Ranger83

We had 1-3 kids with Outbacks (2 97's and now an 06), and also have a 99 Caravan (not Grand) Sport and a 05 Nissan Quest (giant minivan). We haven't had many problems with our Caravan and the flexibility of a minivan (folding, removable seats, walkthrough, sliding doors etc) is tough to beat. The Subaru drives better, gets slightly better mileage, and has enough room for most weekend trips. We also have a Yakima RocketBox. This gives another 16 cu feet for trips. If you are just getting one for the OBW I'd get a model that is wider and shorter, as the OB tailgate can be opened but hits the back of it, at least on older models. The Quest is a whole nother story. It is faster and gets better mileage than the 4 cyl OBW's or the Caravan. It's actually fun to drive. Like other new "minivans" it's also huge, though. That Nissan V6 is a great engine. Another guy at work with two kids just sold his OBW and bought a Mazda5.

OK, all you internet sharpshooters - what if the car is stationary? Some of these nav systems require you to stop and put the vehicle in park. Today I was driving our Ford Econoline van down a highway in RI. Suddenly lost the power steering and noticed the temp gage had started moving up. Idler pulley had croaked and spit off the belt. I touched the screen on my Garmin for FIND - AUTO - REPAIR and got to a Meineke shop that was open before it overheated. No women or children were harmed. I see you've already cross-posted [in two forums] on legacygt.com, post back if you get a reply.

Yup, bet it's a great place if you want 20" rims for your Outback, yo yo yo! And a giant wing.

How to alienate prospective prospects. Post on a community forum without contributing to it in any way. And don't mention any specific experience or expertise with Subarus. Sounds like a great place to rice out a Civic though!

You are investing far too little in the only part of your car that touches the road...... Best place for tire reviews is legacygt.com. Michelins are "expensive" right? I put Michelin Hydroedge on my 97 63,000 miles ago. They still have 6-7/32nd tread (new is 11/32nd)and are the best rain tires I've ever driven on. My sister in law has the car now in VT and they are OK in snow - worn A/S's are not the hot setup for snow but you're probably talking about 5 days a year. But they lack the correct speed rating for an 05 H6.

A GI entrenching tool is perfect for the trunk.

I took the pinstripes off - even the little ones that ran over the wheel cladding. And the crossbars. And the AWD stickers in the side windows. And the Outback badge in the grille. And some decals on the tailgate. I wanted to find a Legacy hood without the ricer scoop but never found one the same color. It looks much cleaner with less rather than more. And you'll get more attention - people can't tell what's different, but they like it. Tape stripes are low rent. Wash it, wax it, save your money.....http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21523

That's the normally aspirated 2.5l engine in 2000-2004 Outbacks and Legacys? FWIW my H6 put 172hp to the wheels on a dyno. The 2.5 turbos put out about 200whp.

My '97 has Michelin Hydroedge with 63,000 miles on them and 7/32nd tread remaining. Interesting thread as the dealer (who sold both) recommended the Hedge over the TripleTred, saying they'd had problems with concentricity and keeping them in balance....

Do a search on eBay, OEM 16" rims come up regularly as people go to 17" or pimpalicious 18" rims.

You shouldn't feel bad at all - New England women buy all the cute utes in droves.

To reiterate: the rolling diameter of the 16" wheels and tires on the 05's and the 17" wheels and tires on the 06's are identical or nearly so. You can look them up on the Bridgestone website. To make the change Subaru simply went to a lower aspect ratio tire - it's done all the time aftermarket as a "+1 upgrade." Your ABS sensors, differentials etc will never know the difference.

What is your budget?

300 miles I'd certainly get an auxiliary cooler. Some users (and shops) hook them up in series with the factory in-radiator cooler. Not sure how much difference that makes.

1,000 lbs total is pretty easy. Then it comes down to how far you are towing; how often; and how long you want your car to last. I have a wagon but use trucks to tow.

17's on the 06's have the same rolling diameter.

Unless you live where the roads are icy, in which case the Michelins are better according to the CR study people cite for how good the Tripletreds are. Don't know anything about Tripple treads.... Did your mileage go down, as many people indicate with Tripletreds? The local dealer (who sells both) claims the Michelins are more uniform and quieter. But they cost more so you have to pay to play. I don't know how long the Michelins will last as it has taken more than three years to get to 63,000. Garth lives in TN so he doesn't need dedicated snows.

I don't see an auxiliary trans cooler. Any radiator shop can install one, as can the dealer or you can buy them online - installation is simple but not fun. The H6 has a very flat torque curve so it should tow pretty well. Does your trailer have trailer brakes? I think most states require them above 1,500 lbs but YMMV.

The Michelin HydroEdge we put on our 97 OBW are decent in snow and ice (relatively). They now have 63,000 miles and still have 7/32nd tread. The LGT thread has some other suggestions, some of which cost less per tire, although they don't last as long.

