SubaruForDan

I think selling it as is, but I have no idea what value to assign to it. what does a parts car go for these days?

She's dead, Jim blew the motor in my '99 legacy outback wagon. I'm not going to rebuild it, have another vehicle available to use. recommendations beside just junking it? 190 K, just turned last week, rode hard and put up wet the last few years, not exactly a lot of virginal sheetmetal, stupid bambi. window motors, defrosters, wiper motors, seat heaters, stereo, most dash lights, interior lights working. seats not ripped although driver's left bolster (?) worn from exiting and entering vehicle. headliner and all carpeting intact, driver's foot well carpet pretty much the only worn part, passenger side coffee stained. it was my work vehicle for the last 7 years, I've probably cleaned it thoroughly 3 times in that period, so it's dusty for sure. If I had a property that I could just park the car at until I get around to restoring it, I would. Liked that generation. If money ever comes my way, I'd get another one and combine the two for parts to get one or the other running. It might be sentimentality, I'm original owner, but I'd hate to see it crushed right away.

When I push in on the latch handle and toggle the key fob lock then unlock, I can open the latch manually. Otherwise, I have to use the key. Either way, it is a two handed operation, which defeats the purpose of the keyfob. Yes, that foot long plate is rusty, but is it the culprit in why my latch won't unlock? *edit* '99 OB wagon. I can remove the 6 plastic thumb pins/ 4-legged receptacle plugs. Now the interior panel can dangle. What are the next points of attachment/detachment? It looks like the bottom plastic surround of the rear windshield is attached to the interior panel.

I was just looking at the tweeter (its in the corner, right by the side view mirror. How do you get to that speaker? There are no bolts or screws, and the speaker grill does not appear flexible. I mean, I could really apply force to it, but I'd rather not break it.

The optional tweeter that I had the dealer install when I got the car, works intermittently on the passenger door. When it does work, man, does it sound good. When it doesn't, it really kills the audio experience. Any suggestions, and no, the dealer does not do any troubleshooting on the stereo stuff, I've asked. Besides, I need my arms and legs to pay for more serious stuff. PS - the driver's side is working fine, never a problem.

I'm on a roll. Last week, I fixed both my foglights, which the dealer once charged me 250, for one. My A/C this week, which they wanted 140 dollars before they would even charge it. I've nothing against the dealership. I'm at a stage (no real job in the last 6 years) in my life where I simply can not afford to keep throwing money at them. It is a 10 year old car, I need to learn to do some stuff for myself. Next items - fixing my tailgate latch, which is sticky and will only open with a key. I did ask about it, got the usual 'do a search, noob' reply. The other, which is actually a biggie for me, is to fix the tweeter on the right side of the stereo, the one that goes in the front corner by the side mirror. It was an optional speaker that I had the dealer put in when I got the car 10 years ago. For some time now, it works intermittently. When it works, holy moley, does it make a difference. And another fairly big one - the rubber seals around the bottom of both my front doors have deteriorated. last winter, after an ice storm (one of many), my doors were frozen shut. In the process of prying them open, my seals pulled away from their little mounting studs. I don't even know if you can get new rubber for a 10 year old car.

I learned about schrader valves from stuff I gleamed from searching here, saw pics of what they were in other applications (via google search, but never once did I find any pics in a car, let alone a subaru), bicycle tire stems basically, so I know what they do. I have a basic understanding of the working of air conditioning, research here discerned the difference between the high side and low side. I've just never, until today, ever actually put my hands on them, under the hood of my car. Or anywhere else, ever. What was frustrating is trying to search for visual aids in my endeavor and getting hundreds of pictures of cars' exteriors, mostly in for sale ads. Or putting 'subaru' '1999' and 'engine bay' and getting one blurry picture taken from 25 feet away of an '85 wagon with its hood open. So I spent about an hour and a half today, bending over the engine bay, poring over all the components. I knew the compressor had to be belt driven, but which pulley? I saw these plastic things, like oversized tire stem caps, one with an H, one with an L. Ah, there are the schrader valves. Followed the hose to the compresser. Anyway, I was successful, thanks to help I got here. I now know where my compressor is, how to recharge the system. Ice cubes are once again falling out of my dash board. I just wish I could have found this information 2 weeks ago when it was blisteringly hot, but better late then never.

