gbhrps

These are a relatively easy item to resurrect. What happens to them is that the white metal casting they use for the motor case and gearbox reacts with the steel shaft that comes through the casting out the glass. The two corrode and seize up the shaft. As long as you get to fix it before it stays seized for too long, you'll be able to get the unit apart, clean and lube it up and be back in business. Pull the unit out of the tailgate (and unless you are really clumsy, you won't break the rear glass). I've had two units out over the years and have had no difficulties. After removing the wiper arm bolt cover (plastic cover just pops off) undo the 10 mm nut, lift off the wiper arm, pull off the large rubber sheild ring underneath. Undo the large nut holding the wiper shaft to the glass. Remove the interior panel and undo the wiring harness connector and the three 10mm bolts that hold the wiper assembly to the tailgate, and slide the unit out. Now drill out the rivets that hold the entire unit together at the gearbox, pry it open, clean everything, lube with white grease, put back together, bolt it together with new bolts where the rivets were, test by hooking it up to the wiring harness and turning on the switch, smile at a job well done, and reinstall everything. It really is a simple DIYer. Good Luck!

Both my present OBW and my last OBW have the 2.5, and as you've already stated, there isn't much room to get those plugs out, even if you remove the airbox and the washer tank. What I've found works to get in between the box frame and the head is a combination of a plug wrench, a 3 inch extention, a universal joint, and the rachet. In one plug location I've found that I didn't need the universal joint, just the extention and the rachet. In others I've needed the universal joint after the plug wrench, then the extension and the rachet, and if I recall correctly, one required the plug wrench, then the universal, no extention, and then the rachet. As I've said, even though I don't have the flat six engine experience, I suspect that with what I've related here, I think you will find you'll be able to do the job yourself without anything more than what I've suggested. Then again, maybe someone who has done a 3.0 change over will jump in with another suggestion. Good Luck!

You hit upon the way to remove stubborn rear drums in your thread starter. If you can't coak the drums off by striking the drum around its outside with a hammer, those two small threaded holes you noticed in the drum face are the next step. By simply winding in an appropriately sized bolt into each hole, and racheting them in, they will bottom out against the axle hub and pull the drum off the hub itself. Neat huh?

This sure sounds like a classic case of seizing calipers because the brake fluid flush and replacement schedule of every three years was neglected. Brake fluid absorbs water from the air and lays in the low spots of the calipers for one. Then they start to rust the piston in place over time. Then one day you step on the brakes and the piston moves, you stop, but the piston can't rebound back into the caliper all the way when you lift your foot ... and the brake pads on that wheel drag on the rotor ... hot rotor burns you. The fix is to pop out the piston, clean off the rust on it and in the caliper bore with fine 0000 steel wool. If it is too far gone ... replace the caliper. If it cleans up well with no visible pitting on the piston, clean and lube it well with brake fluid, and reinstall. Obviously, then the entire system should be flushed of the old fluid and new fluid bled through all fittings at the wheels. Good Luck!

appleverde, TSB=Technical Service Bulletin and it has been correctly identified in the post by brus brother. If you just open your rear sunroof to the point where it drops down, and then feel around its sealing edges, you'll see just how compressible and pliable the sunroof seal is. So the sealant you use just has to be thick enough to do the job, but not overly thicker than needed to do the job. Looking at what my dealership did, convinces me that they used a two part 5 minute epoxy glue. It can be applied thinly, won't ever come off, and if used with enough hardener, will harden quickly enough so that you can close the sunroof after its application within 10 minutes, without worrying that it will glue itself to the sunroof's seal. Again, I would rough up the area to be glued with a fine sandpaper to ensure that the glue gets a good grip. Once more, the area to be sealed starts in the front corners of the rear sunroof opening and extends along the opening's sides for about an inch and a half towards the rear of the car. You may not see any lumpy or missing sealant areas, but check closely to see if the paint is finely cracked or crazed. This is where you need to apply the sealant. Forget about going to see a dealer to do the job, as mine had never heard of the problem before, and I suspect most other dealerships never have either. It is easy enough to do yourself, and save the $78 an hour that they charge. Buy some 5 minute epoxy. One more thing: plan on leaving the windows down for a while to allow the moisture trapped up inside the headliner and the roof supports to evaporate. As I eluded to earlier, I pulled my headliner during my explorations, and was amazed how much beaded moisture was trapped up in the bracing and adjacent bits and pieces that I towelled out. Good Luck!

