Atomic Robot

Where are you guys getting bulbs from? I'm having a tough time finding H1 low beam bulbs for my '01 Outback. I was originally looking for Sylvania Xtravision or Hella High Performance Clear bulbs but couldn't even find the OEM replacements except at the dealer- they want $20 a piece... yeah, right. I tried Autozone, Advance, Murrays Discount (2 locations), K-Mart, and WalMart (2 locations). No H1 bulbs. Carquest can order me some Wagner OEM bulbs for $6 ea, but I don't know anything about the quality. I just found out that there's a NAPA about 15 minutes away that I'm going to stop by on the way home from work- I think their bulbs are Wagner as well. I'd hate to pay UPS charges on a $20-25 set of bulbs, but I may have to go that route if all else fails...

Swap out the stock badges for some STI badges and racing stickers. They look cool AND increase horsepower!

I had exactly the same situation with my '01- mainly the smell. I took it to the dealer- having heard that a recall was in the works (but before it actually started) and they replaced everything. They put the goo in the next time it was in for service. No problems after a year...

Come to think of it, I had to jump start my other vehicle a couple of times right before my battery died- probably contributed to its demise...

Wow- 8 years! I just replaced the battery on my '01- wouldn't hold a charge any more. The battery on my '93 lasted about 6 years- I wonder if Subaru has gone to a cheaper OEM? Maybe its just a factor of all the extra electrical stuff on my OBW...

http://www.cars101.com/

I did the tank and oil treatments not long ago, but will try the vacuum lines at some point. anybody got pics of this proceedure? I wouldn't want to dump the stuff in the wrong place... The cold-air intake mod is on hold (for now anyway) as I recently had to deal with a dead battey and this actually led me to fix some of my hesitation problems. The original battery was not holding a charge. When I removed it I found that the stock positive battery connector is very flimsy with very small surface area (2 strips) contacting the battery post so I replaced it with a big, solid one ($1.50 at WalMart). This was easy to do because it's a bolt-on; no wire stripping involved. The negative connector is only slightly better and I'm leaving it alone for the moment since I'll need to cut and strip the terminal wire to replace it. Since I was dealing with electrical stuff, I remembered a post about checking grouding points, so I removed the connector from the fender by the battery. Again, very little contact area, so I scraped the paint from under the grounding screw down to bare metal. Something made a difference- maybe it was just the battery, but performance is much better now; no more hesitation off-the-line and better overall responsiveness. Thanks for all the suggestions; I'm still interested in the cold-air mod, but unfortunately I don't have a digital camera to post pics.

I don't mind the one on the front grille, but all the others seem like overkill. I don't have the "Legacy" badges- they quit putting those on at some point. I was thinking about getting the rear windows (back doors and cargo area) tinted at some point, so I'll probably end up removing the stickers as well. Anybody got pics?

Thanks for the input! Sounds like this may be what I'm looking for- more responsiveness would be great; it's always felt a bit mushy... I've seen a few posts on this type of mod before- does it always result in an eternally lit CEL?

I have yet to find any good independant Subaru mechanics here in Cleveland, but have had good experiences at Ganley Subaru in Wickliffe. I've heard that their west side shop (Lakewood?) is good as well. Avoid the dealer in Warrensville at any cost. They failed to diagnose my head gasket problem and are more of a VW shop IMHO.

Are the side and rear badges stuck on with that foam tape that dealers use for their nameplates? I've peeled these off of every vehicle I ever owned without incident, but wasn't sure if the Outback labels were the same type. Has anyone out there "de-badged" their Outback? I'd like to see some pics.

I've had my wagon for about 9 months now and have noticed some discrepancies in performance compared to my '93... Mainly, the '01 is a dog "off the line". The '93 had a 2.2L 130hp engine, the '01 has a 2.5L 165hp engine- both auto trans. Weight:horsepower ratio is pretty much equal, but I'm convinced that the '93 would kick the '01s butt in a drag race. What can I do to give this thing some more "pop" from a standing start? I LOVE the way the '01 corners, and am actually looking forward to winter (which will heretofore be known as POWERSLIDE season). I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do to give it some more guts.

My '01 OBW recently started making an annoying squeal which seems to be coming from the right/rear brake. The sound goes away during braking and cornering. Would a new set of pads fix this, or could it be something totally unrelated to the brakes going bad?

Yup- something like "hang freely / no contact with surfaces" Oh well...

