Atomic Robot

I'd never heard of this Sea Foam stuff, but it sounds interesting. Here's a link I found: http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm It's supposed to be available at a couple of auto chains around here; I wonder how much it costs...

Well, maybe it's not the sensor- the car's running fine as far as I can tell. This morning on startup the CEL was "OFF" again (sometimes it comes on right with ignition). By the time I got to the end of my driveway it was lit up. AAAAARGH!

Thanks! Great pics! I guess I may be getting ahead of myself though- how do I know if it's the sensor going bad or something else causing the sensor to trip? Like I said- car's running fine, but after 3 days "OFF" the CEL is now "ON" again.

Link not working right now, but I'll try again later. Thanks!

I did a search and found several "Knock Sensor" related posts, but no pics of where it's located. Mine may need to be replaced since it seems to be turning the CEL on... Background info: '01 OBW; a few weeks ago the CEL came on. The car seemed to be running fine, but I decided to reset everything by disconnecting the battery. CEL stayed off after that. The next week I had the car in for service: Plugs, fuel filter, transmission fluid/filter, differiential service. Car ran better than ever. I went on vacation and only drove it once the following week. The next time I started it (and every time since then), the CEL came on but the car was still running great. Yesterday I had AutoZone pull the codes for me: P0328- The PCM has determined that the voltage signal from knock sensor 1 is too high for the current engine operating conditions. (Bank 1 or single sensor) (Bank 1 identifies the location of cylindar #1, while bank 2 identifies the cylindars on the opposite bank) Today when I started the car- NO CEL (when it comes on, it's always at startup) so I'm not sure if the sensor is flaky, or if other factors (engine work, car sitting for a week) needed to be digested by the computer for a while. If the sensor needs to be replaced, I'd like to DIY it if possible because the dealer quote of $195 does not sit well with me. Hence the request for pics (I'm not very comfortable working from directions without pics)... Thanks!

No- my car has 4 light modes: 1- light control "OFF" = dipped beam headlights. 2- light control 1st setting = dipped beam headlights + parking lights. 3- light control 2nd setting = full beam headlights + parking lights. 4- high beam (push/pull tree control) = high beam headlights + parking lights. Fog lights function in mode 3 only. Dipped beam headlights are always on, except when the parking brake is engaged.

Mine only work with the full beams ('01 OBW). I wish I could run them with the dipped beams- heck, I wish I could turn the OFF the dipped beams...

I'm sure that's true; you do get a somewhat skewed view of the world here because nobody's gonna post "2001 OBW- No Problems" to balance out the negative posts. I'm just really down about all this stuff- I waited a long time to upgrade myself out of these stupid problems and here they are again; seemingly way ahead of schedule...

Since it was nice out yesterday, I got my first chance to give the Outback a decent wash. To my horror, I noticed that the welded seam inside the hood on the driver's side has a bunch of rust bubbles under the paint- about a 12" strip of them. In a couple spots, the paint is already beginning to come off. I've been driving in Cleveland for 25 years and I've never had a car that started rusting this quickly. WTF?!? My '93 didn't show any rust until it was 8 years old. This looks like bad paint prep to me- don't know if it's covered under warranty. All this stuff is really starting to sour my opinion of SOA; first it was all the interior bulbs crapping out, then the head gaskets, now a 3-year-old car that's rusting. I love my AWD, but this negative stuff is adding up fast.

Thanks for the link! Once it warms up a bit, I'm gonna climb up underneath and see if this might work for the Outback.

I did a board search and didn't get any hits, so I'm going to throw this out there... Has anybody else noticed this? Just about every Outback I see (mine included) has a noticable front bumper sag for lack of a better term. This usually seems to be most evident on the passenger side where the bumper sections (are supposed to) come together. Can the plastic sections be re-aligned without too much difficulty? Or should I just get one of those front-end bras (like you didn't see that one coming) for support. Stupid pun, but serious question.

I've noticed the same thing with my '01- gonna have to look for that thread... Seems to be a very common problem.

Thanks for the info; I stopped at a dealer to pick up some parts today and they didn't have it yet either. Originally posted by cookie I have already fitted the 03 version head gaskets. I wonder if I will need the goop a few years down the road. Are the dealers replacing HGs with a re-engineered version? Mine were just done and I'm wondering the same thing... do I even need the stuff at all? Originally posted by blitz Was also told that the recall proceedure includes a system pressure check. I had this done twice, same outside temperature conditions, at two different dealers. The first one told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong (even though I was smelling coolant) and charged me $16. I took it to another dealer with a case number from SOA. They found both gaskets leaking and told me there was no way that it should have been missed- I wonder if the first dealer even checked it out at all...

Our community collects antifreeze / oil / etc. for curbside recycling so it's not a big deal for me to unload the old stuff. For people that don't have this available, some repair shops will take it- sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee. Don't make the mistake of dumping it down a storm drain; just as bad as dumping it in your yard. If it's OK to pour down the drain, make sure it's the sanitary sewer so it will end up at the treatment plant. - Kills pets. - Also kills evil, nasty, horrible rats. Don't ask.

The dealer finally got these in today: $1.16 each. They don't seem to really do much of anything other than seal the holes in the windshield cowling, but it looked wrong not having them there.

I wonder what/if they're going to charge for the stuff...

I didn't know there was anything like that available- that's why I love this place; learn something new every day! Is this an add-on to the console? Anybody got a link or a pic? Thanks!

That would be a good solution, as well.

Yeah... I thought of that one too, but I always seem to do it. :-p

After 3 months with the '01 OBW, one of the few things I really don't like is the location of the seat heater switches- I tend to rest my arm on them, turning them on by mistake. Not that big a deal right now, but in the summer... I'm considering some possible options: 1- Pulling the fuse during the months when I don't want to use the heaters. I haven't checked to see if this would deactivate things other than the seat heaters. 2- Installing some sort of cut-off switch to disconnect the power when I don't need the heaters; possibly inside the little cargo bin right behind the switches. Would be more convenient than pulling a fuse, but don't know what kind of wiring headache this might be. 3- Moving the switches; probably forward on the console somewhere. Might be a pain to cut the console and get everything to look good, but doesn't involve any rewiring. 4- Creating some kind of removable cover for the switches. This is probably what I'll try first- maybe I can find a small scrap of plastic that would fit and attach it with Velcro strips. Any suggestions? I realize that space is at a premium inside the vehicle, but this is not a good location for a rocker switch, IMHO. Any thoughts?

OK, now I feel silly. When I click the pics, I get "---". When I click the captions, I get the larger pics. Very nice BTW!

How come I can only look at the thumbs? When I click, "---" is what shows up. BTW, what does "---" mean anyway? Is it some sort of an insult? Does it mean that I'm not worthy to see the pics? Not fair. NOT FAIR! :-p

Totally agree. Can't wait to find out how much the local dealer wants for them...

'01 OBW. Yes. Thanks!

I recently had my windshield replaced due to a run-in with a big rock. Shortly after it was fixed, I noticed that the plastic pins in the bottom corners of the windshield kept poppong up. Well, now they're both gone... What are these things actually called? I don't recall ever seeing them on another car. Do the pins serve any critical purpose or are they just for aligning the windshield during installation?