2X2KOB

And you can use folded hunks of cardboard for sharp edge strap protectors, maybe 2 or 3 thick, works fine.

Mine does the same thing. It's pretty far down the fixit list.

On a 2000 Outback, I would, if it was just a sheet or two of 3/4", 3 or 4 sheets of 1/2". If the distance was short and I could keep it under 35 mph or so. Probably cut a couple 48" lengths of 2x4 to use as extra crossbars and strap it down good. You can run those straps through the interior, too. I'm used to hauling my canoe around on top of the Outback though. I think the sticker on that roof rack says not to exceed 100 pounds or something like that. I had a 1984 Subaru wagon when I started building the house, and I made a permanently installed 48" wide wood roof rack for it out of oak 2x4s, lag bolted up through the roof. They dinged me on trade-in for that a little bit. But it would haul 16 12 foot 2x12s. Drove funny though.

The US spec year 2000 Outback four cylinder 2.5 engines (3 of them) that I have seen have steel ones with sharp edges. Not sure what engine you have.

Is there a common cause for all these bad rod bearings? Is it normal age and wear, or something else? The question goes to prevention... Thanks Mark

OK, thanks!

The 4EAT trans in my 2000 OBW (261k) seems to be working OK. What do you think of using Trans-X as a sort of preventive measure? If I can head off any potential problems, I'd like to do that. I have been doing a partial trans fluid change by draining the four quarts in the pan and replacing it with Mobil 1 synthetic ATF about every 10,000 miles, which I think should help the health of the trans.

PM me with your email address, I'll send you some info on how to do this. What kind of a car do you have?

MWE is here: http://www.ccrengines.com/mwe/ Highly recommended. Not sure about just replacing boots. I have always just replaced the whole axle. Well, actually, 20 years ago I tried replacing just boots a few times, never seemed to work out too well. I think once you get road crud in there the joint is going to eat itself unless it's completely dis-assembled and cleaned right.

Air/Fuel ratio sensor? What is this thing, and where does it live? Is that the real name for it? Is it in the intake air stream, or the exhaust?

Best bet: Change your front O2 sensor. Then see what happens. If your cat was damaged five years ago, you would have seen evidence of it long ago.

One of these would do the trick - Don't need an expensive one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94169 http://www.autozone.com/R,1769679/store,332/initialAction,accessoryProductDetail/shopping/accessoryProductDetail.htm I have the one from Autozone, I use it all the time.

Buy a code scanner so you can reset it yourself. You can go years this way.

PM me your real email address, I'll send you the brake bleeding procedure PDF. It does take two people.

Looks like on the rear, the spline shaft stub is part of the CV axle. There's no roll pin to drive out like the front has. Here's a drawing from the FSM hosted on Imageshack:

I downloaded all those files for a 2000 OBW a few years ago also, and the same stuff is missing from my files.

That's a transmission (front diff) not a rear diff picture, right? I pulled out my rear CV axles yesterday and the spline shaft came out with the axle, leaving a hole in either side of the rear diff. Did I do that wrong?

I apologize, I lost your PM - Who was it that wanted the front bumper cover access tow hook cover part? I did find that inside the car, if you want it. PM me...

They gave me an acceptable settlement, I guess. Based on comparables and the mileage it was OK. I did get a chance to closely inspect the car, jacked it up and got underneath and everything, looks like the engine, auto trans, exhaust system, electronic boxes, and most of the driveline are in good shape. Since my daily driver is another 2000 OBW, I'll have lots of spare parts after I strip all the goodies off the crashed car. The car has a AM-FM-CD-cassette player, not a CD changer. Probably I want to keep that for a spare. I might sell some of the parts, but since I have a use for them, and space to store them, I'll probably end up keeping most of them. Since my wife got an 08 Impreza, I guess I'll have to change my name here.

If you would like heat to flow more efficiently from your engine into your knock sensor, then this goop is the stuff to use. Really, it's not going to make one bit of difference one way or the other. Your knock sensors will be about the same temperature as whatever they are bolted to. They are designed to work in this environment. I think maybe what you have is a coincidence.

I don't understand the point of doing this. The stuff you refer to as "dielectirc heat disappating grease" is really Thermal grease (also called thermal compound, heat paste, heat transfer compound, thermal paste, or heat sink compound) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease and is used to improve the transfer of heat between two surfaces. Heat transfer or measuring (or anything else related to heat) is not the function of your knock sensor, what it does is sense a specific type of vibration. Why do you think using this stuff is a good idea? What's it supposed to do for you?

First I must decice if I'm going to keep it, which depends on the insurance company. I'll let you know.

Wow, thanks a lot for all the replies! I still have not got settlement information, why does it take GEICO more than two weeks to look at a car and do a little math? I especially like the idea to look for a car with a bad engine or trans for cheap, and swap in the parts from the crashed car to make a good cheap one. That could work out very well. I'll let you know what happens...

I posted this on one of the Yahoo groups, but I thought I'd get a better response here. Please excuse the cross-posting, thanks. ------- So, one of my kids totalled one of our 2000 Outback wagons last week. Kind of put it under the back right corner of a Suburban, smashed the front left corner of the subie in pretty good, to the point that the A-pillar, dash and roof corner are shoved back about eight inches. The whole front, the left fender, the hood, and the driver's door skin separated in the crash. My daughter climbed out of it with a cut on her head about an inch or so long (from the top of the inside trim on the A-pillar I think) and lots of bruises and small cuts from glass, and a lesson learned I hope. She'll be all right though. She'd be somewhat more all right if she had health insurance. Question is, what's this wreck worth? I have another car just like it that I would like to have spare parts for. I think the 2.5 EJ252 engine and 4EAT transmission in the crashed car are probably good, as well as the exhaust system and probably all of the electronic parts except the smashed fusebox. The front suspension will be damaged some, but the brakes, axles, and two or three of the wheels should be good, as well as the 4.44 rear diff. It's a total for sure, both airbags blown and all that. The insurance company will pay me their opinion of the car's value, and I can buy it back from them. I don't have $$ numbers yet on that. How much would you pay for a crashed car like this, for parts? It had 140,000 miles on it and was in excellent shape.