jib

Good to know. I've been using the frame rail, about 6 inches forward of the back of the front door, to get the front and back wheels up together. While I knew the diff would be fine, I missed the front plate. Thanks, Jack

Go play in the snow again. It may be that he high sided the car on the snow too, packing snow under the car and reducing the weight the wheels applied to the snow. I managed to do this on a sub 10k mile, manual tranny LGT, thinking, "Ahhh, the beauty of AWD", as I plowed into a deeply packed parking spot. Remember too, that the LGT also has the locking rear diff, like the Outback. I had at least three wheels spinning when I tried to leave. <Blush> I learned that while the LGT is an awesome handling car, it's really low and one needs to be just a little careful about riding up on the snow. many winters later, I've never had the same problem. Maybe this is what he did. Jack

I agree with Nipper here. The squeal is the wear indicator. I change my fluid a bit more, every 3-4 years (60-80k), but the pins are where the sticking comes from. I just did a brake job a few days ago and one of the most important part (to me, at least) is pulling the pins and insuring they are well lubed and that the protective rubber boots are in good shape. If you don't do this, you will wear one pad out in a hurry and be up for another brake job quickly. FYI - I have 72k on the car and this is my first set of new pads since the dealer changed them out at 8k. I switched to Akebono PRO/ACT ultra premium ceramic pads to minimize dusting and am very happy with the pedal feel on them too. I was also exceptionally happy to see the maintainence friendly arrangement for pad and/or rotor changeout on my 02 Legacy GT. Jack

It's not a bad thing. It's just that if the fluid is good, there might be a seal issue. It also doesn't mean that it's just a very recent change of fluid in an otherwise gummed up tranny. Only time will reveal that. jack

Consider changing to studs instead of head bolts. Two reasons, as follows: 1. Studs torque more evenly, as the load is truly along the axis of the bolt; there are no rotational forces. 2. You can never-sieze where the steel stud hits the aluminum casing, so you will be able to take it apart again next time. Steel and Aluminum don't play well together over the long haul and tend to oxidize into a chalky white permanently bonded mess. I've never rebuilt an engine using head bolts. For a few dollars more, use studs, nuts and hardened washers. Also, consider double height nuts, as the loading per thread is significantly lower. FYI - This is general information. I've never rebuilt a Subie engine. Jack

I recently switched from POR-15 and tried two different products, as follows: Rust Bullet http://www.rustbullet.com/ Masterseries http://www.nomorerust.com/ Both products are similar in that they are a moisture curing urethane material, but they are also much heavier, easier to apply, and I feel it will be more durable. Jack

Nope, not yet. It's still a trade off of adhesion versus mileage and likely always will. Kind of like performance (WRX STi) or mileage (Base Impreza). Pick which one you want. As for the 80k mile tires, please go buy one and drive it for a year. If you demand any kind of performance from your car, and I believe you do, since you drive a GT, you will be sorely dissapointed. A softer tire can mold itself around the irregularities in the road surface (wet or dry) and provide better grip regardless of compound. To make a tire go for 80k miles, it has to be a hard compound or it will wear away too quickly. My Mother-in-Law drives a Corolla like the older lady she is. I would not let her buy high mileage tires (I offered to pay the difference) because they won't stop as quickly as a performance tire and she definitely needs all the stopping advantage she can have. Remember, you have four small patches of rubber between you and the ditch. Harder compounds not only won't corner as well, but they won't stop as well either. If you are like me, you spent extra for the GT because it is lower, faster and better handling than the Outback or regular Legacy. Why come up short on the one item which is not only a performance item, but a safety one too? Jack

Mobil 1 is a full synthetic, Castrol Syntec is a synthetic blend. They are two entirely different oils and not comparable. Personally, I only use full synthetics. Jack

Keep doing what you are doing. Jack

Yes, overfill can be bad because of foaming, etc. Under filling, below the low level can be bad too. Fortunately, you have a quart of difference between the two. I check my oil level first thing in the morning. The car has had all night for the oil to drain down and it's cold and thick, so it's easier to ready. Bonus, there is no need to wipe the dip stick off and reinsert it. Just pull it out and read the level. Jack

I'll second this, as well as the previous WR comment. Why on Earth would you buy an 80K tire? In order to make a tire run that long, the manufacturer has to use a harder, less resilient rubber. I did this once and changed them out after a few months. These tires cannot have nearly the traction, dry or wet, of a softer 40-60K tire. The WR may be slightly less precise driving tire than a high performance 3 season street tire because it's an all weather tire. It may be the only severe duty (terminology??) tire available right now. It's a full four season high perfomance tire. Yes, there are some compromises, but it can be run four seasons and it will still outperform many dedicated snow tires. Personally, I considered the WR, but elected to run high performance tires (Yoko AVS Sports) three seasons and hakka snows for ultimate traction all year. Please don't denegrade the WR without realizing what it really is. If you need to drive in the snow and want only one set of tires, it's a great tire. Nokian winter capable tires typically have softer sidewalls to help them conform the the frozen winter surfaces and being in the right range for tire pressure is critical to good performance. Initially, I did not like the Hakka snows, but once I brought the pressures up, they performed admirably. Jack

