gbhrps

Malahatautoparts.com may have what you need. Located in Nanimo and also Victoria, both advertising JDM engines.

longtrailside, You don't need to be reluctant concerning eBay, having an account, and finding the parts you need through eBay. I've had an eBay account for 10 years or so, and would buy 3 or 4 items a year, almost all of them automotive related. Setting up a PayPal Account is easy with a secured credit card procedure. About 10 months ago I purchased a used 2012 OBW LTD from a dealership and found that there was no cargo cover or hood bug deflector, both items I wanted on the car. I purchased both online through eBay, had them shipped to my home at my expense, paid a brokerage fee from the US to Canada for them, and a 13% Canadian tax as well, ... and it was still a hundred cheaper than it was to purchase them from my closet Subaru dealership here in Canada. On several ocassions I've been able to purchase good used items at a fraction of the cost of a new one. This just makes sense on a used car that is several years old, depending on the parts. I purchased a used headlight leveling sensor for my wife's 2004 Lexus for $150 including shipping, a couple of years ago on eBay. The Lexus dealership wanted $600 for the same part that can only be purchased through Lexus, and was a rare part at that time. Certainly you have to check out the seller's history and buyer's comments, and be aware of what the cost would be for a new item in your locale. When shipping is added to the item's price, you have to be sure that the purchase is still going to be worth it. You might get lucky and find a used cargo cover at a wrecking yard, but your best bet would be on eBay.

i'm faster, I've owned 4 OBW's, one from each generation, and the middle two both had that rear end rattle you describe. In both cases I eventually tracked it down to the center seat upper shoulder belt anchor in the headliner compartment. I never had the need to use the center seat belt, and found that the shoulder belt was improperly stowed in the headliner. Pull yours out and try reinstalling it to see if that's your noise source. Good Luck!

Nbe1210, You answered your own question with your first tire missmatch experience. Why would you even take the chance again, because this time it'll be on your ticket? That said, yes you can use a set of used tires, as long as they are all the same, and have the exact same amount of tread wear, meaning they're all within a quarter inch circumference of each other. I would be measuring accurately any that I would consider buying. Good Luck in your search!

madyson16902, Here in Southern Ontario, Canada, we can have high humidity for long periods throughout the year. Maintenance schedules recommend replacing the brake fluid every 4 years, due to brake fluid absorbing water and rusting inner brake lines and parts, and the change it causes to the boiling point of brake fluid. My point being that your caliper pistons may have slightly rusted in the caliper bores and this is causing the sticking. Over the 45 years or so that I've been working on cars, I've run across this condition many times. The piston moves to apply the brakes, but doesn't completely release when the brake pedal is let off, because of the rust ring in the bore (usually at the bottom of the bore) and on the piston won't allow the piston to relax back into the bore. If the problem is not too severe, with a good cleaning and complete reflush of the brake system, the calipers may still be good to use. Remove the caliper from the wheel, and have someone SLOWLY pump the brake pedal until the piston pops from the caliper. Clean the piston and the caliper bore with 0000 steel wool. If any deep pits are found in the piston, then replace the caliper. If it doesn't have any deep pits, flush the bore thoroughly with clean brake fluid, lube the piston with brake fluid and push the piston back into the bore of the caliper. This assumes that the rubber dust seal and the piston seal have been cleaned and have no tears, otherwise they need replacing. Stretch the dust seal over the diameter of the piston, and when the piston is properly aligned with the bore, and its backside pressed up against the inner seal, push the piston completely into the caliper, being sure that the dust cover seal properly seats in its piston slot. At this point, I usually remount the caliper and bleed it, until moving on to the next one , and so on. Once all calipers and wheel cylinders have been bled, I usually go back over all of them again and rebleed them in sequence. This has worked well for me over the years, and only ocassionally have I come across a piston that was too far gone to use again, necessitating a new caliper. Good Luck, should you choose to go this route.

manchuscout, I have no info on the window tint, other than to wonder if an untinted car of any type is possible in the heat and sun of California. That aside, there should be wrecking yards with the roof racks you require, as a lot of new cars don't get through their first year without being damaged enough to end up in a wrecking yard. They will certainly be your cheapest route. Over that, its easy enough to pull all of the stuff that holds the headliner up, and take the headliner out the back tailgate. At that point, if you properly measure a Forester with the roof racks already installed, and then drill the holes required, you can mount the racks yourself. A couple of things, seal those holes well with silicone to prevent rust and water ingress, when you place the racks on the roof and set the studs into the predrilled holes. I'm sure you'll find there will be about 5 to 6 studs requiring a nut on the underside of each roof rack rail. At least that's what I found on the roof racks of my 04 OBW LTD when I pulled the sunroof assembly out to fix the front tiltup section. Good Luck in your search.

