1 Lucky Texan

sparky - I have a very old one on my WRX and now it looks like a grey jigsaw puzzle. How would you get it off? 3M says they have a lifetime / w'ever warranty, but I guess that's for the stick-on part? clear coat is flaking off my scoop anyway so, I'm considering using a pressure washer. If I damage the paint, probably getting a respray anyway....

agree w/above - OEM brake parts are good quality and original rotors should be kept if over the minimum thickness stamped on them. Probably last 3 pad changes, maybe 2 under poor conditions (gravel dust, rust,???) OEM pads are quality ceramic compound. but Centric PosiQuiet Ceramic like I run, or other name braand ceramic pad will be a little cheaper and just as good. some folks like Wagner.... consider asking for a shop recommendation in a new thread - someone may be able to steer you to a subaru-friendly independent mechanic near your city for a second estimate.

brake calipers moving/sliding OK? When used pads are removed, are they worn evenly; inner vs outer, and parallel with their backing plates?

I have read on occasion that some car's oil control rings can be helped with marvel Mystry Oil. I don't know the procedure. I would start with the PCV valve mentioned above. And, if major work was ever done or the engine out - double check PCV and breather hose routing.

completely different issues.

I've never owned a car that didn't shock me in dry weather - as to levels of severity...could be the Subaru fabric is a worse offender than other cars you've driven? try to keep one hand or finger on some metal of the car AS you exit. That should allow comfortable discharge of any static produced.

Of course, it's extremely rare for new stuff to be bad - not impossible. Is it from the dealer or aftermarket? are the plug wires original, aftermarket replacements or new? Will they swap 1-2 for 3-4 as a test? any oil on the plug wire boots? was the original coil bad? Do you still have it? try it. grounds are critical - got any missing or corroded? try refreshing the ground connections.

put a motorcycle V-twin in it!

I think live data could be very helpful. Check into an ELM327 BT adapter and an app like Torque for your smartphone. I Think cyls 3 and 4 share half the coil (dues to waste spark ignition) so, maybe try a coil pack?

search Ebay and other sources (flatironstuning.com ?) for Tokyo Roki filters. some say you can backwards-match some mazda filters that will fit. They seem to be TR filters ?

which one usually groans? the upper one with the cam/adjust bolt or the lower on that hits the bump stop? are those called lateral links??? cutting/torching? yikes. maybe time to try WindoWeld ? probably just need to try to bounce the car with some tubing in my ear lol! really, it isn't all that annoying as you said - doesn't seem to affect tire wear yet, but I know it isn't 'right' either. fingers crossed it was the sway bar bushing! I have an electric impact. Got when I was trying to do the sspring compressors by hand - shoulda had one for 40 years if only to zap-off lug nuts. pretty sure about the bearing movement on one side and the inner tie rods bi-laterally.

though catalytic converter is part of the definition for P0420, many less expensive items/issues can trigger that code. Exhaust leaks, vacuum leaks - even lax maintenance items. getting freezeframe or live data may be needed.

2003 Outback H6 Taking a little road trip to the hill country next month. I rotated tires today. Took the opportunity to inspect around and try to get a little lube in the sway bar bushings - hoping to help an occasional 'groaning sound' from the rear when maneuvering/bouncing the car. some good news, some bad; tires evenly worn Centric PQ ceramic brake pads really last! So do OEM rotors. rear diff mount bushings look good, rear axle boots and everything back there actually looks OK to good. One or 2 suspension arm bushings look 'off-center/worn'. One of those could be source of noise I guess? No movement on rear wheel bearing up-down - side to side rocking test. No oil on top of (replaced, not original) struts. some wetness on the charcoal box ? - and, now I think, there may have been some wetness under the car from around there - will investigate further if it smells like fuel - haven't noticed that and it seems it would be quite strong in the garage if even a little gas were there??? Both sides of the front have about 2-3mm of 3-9 o'clock movement at the wheels(tires on) - appears to be inner tire rods. No apparent problems felt inside or tire wear but, I will put that on the 'to-do' list for this fall or more likely next spring. One front bearing test moved about 1mm up-down. I may let that wait...can't decide. If I diy that, everything I've read leads me to believe I should tackle it one of 2 ways - on the car with some 'hub tamer' type of device, or take the knuckle to a dealer/shop. thoughts? Still looks like the oil cooler adapter is weeping, not enough to spot the ground yet....I have read mixed reviews on success at swapping that seal so, I'm gonna wait. a front outer axle boot is ripped so, need to deal with that. I THINK I have an OEM spare axle, if not, I'll try to find a used one, reboot the inner and swap. No clicking yet so, I'm gonna let it wait too.Since it's the outer, an interesting experiment might be to try knocking the Rzeppa joint off and installing a new aftermarket one on my OEM axle...might do that and hold the axle in reserve for the other side or ??? for the money/hassle, used entire half-axle is still probably better. glanced at resevoirs and checked the oil. likely do that again before the trip.

broken tripod joint catching/releasing? parking pawl failure of some kind (there was a recall for that on some Gen2 cars - check cars101.com) is the trans pan dented? tires all the same? (identical brand/size?) is it original trans and rear diff?

You may sell a lot of some lower priced items, but if they are bad, they won't necessarily be returned because the customer must pay return shipping.

you want OEM or from whoever makes them (Denso?)

It was charged on July 23rd. I'm unlikely to use a stop leak, too soon for that. is a leak that takes 5-6 weeks too slow for the 'sniffers' a/c techs use sometimes?

could a diesel block be used to build a more reliable turbo gas engine?

I did change the o-rings at the comp. Have looked-over the hoses at the crimps. Again, I had a perhaps anomalous vacuum leak, but my 'pro' didn't find anything severe so, he charged it, used dye at my suggestion. Maybe tonight or this weekend I can be more throrough looking for dye. comp may still be pulling in but, it won't be long before pressures are too low for that. It stopped cooling. $$$ is a little tight right now so, if I can find the leak, I'll repair it myself. If not, going back to the pro I guess....

several weeks ago, I gave up working on my WRX's a/c (wouldn't hold a vacuum - but I admit I may not have closed-off the center line on the manifold) and took it to a pro. He couldn't find a leak, charged it. I asked about dye and he put some in, worked for many weeks, now, it is blowing hot again. So, hoping i could spot a bad hose or leaking connection, I checked around tonight with a UV light. No 'smoking gun' really. there are small spots under and around the compressor. The low pressure port cap is bright, but I figure the tech put it back on with dye on his hands. No big blotch on a hose or near comp. or firewall connections,, didn't see anything on brief look around the condenser.... How common would a compressor failure be and could it dribble-out spots around itself?

I've read that valve lash should really be checked on a 200K+ H6, exhaust valves stretch. Checking is not too difficult, making changes to the adjustment can be brutal...

any chance you had a little water in the tank? Condensation on plug wires? maybe cracked IACV hose?

broken ring land? dropped valve guide?

you might find a used trans with half that mileage.

we test drove an element back in the early 2000s, I didn't care for the frt-to-bk 'pitching' it did. Maybe they improved them later?