I run 70 water/30 antifreeze and have for years in cars that did not get exposed to temperatures low enough to freeze. The key for me is that I use a half bottle of WaterWetter in each car too. Waterwetter contains a complete anti-corrosion package, in addtion to their surfactant. Also, be sure to used de-ionized water (not tap, spring or bottled water), as it is mineral free and will keep your cooling system clean. It will dissolve some of the chalky white deposits in your cooling system over time too. I ran 50/50 when we lived in Saco, Maine. Jack

Typically this is a valve seal issue. There are small "umbrella" seals on the top of each valve to keep oil from running down the valve stem. When one or more of these is damaged, oil can make it's way down the valve stem to the head of the valve. On startup, a small puddle of this oil is burned off resulting in that blue haze. During normal running, the clearances may be sufficient that this leakage does not occur, it may be a small enough flow that you cannot see the cloud, or the cat can take care of it. You may or may not have a emissions issue. While I do not know about the Subie, valve seals can be changed on some engines without removing much beyond the spark plug, valve cover and whatever part of the valve assembly is required to access the seal. Jack

Yes, greaseable components rock! My 1960 Triumph TR3 has about 17 of them. Be especially careful not to pump away on these. When you start to see the boot move, as in the grease is inflating it, slow down until it appears to be nearly full. If you overpump, you can blow out the boot, although usually it'll just blob out some grease and come undone. If this happens, squeeze out some grease and reseat the boot. Zerk fiitings on cars are rapidly disappearing - unfortunately. Jack

My 02 Legacy GT is the worst car I have ever owned with respect to the interior fogging up. Anytime moisture from the outside is introduced into the interior of the car and the window are closed, I have to turn on the A/C to keep everything from fogging up. If it wasn't great in many other ways, I would have gotten rid of it a long time ago. The endemic fogging is just very frustrating, but it's a great car otherwise. No, there are no cooling system issues. No, there are no significant air leaks. No, no filters are clogged. Yes, the windows have been cleaned with all sorts of cleaners and are squeeky clean. I've researched about everything I can, but this car just does not clear the wet air out fast enough. It's been this way since new, the dealer could notfind anything, nor have I been able either. I am the original owner. Jack

Yes, I hear of cars leaving shops with loose lug nuts enough that it's scary. Check them anytime someone else works on you wheels. jack

My kids are 11 and 13. They use a laptop and headphones. Jack

That's all well and good for turning more effectively, but how much does it accelerate wearing of the inner edge of the tread on a Subie? jack

Nokian studded tires are a little different than most, as Nokian uses a softer rubber underneath the stud. The result is that they are somewhat quieter than other studded tires. I used three sets of studded hakka snows when we lived in the east. Here in Seattle, I unstudded one set and the new set is unstudded because studs excel in very icy conditions and do not provide too much benefit elsewhere, yet they do wreak havok on the roads. If you feel you need them, for about $15/tire studs are great. Edit size - go stock or narrower, but maintian the stock diameter. the tire size calculators already listed will help with this. A narrow tire will cut into the snow and provide greater traction. Jack

I've tried that with several cars, but around 15-18 years and many hundreds of thousands of miles, someone always manages to total out my cars. It just happened again, this time to my 1988 Saab 9000 I had from new. I had stopped moving then took a 45 mph hit in the rear. I walked away after driving the Saab off the road, but with the roof pulled back 3 inches due to the rear bumper being driven in and downward, it was a total. Jack

The only thing not mentioned is the proper bed-in of the pads. Most pad manufacturers have specific protocals for breaking in the pads, which they provide with the pads. Usually it's several firm, but near stops; not full stops. Just driving on them can leave pad material deposited on the rotor, which in time and cause vibration. Jack

You may have difficulty in finding someone who will shave a tire which has been run. A pebble in the tread could damage his equipment. jack

I'll second this statement, but add for higher performance also. While I like Bosch Platimum and had used them for years, Iridium is the best plug out there right now. They are durable and the Iridium acts as a catalyst, just like platimum, but better, to allow for a hotter spark at the same gap and voltage as platinum. Jack

Probably like my 1988 Saab 9000 w/ over 250k on it a year ago. Ran like a top but was totalled out by someone not paying attention. The impact drove the back bumper down so hard, the roof pulled back three inches. That's a heck of a wallop. Saabs in the 80's , before GM got involved, were built like tanks. I drove it, yes drove it, to the side of the road and walked away in fine shape. The car that hit me didn't drive to the side of the road. It was towed. Yes, I did go the the Dr., I did get x-rays, etc., all were clean. Take care of it and run it until someone else takes it away. jack

Nonsense! While I am not familiar with what is available for Subies, Poly bushings typically come in a variety of durometers, ranging from harder to softer. The good aspect of poly is that it stays the same over time, without degrading like rubber does. Using a softer bushing where a suspension component is anchored to the body and harder ones at the wheel side of the suspension component, allows for a tighter suspension, but maintains a more supple ride. Make some calls to the typical high performance subie after market guys and see what is really available. Struts are not difficult, but can be dangerous, as you will be working with compressed springs. There are a lot of write ups on front end rebuilding all over the web. Read up on it and verify it's something you want to do. None of it is difficult, but you need to know what you are doing. Jack