gbhrps

Love the Blizzaks, just get them off as soon as you can when the weather warms up to reduce the wear. Get steel rims and mount them. For me it was all about saving my mag wheels from all of the salt that eats them up here in Southern Ontario, Canada. Figure out what eight change overs (based on four years of winter driving on one set of winter tires and the 2 change overs each year) and balancing, plus the taxes adds up to = the cost of 4 steel rims for the snow tires. Pays for itself, particularly for long term owners. Hint: I made tire storage rollers from a sheet of 5/8 inch plywood measuring 2 feet by 2 feet. Bolt swivel casters on each corner, stack the takeoff tires and wheels on the rack, and you can easily roll them to any corner of the garage to make the change overs and garage cleanup a snap.

This may be old hat to some but entirely new to others. You can keep your weatherstripping from freezing to the glass and body of the car very simply by spraying it with silicone lubricant. I buy the spray bomb and attach the 5 inch long spay tube to be able to put the silicone right where its needed, and then I massage it in with my fingers. The weatherstrip goes back to its rich black colour, develops a dull sheen and is extremely pliable, and will stay that way for months. It will even bring back hard, brittle weatherstripping to almost factory condition with enough lubricant and massaging. I bought a 71 Mustang convertible back in 1988 and on the way home with it I got caught in an absolute downpour. I watch the sheets of rain wash up the winshield and go right past the weatherstripping on the convertible top leading edge and onto my lap and the floors. Putting down the top revealed that the original weaterstripping was compressed and as hard as a rock. A half hour of repeated silicone spraying and massaging brought it back to almost new condition. Hard to believe, but true. Try it, and it will become a ritual that you'll do to all our your cars every fall.

The only additional thing that I do to make sure that I can get all those bolts off easily next time, is to put anti seize compound on all of the bolt threads. As well, I also put some on the inside of the rotor face where it mates with the hub. Make sure that you don't get any on the rotor surfaces or the wheel studs when you reinstall the rotor.

My 02 OBW has had the tint added to all windows except the windshield. I've had 6 cars done by the same expert and in each case he does the rear window in one piece. The secret is to clean the outside of the rear hatch window very well as the inside. He then sprays a water/soap on it and puts a single sheet of tint on the OUTSIDE. He then uses a heat gun very quickly and at a distance, to shrink the flat tinted sheet to have it take the shape of the compound curves of the glass, and then rough trims it to a little over size. After cleaning the INSIDE of the hatch glass, he spays it with the water/soap solution and installs the tint piece he just shrunk. Tint sheets have 2 layers, one is the tinted sheet and the other is a protective film for the adhesive on the tint. That adhesive side must go toward the glass when installed inside the car, so you must be sure that the protective sheet is on the outside when you put the tint sheet on the outside of the rear window to shrink it. Confusing, I know, but most important. I hope I made this clear.

My 02 OBW has the factory in dash CD/weatherband radio. Its great. I suspect that the McIntosh (spelling?) unit is even better. My 97 OBW had just the weatherband radio and no CD. I installed an FM 6 Pack CD onto its existing radio unit, and loved it. To be honest, I don't think that I could tell the difference between the 2 CD units, even though they were 8 years apart in design and technology (the FM unit was from another vehicle and 2 years old already when installed in the 97). I prefer my in car music on the loud side, and the 02 has a much better bottom end, not so much due to the head unit as to the speakers, but that's it. I don't think that you'll be disappointed with an FM CD unit, particularly when you consider that you can move it into your next vehicle very easily. When I bought my 02 OBW I gave the unit to my dad, and its been installed into another vehicle since then. Not bad for a unit purchased in 95. Its been in 4 different cars since then and still sounds great.

I put an older Pioneer 6 disk FM unit in my 97 OB LTD several years ago. I say an older Pioneer unit because I bought it originally for my 92 Pathfinder and had it in there for 5 years before putting it into the OB. It had a wired remote that I just left in the open tray under the radio. The changer unit itself I put in the cargo tray that sits over the spare tire and under the cargo floor. Here it was out of site of thieves and easy enough to change 6 pack cartriges at the next gas stop. Just open the rear hatch, lift the floor cargo cover over the spare, pop a button on the unit and reload. I did have to cut part of the plastic cargo tray in order to get the unit to fit. All I did was pack it into the tray using foam to hold it in place from sliding around, so when I traded cars it was a snap to take out. Hooking the unit up to your existing weather radio is a snap, and it will take longer to run the wiring from the cargo area to under the dash than it will to hook up the antenna and wiring connections to your fuse box. My 02 OB LTD already had a CD player built into the radio so I passed the Pioneer unit onto my dad who still uses it in his older Crown Victoria. Great sound, easy to install, and won't break the bank to buy.

