jp98

You really need to have the battery load tested with a load tester to see if it is bad or not. I have seen dozens of batteries that tested just fine for voltage but as soon as you put them to the load test they failed.

You are right there. It is also good to learn how to use one also. It is also nice to have a analog meter also just for the times when the digital is jumping all over the place with ghost readings.

Why not just go down to a automotive parts store such as Autozone and have them test the system. They can do a load test on the battery and a charging test on the alternator while they are on the car. Then if one or both of them are bad you can decide on what you want to do. You don't have to buy a thing from them to get this done.

I have installed my own glass in a car and have decided that for what they charge it is better to have a company do it instead of myself. All it would take is for you to break the replacement windshield and then you need to go buy another one. If a replacement company breaks it you are not out any more money since they will eat it. Also a windshield from a junk yard is going to be pitted and dull. You won't believe how nice a new one will look when they get it in for you.

If you have a Harbor Freight store near by they have a kit of long punches that I bought when I had to do mine. They work great and a great price.

Since it is a 03 I doubt that it has any warranty left. As for recalls, get the vin number and call a dealers service department and they should be able to tell you if there are any outstanding.

Live dangerious, unplug it and see what doesn't work.

Last April when I went over Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel in my 98 Outback and back for a total of 250 miles I got 32 mpg and that was running the speed limit with a automatic. Just about all the uphill driving is done in third gear just so that it doesn't jump back and forth from overdrive.

A little trick that I do when I have been changing the transmission fluid is to check the level before I drain it. I found that you can see dirty or old fluid easier than clean fluid. Then I drain it into a large plastic container that you can see the level on and mark the level with a felt tip pen. I then put the same amount back into the transmission. This way has never failed me in a lot of fluid changes, but doesn't help much when a shop does it.

I put on a Fumoto Valve and have never worried about the gasket or washer again. I have it on both my 98 Outback and a Ford F350 4x4 for over 10 years with no problems. If you are worried about it being knocked open then all you need to do is to install a spring loaded hose clamp. If you do your own oil changes then it is the only way to go. It drains a little bit slower but that is the only draw back that I have seen with it. http://www.fumotousa.com/

If you don't feel good about crimping the connections then cut the connector off and soldier and heat shrink it. I haven't used a butt connector in over 20 years where I can soldier it. Every tool box should have a soldiering iron in it along with rosin core soldier that is used for electrical connections.

I would also just replace it but you should clean the top/sides of the battery. Make up a solution of Arm and Hammer baking soda and water and poor it on to the battery. You may even want to use a soft brush to work it in and to get the crud off of it. You will be surprised at how cleaning it will help its general health.

Remember also that you are taking the spring also. Don't try to remove the strut from the spring without a spring compressor.

Have you had your tires balanced and alignment checked?

It looks like I can go 100 miles to the east or 100 miles to the west of me to find one of their approved shops. I do have a shop a couple of miles from me that subscribes to their technical stuff but is just a automotive repair shop. I may have to stop by them and see if I can pick their brain a little.

Cut me some slack on the AAMCO thing. I know that there are bad ones out there and a lot of it depends on the person that is doing the rebuilding. I had a uncle that worked for them for 6 months before he got tired of them and started his own shop, but that was years ago and he is no longer with us or I would take it to him. It would also be nice if we has a Subaru dealer within 100 miles but the closest one that we had built themselves a nice new building and then went out of business. It's a nice looking building thats sitting vacant.

Thanks for the light reading material. I took it out for a drive today and it seams like it is working a little bit better but not 100% or even 90%. I did notice that if I was in OD and slowed down to 55 or so and then kicked it down with the pedal it would shift OK about 80% of the time, but if I was ruining over 60+ it would just rev up. I was also paying more attention to all the other shift points and they were as smooth as silk, it is just the down shift out of OD that has me stumped. Also if I didn't mention it when I get it into third gear manually it will stay there with no problems, it is just getting it there at times. I am going to see if it will make it over a couple of 11,000' mountain passes on I-70 in a couple of weeks and see how it goes. So do any of you know of a good Subaru transmission shop in the Denver area? One other shop that I have heard is good is a AAMCO shop in Grand Junction which would be a lot simpler for me to get it to.

Upshifts are fine, nice and smooth I'll have to try the into neutral and then back into drive. This is the only problem that I have with this car, everything else works and runs fine. It has done it for a couple of years. I just have a lot of trips coming up going to Denver over the passes and wanted to see if I could get this fixed this spring. I have flushed out the fluid a couple of times in the last 2 years trying to see if it was the fluid. The fluid is nice and red for the last year or so. When I changed it a couple of years ago it was a dark red. I have also tried a couple of additives that were recomended by a mechanic that I know. First I tried some Lucus and now I have some Trans X in it.

I haven't tried to get any codes from it and the light does not blink. As I said it doesn't happen all the time but enough to be aggravating when driving it in the hills here in Colorado.

I have a 98 Legacy Outback with the automatic with 160,000 miles on it. At times when it shifts out of OD down to third it will miss the gear or not go into it. Also at times even if I drop the gear manually it will do the same thing and not go into third. I have been reading that there may be a band adjustment that may need adjustment on the outside of the transmission but I haven't raised the car up to take a look at it. I have tried flushing the old fluid out of it and even a couple of additives between flushes but it is still doing it. So is there something that I can try or is it time for a rebuild

I'll have to agree on either the fuel filter or the cat. I know it isn't a Subaru but I had a Chevy pickup that when the fuel filter became cloged it would not pull its own weight. You could rev the engine up as high as you dared while it was sitting still but head up a hill with it and you might as well get out and push it.

Your problem as I see it is that your low mileage 2.2 engine is going to have to meet the emissions for the 99 model year. I'm not sure about Subaru's but other vehicles have problems when you put a older engine into a newer vehicle.

Going to Alamosa from Denver isn't going to be that bad but you do have La Veta Pass to go over with a lot of 2 lane highway. I would still try and find a truck and trailer for the job, or at least a truck and car dolly and drop the rear drive line.

Look at the hills that you are going to be going up and coming down. I presume that you are going to be running I-70 going home. Even trucks towing trailers behind them have problems at times if they are not prepared for it. I can't even imagine a Subaru towing a Subaru not having a problem going up Vail and Eisenhower and then descending down into Denver not having a problem. The best way would be to find a friend that has a truck and trailer or go down to a U-Haul and rent a trailer or at least a car dolly for a day to tow with the truck. That would be a lot safer.

If it is just the bolt head that is rounded off try the Craftsman Bolt Out extractor. I personally haven't used them but know of others that have and I have heard of no complaints. One of the problems with trying to drill them out is that you need to slow the speed of your drill down to where you can watch it revolve when you are drilling hardened parts. Otherwise you are just spinning your wheels