gbhrps

I'd be seriously thinking about replacing all of those bushings, particularly with what it can do to tearing up a set of new tires. I had a similar issue with my 90 300ZX last year. Wide tires run all over the place when the link bushings have deteriorated over 20 years. I caught the tire wear issue soon enough on these new tires I think, that the tires may correct themselves over time. In your case, you'll have your hands full if you ever get on that turbo at the wrong place and time.

I realize that they may appear similar, but unless the part numbers are the same, they won't be. You need to have identical calipers on both sides of the car for even, straight braking. If one caliper is seized, replace it with an identical one with an identical part number. If you choose to use a different caliper (part number) then change the other side caliper to that same part number as well. (Realize that right and left side calipers have similar part numbers that will be different by one or two digits, to identify which side of the car they mount on.) I hope this all makes sense?

Save your money. The only people who benefit from an extended warranty are the dealer and the warranty company. Put the same money in a bank account for when you need repairs. Its safer! BTW ..... say you get the warranty and then 2 weeks later your car is totalled in an accident. Will they give you back the extended warranty funds you paid? Put the same money into the bank, and you still have it.

I have been where you are last winter. Our dealership gave me the same response and I turned him down as well. What I was able to do was find an new blade insert that fit the width of the track of the wiper arm of the winged assembly. While there was no fastener to keep the blade from coming out of the wiper arm, I simply crimped the one end of the wiper track with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Basically I squeezed the end of the last part of the track that the blade insert slides into, to the point where the insert couldn't slide out on its own. Its important to do so on just one end of the blade insert, so that the blade can change its length as it moves over the curve of the windshield. This has worked fine for me through two new sets of blades since I bought the car new in 07. Good Luck!

If you are certain that the windshield is leaking, and not the sunroof if so equipped, get the windshield cut out and replaced. There are two reasons. The first is that you can't guarantee that you'll be able to seal the leak without first removing the glass. With the glass removed you will most likely find that there is some rust along the A Pillars or the roof that needs to be taken care of before the windshield is reinstalled. Many people just try an amateur repair only to find that the leak spreads, the tin worm takes over, and then you are faced with a very time consuming and more expensive repair. You don't need to take the car to a glass expert to have it removed, resealed and replaced, as any decent body shop can do the job. And forget about the glass breakage insurance policy that many glass places with try to sell you. (You pay $100 for the insurance, and if the windshield breaks during the R & R, they'll install a new one for free.) Our restoration shop has been pulling old windshields on restoration work for years, and have never had one break, unless it was already cracked. The second reason is safety related. A properly sealed windshield provides some of the structural integrity needed in case of an accident. You really don't want your son in a car that's not 100% up to the task of protecting him in a crash.

I assume that the two plastic pieces you refer to are on the outside body of the car. With the "special nut" removed they simply pry up and off. Yours have been in place for so long that they may need some persuasion. With that done, remove the inside rear side panel to get at the fender's innerds and the power antenna assembly. Pull the drain tube from the bottom of the motor assembly and leave it in the bottom of the fender. Undo the wiring harness and the antenna cable from the assembly. Undo the one or two 10 mm bolts that hod the assembly to the car body and drop the unit down and out of the car. The tube that holds the retracted antenna mast usually comes off the motor assembly after a screw is removed. At the top of the tube there may be another fastener to remove its section that sticks up through the fender, but not always. With that tube removed the inner geared whip and the mast sections can all be pulled from the motor assembly. If there are any broken pieces of the old mast whip still inside the assembly, you'll have to open it up. Usually there is one nut dead centre of the unit that allows the side cover to be removed. Then you can remove the broken pieces and replace the cover. To load the new mast, retract all of its sections and put the tube over the top of it all. Feed the geared whip into the motor assembly with the geared side facing the inside of the motor, and push and feed all of the whip until all of it is taken up and the tube can be set back in place. You should now be able to attach the top and bottom screws that held the tube to the motor assembly. Just place the assembly inside the back of the car with the mast end aimed out the trunk opening, and temporarily hook up the wiring only. Have some one turn on the ignition and then the radio to check for proper operation before you reverse the removal procedure to reinstall the unit. Good Luck!

