gbhrps

soopsoop, They called it the power antenna wire because on the generations of subies that ran power antennas, it was needed to raise and lower them. My 1997 OBW, LTD, for instance, had a power antenna from the factory. And it makes it easier for us to answer your questions if you add the year and model of your car to your signature.

soopsoop, Typically a tune up doesn`t mean that the spark wires get replaced. As well, now that the warranty is off the car, find a good independent mechanic to do your work. They don`t charge the prices that the dealerships do because they don`t have the overhead costs for the fancy building and parts stock.

raterrierdog, The symptoms you describe is exactly what my 2012 (an imported US car) has done in the past. At present, I have winter tires installed on steel subie wheels with no sensors in them, and the TPMS light starts blinking at start up, and after several instances of this, the light stays on solid. When I put the summer mag wheels (with the sensors installed) in the spring, the light doesn`t come on. I have had one tire lose pressure (nail) and after the fix, the light came on solid, even though all four tires were up to the proper pressure. So I tricked the system, pressured all of the tires up by 6 psi over the recommended pressure and drove about 3 miles until the light went off. Once home again, I dropped the pressure back down to the recommended reading, and the TPMS light stayed off. You might have to do the same trick, because I don`t think that your TPMS system is faulty. Been there, done that. Good Luck!

thosl, Congrats on the new ride! Don`t be putting many miles on the car with miss matched tires! Get new ones pronto. Subies must have all 4 tires within one quarter inch circumference to prevent part of the all wheel drive system from destroying itself, read èxpensive to fix. There is a warning to this effect in the Owner`s Manual. You simply cannot run 3 worn tires with one brand new one for example. Most cars you can get away with it, but not on a Subaru. The all wheel drive system will cannot tolerate it.

dogman1955, Been there, done that, and sometimes the fix is to clean the dirty switch contacts. Get some electrical contact cleaner spray from an auto supply store or Radio Shack and spray it into the switch itself, and then cycle the switch several times to clean the contacts WITH THE IGNITION TURNED OFF! Give it 5 minutes to evaporate the fluid before you test the switch. Sometimes the fluid can't get into the switch easily enough, and it is easier to do if the switch is pulled from the door panel. Then fire the spray into any crevices in the switch you can find, and follow the same procedure as above. Worked for me. Good Luck!

rolls, Tracing noises inside a car can be very tricky. Lots of times you can't tell where the noise is coming from. That said, I think that its highly possible that your bad CV joint could cause a harmonic that sets your eBrake handle vibrating, unless you have a bad prop shaft universal joint? Good Luck tracing it down.

matt167, Getting the hatch home ... strap it down well to your roof rack. Don't worry about rain, etc., as you'll be using all of your existing wiring anyway. Chances are that the wrecking yard will just cut the wiring to the hatch right at the hinge area to save time at disassembly, anyway. That's what usually happens. When you get it home, strip off its interior panels (will give you extra pin plug fasteners if you break any on the changeover, as well as a spare wiper motor and latch assembly and license lights). Taking the old one apart will show you all of the steps needed to put the new one on. just take your time, its not rocket science. Just don't put all of the trim panels back on until after you've tested all of the lights, the wiper, washer and lock assemblies. Good Luck!

subaru3, There is only ONE sunroof motor that operates both the tip up mode and the slide back mode. Since your tip up mode works, then your issue with the sunroof not sliding back, has to be either the fault of the switch, the sunroof computer, or the mechanism that slides the sunroof rearward. If, after testing, the switch and the computer turn out to be fine, you'll have to drop the headliner out of the car, and then pull the entire sunroof assembly out to fix it on a work bench. This isn't hard, but it is time consuming. Been there, done that, on a dual sunroofed 2004 OBW LTD, with first class results. Good Luck!

soopsoop, A ten year old car will have many of its mates sitting in wrecking yards. Try there or on eBay for a replacement. Good luck!

kamoblindside7, You may have to get the car to a dealership and have them set up the system. It may well be that the security system has to be paired with the CPU using their tech scanner or such. It may well be worth a call to the dealership to confirm. Good Luck!

mary32, In some cars this issue traces back to a couple of bushings at the pivot point of the gear shift, a cheap and easy fix. In a Subie, I have never had the issue come up.