I had the occasion today to remove the front passenger power seat, to remove whatever was under the leather seat cover that was bunched up and ruining the seat’s appearance. For those wanting to remove your front seats, or replace the seat heater pad or power seat switch, the steps are rather easy. I’m posting the process to help prevent someone breaking the lower seat side moldings that hold the seat switch. First run the seat all the way to the rear. This allows access to the front two anchors. There are two plastic moldings on each rail end. The upper one protects the end of the rails that the seat slides on and doesn’t need to be removed. The lower large molding at the carpet has to come off. It is a push fit that has a hidden clip. You need to pull the molding off by rocking it side to side to get it to unclip. Underneath each is a 14 mm bolt. Remove both and run the seat fully forward. Repeat the floor molding and bolt removal for each rear anchor point. Disconnect the battery to prevent accidental firing of the side air bag in the seat back. Lay the seat back against the rear seat to access its bottom. Now unclip each of the 5 wiring harness connectors to the seat. Each is a different colour and shape so they will only go back together in the correct pattern. The larger of the two yellow connectors has a spring side that is black. Pull the black slide towards the floor as you pull down on the connector to disconnect. All of the others have a push button that must be pressed as you pull the connectors apart. Compress the plastic pins on the backside of the fastener that holds the main seat wiring harness to the seat frame, and pull it off. If you break it, simply ziptie it back in place on reassembly. Lift the seat out of the car. The lower side molding comes next BUT the power seat switch comes with it. The power seat buttons do not need to be removed! Once the molding is off the seat, the switch comes apart on the moldings underside. The lower seat molding must be removed in the proper manner or you will break it. It is attached to the seat frame in 3 places. Start at the back where the molding takes on a circular shape over the hinge for the seat back. From the lower side of the molding at its rear, you’ll see where you can insert the blade of a screwdriver and separate the very back of the molding. Once free, lift the back end of the molding up slightly to get it to clear the circular seat back hinge. The middle of the molding has a plastic plug that seats inro a hole of the seat frame. Simply pull the molding away from the seat about where the seat switch is located to pop it out. Now slide the entire molding forward to get its front attaching point to slide off a one inch long steel blade of the seat frame. Push the button on the connector to the seat switch to disconnect it. Reassembly is just the reverse. What I found under the leather seat cover, once I unclipped it from the front and side rails, was a pink spray adhesive that had bunched up into a roll and was pushing the leather up and puckering. Once removed, the seat covering returned to its factory condition. A cheap fix that took perhaps an hour to do.

upnorthguy, Its been years and 3 OBW's since I had a Subie that old, and I can't recall what the tool looked like, but pull down the center rear ceiling plug. There are several plastic plugs in the ceiling. You want the one back behind where the sunroof would park when it is fully open. It is dead center of the headliner side to side. Shine a light up into the opening, and you'll be able to see what you need. Good Luck!

aqheng, First, I've worked in an auto restoration shop on and off for years. Second, I did a similar job on a rear door of my last OBW LTD, an 07. Third, I've looked at my present 2012 OBW LTD and I would assume ... that the wide bottom of the door moulding is fastened as I've seen past generations of Subies. I suspect that the moulding is held to the door by a series of plastic plugs that are spaced about 3 inches apart, and simply can be pried straight out of the door. These plugs assure that the moulding will be properly aligned when it is installed. I also suspect that the top, and possibly the bottom as well, will be stuck to the door with double sided adhesive tape. Your best bet is to start at the rear of the door (have the door open) and pry the moulding away from the door slowly with a putty knife or similar. Once you get it started you'll be able to see the pins and the tape. If, as you continue pulling and prying along its length, you have trouble with the tape, slide the sharp blade of an exacto knife through the tape as you pull the moulding, thereby cutting the tape. Keep the blade flat against the door so as to not slice the paint. Remove all of the adhesive tape from the moulding by scraping and wiping the moulding with GOO-BE-Gone, varsol or WD40 (GOO-BE-GONE works best, varsol next and then WD40) When you are ready to reinstall the moulding wipe down the door and the moulding where the tape goes with alcohol to remove any grease/oil or the tape will not adhere. Buy the double sided tape from a body shop suppy house. Don't get the stuff sold at Walmart, etc. Its not the same at all. As for the top chrome moulding at the bottom of the glass ... the best way is to remove the glass from the door, so that you can better get at the clips that secure it to the metal on the inside of the outer door skin. If that is too much trouble, many of these mouldings simply pull straight up, starting at one end. Be careful, as it is very easy to bend the darn things. If you're replacing it anyway, have at it. In the past many of these were held on with tiny screws inserted from inside the door. Good Luck!