Forester2002s, I couldn't agree more with you! I've serviced my own vehicles for 45 years and I've never had an oil filter or oil related problem. I always followed the specific manufacturer's oil related policies to the letter, and bought whatever oil filter was available at the autoparts store. As well, I never drove any of those cars hard. When the internet came along at about the same time when I became able to acquire a small stable of cars I'd always wanted, I joined a forum for every one of them. I can't believe the number of people on these forums who swear by this oil or by that filter, for use in cars that are just daily drivers. I'm not talking high performance race cars, or cars that have heavy demands on them. Just daily use drivers, cars that they'll never own long enough to be able to wear the engine out, before the body falls apart from rust (like they do here in Ontario). The tuner crowd are the worst. "Got to use premium fuel in a low compression engine." "Just got my 13 year old RollsCanHardlyMakeIt UpTheHill with 227 000 miles on it, and I'm changing it over to sythetic oil." "Just got the nitrogen put in my tires." And on and on. They obviously have bought in to the advertised hype, and can't spend their money fast enough. For those who drive their cars hard, or use them on the track on the weekend, maybe it is good insurance. For the full race vehicle, absolutely. But for the average guy driving the average car ... I don't think so. For those who think otherwise, you are welcome to do so, as is your prerogative. This is my one and a half cents worth.

To correct your problem the inner door panel and the plastic weather shield need to be removed. Only then can you get at the various fasteners that need to be adjusted to get the glass to its proper angle. I can tell you that the proper setup for the glass in these cars is very involved and not for the first time DIYer. Because the windows are frameless, the FSM (factory service manual) devotes 5 pages just for the door glass adjustment of the front doors. I've done dozens of glass repairs and changes on all kinds of cars over the years, including changing non power window setups to power window setups, but I've never done a Subie. After seeing what the manual has to offer, I would suggest that you take the car to either a Subie dealership, or to a bodyshop that your Subie dealer sends their repairs to. There really is no way that someone can explain in words alone what has to be done. Even if you saw the FSM, I think you'd be too intimidated to tackle the job. Good Luck!

I had a 97 Outback Limited that used a dark grey decal around the wheel wells. I wouldn't be surprised that after your body work, you could apply the same thing. Here's a hint. The body shop that I work for from time to time does a lot of sheet metal repairs for rust and collision. Whenever we have to replace a decal we don't purchase a new one from the dealership. We digitally photograph a good decal on the car, or from the manufacturer's website, and take its dimensions. We drop off chip from the camera and the dimensions to a local graphics shop and they make one up for us, usually within a day or two, and for a fraction of the cost that GM or Ford wanted for it. I'm suggesting that you get a photo of the Outback Limited from the late 90's, take that with the proper length/width, etc. to your local graphics house and see what they can do for you. Good Luck!

I have a 90 Nissan 300ZX that would do the same thing when I first got it. A little checking on the internet found that the small, one way check valves in the fluid lines right before the spray nozzles were sticking open. Its possible that your Outback has the same problem, and either the valve needs repair/cleaning, or needs to have one installed. I can't recall if it was on this forum or not, but somewhere someone suggested that they could be purchased through auto parts stores and are fairly common. Good Luck!

Great job! It feels terrific when you DIY and save money. But beware! It also gives you the courage to tackle the next thing that comes along. Take the money you saved and go treat yourself!!!!

I don't mind the first polished set you show above, but I'd want to have someone steal my car if the other three sets were on it. That's my 2 cents, since you asked. But its your car and you can do whatever turns your crank. Be happy with what you spend your money on.

I don't mind the first set you show above, but I'd want to have someone steal my car if the other three sets were on it. That's my 2 cents, since you asked. But its your car and you can do whatever turns your crank. Be happy with what you spend your money on.

There should be all kinds of people jumping in to share their wisdom on your difficulty. Here's mine. Difficult to shift/noisy transmissions can be greatly improved with a draining and refill with Lucas Red Line MT 90 transmission fluid, providing there isn't something mechanically wrong in your box. Years ago I had a terrible time with the noisy and grinding of the tranny in my 1954 MG TF. The Red Line MT 90 dramatically changed the transmission's personality. Shortly there after I changed the tranny fluid in my 1990 Nissan 300ZX as well, and while the change was not as dramatic, it certainly made an improvement. Good Luck!

