Ranger83

Try taking it to a shop like Dent Wizard, they press the dnts out form the back. Don't know if it's feasible for hail damage.

She was going to buy a used Passat, but some people she worked with filled her in on their service bills. Change of plann.... When her husband found out she was getting another Subaru (her 4th) he quoted Godfather 3 about "Subaru Nation": "“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

Where are you in New England? You can find lots of used tires in The WantAdvertiser, a $2.50 weekly publication in the Greater Boston area. There's a similar publication in ME called Uncle Fred's or something like that. I found a set of Nokians on Subaru steel rims last season for $200. Costco will install Michelin X-Ice for $91 each but they don't stock them. That's nearly $20 per tire less than tire stores, or Nokian RSI's. If it's that important to you, buy them and be done with it. But there is no comparison between a SAAB and Subaru in snow. Lots of people will get stuck before you, blocking the way.....

I just bought a 3.0R wagon. It has 17's, now I'm looking for some 16" rims for dedicated snows.

I intend to mount dedicated snows on an 06 Outback when I get it. Standard rim is 17" but there are a lot of suggestions to go to a 16" rim with a higher aspect ratio snow tire. Do the stock 16" rims from a 2005 or 2000-2004 OB fit? Anywhere to look up the bolt circle and offset? TIA

I replaced the HG on my 97 at 140K even though not blown. The heads were milled at that point so they were flat, which also helps HG longevity. Currently has 164K. Just sold it to my sister-in-law, who drives 2,500 miles a month, so we'll see how long it lasts.

97 OBW, just turned 164K on the way to my sister-in-laws's house in VT. She bought it to replace her 97 with 244,000 miles on it. Nothing distinctive except that the pinstripe, Outback tag in the front grille, AWD decals and roof crossbars were removed to clean up the profile.

What Green96GT said...

I stopped at the WalMart in S Burlington, VT one morning after 6" of snow, and almost 1/3rd of the cars in the lot - 7 of 22 - were Subarus. There are half a dozen nearby where I live in Boston, from other 97's to 2000-4 OBW's and one 95 Legacy wagon. You can also check out the thread Craigslist "Subaru Quotient"

I had a similar problem, wheel sensor.

I had a body shop push one out, they charged me $30 or $40.

Well, it turns out Subaru introduced what I wanted previously - a 6 cylinder wagon without a sun roof and with 5 speed auto. It's called the Outback 3.0R Base. There are almost none at dealers, they'll get back to me on cost and delivery time today. It has the 5 spoke wheels of the other 6's, and says 3.0R in the back. That means if you take off the 3.0R it looks just like a 4 cyl OBW, but with 75 more hp.....

....not to mention they now own 10% or so of FHI. I may buy an 05 or 06 OBW, we'll see.

Well, our last 97 OBW goes away tomorrow. My sister-in-law's 97 OBW died at 245K miles (rebuilt engine ble up, not sure of details) so she is buying mine. mere pup at 164,000 miles. She commutes about 100 miles a day in VT and they live up a mile of dirt roads, with an uphill S shaped driveway, so AWD is pretty essential. I had the head gaskets replaced at 140K. The Michelin Hydro Edge were put on at 120K. So it will be interesting to see how far she gets. If I could find a 99 with moderate mileage I'd take a look as a replacement. Otherwise right now it looks like a Toyota Highlander.

The Goodyear is rated #1 "If icy roads aren't a factor." The two top-rated tires in the report were the Michelin X and HydroEdge IF all-weather performance was most important. That's because the Goodyear had poor performance stopping on ice. They found the HydroEdge to be noisier than the X radial, but I replaced my X's with HydroEdge and found them to be quieter. So YMMV. The HydroEdge have 43,000 and still have 9/32nds tread depth. The X radial is not directional. It's only available at clubs like Costco, but an identical design is available from NTB and others. The Hankook Mileage Plus II H725 did reasonably well and was $50 a tire. TheYokohama Avid TRZ has nearly identical performance to the Goodyear at $70 per tire.

I had the idea I could get them for around $135 each. At $180 each I'm going to live with the existing units.

I've found the HydroEdge to be decent in snow. The dealer says the Harmony is better in snow than the HydroEdge.

Headlamp assy Right - 1995-97 1997 $249.95 $181.46 Is that it?

I replaced my HG at 140K miles, preemptively. It's around $1200. Go to Car Talk and look in the MechanX files for local foreign car repair garages. Folks who work on Subarus are common in the snow belt, but there should be someone to help yall.

WalMart has Sylvania XtraVisions in a two pack. Forget the price, it's low. I put them in all our cars for the Winter - noticably brighter low beams. Or, as mentioned you can spend about twice as much for the "Fake HID" look of the Silverstars. Then buy a big fat muffler tip for more horsepower.....

This is for a '99 Legacy GT? You will note that plenty of people make claims about performance or mpg improvements for K&N and other after-market air filters. But I've yet to find one who carefully documented the performance and MPG of the vehicle before and after the change. I'd expect the mpg improvement to be approximately zero. And the performance improvement at public road speeds to be approximately zero. With the importance that buyers place on the EPA sticker #'s and 0-60 performance, if they were better they'd be OEM. The trade-off in engine wear due to particulate matter and increased noise aren't worth it.

Then pur in just a little at a time. After the first few gulps I found it would idle.

Used on eBay, or Craigslist.

- Remove the pinstripe above the lower body color. - Remove the Outback badge from the grille and the AWD stickers in the side windows. - Cover all the metal parts under the hood with light grease or protectant oil. They rust. - Check your tire pressure. - Make sure your headlights and foglights are properly aimed. - Buy the Haynes manual. Read it.

I want my Legacy to Legasee.