Tosh2, No! And its not because I haven't been looking. Here in Canada a TPMS is not required by law as it is in the States. My 2012 OBW LTD was originally a US car, and therein is my problem. Canadian Subie dealerships don't know how to override the issue, and the US Subie dealerships won't by law tell you, even if its possible to do so.

oregonKJ, The sunroof has drain tubes at each of its corners, as there will always be some water that leaks past the seals when the sunroof is closed and it rains. When these drains (really plastic tubes) get plugged with dirt, the water will overflow the rain channel and drain down into the car, rather than through the tubes to the outside of the car. Your rear draintube on the driver's side is either plugged, or the tube has disconnected from the rain channel, or the tube itself has split. In any case, the water will overflow and follow the inner plastic panels of the C pillar down to the carpeted steel floor. Search the archives here for how to unplug the drain tubes (its a common fault) and you may get lucky. If aftercleaning out the drain tubes you still have a leak, then the headliner may have to be pulled down to fix a disconnected drain tube, or one that is split. Been there, done that. Its a DIYer, but is time consumming. Good Luck!

Kerch, All 3 symptoms sound like they are the result of front struts past their prime. Others will jump in with their diagnosis I'm sure, so wait for some more responses before you decide on a course of action. Good Luck!

paulbellefeuille, I assume that when you say "the top of the door" you are not referring to the glass. Glass alignment on Subie frameless doors requires the shop manual pages and lots of patience to get it correct. Here's what we do in our restoration shop to adjust this kind of problem. If its just the metal door skin you are referring to, then the door hinges are where the changes need to be made. You need to open the door fully and loosen the top hinges bolts ON THE DOOR, (NOT ON THE FRAME of the B Pillar) slightly, and push the top of the door in towards the body of the car a bit. Snug up the bolts and test the top of the door fit to the front door. You might have to go in and out a couple of times until you get it just right. Once you have that correct, tighten those bolts. Then loosen the bottom hinge bolts ON THE DOOR, and pull the bottom of the door out slightly, snug the bolts and test as before. Eventually you should be able to get the door back into adjustment. By the way, the only way that door came out of adjustment was because it was replaced at some time, and not adjusted correctly. Just be sure not to undo all four of those bolts at the same time or you'll be jockying about with that door for quite a while until you get it aligned properly. Loosen the two bolts a bit, push or pull slightly, snug them up, and test your fit. Eventually you'll like your results. Good Luck!

ov1av8r, Time to take your car to another Subie dealership, while its still under warranty, as inconvenient as that may be. Keep us posted as to how this goes!

740GLE, Grossgary is correct. My stock 2012 mags are 17's, and I run 16 inch steels on my winter tires. It has worked well for this car and my last 07 OBW as well.

gregB, You have no choice but to pull the interior of the car to get the carpet out. Disconnect the battery and wait 20 minutes before removing the seats, if they are side air bag equipped. Mess up with the air bags connected and with your face next to it could mess you up badly. Pull the seats (4 bolts and undo the wiring to the seat heaters and power seat mechanism, Seat belt wiring, side air bag wiring), the center console, the front kick panels, door sill plates, B pillar bottom mouldings, and if the carpet is one piece through to the rear, the rear seats, rear sill plates, and the C pillar bottom mouldings. The carpet will come out in one piece, with the silencer pad glued to its bottom. At that point it should be steam cleaned and disinfected, mould killer apllied, and force air dried before installation. Your best bet here is one of those disaster restoration companies that remove carpets from homes after a flood. They have the expertise and equipment to do the job so your wife is no longer affected. And you have a very small carpet for them to do, so it shouldn't break the bank. Not a fun job, time consumming but a DIYer if you have some basic tools, a place to work and the time. I've attached some pdf files that will show you where fasteners are and how they come apart. Good Luck! MSA5T0706A143566 Console Box.pdf MSA5T0706A143567 Center Console.pdf MSA5T0706A143569 Lower Inner Trim.pdf MSA5T0706A143505 Front Seat.pdf MSA5T0706A143506 Rear Seat.pdf

d, Check around. You may well find a replacement compressor online through eBay or through various wreckers. They are out there. You'll just have to find one. As for the cost of changing over the refridgerant, its no where near the cost that you've been quoted. I had my 1990 Nissan 300ZX changed over about 10 years ago at an independent garage and the cost was less than $300 for evacuating the system and recharge with the 134a. That of course was on a system that was in excellent condition to begin with.