Muskalope, I followed the entire thread through from start to finish and found everyone's imputs to be most interesting. Car aside, and everyone else's 2 cents worth as well, and its very obvious that your son is a very fortunate young man. He has a father who has taught him, and continues to teach him the merits of being frugal, ensuring the safety of your loved ones, and being responsible for your actions. You have my respect!

I'm not certain I'm correct, but if it were my car with the same symptoms, I'd pull the radio unit out of the dash far enough to check that the wiring connectors were properly pushed together and seated. Most head units use 2 plastic wiring harness connectors, one for the radio power, ground, display lighting and power antenna feed, the other for all of the connections to the various speakers. A wild guess would suggest that this connector isn't properly connected. If that isn't the problem, it is possible that the head unit is toast and you'll need to buy another one.

My 97 OBW developed an inconsistent miss that the codes said was a misfire in cylinder #3. Plugs, wires and everything else checked out perfectly. Technician couldn't find the problem. Another Sub technician said try the ignition coil. Tested fine, but when it was replaced with a new one, the misfire problem disappeared for good.

I've owned 2 OBW's since 97 and have encountered the same situation you describe only once, on the 97. The right combination of slush and a quick freeze gave me the same rumble from the driveshaft for 2 days until it warmed up and the ice melted from the heat shield. No big deal. It didn't damage anything, nor could it. It was annoying, but solved itself with a thaw. My 02 hasn't seen the same set of circumstances yet, and what are the possibilities of them happening again?

Its contagious to say the least. One Sub in the family begets another.

I saw your thread several days ago and was going to reply, but I thought a whole pile of others would have done so...but they didn't....so I will. I can't say whether you paid too much since Canadian prices vary so much to yours, but it sounds reasonable. I had a 97 OBW LTD that I put 122 000 kms on with few problems. It did develop a piston slap which goes with the 2.5 Phase 1 beast. On cold days in particular the engine would slap piston # 4 (I think ) for the first 3 minutes until the engine warmed up and the noise disappeared, because the piston had expanded to fit the cylinder. I've researched the problem extensively to learn that it is only an annoyance, and will not hurt anything other than to shorten engine life by a very small amount. (I believe the Phase 2 engine corrected the problem with the 2000 model?) Ocassionally people have complained about head gaskets going, not an experience I have had but worth keeping in mind. Rear wheel bearings seem to go more often, not a real expensive item, but keep alert for a howling/roar developing that changes pitch at speed, when taking curves as opposed to driving straight ahead. An upscale service garage can service the beast (check first to be sure), but not the corner garage, unless he specifically services Subarus. Dealers know the car, but shop them to find a technician who talks straight and knows his stuff. I've used 2 different ones and have settled with the one who takes the time to explain what needs to be done to the car. ( Normally most imports have the water pump changed at the same time you replace the timing belt. This guy said they didn't suggest changing them until the 2nd timing belt replacement because their experience showed they lasted at least that long.) Parts don't seem to be any more expensive than anyone else, save for Porsche, BMW, Rolls Royce, Jaguar. You can expect the car to last as long or longer than your Toyota if serviced as needed. Things to watch for...bubbles in the paint=rust in the leading edge of the hood. Shoot some oil in there now and you shouldn't have a problem. The mounting plate that the rear licence plate lights are attached to will rust long before anything else. You have to take the interior panels off the tailgate to get at it, removing the outside door handle as well. Sand blast, reprime and repaint it, or you could just buy a new one and install it. The rear hatch gas shocks will rust. I just wiped mine down with transmission fluid once a month. (It won't attack the rubber seals.) Winter ice grip tires (Bridgstone Blizzaks, etc.) take the white knuckles out of driving on an OutBack. Its like being Crazy Glued to the road. No more stop, but a lot more grip. The heater cluster bulbs will all burn out about the same time, and using the info on this forum, can be changed for minimal $ and a little/more than a little patience. Power antenna will stick if not lubed frequently. Fairly easy to fix if it jams, again through this forum. Take your brake pads out and clean and lube them every 6 months. Change and flush the brake fluid and coolant every 3 years. Saves big bills down the road. Enjoy the car! Welcome to the Sub fraternity. Great people here.