woo hoo, I got one right. now bear with me. everything looks dry, I'm going to assume normal slow leakage due to expansion/contraction thanks to new england weather. Where does the new refrigerant go in?

thank you. Are the schrader valves under the blue plastic caps labeled Viking, one with an H, one with an L ? Are the O-rings under the blocks that the metal lines attached to the compressor by?

just how hard is it to find a simple question, where is the A/C in the engine bay of a 1999 subaru outback? Google shows page after page of pictures of the exterior of cars, mostly for sale, and precious little of the engine bay, and after 10 plus pages of hits, nothing showing WHERE THE DAMN A/C IS !!!! WTF? sorry, I'm getting frustrated. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

i have to use my key to open the rear hatch of my '99 outback wagon. While technically functional, I have to use two hands, one on the key, the other on the latch in order to open it. Parcels need to be put down before I can open the hatch. Winter is coming and there are parcels I carry that I do not want to put down in mud, slush or snow. How do I fix it?

where can I find out what is involved in recharging (just refilling, nothing more) my '99 outback wagon's a/c? Which refrigerant does it use? My dealer wants 129.99, I'm thinking kit from Pep Boys. Opinions? I tried searching Pep boys site, albeit inconclusively.

Not sure if its the bulbs or something else. Both the foglights have darkened objects in the center, leading me to think the bulbs are blown. There does not appear to be any fluid in them. And yes, I've checked all the fuses in the fuse box. Are these sealed bulbs or inserts like the headlights? How are they removed/replaced? Last time, the dealer charged me something like 180 dollars to fix one (it was definitely leaking, had fluid init, etc), and I'll drive without them before I do that again.

I just noticed something this week during some of our first icy weather. I started my car 20+ minutes before I took off (No lectures, please, its frickin' NH, and I've done this every winter). When I went to use the turn signal, the stalk moved, and there was no flashing indicator on the dashboard. Two or three tries later, it started to function, then went off before I even got to take the corner (at stop sign). It would either totally not go on, or blink 2 or 3 times, go off, and come back on when I started moving (say, left turn at a traffic light). It didn't really seem to be related to brake usage or not. That afternoon, it was working fine. I sprayed some WD-40 in the the switch recess in the steering column. This morning, it was icy again. I started the car, let it warm up for 20 minutes or so. Again, sporadic operation. I've checked the lights, they're all working. Do Subarus have those can caps that need to be replaced like the old ones on american cars from the 70s? My old dodge dart had one for each side.

I'm seriously considering removing the roof rack on my '99 Legacy Outback wagon. Will this necessitate some body work ie filling the holes with metal, welding, grinding, priming, painting, etc? Are there any aftermarket inserts to fill the holes? I've had this car 7 and a half years, and used the rack exactly once. I don't need it, and very likely never will. Since I plan to drive it into the ground, resale is not a consideration.

sounds like you've been caring for the car. I have the same year and model, and think my mileage is also not what it used to be. I think the problem is the gas and not the car. I remember when they first brought cold weather formulated gas to NH. I had a honda at the time, it was getting 410 miles to the tankful. The very first tankful of the new crap...er...cold weather formulated fuel lasted just over 330 miles to the tank. In fact, I ran out of gas for the very first time in my life thanks to that [bleeping blankety blank] stuff in that first tankful. I thought my gas guage was broken. And it is supposed to cut down on pollution? How? When it takes 18% more fuel to do the same amount of work it did before? They kept on mucking around with the formulation, and I never did recover that mileage in any of the subsequent renditions.

Now that is something that I had never even given any consideration to. I'll have to try it.

That was what I was thinking, yet, when I asked the techs, I got the Stepford Wives look. Dull, blank, uninterested, vacant, bovine, etc. Sheesh, you would think they'd at least try to sell me new struts and separate me from more of my money:brow: I don't think the higher roofline is really the culprit. Like I said before, I sense small movements very readily. Why does it seem like I'm driving the 66 microbus clinging for dear life while everybody else seems obliviously unconcerned in their much taller SUVs? What about dents in the door panels? I had a Bambi encounter a year ago new years eve. Not one but 3 deer ran into the side of my car, when I stopped to keep from running over their mother. There is a substantial crumble in my driver side rear door. Would that significantly increase susceptivity to turbulence? And, no, I didn't get it fixed because I simply do not have the 500 out of pocket to cover the deductible.