I've just been there in the last month, and the fix is easy. My 02 OBW did exactly the same thing, water dropping from the front overhead maplights. Not a great deal, but enough to make the headliner in the area wet, and 4 or 5 drops on you at every turn around a corner. I pulled the headliner (you won't have to) and scoped out the problem and got nowhere until someone on this forum suggested the TSB on the 2000 models. My dealership downloaded the TSB and together we tracked the problem to the very front two corners of the REAR sunroof opening. There should be sealant visible around both of the front corners of the opening, more towards the sides of the car than the front, where the roof steel is rolled into the opening for the sunroof itself. You may have sealant missing, and that is where the water is getting in. In my case, the sealant was there, and it had been painted over with the car's body colour at the factory. What showed up under a magnifying glass was very fine spider web-like cracks in the paint in this area (maybe the sealant shrank a bit over time?). Obviously water was being wicked into these cracks, following the internal roof bracing and running into the overhead light panel. Once the area was roughed up with fine sandpaper and resealed, my leaks have all disappeared. I have yet to repaint over the new sealant, and will do so when it warms up. Trust this one. Its a snap to do and a great relief as well.

Bluebird, Its too long ago for me to remember on my 97 OBW, and I now use the remote on my 02 OBW to onlock all of the doors at once. If I'm correct, I seem to recall that using the key in the driver's door you could unlock all of the doors at once, if you unlocked the driver's door twice in a row quickly. Doing it once just unlocked the driver's door. Twice unlocked all of the doors including the tailgate. Am I correct, or am I thinking of one of the other cars that I've owned in the past?

My 02 OBW has done this since new, and it has never been a concern, since it reminds one that the car can't accidentally jump into gear without your foot being on the brake pedal. I can't recall whether my 97 OBW did it or not.

My 97 OBW developed the slap at 23 000 km and never got any worse when traded at 122 000 km. It just sounded when cold and then disappeared when warmed up. If I had thought it would be a problem, I wouldn't have traded up to the 02 OBW.

Betzilla, The hard part of the bearing change is the fact that you either use a so called "hub tamer", or a ten ton press, to push out the old bearing from the hub, and press in the new one. The reason is that the entire inner and outer bearing is one assembly, enclosed in its own barrel or cylinder. If you have neither, then simply remove the front axle half shaft, caliper, rotor, remove the entire hub from the car, and take it to a shop that can press out the old and press in the new. I had a rear one done under warranty, and the whole process start to finish was 45 minutes. I suspect a front will take longer to do, because of tie rods, etc.

My 97 OBW had just 2 areas that showed rust by the time it was 6 years old and I traded up to my 02 OBW. The leading edge of the hood developed some rust bubbles, in the section between the headlights. Obviously water and salt gets trapped between the layers of steel and just lays there when the hood is closed. The only other area was the metal mounting bar above the rear licence plate, that holds the two licence plate lights. The bar itself was poorly prepped before being painted and installed on the car. Its only solution is a new one ($11 as I recall) or sandblasting and correctly refinishing the part.

Any good body shop can remove the overspray easily. Any on the glass or sunroof comes off with fine 0000 steel wool, and no, it will not scratch the glass. The overspray on the car can be buffed off with the correct compound and an air or electric polisher. Body shops buff cars and panels all of the time and a knowledgeable technician can do a wonderful job without the swirls that you're worried about. You could clay bar the entire car yourself, but be prepared to be very busy for quite a long time. Unless the body shop is very incompetent, you should not be disappointed with the results.