Not a Subaru, but about 10 years ago my wife had a Toyota Cressida that did the same thing. Sometimes the roof would slide open and then wouldn't close, or would flip up and then wouldn't close, or wouldn't open at all for 6 or 7 tries. The problem was the sunroof computer, which Toyota replaced two years after the car was off warranty, and on a second owner used car! I wrote a very nice letter to Toyota Customer Relations explaining the problem and they not only sent our local dealer the parts, they paid to have it installed. Two more things...the computers had a TBS and recall for the first 3 years (I found out much later) and I had suggested in my letter that their response to my sunroof problem would help me decide on my next car purchase within 6 months time. I was impressed with their response to say the least, which is why my wife bought another Cressida after that one, and a Lexus (Toyota) presently. Suggestions...try another computer if you can access one from a friend's car, junk yard?...try a nice letter like I did. Its worth a shot. Good luck!

You need to download the trouble codes from your computer in order to find your idling problems. There are so many things that it could be, you are just spinning your wheels without some idea as to where to start. A Subaru dealer can do it, and give you an idea as to the cost of fixing the problem. You may find that its very inexpensive to correct. A similar problem on my 97 OBW showed up in the ignition system as a misfire in cylinder # 3, that was traced to a bad ignition coil. Total cost was about $170 Canadian, with tax as I recall. As for the air bag, pull the light bulb for it out of the back of the instrument panel if you must, but if it were my car, I'd have the dealer check the system and get it fixed. Reconstructing my face after a head on collision, because of an air bag that didn't work, is not something I'm willing to take a chance on.

My 97 OBW developed the piston slap as described at 23 000 km and still had it at 122 000 km when I traded it on an 02 OBW. The noise was annoying when cold, but when it warmed up (within 3 minutes) the sound was gone. Much worse in winter than summer, for sure. No head gasket problems at all. If I had been scared off by the piston slap or concerned about the head gasket going, I wouldn't have bought the 02 OBW. No slap as of yet in the new one at 49 000 kms, but it is noisier when it is cold outside, until it warms up. This won't be my last Subaru.

With the sunroof tilted up, you might be able to grease (white lithium) the various slides and levers that you can see on each side of the roof channel, and by cycling the roof several times, it just might be enough to get it to budge. Get the spray bomb of white lithium grease with the thin plastic tube that sticks into the push button. That way you can put the lube in places you can't reach, but you can see. Be careful to put some cardboard between your headliner and the glass roof before you spray, to keep from staining the headliner or shooting grease over your interior if you miss! If this doesn't work, your problem may be in the sunroof computer (needs replacing=expensive), the motor drive gears or linkage for same, or in the cable from the motor to the sunroof slides. The only way to get to these devils is to pull down the headliner and look while you cycle the sunroof to slide. This is not for the faint of heart, but not beyond someone adventurous and with patience. If you find your glitch, and can fix it yourself, great. If not, you'll have to weigh either living with the problem in a 7 year old car, or possibly investing some real money into getting a Subaru technician to fix it. It could be very expensive or relatively cheap, depending on what they find. Good Luck!

I follow the TwinTurbo.net Nisan 300ZX forum, and have done so for several years. Every couple of weeks someone will ask what to do about his manual tranny grinding while going into certain gears. Everytime it is suggested by more than one person to change the tranny fluid to Redline MT-90. Likewise, every person taking the advice comes back to rave about how it dramatically made the tranny shift much smoother AND cleared up all, if not almost all of their grinding gear issues. I haven't had the reason to try it myself on my own 300ZX, or Subaru for that matter, but it certainly sounds like it would be a worthwhile experiment to cure the problem versus a tranny rebuild.

This may be trivial to some, but since I owned a 97 OB before my 02 OB, and I did my own oil changes, etc., the phase 1 engine had the oil filter on the driver's side, while the phase 2 moved it to the passenger side. Obviously major changes to the block were done as well.