ron2368, A 2006 is 10 years old, and I'm willing to take a gamble and guess that you've never changed the brake fluid, right? Well that might be part of the problem as to why you keep seizing pistons in the calipers. The brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air, that rusts your brake lines and the inner bores of the calipers and pistons. Because they move so little when you brake, any internal corrosion of the piston and the caliper bore never really gets scraped off, and builds up until the piston never fully releases when you take your foot off the brake pedal. I've been there several times over the years, and the fix is simple. Flush the entire brake system with brand new brake fluid every 4 years (that's what your owner's manual says as well, for some cars every two years). Then remove the caliper from the car (you can do it on the car but its awkward) and use compressed air to pop the piston out of the caliper. Clean it and the caliper bore with fine steel wool (four ought/ 0000) to remove any corrosion, and flush clean. Then inspect both for any pits that may indicate that both be replaced. If there is no pitting (a pitted piston or bore will leak brake fluid) you can push the piston back into the caliper and remount it and bleed it on the car. The simplest way to get the piston back into the caliper (assuming that the piston seal and the dust boots are clean and in good condition) is to place the piston on top of the dust boot while blowing compressed air into the brake line opening. The dust boot will billow out and slip over the piston easily. allowing you to then push the piston back into the caliper by hand or with a large "C" clamp. YouTube video of this method: Good Luck!

amishbearcrimes, Are the calipers correctly mounted to the correct wheels, such that the bleed screws are at the top of the caliper? If two of the calipers were swapped side to side, the bleed screws will be on the bottom and you never will get the air out of the calipers. (Fixed this same issue on a guy's Jeep where he had swapped the front calipers side to side.)

unibrook, I would rebleed the slave cylinder or replace it, and then consider replacing the tranny fluid with RedLine MT90. This is where I would start. Good Luck!

steve56, The adage that "use it or lose it" has reared its ugly head in this case. The first two generations of OBW's had issues with the tail gate handles. Corrosion seizes the hinge points on the lock handle, the connecting rod/cable to the lock mechanism bends/comes unclipped/the cable dislodges one end of its outer sheath, or corrosion seizes the lock assembly itself. In all cases frequent use and lubrication of the parts would have relieved the problem. That said, you have a real issue on your hands. There is no easy fix, without the possibility of ruining some interior trim pieces, which should be available from wrecking yards in the case of a 13 year old car. Fold down the rear seats and get into the back of the car. Then remove the interior tailgate trim pieces from the tailgate. The problem will be that they all overlap each other by a half an inch and have to be removed in the proper order, starting with the top cross piece. It simply pulls straight down. Then both side pieces pull straight out on a 45 degree angle towards the center of the car. That now allows the large bottom section to pull straight away to the center of the car across its top section by the rear glass and down both sides. Unfortunately, it is also fastened by 5 screws along its bottom edge that you will not be able to get at with the gate closed. You will however be able to pull/bend the cover down and maybe get enough room to get at the bottom center cutout in the tailgate to where the lock assembly is. Now you'll be able to lubricate the handle to free it up, or pull the rod/cable to unlock the mechanism, or unbolt the lock assembly entirely and open the hatch. You really won't know which method to use until you get that trim panel pulled down and take a look with a flashlight at what you find. As I said going into this, be prepared to get the pieces you need to replace at a wrecking yard, because the cost from Subaru will put you in the poor house if you go that route. Good Luck!

pginter96, I've had 3 OBW's prior to my present 2012, and put a hitch on every one. The first 3 had the factory hitch , I put them on myself, and there was no drilling required. All were direct bolt on. In your case, finding a factory unit for a 98 will be next to impossible. That brings us to my 2012. It was purchased slightly used, and I installed a CURT hitch, which again was a direct bolt on. The nice thing about the CURT was that an online installation manual gave a pictorial step by step install for that year OBW, which I studied before I purchased the hitch, to ensure there were no surprises. If CURT, or any other hitch manufacturer can supply a direct bolt on for your 18 year old car, I'd go that route, particularly if they can give you an install manual for your particular car before for you to check out. Unless the UHAUL store has a a large inventory of trailers and rental trucks on hand, I'd avoid having them install anything on a car of mine. The gas station franchises with 3 or 4 trailers will end up being a hack job in most instances. A really large franchise will most likely have 2 or 3 certified mechanics on hand, a much better choice. Good Luck!

tazorak, I would flood that shaft with PB Blaster or 3 in 1 Oil or similar to break up that rust between the shaft and the sprocket, and then use sooberoo's method of pulling the sprocket with a gear puller. A 3 clawed unit that hooks behind the gear would save having the thread the sprocket, if it'll fit behind the gear space wise. I can't recall ever seeing an engine that dirty behind the timing covers. There is a LOT of corrosion going on that doesn't help your situation at all. Good Luck!

