truk

Cool car. I went to the dealer when they first showed and liked the way it drove, and that was the normally aspirated version. Unfortunately, I always cringed a little when looking toward the back third of the vehicle. All that cladding and the lights looked strange. The prorportions back there were a little difficult for me. Tell you what, though, I saw a picture of one with a scorpion lift and it looked pretty sweet. But, hey, I didn't really like the WRX when it came out all bug-eyed. Now I'm looking at getting one someday. You'll definitely enjoy the baja. What would be cool is a larger version, not necessarily based on the Tribeca, but maybe the size of a four-door Tacoma. Stick in the new turbo diesel and I'm all over it. Any thoughts?

Perhaps the only option, then, is to break out the tape measure and head to the tire store.

Certainly true that a 215 tread width is just that on a 6.5 inch rim versus 6.0. Perhaps I'm thinking in the slightest of degrees. The edge of the rim at 6.5 inches wide with the same offset of 55mm would be 1/4 inch closer to the strut. Does it make sense to think that the tire would be that much wider at the bead and then bend up and around to the 215 tread width? So, I'm a little worried about rubbing along the sidewall, but it would probably be ok.

Hey, ya'll. I tried to search for an answer already, but no such luck on specifics... I have a friend with an extra set of WRX wheels and I'm thinking of mounting them on my 96 OBW. Right now I'm running 215/70s, which are slightly taller (almost an inch for these particular Winstons) and wider than stock. Stick my hand back around the tire and I have about a finger's width clearance between rubber and the spring/strut guard. Tight, but it works and the tires look sweet, filling out the wheel well perfectly. 40k with good performance and no issues. So, the 2002 WRX wheels are a little wider (6.5 vs. 6.0 as I've read) but the same offset at 55mm. Say I put on 215/65 on them, and reason would suggest that I'll be 1/4 closer to the spring/strut guard on the inside but about the same height. Looking for anyone who might have done this wheel upgrade with the same outback tire size or slightly larger. I want the widest and tallest that will fit. Thanks.

Ah, yes. Richmond, my new home. Just moved a few months ago and have not gotten around to changing all the addresses. Probably looking to stay in the immediate Richmond area, but thanks for the info.

Very interesting. Could I get this guy's contact info and get a look at this? This would be the engine, ECU, and all that? Automatic trans?

Hey, ya'll. Well, the day has finally come for my '96 OBW. The old phase 1 2.5 had a good run to 142k without HG issues. Now I've got intermittent overheating, bubbles in the coolant, etc. and I think I know what's coming. Got one quote for $2400 to take the engine out, replace all the main seals, HGs, timing belt, etc. Needless to say, I had to chew on a few Tums after hearing that. So, at this point I'm shopping around and I'm open to suggestions. Specifically, I'm looking for a reputable mechanic in the Richmond, VA area. Delta V motorsports gave me the above quote, and I know Island Imports is good with Subies, but I had a bad experience with my girlfriend's old tercel there last summer. Of course, there's always the possibility of going into more debt for a sweet 2005 gt wagon 5spd... Anyone got any ideas? Thanks, P

I've got a 96' OBW--love the car--and it has ticking every so often. I found that it was the valves. Not enough oil getting up to them. Recently it had started up, and when I added a little oil, the ticking subsided. Could be that the car is a little low, and if the front crank seal has not been replaced, you'll find a little drip coming from the the timing belt cover underneath. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Setright said - --I would strongly recommend replacing the discs - or having the old ones resurfaced. If you don't, you will experience problems very soon. --- Could you elaborate a little on why problems might arise?

Time to replace some brake pads on my 96 OBW. Been hearing this scraping sound from the RR wheel, checked and saw some scoring in the middle of the rotor. In some threads folks mention the antirattle clip breaking. And the OEM brakes produce a warning sound when things get thin. How would those sounds differ? Anyways, I've been wanting to do this job myself for some time, and Haynes shows a pretty easy procedure. Could someone who has done this provide me with a list of tools I might need? And would I just need the pad replacements, or shims, clips and antisqueal compound as well? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Truk

a toggle switch is a good idea. Thanks. And I measured with a mulimeter, though I must be sloppy. In x1k mode, which I assume is 1000 times whatever the number, the needle dipped just slightly down from infinity to hair beyond 1k when grounded. This would mean something less than 1,000,000 ohms. Not too good of a number. Need a digital perhaps. Blitz says 560k for his. It could be around there.

