1 Lucky Texan

I have very low usage and do oil changes twice a year. April and October, and i KNOW I could go longer - but, I save a little doing the work myself. show her those rip-off videos mentioned above. Encourage her to continue taking care of her car, but explain that some strictly mechanical items like air filters and spark plugs just won't really go bad with TIME. I dunno what kind of car she has, might not be unusual for a 10-12 year old hose to look/feel questionable, rubber DOES degrade with time, but, if she's gonna continue to insist on the schedule she's been using, find an independent shop that is HONEST. Thos quik-lube places offer oil changes as 'loss leaders' and LIVE on upselling often unneeded services.

While I don't see it listed in a brief search at http://www.pioneerautoshow.com/inventory.php , There was a Subaru Sambar sitting next to a Lloyd van that was shown on an episode of AP called; "If You Talk Nice to Me" In Murdo S. Dakota just fyi

is fluid being pushed into the overflow? any drips on the ground? if not, you need to look at oil and maybe auto trans fluid levels to see if they're increasing. If not, coolant is going out the tailpipe.

in post #1 you say it got a new water pump(???) and thermo. was the thermostat an OEM style?

here's a thread with an 'odd' starter failure; http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/109-gen-3-2005-2009/151474-3-0-no-start.html#post2245418

that size snake should be eating rats - maybe rabbits. But yeah, not uncommon to disorient a food animal before offering it.

this seems close to what I've read. If you have 10 volts during cranking, that's a pretty good battery. If the OP's headlights are going dark, there is either a poor battery being used, or tremendous voltage drop across wires or ground or +12 connections somewhere. that battery should be tested. Even a fairly new battery can be degraded by a few excursions to 'dead' discharge. Sulfates build-up on the plates every-time that happens.

My coworker who raised rodents for snake feeding says mice are MUCH more likely to bite you than rats. You don't really want to mess around with wild rodents. They can carry Hanta Virus and other nasty diseases.

lol! running the lawnmower would take half the time even though it's a much smaller engine - no emissions controls!

it's my understanding that 12.6 is about the highest a charged battery will show but, as said, if the capacity of the battery is reduced by sulfation or ???, it may not be able to supply the current required to spin a load like the starter. You can string 8-9 AAA batteries together and measure 12+ volts, they won't start a car though. But I think he said jumper cables failed as well which made me wonder about the cables (it is an older car) or some weird issue with a short in the starter. symptoms seem weird - but still point to the same 3-4 items. take the battery in for testing.

if the issue seems to always be at a specific throttle position - could be a TPS problem.

what year model car? even with low miles - there is a TIME side to the schedule and the car could have skipped a coupla teeth on the timing belt - that could lead to a backfire. (my wrx had only 53K miles and the tensioner seemed weak and 2 idlers were very loose - the toothed one was noisy and wobbled slightly) on some cars, a bad MAF or O2 can be found by unplugging one and noticing if the car idles better. That would mean the stock ECU a:f map is doing a better job than the ECU does with 'bad' data from one of the 2 main a:f sensors. but I'm not sure it's a good test for all year models? - maybe someone else can explain if I have it wrong.

Since the Ford Explorer issue , fall-out has been the TPMS in new cars, and a reluctance on sellers to deal with older used tires, certainly used tires 6-8 years old are much less available since the Fed 'guidelines' and NHTSA 'warnings' . Not sure what the current state of the issue is, but shops are reluctant to even repair and older titre. Yes, you can still find them, but 'reputable' shops won't risk litigation that may come from selling/patching an older tire.

vacuum gauge testing might help rule out clogged exhaust and vacuum leak. getting freezeframe or live data would be nice, fuel trim numbers can tell you a lot.

yep, my co-worker raises snakes and has raised his own mice and rats. He says mice can get their entire bodies thru a hole a little more than 1/4" in dia!

peanuts/peanut butter is about the best attractant. better than cheese. I've read they like to set-up shop in the a/c-heating ductwork. once you confirm they are out (sounds like there is some nesting somewhere - maybe outside the vehicle) you could get some snake sheds (someone who keeps a snake, or a pet store or the local zoo) and or some "clumps" from a cat box under the car - re-fresh occasionally - may help keep them out.

you must confirm that a soob-style t'stat is in the car. I have yet to read of an additive that will fix typical soob HG failures and it makes sense why there never will be one.

it is a little like HGs, (soobs rarely blow the white smoke out the tailpipe. usually, there will be bubbles in the rad or o'flow.) but often that will blow a huge amount of coolant into the overflow. hope it isn't of course.

accelerating causes 'squat' so, all the rear suspension gets compressed. 'Knock' doesn't 'seem' like a bearing. though, soob bearings DO exhibit odd/varied symptoms sometimes when failing, knock doesn't seem to be one from what I have read. suspension parts or possibly diff bushings i guess ??? also, definitely worth checking lug nuts/studs, rear axle nuts and brake shields, etc.

a mechanic SHOULD know to only use an OEM style t'stat on a Subaru, but it's only 2 bolts to confirm.

kinda odd symptoms. we're just guessing without some way to measure/track a:f ratios during the warm-up period. My guess, a 96 could have some gummy deposits in the IACV that change characteristics as the car warms-up I guess. You might clean it. If the car is equipped with a MAF, there's a special spray cleaner for that as well.

if the car uses 9005 for that location, you can 'hack' 9011 bulbs to fit - much brighter. EDIT - low beams seem to be H7, not aware of any 'hack' for those. high beams are upgrade-able to modded 9011 though.

IACV problem (might just need cleaning) could cause idle-only problems.

if you get and fix the car. please tell us what you find? thanx

I'd still be suspicious of; bad cables, bad battery and bad starter contacts/plunger. But I admit, it seems a little odd. 12.5 with no load doesn't necessarily mean the battery is good.