Your rear washer motor most likely has corroded contacts where the wiring harness connects to the motor. Cleaning them up with a electrical contact spray usually does the job. Barring that, you may have a seized washer motor, and it'll need replacing. I have been adventurous in the past, and was able to disassemble one, clean and lubed it up, and got it running again. As for the wiper motor, it has an alloy body with a final drive shaft made of steel. If not used frequently, they will corrode together and seize up, due to water and dissimilar metals. Either replace the unit altogether, or remove the unit, drill out the motor body rivets that hold it together, clean and lube the entire unit, and put it back together with nuts and bolts. By soaking the shaft with penetrating oil, you should be able to free it up and get it going again. Removing the tailgate trim to get the motor out is straight forward, as is removing the wiper motor from the tailgate. Its not rocket science, has quite a feel good quotient to it when you get the job done, and is a great confidence builder. Good Luck!

Everything here seems to point to a bad antenna on the base unit. Is it possible that the antenna wire is either broken at the base unit, or has a bad cold solder joint?

cmjmarvin, You don't say whether or not you followed the manufacturer's recommendations to flush and replace the brake fluid every three years. Any car that I've ever worked on that had sticking calipers, could be traced back to water in the brake fluid, that rusted the pistons in the bore. The same usually happened to the wheel cylinders in the rear. Unless you have a vehicle with silicone brake fluid in its system, ordinary brake fluid will always pull moisture from the air and contaminate itself, leading to rust in the brake lines and calipers, resulting in sticking and seizing calipers. Every car manufacturer has the same recommendations for brake fluid flushing every two or three years. Sure, you might get away without doing it for 5 or 6 years on some vehicles, and in some locaities, but then again maybe not. Your problems are not of Subaru's making. I service all 5 of my vehicles at these three year intervals, and even at that my wife's last Lexus developed a lightly sticking caliper at a little over two years from its last flush. For all the time and money it costs, I do them all now on a two year rotation just to be safe.

Unless you are right on top of the rattle, you won't be sure of where it comes from exactly. I had traced a similar rear rattle to the retractable cargo cover, only to find that it was the ceiling retractable shoulder belt for the centre passenger being incorrectly stowed. I agree with the similar post, to actually ride in the back over a rough road, in order to locate the problem. Good Luck!

Congrats on the new OB! I hope it works out just fine for you. As for the mirror. There are two small swivel shafts dead centre of the mirror that allow for its up and down, back and forth movement. Outboard of each of these small shafts is one threaded actuator shaft, that has a ball joint in a socket of the mirror itself. When the switch is activated, one of the threaded shafts is wound into or out of the motor base to tilt the mirror. If you hear the motor working, but nothing moves, either the threaded rod has come out of its socket in the mirror, or the gear to drive it is stripped. Since you can't move the mirror by hand, it is much simplier to just change the mirror for another out of the junkyard. Basically you pull the door panel, undo three nuts holding the mirror, disconnect the wiring harness for the mirror, remove the old one, and reverse the procedure with the new one. The only downside is if your mirrors are painted the colour of the car's body. Then you'll have to change the body shell of the new mirror for the old one. It is a pain to do, but it is possible with patience. Good Luck!

abeauch, Its been awhile since I pulled the seat heater switches from my OBW to replace a bulb in one of them. I can't recall if the plugs to the 2 switches were the same configuration or not. If they were, is it possible that you have hooked up the seat heater switch to the incorrect seat, meaning that you turned on the passenger's seat heater? Unless there was a passenger in the seat, you wouldn't know it was on. All of the wiring plugs and connectors are designed so that they can only plug into the switch or unit that they are supposed to run. You can't normally connect them up incorrectly. If you only can see one wiring harness plug under the console for the switches to connect to, the other seat's harness plug must be up under your newly installed carpet somewhere. You'll have to pull out the seats to find it, and may even have to remove part of the centre console as well. The seats are just in with four bolts, and there should be only one wiring harness plug under the passenger seat (for the seat heater), and at least 2 under the driver's seat (one or two for the power seat, whether you have that option or not, and one for the seat heater). As for your wiper motor, I don't have an answer for you on that one. Good Luck!