Forester User, Legacy777 is right on the money here. Any clockspring from the same generation Forester should work in your car, and if you have any mechanical aptitude at all, the job is a DIYer. Be sure to disconnect the battery and WAIT 20 minutes to allow for the bleed down of the stored electrical charge, so the air bag doesn't go off in your face. They can kill you if you are too close when they go off. On a car the age of yours, used is the way to go. Take pictures if you have any doubts as to how thingsshould go back together. Good Luck!

If you find that the stuck slide pin isn't the issue, I'd bet on sticking piston in that caliper as the culprit. When brake fluid isn't flushed out every 48 months and refreshed, particularly in salt and high humidity areas, water gets into the brake fluid. It settles in the caliper and forms rust around the caliper bore and the piston. Usually the brakes will work normally, but the piston doesn't get the chance to slide away from the brake pads completely when you take your foot off the brake pedal. One or both brake pads on that wheel exert pressure on the rotor, and hence the quick wear and heat buldup. If this is the issue, you can remove the caliper from its carrier and have someone slowly push the brake pedal until the piston pops out. Its messy, be prepared. Clean the caliper bore and the piston with 0000 steel wool. If there is any pitting seen on either, replace the caliper. If not, apply fresh brake fluid to both and carefully reinsert the piston back into the caliper, being careful not to cut the piston seal and dust cover. Obviously, rebleed the wheel afterwards. Good Luck!

nomad327, You'rte my kind of guy! To have the patience to stick with it and come up with another approach that works is sooooo... gratifying. I'm glad it worked out for you, and just the fact that you posted your results here will help someone else down the road. Good Job!!!

nomad327, I feel your pain! Its been many years and three newer generations of OBW's for me since I had a similar problem on my 97 OBW. For years I've worked on many makes from the restoration and fixit side of things. From your description its a pretty good assumption that the lock mechanism is toast, and you'll need to find a used one at a wreckers. That said, I'd go the route of using a center punch to the rivets of the lock, to make an indentation, and then drill them out. This should allow you to pry the mechanism apart and free up the lock finger that goes around the floor lock bar. I don't know if its possible , even if the bumper cover were off the car, but if the two bolts that hold the lock bar to the floor are long enough and protrude through the floor, ........ you might be able to double nut the bolts and loosen them. Remove the nuts and use a cutting wheel to cut a groove in the bolts, and then insert a small screw driver into the groove and wind them out. Then you'd have the tailgate open and could go after the lock with a vengance. Another approach ... drill out the two bar bolts from under the car and retap the blind nuts for a larger bolt after you get the lock apart and fixed. Good Luck, and keep us posted!

Kaizoku, For such an instant and dramatic change to occur after a head gasket change, suggests to me that the head gasket orientation is incorrect. Some head gaskets have to be installed in a particular orientation to the block, so that water and oil galleries are open to the heads and back again. Installed improperly, and some water/oil galleries to the head are blocked by the gasket. Is this possible in your case? Did you use the proper gasket? Unfortunately, the only way to check, unless you know for sure, is to pull the heads again.

lesstutrey, Check the same thread you posted on the Subaru Outback forum.

crazyman03, Two OBW's ago, an 04 had pretty much the same circumstances. The codes couldn't identify the culprit, and the car was too new that anything would require replacing. The dealership threw some parts at it, plugs, and wires, and finally swapped the ignition coil even though it tested good. The problem was solved. Have you got access to another coil that you could temporarilly swap?

Incline Vine, One, the WRX sits much closer to the ground than an OBW. You are familiar with how much snow you typically have to deal with, so consider this first. Two, you would be wise to swap out the tires and rims on a WRX for winter, and go to a narrower rim and as narrow a winter tire as will safely fit on the rim. You only have to watch some winter ralleye car races (many WRX's in the field) to see the super narrow tires they run. Yes, they stud them. I have had 4 OBW's over the years, a 97, an 04, an 07 and now a 12. I put under sized snow tires on separate rims for every one of them and found that the cars were crazy glued to the road in snow and ice. Because of the wheel size change in the 04 OBW (2nd generation OBW's went to 16 inch wheels from 15 inchers on the 1st generation OBW's) I let myself be talked into going with the same winter tire size as the car came equipped with, a 225/60/16. BIG mistake that lasted less than a month. At speed the tires rode up on top of the snow as if they were aqua planing. I traded them off for a set of 195/60/16's and the sure footedness was back. In snow the narrower tire cuts down into the snow and doesn't ride up on top. Much better traction. Hope this makes your decision a little easier.