I had a similar problem with my 300ZX years ago, and figured that since the problem had occurred suddenly, that the switch was the most logical place to start, and the cheapest as to parts cost and time. I tried spraying the switch with lots of elecrical contact cleaner around the switch button itself, in order to get the fluid to get inside the switch to its contacts. I eventually just popped the switch out of the door panel, unhooked the wire harness and sprayed the cleaner into any cracks I could get and then cycled the switch several dozen times to move the contacts through the fluid. Then I gave the switch 10 MINUTES to evaporate the fluid before I hooked up the wiring harness again, and Bingo...power windows once more. It worked for me. Hope it works for you!

I've never had to remove the instrument panel on any of my Subaru's but several other cars in the past, and came up against the same problem. Each time all I had to do was to remove the plastic covers on the steering column. Usually they split along the sides and are held to the steering column by screws located in the bottom. Once the screws are out just pull the bottom cover off and the top one should be able to be lifted off as well. That should give you clearance to remove the instrument panel without having to drop the steering column. Good luck!

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I recall my 97 OBW drew its air from inside of the passenger fender well, up near the grill, not from the hot engine compartment. As well, I recall asking a Subaru technician about why the air box plumbing went all different directions and even had two sections of 2 inch diameter plastic pipe that extended about a foot and just stopped. He replied that they were designed to deliver or eliminate (duh, I can't remember) air pulses to the throttle body, or something like that. You may be creating a problem by eliminating them. Do some research first! And what about all of the water that you'll suck into that opening?

I've owned 2 OBW LTD's since 97 and I will own more of them in the future. Both have automatics, no major engine or tranny problems, and both are just the cats _ss in the slippery stuff, and at carrying stuff. The 97 developed the piston slap annoyance but few other problems that I consider just the cost of owning a car. Certainly, save money and buy the cheaper model if you must, but if you have the disposable income spoil yourself on the OB or a LTD. There are very few where I live and I kind of like not driving what everybody else does.

Just finished a cross province (Ontario, Canada) trip and averaged over 35 miles per gallon, averaging a speed of 115 kph (71mph) with my 02 OBW (auto). Before anyone other than Canadians has a heart attack, remember that UK gallons (we used them here before going metric back in the 70's) are about a fifth larger than US gallons, and that's what my figures are based on. If I had behaved myself more on Highway 401, I'm pretty sure that I could have gotten 38 mpg at least, if I stayed with the posted speed limit at 100 kph (62 mph). I have to admit, even I am impressed. ( By the way, if I use US gallons in the figures, it works out to 29.28 mpg.)

Bridgestone Blizzaks are terrific! My 97 OB ran 195/70/15's on steel wheels and there was no white knuckled driving. The grip was amazing, but stopping power was not an improvement over standard tires. On my 02 OB I stayed with the stock tire size on the car, 225/60/16, Blizzaks and steel wheels and it was a mistake. The wider tire size doesn't allow for the same amount of traction at the same speeds. There is a big width difference from a 195 to a 225 and the wider tires tend to ride up on the snow at higher speeds, rather than cut down through it for grip. The two tire sizes are identical at lower speeds for grip, but the narrower tire far outperforms the wider at speed. When I wear out this wider set, I'll replace them with another set of Blizzaks, but of a narrower size. On another note, I presently have a set of touring Khumo tires on my 300ZX and am very impressed with their ride and lack of noise. I have no experience with their winter tires.

My 02 OBW LTD has had a wind noise problem since I took delivery. Yes, its a warranty issue, but since the dealership is a 70 km trip away, I've put off getting it corrected until I have some more issues to get straightened out at the same time. Last week I noticed that the weatherstrip that the tweeter is attached to on the driver's door, didn't fit snuggly to the glass, and if I pressed it towards the glass, I could eliminate the wind noise. (I understand that Subaru's fix is to replace this seal.) What I did was lower the glass and pull the tweeter from the door (its a press fit with 3 plastic plugs that fit into holes in the rubber seal) Just grasp the tweeter and rock it back and forth till it pops out. Be careful not to pull the tweeter too far from its mounting since the wires to it are only 3 inches long and are very small in diameter! I discovered that the seal has a steel lining that I could push/force/bend with my hand, a small amount towards the outside of the car, thereby closing up the space in the seal that the glass slides in. This held the rubber that the tweeter sits on right onto the glass, and has totally eliminated the wind noise. Hope this helps someone out.