Didn't want to get it tangled up in the little soccer ball that my daughter gave me to hang in the car. The car didn't even smell bad- I just thought the vanilla would be nice. Maybe I'll call around to the boneyards and see if I can find a replacement... bajavwnsoobnut- I'm gonna have to take a look at the packaging on those stinky trees to see if there's any kind of warning about this little phenomenon- if not, maybe I'll write the company and see if they'll pony-up some cash for some new console trim.

Well, they suck anyway... I got one of those tree-shaped air fresheners (vanilla) and hung it on the shifter of my OBW. It was laying on the plastic fakey-wood console trim for a few days when I decided to get rid of it. The nice-smelling substance in the freshener had a nasty chemical reaction with the plastic trim- it melted the clear coating which had become all rippled and started to peel off. Not horribly noticable unless you know where to look, but jeez!

Hey, Tom- going right to the source, eh? Nice move. Are they seriously looking, or is it the obligatory 3-5 year threat to keep their agency on its toes? I don't know who their current agency is, but they've done a pretty good job overall. I agree with most of the posters here that they could do much better promoting the Legacy/Legacy GT and pumping their WRC experience. The Subaru is the one going straight down the snow/ice-covered road when the light turns green. The others are spinning their wheels or sliding into a ditch. They're the ones who pray for snow so they can go find an unplowed parking lot and practice power-slides. Around these parts: Forester = Women, Middle Age WRX = Men, High School - Middle Age Legacy Sedans = Men, Mid & Older Legacy Wagons = Women, Mid & Older Outbacks = About equal Men & Women, Mid & Older Tons of Outbacks & WRXs around here. Respectable showing of Foresters, as well. Not nearly as many Legacy models around. Hardly any Impreza/Outback Sport models. I've never seen a Baja outside the showroom. Intelligent (naturally!) Are you at liberty to say what agency you're with? BLATANT PLUG TO FOLLOW: Ever consider posting spots in Cleveland? There's a great full-service facility here... OK, I'm the VFX Director. Smoke, Flame, Avids, Full-Service Audio, Soundstage, Remotes... Had to ask.

Akira- Last November I traded in my '93 2WD. Some rust, needed new tires and a complete front brake job, engine sensors acting up... the Dodge dealer (where I bought my used '01) gave me $1500 for it. That's a few hundred more than trade-in blue book according to kbb.com so $2400 doesn't seem too out of line. I'd check the bluebook website as a starting point.

If your insurance will cover it, get them involved right away and get it fixed. I had a similar incident a few months back. By the time the glass company took a look, it was no longer repairable and I had to pay for a replacement.

Zip ties -ARE- the new ductape! I've got them holding together my inside fenderwell trim where the plastic fastners broke off.

I met with my dealer and they pointed out that the rust was along the entire seam; not just the one foot section that I had noticed. They determined that the source of the trouble was a missed weld which allowed water to accumulate. After a couple of calls between the dealer and district manager, I was informed that they would cover the repair/repaint. Done & done. All good. I would suggest that anybody who has an issue with their Subaru should call SOA and have them take out a case number- every time I've called them they've been friendly and helpful! Be calm and explain your situation. My approach was "This is my second Subaru and I've been really happy with both of them, but I've got an issue with... which I hope you can help me with."

Does reading the code clear it from the computer or do you need buy a reader/monitor that has this specific capability? I'd love a monitoring system, but I don't have a laptop... CEL STATUS- "ON" (after being off for the last two days).

Like me I'm sure the dealer doesn't mind being able to charge for pulling codes and fixing other stuff that may well take care of itself with a new tank of gas... sorry, my conspiracy theory mentality took over for a minute. Wouldn't it be nice to know whether the CEL that pops on during a road trip is something critical or just another BS knock sensor reading? Should I pull over and call for a pickup or go on my merry way? I am considering picking up a reader just for my own peace of mind so I know that what the mechanic is telling me isn't totally out of line. How many places are going to try to screw you over when you tell 'em you pulled the code and want them to check the... whatever?

Interesting. I never knew that this was a government thing (duh!). If they mandated the thing, they should have made the manufacturer build a reader into the dash so you could at least see if something major was going wrong before you took the car in for service. Then again, the Subie CEL goes on and off like a pinball machine compared to the one in my Honda Odyssey which has NEVER lit up. Maybe Subaru needs to use better sensors or maybe the computer is too sensitive to normal fluctuations in the sensors?

Do you have AutoZone nearby? They'll scan it for free.