Surfing around and found possible solution and the real reason why HG blowPosted on legacygt.com #################### This is from the Toronto Subaru Club(TSC) FAQ - Blown Head Gaskets on Phase I&II EJ2.5 - Toronto Subaru Club Quote: Originally Posted by [b Quote[/b] ] by mutant_dan@ Jan 14, 2005 at 09:42 AM FYI: From: *Gene Goldenfeld <genegold@ Thu Jan 13, 2005 *8:06 pm Subject: *Re: [outback] Head Gasket failure info There is an interesting discussion about head gasket failure in 2.5L Subaru engines over on the subaruvanagon mailing list. (This is a mailing list for people with VW Vanagons who have swapped in a Subaru engine to replace the VW water boxer.) Indeed. In the interest of getting the discussion over here (and providing me a copy to archive), I've copied Al Wick's posts on head gasket failure from the Subaruvanagon group. I let him know. Gene ------------- I was in unusual situation where I was able to find the head warp "gasket fail" problem before the dealers were getting any failures. Many years ago I adapted a new 2.5 (10k miles) to my airplane. I have sensors galore on the plane, so when the head first started leaking, I was able to look at the data on my laptop and see that the head leaked pressure to coolant system 3 seconds after I hit full throttle. It then dissipated 5 seconds later. I really learned a lot and deliberately operated at full throttle for long periods (hour or two). All the time logging the pressures and temps every few milliseconds. So here's the deal. All failures are caused by air in the cooling system. No air, no problem. If you have air bubble AND you operate at high throttle settings, the head will warp. It takes a long time to show up. So if there was trapped air 6 months ago, then you might now start to see discolored coolant, overheating. Or it might only occur climbing a hill in hot weather. Only the 2.5 has this marginal condition. All other Subaru's bullet proof. My flying partner makes a living replacing gaskets on 2.5's these days. Number one repair item. *It appears that the 2.5 has an area at center of block/head interface which doesn't have enough coolant flow. When a bubble passes by, it boils locally. This eventually causes head to warp, gasket to give out. Subaru has tried 3 different style gaskets, even adding coolant conditioner to improve heat transfer. Still a problem. But absolutely all failures caused by trapped air in system. All models of 2.5 liter the same. The solution is very simple. Just drill and tap your coolant crossover pipe and add a fitting that allows air to leave engine and rise to your swirl pot. You will never have a problem. I operate my engine full throttle for hours at a time. Fabulous engine. -al wick -------------- I got a couple other private messages regarding the same. I'll try to clarify... The crossover tube is the aluminum coolant tube that lives under the intake manifold. It's rectangular in shape and the main coolant hose attaches to one end of it. It's the one everyone reverses. I'm unable to say there is a "best place" to add a fitting to the tube. Likely it does not matter where you place the fitting. Just somewhere in the top of this tube. The fitting needs to be on this cross over tube because this is the highest point in the ENGINE cooling system. Your goal is to purge any air that happens to be in the engine. This is different than purging air from your radiator or from your heater core. Air in the engine causes head warp. Air in other components just reduce their efficiency. We imagine that air flows with the moving coolant, but actually it only does to small degree. Drill and tap this tube. Install a fitting, and run hose from that fitting to your swirl pot. No dips in hose, it must gradually rise to swirl pot. As long as the swirl pot is above the engine it will automatically purge all air from the engine. This results in a "robust" cooling design. Robust meaning it handles unusual conditions. If your brother in law borrows your vehicle, blows a hose, and doesn't realize he needs to bleed air, no problem. Because your system automatically purges all air from engine.

Don't bet any pink slips..... CR says the LegacyGt does 7.5s 0-60, a good second more than everyone else. C&D quote 5.3s for one.

If you can break 9 seconds with an OBW, you've got the fastest 2.5 in North America. Or you are a bad guesser. 0-60 times are recorded as high 9's to 11.8 (consumer Reports - Outback 4). European models weigh less. Don't drag anyone unless it's snowing.....

Chrome grill on OB?

They come up for sale regularly at legacygt.com. If you have a 2006 the TPMS light will flash unless you put in the stems and have it reprogrammed at a dealer.

I have a 3.0 and log all fuel use. I have been alternating between Regular and High Test every 2,000 miles. So far I cannot tell any difference in average mpg. I have about 11,600 miles on it right now. It runs fine on Regular. Simply put, it runs fine on 87, 89, or 91 Octane fuel so far. I even ran it on an AWD dyno with Regular - full power - with no evidence of detonation or even significant spark retarding. I'm going to do another run in two weeks or so with High Test, but predict in increase of 2-3 peak whp. I invite those who preach Premium to conduct performance tests and report their results here. Here's the SOA Pronouncement: [emphasis added]