unverviking

Hose clamps work well... I've done 2 so far... The last one on the back side of the back cat converter... Don't remember the first one, but's it's there, and I did it last summer...

did both on mine awhile ago, If I remember correctly, the inner assy twists off. Something like 1/4 turn etc. The there is a retaining clip that holds the bulb in. Just have to remember which way it goes in. Very easy once you've done it. Funny story... I went to Advance Auto Parts to get a replacement bulb, and the KID behind the counter told me that I have one of those "dealer only" headlights, looks to spend about $100 bucks... Called my buddy @ NAPA, he's said he has it on sale today only for $4.99/ea... (HAHAHAHA) REMEMBER, don't touch the bulb, otherwise you'll be doing it again much sooner...

We have a plain old regular 01 Outback Wagon, not the limited... It's on the driver's side, toward the back of the motor and it's a yellow dipstick (??) and once you see it you'll never miss it again... DIPSTIICK... Hate to quote "Roscoe P. Coltrane" there... But couldn't resist... Good Luck !!!

Any news ???

CONGRATS !!! You won't regret it...

Both my wife and I LOVE our Outback... We've had a Corsica (close to Impala), and that thing was in the shop more times than we can count... I doubt that Chevy has gotten much better in their reliability aspect since we had the 95... and the 97 Cavalier we bought as a replacement on the Corsica... We got the OBW in 2001, new. It's only been in for 3 items of repair since. Alternator @ ~60k, Pass side axle seal @ ~72k and Pass side wheel bearing @ ~79k. Other than 2 set of tires, a set of brakes and all the dealer recommended PM stuff that's it. As you can see above, we frequently changed cars, but since we've had this OBW we've got no plans to get anything else. It's by far the best car we've had... As far as the winter driving... Can't beat it. The AWD is phenominal... Surely beat ANY front wheel drive car we've driven. I know some folks go all out and get winter tires, We've only had the "normal" tire on it for winter and NEVER been stuck or even spun out.. My vote is for the Outback... Thanks for letting me give my 2 cents worth... Keep in touch on your decision...

Where in Rochester are you.... So I can come by and VISIT !!!!

use NAPA Ceramix pads... I've got over 50k on the front pads on my 01 OBW and I only got 23k out of the OEM pads... That's 50k with NOT 1 cleaning of the obnoxious brake dust that most pads give off...

My 01 OBW pings like crazy as well. I only use 87, which ever brand is the cheapest at the time. I added a bottle of Castle Fireball, like always, Fireball stopped it. But next tank it was doing the same pinging... When the 01 was new we started using 89 in it, big mistake, spoiled it...

Just got it back today from my buddy's shop. He works on large "Fleet" vehicles (Ambulances, Small busses, vans, trucks, etc) Since he's now on his own, he's not turning down the chance to try his hand at other vehicles... Found that the inner hub seal was "boogered" up by the last shop that replaced the axle seal in February. The bearings were kinda rusted out... Little did he know that it required pressing in. To top it all off, he busted the bolt head off the bottom knuckle bolt. He wasn't too happy... I was able to get all the parts for him this morning (new seals and the bolt) and he was able to get the rest of his bays open again. It was blocking 3 of his bays... and now, he's pulled out a Beck Arnley World parts sign that says "Import Service done here " that he's modified with a Circle and Slash... No more Subaru's in his shop.... Guess I'm still on the look for a decent Sube Mechanic in the Rochester NY area... Still want to avoid the 3 area dealers if I can...

I've seen and like the ad. I'm still not to keen on the looks, but it's a commercial, need to see one up close and personal like... I was talking with 1 of my co-workers, he's a sube lover as well. He's up to something like #15, or 8 in the past 15 years ?? Anyway, he and his wife and daughter went out car shopping (for his daughter) a few Sunday's ago, and stopped at the local Subaru dealer. They went purposely on Sunday, so that no sales folks could sway the daughter one way or the other... He was admiring (drooling) on a B9 and just for giggles, lifted the driver's door handle, and it opened. He sat inside for the next 15 minutes (drooling some more). He loved it, it was very well appointed, comfortable, and spacious. He was VERY impressed that they are now finally putting a power seat on the passenger side, his biggest complaint about his wife's car (no power seat on the pass side) He too was saying that for the price, it was well worth it. The one he sat in listed for about 30k, and was priced at 26k. (The local dealer claims to sell at only $100 over what they paid for the vehicle) So, one of these Sunday's, I'll have to take the family out for a drive to the local Subaru dealer and give it look see my self...

