oregoncoast Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Dude. Get some ac for the wife and dog....damn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrgrr Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I Love This Thread! AdventureSubaru -you are livin' the dream! Need to get some Real adventures going in mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Thanks! And yes, the AC would have been nice. We only had a few days a year in Wisconsin that the windows didn't supply sufficient breeze and now in the redwoods it rarely gets above the 80s. The Mojave and surrounding (valley of fire etc.) were simply miserable without AC. It will probably be a while before we have to do anything like that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Here are some pics from a couple weeks ago. My cousin came out to visit over her fall break as a nursing student so my wife, cousin, dog and I took the Impreza for a day trip to El Dorado National Forest. Hiked into the cascades and up toward Horsetail Falls. Bout 4 hours drive each way. Elevation about 7000 feet. The dog was thrilled. Colors were about at their peak. Not the sugar maples of Wisconsin but the glow of the aspens is great in it's own way. Close to the top of horsetail falls. On the other side of that ledge the water drops about 80 feet straight down. The car was right at home in the mountains. On this trip, the transmission started popping out of 4th gear on occasion. I have since gone over the mounts etc and it's a safe bet that it's internal. After 277,000 miles - 27,000 of which the car was lifted and 4200 of which it was towing a heavily loaded boat, the transmission is finally on it's way out. I'm driving the current transmission into the ground while searching for a good used one. Pick and Pulls in San Jose have a number of Subarus listed in their inventory. Clutch has good timing as well as it has started to show a little slippage when it has a lot of load. 5th and 3rd now occasionally will pop out of gear and the trans is getting a little growlier than usual. So it will soon be time for a little TLC on the adventure car. Missed out on the EJ dual range for sale recently. If another one pops up somewhere, someone send me a PM and let me know. I plan on putting an EA series 5 speed dual range in here eventually, but for now, am probably just going to get a $100. trans from Pick N Pull and keep driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmashedGlass Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Beautiful adventure shots. Makes me miss Colorado that much more.......I'll definitely be moving back to mountains after I am no longer required in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryot1 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 i have a 87 gl turbo dual range for parts you can take the whole car for parts at the right price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Nice pics, Far as your snorkel. Did you figure it out yet? You might look at another brands snorkel to modify or make your own from PVC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) Delete double post Edited November 14, 2013 by xbeerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Have not completed the snorkel yet. Doing my own fiberglass. Got it about halfway there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 i have a 87 gl turbo dual range for parts you can take the whole car for parts at the right price PM me on what the ballpark right price might be. I'm more interested in parts for the swap than a whole car. (We have very little parking space as it is right now.) I think I'd need the trans, shift linkage/levers flywheel, clutch, trans crossmember and drive shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Still chugging along. No long trips scheduled for this car until the "new" trans and clutch go in there. If I'm gentle on the clutch and skip 4th gear it still gets me around just fine. Even taken it down to the harbor a number of times for some kayaking, fishing and the great combination of kayak fishing. new terrain for this car. Dolphins! Humpback whales. They came as close as about 30 feet of the kayak. Been eating pretty well lately. Going to make a tandem kayak rack for the car. My wife and I recently bought a nice Necky Touring kayak for her so she can join on some of these aquatic trips. Thinking of heating some PVC to bend it similarly to some of the Thule racks. Anyone done a home built kayak rack before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 (edited) Went to San Jose PNP today. Found a 99 OBS that had been in a front end collision. I brought a printout of the manual tranny chart and the numbers matched mine just fine. 3.9 and all the gears are actually the same. (Not that I would have cared.) Other than the damage of the accident, the car was in great shape. Looked very well cared for. The gear oil in the trans was still honey colored, so someone actually cared to keep up with it. I couldn't tell the mileage of it since it was a digital odometer. But hey, for a $100. pick n pull trans, I wasn't concerned. Pulled the trans. Also grabbed the front rotors off the car for $11. a piece. And a set of rear shoes to replace the one's that are probably worn out after all that towing.Took every single spring and little piece to go with it. Rust free. Doubt I can