shortlid, I had a similar problem on my wife's last Lexus. In our case the squealing was only at very slow speeds, and it disappeared when the brakes were applied. I popped out the caliper piston on the offending side and discovered a mild ring of rust half way around the piston, obviously from water laying in the bottom of the caliper bore. The same ring of rust was inside the caliper bore. Because the rust was sticking on one side, the caliper was not completely releasing when you took your foot off the brake pedal, hence the squeal would stop when we applied the brakes. I was able to clean up both surfaces with 0000 fine steel wool and sloved the problem. The manual says to flush out the brake system with fresh fluid every 3 years, in order to get rid of the water. When was yours done last? It may be the same problem we exprienced.

SubeeTed, Your solution to the seat belt that doesn't retract fully or quickly is pretty simple. Lexus has a TSB for the same problem on my wife's car, and the solution is to lift up the belt where it goes through the ring on the B pillar, and scrape off the dirt and grunge that has collected on the ring over the years. Apparently it drags the belt down causing a great deal of friction. Once scraped off (don't forget the other side of the ring as well), the belt retracted as new. I've had the same problem on my 02 OBW and fixed it the same way. Its amazing that something so simple could overcome the windup spring of the belt assembly.

brus brother, I concur with your idea, however the TSB photo actually shows the 2000 OBW sunroof opening, and the area where the sealant was missing, because none had been put there at the factory. I believe on my 02 OBW the factory did do the sealant properly at the same spot, but the sealant must have shrunk somewhat to cause the spider cracking in the paint that ultimately drew the water into the seam. Regardless, thanks again for the heads up! It was driving me crazy.

The dual sunroofs of my 02 OBW have been leaking small amounts of water into the overhead reading lights near the rear view mirror for the last month or so. It never amounts to much, just 4 or 5 drops onto your lap when you turn a corner, but eventually it would have mildewed and discoloured the headliner. Anyway, for those who have followed my thread on this topic, Brus Brother gave me a heads up on a TSB on the problem, which I followed up on with my dealership today. Looking at the photos in the TSB shows that the area where the water is getting into the car is just about an inch before the front corners of the rear sunroof. With the sunroof fully open, you can see where the roof skin has been rolled into the sunroof opening and a sealant applied at the factory after it was spot welded. The TSB photos show that sealant is missing on some cars. In my case the sealant is there, and it has been painted over at the factory. A very close inspection of the area shows fine spider cracking in the paint over the sealant. Water was getting into these fine cracks by capillary action and following the reinforcement braces of the roof all the way to the front overhead lights. Roughing up the area with sandpaper and resealing the area has fixed the problem. When the weather warms up I'll repaint the sealant, even though it can't be seen unless you lean over the roof and look into the open sunroof. As far as my front sunroof binding when being opened and refusing to open all the way, the Tech found that the front track assembly for the front sunroof was stripped on one side. A new one is on order to the tune of $214. Lesson here ..... Don't try to open the sunroof if there is a possibility that it may be frozen shut. I obviously stripped mine. Hope this helps someone else.

jabez3, The spongy feeling of the brake pedal could indicate that you have air in the brake lines that needs to be bled out. Its an easy procedure, inexpensive, and, since the car is 6 years old, it probably was due for a brake flush with new fluid anyway (usually every 3 years). If the brakes are still spongy afterwards, changing all 4 brake hoses (the ones from each caliper to the frame) from rubber to braided steel hoses will make a difference.

LosDiosDeVerde86, Thanks for jumping in on the thread, and no apologies are needed!

brus brother, My Subie dealership found the TSB, which uses a different # and date here north of the 49th parallel, and said the fix is to drop the entire sunroof assembly and reseal a seam somewhere between where the two sunroofs meet. Since I already have the headliner out of the car, it should really speed up the process for them, and cut down on my cost. The car is scheduled to go in Thursday morning. I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for your interest and taking the time to chase down the TSB! I had completely forgotten about searching through them.