My folks have had 2 Vibe's, an 03 (Leased, then returned) and a new 05. The 03 was just an FWD, had NOOOOO traction whatsoever in the winter. It drove ok, but not nearly as nice as my 01 OBW. I drove the 05, an AWD, it drives MUCH better than their 03 did. Still not as nice as my 01 OBW, but really close. They too noticed the driving difference as well. They loved the 03, so much that when it came time to get another car, the Vibe was their 1st choice... I think what sold them on the Vibe is, they had taken the 03 on a trip to Fla in March for 3 weeks, and was completely amazed on how much that little car held and how versitile it is. When they returned from FLA, they got the 05 Vibe, a month earlier than the 03 needed to be turned in... Now with the GM employee pricing, might be a good idea to price them out now... Just my 2 pennies worth... In any event, good luck

Had the pass side tranny/axle seal replaced in Jan/Feb. I'll pull the pass side front tire and check the nut... Thanks, I'll be in touch with the results... Didn't know about the "pressing" issues with the hubs. I might just as well let my buddy (has his own shop, works on Fleet trucks, Ambulances, etc...) do the job. He's always willing to work on cars too.

AMEN to that... I put on some cheapy, Lifetime brake pads and they squeeled and squeeked all the time... No matter which vehicle I put them on. I too invested in a can of Disk Brake squeal reducing "paint" and it really didn't help much. The NAPA pads (both their AE and Ceramix) had stick on shims included, not a whisper out of them. Same too with the OEM Pads... I guess, like everything else, you only get what you paid for...

I am noticing a worn bearing noise from the front of my 01 OBW and was wondering how much of a PIA it would be to replace them myself... The noise continually gets worse when accellerating, worsens on corners and disappears on moderate braking... Just rotated tires, no change... I will be replacing brake pads shortly, and either new rotors or resurfacing, was hoping to do all that at once, it not too bad to get at the bearing. TIA to all that respond...

I've been running NAPA's Ceramix pads on my 01 OBW for the last 40k miles (Front). They are about 65% done, will replace with them again in the fall. The OEM pads wore out after 23k. Same drivers driving the car... The Rears were replaced at about 35k (OEM worn out), they too have over 40k on them and they are the NAPA OE (not Ceramix) pads. I'd say pay the extra for the NAPA's, you'll get better life out of them for the $$$. I didn't resurface the rotors on either set, but plan on doing so this time. I'm noticing a very slight shake on hard braking. Anyone had bad luck with resufacing ?? Other than the lathe having a bad blade, etc... Oh yeah, I haven't had to clean the Ceramix pads at all... I had a set of the NAPA OE pads for 17k on the front and had to clean them, but my buddy that worked at NAPA had me try these CERAMIX when they first came out. They have the shims, etc with them. Not a squeal or squeek from them yet. Can't say that about the "Lifetime" pads I bought for @ Auto Zone for my old 93 Legacy Wagon (miss her)

I'd call the dealer and have them check your VIN Number. They'll tell you what you'd need to do... We had issues with tires, but it was problems with the tires themselves.. I'd say to have the alignment cheked. If needed do a 4 wheel alignment. Keep "us" posted on your results...

I had to replace the OEM pads on the 01 OBW at about 23k. It's an AT, not an MT. The wife drives it mostly, she's not too hard on the brakes. I replaced with at set of NAPA OE pads. I got them from a buddy who worked for NAPA, he had me replace them with about 15k on them, and replace them with their new Ceramix pads. He warrantied my old pads, so I only had to pay the difference... I've now got over 30k on the Ceramix and there's still at about 50%. I'm starting to notice a little of chatter, got to pull them apart and clean them and resuface the rotors (first time). I'll keep all posted on the results of the cleaning, etc...

If you did the "Conditioner" recall, your headgaskets should be covered under a 100k warranty. I did that last year on my 01 OBW just for that reason. We've got 77k and no signs of trouble YET... I'd keep it, good car, fun to drive. I miss my 93 Legacy Wgn 5MT, I enjoyed the stick better than the auto... But if I were in the same situation, I'd keep the 01. Just my 2 pennies worth

I passed an 00,01,02 OBW Limited today while I was commuting back and forth today and it had the rotary heat dials on the dash. I love driving vans, you can see most everything from the driver's seat ... I wonder if the difference is in the "high end" models...(LL Bean & VDC) But one would think that the Limited is "high end" as well... Although... The LL Bean and VDC have the H6, where the OBW and Limited are the H4 ???

our 01 OBW just has a rotary dial... Same for heat/cool and diverter control.

Just did the hose clamp fix it on 1 of the heat shields on 1 of the cats. Fixed it nicely... Just waiting for the "next one"

I use NAPA brand oil and their GOLD filters. The Oil is made by Valvoline, the filters are made by WIX. The new packaging totes the WIX name on them now. I change at the start of every quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) not paying attention to the mileage.

I just had the pass side axle seal replaced because it was dripping onto the cats at the "y" pipe. Just another thought...

I too have driving stick for along time... and it took a little while to get used to my 93's hill holder. In the end, I loved it, and now that I have another stick, I wish I had it back... Like someone else said here, Follow the maint schedules and when calling for tow truck, ALWAYS ask for a flatbed... Most of all.... Enjoy it !!!