chewyheel, I've owned 4 Subaru OutBack Wagons, a 97, an 04, an 07 and my present 2012, and each one was an improvement on the previous one. All had the 4 cylinder boxer engine and automatic transmissions, except for the CVT in the 2012. And the CVT gives me 33 mpg at 50 mph on flat ground (very flat in my part of the country). The only items that ever needed replacing in all of those cars, other than scheduled maintenance, brake parts, wiper blades, tires and the occasional light bulb, was a door speaker in the 04, and a rear wheel bearing in the 07. That's it, period. All were at least one or two years old before I purchased them and had mileage in the range of 17 000 to 25 000 miles at purchase, and were traded around the 110 000 mile mark. As long as Subaru continues to improve them and make them reliable, I'll continue buying them. They are about as versatile as a car can be, carry people or cargo or a mixture of both, with a simple flip of the rear seats. They have proven to be almost bullet proof, and in winter, when equipped with a good set of ice grip tires, about as glued to the road as you could be.

davet, The same applies to the plastic. Scuff it with 600 - 800 grit, wipe clean with a degreaser, prime it, let dry, scuff the primer and shoot your base coat, let dry, scuff the base coat and shoot the clear coat, assuming its a base coat/clear coat original paint you're using. Then again, some primers allow you to shoot the base coat right over the primer if done within one week of shooting on the primer. Check the procedure for the paint you're using. Good Luck!

davet, Over the years I've had a mag wheel or two lose air much quicker than the others on the car. I had the tires removed from the wheels and then refinished the wheels, being sure to paint well the interior of the wheels (where a rubber tube would be on a tubed tire) as well as the tire bead surface. Never had any more issue.

best4me2fixit, I can't answer concerning the first two items but the passenger seat bottom situation screams "ripoff", particularly since you can get the sensor for $100, and if you are a DIY wrencher, mechanically adept, know someone who is, or you want to dig into it yourself. The dealership makes more if they sell you a whole new seat bottom, and it guarantees that the sensor will be correctly installed and they won't have any call backs on it. Personally, I'm a wrencher, and I've had years of swapping car seats, doing brake jobs, swapping crank up windows for power assemblies, etc. I'd tackle the job in a heart beat, The seats are not hard to remove, and tearing the seat itself apart is fairly easy (only tools needed are hog rings and hog ring pliers, get from car upholstery shop or online $10 buys everything you'll need). YouTube vids and the FSM show the steps. Swap in the sensor and put it back together. Then let the dealership do the programming. Use this link for the FSM for your year: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy%20Outback/ and select your year to download. I had the passenger seat out of my 2012 last fall to remove the bottom leather seat cover and remove some rolled up glue that was showing through the leather surface. Piece of cake. I suspect when you get as far as I did, you'd just take a picture where the hog rings are located, cut them out, remove the foam padding and replace the sensor. But you may be able to do the job from the bottom of the seat without having to take it all apart. See what the FSM tells you. Good Luck!

5subies, I'm going to share a problem I found on a friend's vehicle 10 years ago during a brake bleed. He removed the calipers from the car to clean and lube the slide pins, etc., but upon reattaching them to the car, he ended up swapping the calipers side to side. Consequently his bleed screws were on the bottom of the calipers and the trapped air could not escape when he opened the screws. Is it possible that you've done the same thing?

bhazard, Another leak source is the plastic drain tubes themselves. Every so often one will split with old age right where they connect to the roof drain channel. I shortened one on my 99 years ago and then put a single loop of mechanics wire around it and twisted it tightly to secure the tube to the drain.

soopsoop, Typically wheel bearing noises can be narrowed down by driving at moderate speeds and swerving the car from left to right and back again. Listen for changes in the volume, pitch, and the actual sound, as the inside and the outside bearing races are loaded up and then released from the car's weight. If the pitches, etc. change from one swerve to the next, you've most likely got a wheel bearing going bad. The best way to know for sure is to get the car in the air, with the wheels spinning in 2nd gear (2000 rpm) and use a stethoscope to listen to the individual bearings and the center differential.

skyr, "I'm not rich" and " it's a daily driver" when added to a car that is already 15 or more years old, and requires premium fuel to keep the turbo charged engine happy, doesn't sound like a wise choice is being made to my thinking. Don't get me wrong, I've owned 4 Subie OBW's since 1997 and have absolutely loved every one of them. They are great cars, and if maintained properly and not hotdogged, they are a dependable as any car made of over 30 000 parts could be. And, in a few years time, I will own another one. But purchasing a 15 year old turbocharged car that requires premium fuel, that is going to be a daily driver, is asking for what could be a lot of financial pain and suffering. A car in this category is far better suited for the person who has the finances to make it his/her toy for the weekend, because he already has a more civilized (no turbo/no premium fuel/3 to 4 years old Forester/OutBack/Impreza) and can afford the downtime and the money when the turbo or the clutch goes on the toy. Sorry to be so blunt, but you asked for an opinion, and I've seen a lot of young people buy an older "performance" car as a daily driver and regret the decision in a very short time.