lekmedm

I've had them on my '98 OBW since the spring and absolutely love 'em! They are very quiet, run well in the rain, and have awsome grip.

While I was researching a light bar for my truck, I ran across the Carr Light Wing which is used to mount accessory lights. It replaces your license plate mount and has extensions to either side for lights. You can have a look at it here: http://www.accessconnect.com/carr_light_wing.htm It seems to have a pretty universal application, if anyone's interested. BTW, nipper, I am also curious where you found that rear fog lamp.

My 1998 OBW has door lights for all four doors plus the rear hatch.

Does anyone have a picture of where exactly the vacuum line is that I should use to suck in Seafoam to clean the upper part of the engine? I'm pretty good with instructions, but visual aids are always best!

I concur! What's the big deal with that? We buy a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi, but a half gallon (2 quarts) of milk. C'mon, my fellow Americans... Can't we straighten out this BS and finally go metric...?

If your car's stereo has CD changer controls (even if you don't have a CD changer) there's something new that's really neat for iPod use with factory radios. It's called iPod2car. You can check out the company's website here: http://www.peripheralelectronics.com/web/ipod2car.asp It sounds like a really great idea since you can run your iPod by using your radio's controls and the display should show you song info as well. You do, of course, lose the connection for a CD changer, although I don't know why you would want or need one since an iPod can hold so much more music. The harnesses are vehicle-specific, so you have to see if there's one available for your Subie. I've also seen these on sale at Crutchfield's, so have a look there, too.

Just to clear this up for you, the rear fog lights are not white or yellow like up in front. The European rear fog light is red and, I believe, has the same brightness as the brake lights. Driving around here, you may see the odd Audi or Mercedes that has a strangely bright red light closer to the license plate on. Well, that's it, and usually there's some dope behind the wheel who doesn't know he has it on. Hey nipper, please post whatever solution you find for mounting the light. It would be nice to have something like that on my '98 OBW, too. We don't get that kind of fog often, but the one time you do and get kicked in the can, you'll wish you had that light! Good luck with that trip, too! It sounds like fun.

You know, I would have loved to met up with you. We had a vacation home up in the Pandrup area, but didn't really end up getting a lot of use out of it since we travelled around quite a bit. Legoland in Billund was fun! Wow! I knew the taxes were high in many European countries, but some of those costs would make me think you'd see more people on bicycles! Our rental car was a Peugeot 307 wagon. It was really nice and had a lot of spirit in it. I guess Santa Claus is driving a Sube up in Lapland! I was just following the pack... I've seen tricks like that before. In Poland up until recently, you could take a wagon and install a barrier for the back (looks like a dog barrier) and register the car as a "truck" so that you can get the VAT back. I think the got rid of that loophole a year or two ago. It's kind of funny when you see a Fiat Cinquecento that's registered as a "truck"!!

I just recently returned from a trip around Europe with some observations and questions about the state of automotive preferences in the Old World. My trip started out in Denmark. I remember that our forum has one member from there and had him in mind as I looked around at how many Subies I could find on the roads. Sadly, I only found 1 OBW the whole time I was there and no other models. I did quite a bit of driving while I was there (your highways are great doing 160 - 180 kph!) so I would have had a good chance of spotting some Subes while I checked out other cars as well. I had a chance to drive over a bit in Sweden as well and didn't see any Subarus at all. Touring around in Scandinavia, I was also surprised that I only saw 1 Volvo XC, and that was a taxi cab. So, was this just strange luck for me that I didn't see more AWD wagons while I was there? In an area of the world that gets its fair share of snow, I would think there would be a few more out there. I was surprised to see more SUVs on the roads than I expected considering that gasoline is more expensive there than in the US. In fact, most of those SUVs were of the Korean variety! How do those of you over there rate those trucks? ...and what the hell is this SSangYong doo-dad...??? I actually saw more of those SUVs than Subies. I also spent a week in Spain's Costa del Sol. There are also a lot of trucks there, but with the mountainous terrain, I'm not surprised. I did actually see one Outback there as well but that's it. Is there anyone here from Spain who can elaborate on the popularity of Subaru over there? Or for that matter, perhaps anyone from there respective countries might want to chime in on Subies in those countries. I can say that here in New Jersey I can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Subaru of one kind or another, that's how popular they are.