I'll go next. 1. 34 mpg (Canadian gallons, about 5 US quarts make up 1 of our gallons) all day long on the highway at 100 kmph (60mph). (Note: its a flat as a postcard for 100 miles in any direction where I live) Never checked the city mileage. 2. 2007 OBW LTD 3. SOHC just hit 100 000 km (60 000 miles) 4. Automatic Sport Shift 5. Castrol GTX 5W30 6. Dead stock 7. Original Bridgestone 17 inchers (swapped winters with 16 inch Toyo Snows) 8. My third OBW LTD, but not my last.

They'll fit! I kept the 16 inch winter steel wheels and snow tires from my 02 OBW LTD for use on my 07 OBW LTD. Ive run them every winter for the past 3 years with absolutely no clearance problems. And yes, my 07's summer mags are 17 inchers.

I want to share my recent transmission occurrence with you. It doesn't really answer your question, but may help you to better make a decision. This car, an 07 OBW, is my third, an automatic. At about 95 000 km (59 000 mi) I started to notice a slight shudder in the 1 to 2 shift when accelerating moderately straight ahead. It felt like the car was rolling over a rumble strip, and only occurred about every third or fourth time. I immediately had the tranny fluid and filters changed at an independent garage. The problem persisted, and as I was nearing the end of the power train warranty, called the Subaru dealership 70 miles away and told their service rep about my problem. He said to bring the car in and they would do a complete tranny flush (this removes the fluid in the torque converter that the previous service didn't remove, since draining the tranny leaves half the fluid in the torque converter ). As well, he advised that they reflash the transmission program. $265 later ($45 of which was the tranny flash charge) my problem is fixed. Basically I wasted the money I spent on the first tranny drain and filter change. Good Luck!

I've had 3 different OBW's, all different years, put a trailer hitch on everyone of them, and the required trailer light connector was always there hiding under one of the back cargo side covers, on one side or the other. My present ride (07) hid it on the driver's side. I always purchased the factory hitch and the trailer wiring harness came with it and plugged right in. I suspect that your 2010 will do the same. Good Luck!

So, is there a question somewhere in all of this?

I took the advice and journeyed to the dealership for a complete transmission flush, filter and fluid change, as well as a reflash of the transmission's computer. The car has been driven perhaps 500 km since the service was done and the momentary shudder sensation has almost completely disappeared. I say almost because there may have been one or two times where I thought I noticed a much reduced shudder, but I can not be certain. For sure the problem that I was concerned about has been dramatically reduced and may be eradicated all together. I'll keep you posted if the momentary shudder at the one to two gear change should come back.

I did pretty much the same thing as Ericem on my last OBW, (an 02) except that I filled the rubber groove with waterproof axle grease before putting it back onto the car.

Why bother going to the expense of changing the speedometer at all? Ever since Canada went metric years ago, every car sold in Canada has its speedometer marked in Kph as well as Mph. Its just that the Mph markings are somewhat smaller in size and inside of the concentric ring of Kph markings. It doesn't take too long to figure out where the important speed markers are: 30Mph is 50 Kph and 60 Mph is 100 Kph and so on. Canadians have been doing the conversion for years. Every time I visit the states (just an hour from where I live to the border) I automatically make the switch to reading the Mph markers on the speedometer instead of the metric ones. It doesn't take too long to become used to it at all.

Just a heads up for making the door install a bit easier. In the shop we cover a floor jack with an old piece of carpet, and put the jack under the door bottom edge, and jack it up to the proper height before putting in the hinge bolts. Much less of a hassle this way.

Thanks! I'll give that a try and get back to you with the results. It may take awhile, since the dealership is 70 miles away.

It only occurs when accelerating from a stop, and I believe the shudder is on the one to two shift, lasting about a second at most, and then only ocassionally. It has never occurred under any other circumstances. The transmission has never had any servicing done to it, other than to check the fluid level.