say the same for my car. Ordered a Bahnhof clutch kit on ebay. I know. It's not an exedy. But the price was too good to pass up on. If it lasts half as long as an Exedy, I'll be satisfied. Wrote down the VIN of that 99 in the yard. Did a history check and the trans is about 140k. Car has been a California car all it's life. Explains why it was so stinkin easy to work on it. Good reason to love the west coast - NO rusty bolts! I only hope the trans comes out of my 97 as easily. Once the parts arrive, I'll finally take the tired trans out and bring the car back up to speed. Then I'll be on to the next step in the process. Maybe a bit of body lift... dual range, something or other. Need to get it out in the woods again. Edited October 28, 2014 by AdventureSubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 The take - 99 Trans, nearly new front rotors, rear shoes at about 60% - way better than the rusty stuff on there now. Clutch should be here in a couple days. Going to grab some new gear oil and exhaust manifold gaskets from O'reillys. Will probably get a new oil seperator plate from the local dealer once I confirm that it's leaking. (Because on this engine with 277k I can't tell because it's probably covered up by all the OTHER oil leaks on this engine. Still runs strong. Just gotta add some in between oil changes.) Anything I'm forgetting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 Didn't want to miss the deadline on getting my core charge back so I pulled the trans today. What a pain! The shift lever bolts were rusted tight and I had to cut them off with a grinder. Had to do the same for one of the trans crossmember bolts as well. Had to cut through the floor to access the nut where the weld broke. Rust slowed things down considerably. Other than that the removal went quickly. Am now prepping the "new" trans for install and installing the new clutch. This is where I may hit some bumps. The clip for the clutch fork is gone. Anyone got a part #? One of the clips on the throwout bearing had come off and was on the bottom of the bellhousing stuck in some grease/oil. The 99 trans has a speedo sensor and my car has a cable. How hard is it to swap over to cable? Just remove the sensor and screw the cable in? Otherwise, should be ready for install soon. Probably after the holidays though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KootenayJK Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Bet you're tempted to move into a rust-free Cali car now, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KootenayJK Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 BTW, quite the haul on the ocean bounty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thanks! And yes - no comparison on how much easier it is to work on a car where the bolts and nuts spin out lie they were put in there yesterday. I have been making a point to bring home extra nuts and bolts from the yard so I can replace the rusted/corroded ones along the way. The good news is I've had almost everything off this car at some point so it wont be long before I can only retrace my steps. And as nice and pretty as many of these rust free California cars are, this one has history and being the "adventure car" it gets so much in the way of dents, scratches and rough handling, that a little rust wont hurt. The body is very solid. Just a pain with some of the bolts and it has that usual rust in the rear quarters that I should be repairing before too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 Car is coming along and about to be back on the road again. In the meantime the 2000 Outback has been cruising along just fine. Nearly 339k and due now for some valve cover gaskets and spark plug grommets. The oil is seeping into the plug wells and making the motor a bit of a dog. The Impreza trans is in. New clutch disc, plate, TOB etc. installed. Picked up gear oil today from Walmart. Welded some small leaks in the exhaust while I had it out. Will be installed and should be driving Sunday. Hard to believe it's already been off the road for nearly 3 months! Not getting lazy... Here's the real reason the car has not had much attention lately. Born last Saturday at 10:30am. Weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. A very healthy and enthusiastic baby boy! Can't wait to teach him how to fish, hunt, paddle, play ball and fix Subarus. A very pregnant and uncomfortable wife left me few blocks of time to work on the car, but as she is recovering and a little more capable, I should be able to make more rapid progress on the improvement of the adventure car. Especially now that I have a little "helper"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sosubeme Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Hey Matt, Congrats to you and the Mrs. I see your "little helper" is all set to reel in some keepers! You missed a beauty of a winter here in WI / IL........ lucky dog... Parenting.... now that is an adventure, good luck.....best wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Thanks man! Got the last few pieces bolted together and started her up. After sitting for a few months, it growled to life and apart from the usual breaking loose of the brakes, smoothed out just fine. Clutch is tight again. (Actually too tight. May need to rig a return spring for the clutch cable) and the trans is smooth through