Were they putting the 2.2L into the '99 Legacies? I thought they all got the 2.5L. ...unless you've had a 2.2L swapped in...

I have a 7 year old monkey we pack into the back of our Outback Wagon, and with luggage and food in the back, we still have room for another passenger in the back seat. It seems to me that wagons of this size work well for families like yours. I guess it also depends on how much you pack for trips. You could always get one of those roof cargo thingies if you need extra space for extended trips.

When I replaced the plugs on my '98, I did it from under the car. I didn't have to remove anything, but it was working on my back. Check it out and see what will work best for you. Going from under wasn't bad at all even though the space is tight.

Would you let me know what places you are considering? I'm not too far from you, and even though I don't need an engine right now, it never hurts to know what's around.

So let me get this straight. I need to dumb this down a bit. I have to take apart the dash to get to the switch. I leave the harness plugged in. Turn the switch to "2". I ground the negative lead of the voltmeter to a known ground somewhere in the car other than that harness. I insert the probe where the wires enter the plug from the back to take readings. First read Green/Black, then Red/Yellow. Finally check the Red/Yellow at the back of the harness at the resistor pack using the same procedure. I think you did a good job with the description. I just wanted to make sure. I really appreciate the help.

OK, so I jumped the wires at the plug from the back of the switch and position 2 still doesn't blow. The wire colors are: Black Green Black Black White Red Yellow Yellow Black Black Yellow Nothing happened with Red Yellow. You can see a pdf of the A/C wiring diagram for my car here: http://www.boomspeed.com/lekmedm/AC_wiring.pdf. What's next?

So, basicly, you're saying check the ohm reading on the back of the switch, and/or jump the wires on the harness. Am I right?

Yes, it was brand-spanking new.

With the hot, hot, hot AC weather here, this thread boomerangs back so I may finally take care of this annoyance... I just wanted to confirm with OB99W, that you are asking me to check the colors/patterns of wires leading to the AC switch so that we're both on the same page, right? Yes, I have a voltmeter, and I'd say I'm an average user with it. BTW, I had once downloaded the wiring diagram for my car from the Subaru site, so I can send you that if it helps. I hope you're still available to lend a hand. If anyone else has any ideas, I'm always open to suggestions. Thanks all!

I used www.car-part.com to track down a second set of rims for my '98 OBW. It had the boring 15" 6 spoke rims on it and these turn out to be the least expensive style I could find, so I found a second set in better condition than the ones I had. I paid $45 each for 3 at one salvage yard and I think about $60 for the fourth one. The old set with some corrosion on them have some nice Nokian winters that were just awsome this past season, while the new(er) set has Goodyear Assurance on them that are doing really great right now.

I actually replaced the plugs by getting at them from under the car. It wasn't necessarily easier, but I didn't have to remove any components like you do from the top. Not too bad overall.

I put the Assurance tires on our 1998 OBW this spring and have been happy with them. They are very quiet and do very well in the rain. I can't say anything for their performance in the snow beyond what I've read, and that is that they do fairly well. I won't be testing mine since I have a second set of Nokian's for the winter that were absolutely awsome this past winter and got my wife out of a particularly scary situation during a snowstorm at night. Snow+Subaru+Nokians=getting home and sleeping soundly.

I had the HG leak fix done at one dealer, and it seems that he didn't replace this part. My local dealer said they probably corrected the HG with the engine in the car, and that's why they didn't see it or replace it. My local guy redid the camshaft seals and some other stuff under warranty since the other place had already done that work. Go figure...

Recently having an oil leak repaired under warranty at the dealer, he said that the PCV shield at the back of the engine was also leaking. What the hell is a PCV shield??? It would be several hundred dollars to fix since they have to drop the tranny to get to this thing.

Thanks for all your help, everyone. You guys rock!

Hi all! I just wanted to confirm something that wasn't entirely clear to me from another thread... I would like to change the gear oil in the front diff of my 1998 OBW auto. My question is: what is the size socket for the drain plug? From what I read, I think it's supposed to be 13/16", but I wanted to make sure. This seems a bit strange since the plug to the transmission pan is 17mm. Why would one be in mm and the other in inches? :-\