly'. I can't really speak to solar/wind/hydro, but I can imagine that at least for solar you'd need some serious panels setup (=$). Personally, I have 1 or 2 small (less than 5A) loads that I'd like to ensure always have seamless power, even when I'm not around - so i've been looking into these: http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=818 They are really nice, but also pretty darn pricey. What fuel storage/access do you have? Large propane tank, natural gas, fuel oil? Regular generators that size can be had cheap. And you can put tri-fuel carb kits on them to run gas/ng/propane. I've even seen fairly cheap 5kw diesel sets. Then of course there are the honda/yamaha inverter 'lunchbox' generators. They'll run ~7hrs at 1kw on a gallon or two of gas, but there is that price tag... I guess the other question is to do some calculations and figure out how much battery capacity (amp-hours) you'll need. That could increase battery cost significantly. Just some food for thought.

Good breaker bar + cheater is the way to go. Never thought of using the floor jack handle, good call. (I've got some 2"x4' galvanized pipe I usually use). Not sure how well this would work, but you could also try; jacking up the car and putting the breaker+cheater on against the floor and use the weight of the car, or use a floor jack to push up on the breaker+cheater... Crazy it's on that bad - when I took mine off a year or two ago my cheapo electric impact spun it off almost instantly.

+1 to cars101.com 2005-2009 was the last of the normal sized wagon style. 2009 was the last Outback Wagon. 2007 was the last year of the Legacy Wagon (according to cars101, I thought they only made it until '06). Though you could lower the Outback to Legacy ride height fairly easily. I'm going to need 'upgrade' to a nice '09 Wagon in the next few years...

A friend of mine has this set and has used it once or twice, for the price he thought it was OK. The screw that comes with it seems to be the weak point, he replaced it with a nice grade 8 unit from McMaster or Fastenal. I went Roosters route when I had to do a wheel bearing and got a hub/knuckle from a yard.

Hehe, nasioc is your best bet. (or maybe iwsti or rs25). Check the regional forums on nasioc - I know Tri-State (NY/NJ/CT) at least has a trunk swap thread. Edit, there it is: If you're in Ohio.. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1965257

Same situation here. Was waiting for it to warm up to pull the dash apart to avoid breaking any brittle plastic. Maybe I'll attack my burnt out ODO bulb in the next week or so. From my previous research, these threads should help: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/96366-instrument-panel-lighting/ http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/18175-replacing-lights-instrumet-cluster.html ODO/Clock Bulb part is: 85066GA110 I'll probably replace a few other bulbs (main backlight ones) while I'm in there. Hope that helps!