I have a 99 obw, owned since new. I think I have used the roof rack all of one time since I got the car. Lately, I've been noticing more and more, that during gusty wind conditions, my car is being tossed around, a lot. It feels about as stable as balancing a sheet of plywood on a bowling ball. I got new tires last november, and that helped a lot. On calm days, which seems to happen maybe once every 2 months, it is billiard table smooth. Anything more than a gentle zephyr, and it is white knuckle death grip time. Ok, I'll admit to being slightly melodramatic there. The suspension bits are still original. I've asked the techs at my dealership if worn parts could contribute to the problem, only to be greeted with blank, unknowing looks. I swear this was not always the case, but it could be just me. I happen to be particularly attuned to proprioception. The short version of the explanation, I feel very small movements of the car and am acutely aware of them. Would removing the cross members help to reduce this 'grabbing' feeling I'm getting from the gusty winds? I was actually thinking of removing the rails altogether. I never use them, and am sick of the wind whipping my car around. They call the wind Maria, I call it 'not that b*tch again'

thank you, everybody who has responded so far. Ok, I feel a little better about the timing belt job now. Good point on how do they 'know' it is the separator plate and not the crankshaft rear main seal? I'd be willing to bet they've done quite a few of them (sep plates), and know that plastic one is almost certainly failed at 109K. Are those WXR seats OEM seats from Subaru, or are they aftermarket units? Ditto the RS seats? Gee, after 7 years and 100 k plus miles, I finally realize I should have taken the cross members off the roof rack long ago:banghead: thanks again.

Hello all, first time poster, but no stranger to vbbulletin boards. I joined up today after doing some internet searches regarding separator plate. While I'm here, I thought I'd ask about a couple other things too. I have a 1999 Outback wagon, 2.5L, automatic, with 109K miles. About 2 weeks ago, I (the car, atcually) developed a considerable oil leak. I don't like oil leaks and pride myself for maintaining my cars so they don't leak. Back in January, I finally had my timing belt replaced. There were no leaks at that time. At first, I was wondering if the leak could be related to the work (bolt left untensioned, etc.). Today, I go for state inspection (passed no probs) and diagnosis for the leak. They (Subaru dealer) come back and say 25% of the leak is the right valve cover seal, the other 75% is the separator plate. I ask to see the car on the lift, and the info looks to be on the up and up. I did not agree to fix it at this time (No money, been mostly unemployed for almost 3 years), and went online to research. What I found is so contrary to what I had previously thought about Subaru...but then, it is the Internet. Ok, sorry about the long intro, here are some questions: 1) One of my search results here mentioned dropping the trannie to do the separator plate, my dealer told me they have to pull the engine. Which is it? Drop trannie or pull engine? Or is this the same thing? 2) My driver seat cushion is kaput, again. I think I replaced it twice under warranty. I just don't have the ducats to spend 185plus to have the dealer do it again. And from what I read, the junkyard seats might be just as bad. What is a good replacement seat for a 99 outback wagon with heated cushions? I live in NH, and I am not living without heated seats. 3) this question might sound a little contentious, so please bear with me. When the timing belt was repaced, would it have been a simple matter for my subaru dealer to replace the plastic separator plate with a metal one, instead of leaving it in there, to fail 3 months later? I just spent 650 bucks (not all on the timing belt, just so you know) I didn't really have in January, now they are telling me another 800 to do the the valve cover seal and sep plate. 4)which brings me to the driver side head gasket, should I have it replaced as long as they have the engine out and it is easier to work on? Has anybody had any success in letting their dealership know that you are aware of these issues, and tried asking for a little relief in the $$? Sorry about all the questions. I'm going to an independent mechanic tomorrow for a diagnosis/estimate. Thanks in advance for any replies. Hey, and what about those roof racks? Am I the only one who doesn't use them and think they are just acting like sails grabbing the gusts of wind and making my car seem as stable as a sheet of plywood balancing on a bowling ball?