I heard it is a general rule to ground the amp as close as possible to the unit, so I did so using one of the bolts for the drivers seat. The amp sits just under the seat. Power is coming directly from the battery, which itself is grounded to the engine block. Do these filters hurt the sounds you want to hear, cut out certain frequencies? thanks

Got a 100 Watt amp plugged in at the battery running two 6x9s mounted behind the seat in back, but I got kind of tired of the alternator and whatever else electrical being picked up, so you hear it in the background. Other folks had any whine when setting up an aftermarket system in a Soob? Are we talkin' amp quality versus proper grounding? Bought mine on Ebay for cheap.

THanks, Blitz, I might have to give that a try. The white connector is right there under the throttle wires and one could plug in a resistor there and ground it. Nice. Anyone know if the 560k ohm reading for the sensor is right for a '96 as well? Who's got one of those shop manuals?

Blitz, since it sounds like you cut off the signal for knock, did you get a Check Engine light? The ECM doesn't care? What about real knock that could damage your engine? And this gave you smooth acceleration, a real difference right away? I am close to constructing something like you described, based on the stuff on the pages I noted, but I don't necessarily want to block out true knock sounds. So it would be like a 30% reduction or something. And I have looked into just replacing the sensor, supposing it does not do the best job anymore, but if there is any info on sensor improvements by Subaru, I would like to know.

Yeah, I used to reset the computer every week because this was so annoying. Likes to creep back on.

Alright, let me begin by saying that I have spent many hours poring over whatever information I could find online, including this site re: Subaru hesitation, its causes and solutions. Over the past year or so good things have popped up here, and I'm hoping that some of you can shed some light. You might be bored with this issue, but then there are those that should read on. My '96 OBW 2.5 Auto with 93k has had this famous hesitation thing as long as I can remember (bought with 36k in 2000). Between 2500 and 2700 or so revs during acceleration, especially going uphill, the engine feels likes it can't decide whether to go faster or not, like mollasses got in there or something. Then at the high end of that range it comes out of it and smoothly heads on through the power band. No bucking or pronounced stutter, just a bit of sluggishness, a nervous tach needle, right through that range. I have to floor it sometimes to really get the horses out. It's extremely irritating and gas-guzzling. So, what have I had done to the car? Been a while since I've replaced anything (spent 6 months hiking the Appalachian Trail this past year), but at around 75k I replaced the timing belt, crank seals, fuel filter, plugs and wires, pcv valve, K&N air, trans. and diff. fluids, cleaned the TPS and had one of those fuel system vacs done at the dealer. All of this for love of the car and to try and fix the hesitation. No good. I run fuel system cleaner through every once in a while. Even when I use the recommened high octane for this engine, it is still there. I keep thinking that this is computer/electrical related. I read in several places about knock sensors and their eagerness to share every little sound with the ECM, and perhaps non-knocking noises are retarding the timing. This kind of thing is apparently common with other makes as well. So then there are ideas about adding resistors to the wire to hush the signal a bit. Well, I finally just decided to visit the dealer today and find a decent Soob mechanic who could answer some questions. Got to talking with this guy back in one of the bays, and I asked him about sensitive knock sensors, any upgrades from Subaru, and any relationship these have with the hesitation I described. No. They hadn't seen anything about it. Hmm. He pointed out that my '96 2.5 has solid mounts, and around the RPM range I spoke of the engine shudders and/or resonates, which I might think is a hesitation. Could the ECM pick this up as knock? Not likely. I could get liquid-filled mounts. Also, the engines are prone to carbon buildup. BG system cleaner and some Chevron gas should keep things clear. Hmm. And, bummer, I did not get the chance to take him for a ride. I'm looking for more information, especially on these topics: -- Would carbon buildup possibly cause the hesitation in that RPM range, but not outside of it? If so, why? -- If there truly is knocking, and the ECM retards timing, would I be able to really feel that change while driving? Is there some way to monitor that to see if the ECM is making changes? --If this engine shuddering thing is true, and perhaps that and other engine vibration are being picked up by the knock sensor as knocking, what do I need to find out? Can it be measured? How much resistance should be used inline if this does happen, and what is the Ohms spec on the sensor? Has anyone made their own resistor setup and what have you used? I have consulted these pages: http://www.charm.net/~mchaney/knock.gif http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/6647/ta93/knock.htm http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/modifications/drivetrain/paperclip/paperclip.html --Has Subaru made any changes to this sensor to make it less sensitive? Have they produced a replacement ECM with updated programming to account for the sensitivity? --What measureable effect does a rubber washer or other material have at the sensor location? --Do you have a '96 with the 2.5, and have you experienced any of the stuff I'm talking about? Call me obsessive, but I just want my car to run like it should, you know? Somebody out there has answers. Please Share.