all gears. No more watching the shift lever slam forward every time I push the clutch pedal. Will be taking it on an hour long drive tomorrow to try fishing for some leopard sharks with a few work buddies. Hope the car performs well and the feed is on in the water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Back on the road! The new trans and clutch are a night and day difference from a few months ago. Just need to grab the bottom end of the speedo cable for the new trans so I can get a working speedometer again. Otherwise, it's back to business which has included a good deal of work lately and a few fishing trips. These latest are from the other day when my father-in-law and I got some stingrays. Thinking about trying to eat one next time. These we just unhooked and pushed back into the water.... very carefully! This last one was this mornings sunrise. Subarus look good in the half light of dawn. Edited April 1, 2014 by AdventureSubaru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 As requested by wife and baby - Adventure car is now for sale! in good running condition. Put it on CL and will transfer the rack etc. to the new ride - see the start of my other build thread. If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM. Hoping whomever buys it is either a member, or becomes a member to continue the documentation this cars adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) Took a long weekend and went exploring in northern California and southern Oregon last weekend. Had a great time. Drove up Friday morning. Took a few stops for baby so he wasn't stuck in his car seat for too long. While Kira fed him, I got to wander some trails and such. Stayed in Klamath Falls at a nice little motel that was surprisingly inexpensive for all it offered. Next morning we drove to Crater Lake for some great views. I ran the car over a few snow piles on the shoulder of the road for old times sake. No white coating of salt to go with it anymore. Made friends with an XV. Ground clearance is similar. The XVs exhaust hugs the body better than my Impreza. Better approach and departure angles on the Impreza. Probably more clearance at the rockers too. But the rear diffs were nearly even. REALLY pretty country up there. Visited the Collier Logging Museum in Chiloquin. Lots of neat stuff there. Way better than expected. More of a walking self guided tour with all kinds of machinery and info from when they used horses to modern day. Since squirt is now closing in on 3 months old, I figured it was time to start teaching him about operating machinery. Did a bit of exploration up a couple of forest service roads. Was pleased to see a family picnic/handgun shoot happening at a makeshift shooting range. Such things are not seen near Santa Cruz California. The trails were rocky but relatively mild with some great views. There were offshoots that looked tempting/more rugged, but wasn't wanting to push things without having a partner vehicle/more recovery gear. I'm already researching some of the longer, more involved off road trips available to this area. Should be a good way to test out the new outback once it's lifted and ready to rove around off road. Hiked around some of the trails in the lower elevations. Mama and baby aren't quite ready to go too rugged, but we stretched our legs and logged plenty of miles with great views. Squirt and I were not ready to come back home so soon. Great trip and has me doing lots of planning for next time when the tent, a big cooler and a small grill can come with us on that mountain. Edited May 20, 2014 by AdventureSubaru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Blast from the past. This car is coming back to me, but not under the greatest of circumstances. Sold it to a local kid (Well, early 20s) last June. He was excited to take this car to great new adventures. Got a letter from the local PD yesterday. He had lost control of it on a back road, flipped it over and abandoned it. He had never registered it in his name, so it still came back as ours. We had the option of paying tow and storage fees or it was just going to the local crusher. The tow service/storage lot was kind enough to let me in after hours and let me see it. Sad car. Interior is all dirty and full of random junk. Body is done, but the stance of the wheels suggests it should be driveable. They said they would work with me on the price as the towing and storage was way more than the car was worth. Asked me what it was worth to me. I said $300. He figured the local dismantler wouldn't give any better than that and agreed. Said if I could find a key for it, he could get it out of the lot and I could pick it up. I found the spare in the same place I hid it a few years ago. Connected the battery and vroom! Familiar sound. So I'll be picking it up today or tomorrow. Will post pictures of the sad but indestructible adventure car. It would be tube frame and off road buggy if I had more space, but I'm going to part it out and pull a few mementos off. At least it can live on by keeping other Subes going. Anyone interested in parts, I'll start a thread after I go over it a little more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 This may not be as bad as I thought.... maybe I wont scrap it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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