scuba_suit

hey thanks for the info, yes i know it might sound confusing, but i enderstand about the "different" receiving buckle in the middle, the retracting belt that is on the ceiling has the two different clips, but really i'm tryin to figure how to pull it out, it stretches like an inch and "locks", i'll keep playing with it and see if i can make it stretch out...

yeah this is not an engine issue (thank goodness) i'm just having issues with the seatbelt in the back to seat three passengers. One of the "buckles" won't click to the seatbelt. I count two seatbelts with buckles but a third (for a passenger in the middle) only has the buckle (which is the one that won't catch the metal) but it has another "female" buckle which receives another clip. That clip is located on the ceiling towards the back of the wagon. Now this is the other "problem" i'm having with that seatbelt. It seems like it's "locked" and won't release to pull it down. I tried figuring out how to release but to no avail. I don't have the owner's manual (it was lost) so i can't refer to it.

yes, that's what i HOPE happens, i just want to know if i'm on the right track with the taillight housing and pulling it off, there aren't any external screws, just that one bolt, i just don't want to pull it all out and end ripping wires out, i'll check the manual to see what it says, i thought i might find a thread that might have a step by step how to on this showing pics, thanks for the inputs!

i have a sub outback wagon and now one of my brake lights (passenger side) is out. there is another brake/parking light (driver's side) that is also out but that one is located on the hatch and is easy to get to, got that bulb, but that's not my prblem. it's the brake llight on the passenger side that's located on the corner of the car. i climber in the back and took off the covering from the inside but instead of seeing the bulb outlets, i just saw the metal frame of the car. there was a bolt sticking out. i assumed that this was what is holding the whole taillight piece to the car. i'm assuming that if i unscrew the nut from the bolt it should slide out and i should be able to take off the whole taillight piece and get to the bulb that's burned out. right? i haven't done anything yet. i figure i'd ask first before i start taking things apart. any help would be much appreciated. i got inspection this month and those are the only two things that would fail the inspection.

check out the website for the npr radio show 'car talk', they have a link to search for the nearest mechanic in your area, they also provide customer reponses and recommendations, i recently used it to find my recent mechanic and i was impressed with their service. if not try Al.

oh i'm definitely not going to do it myself, i'll stick with just changing light bulbs, i am taking it to a mechanic for the belts, my car is a 2003 subaru outback with 94k, i just had the car taken in for an oil change an state inspection, everything is okay, the mechanic told me that i should be thinkin about changing the belts (and showed me the belts), i'm just wondering cuz after this O2 sensor episode here's another mechanical endeavour i have to save up for (i have been calling around to find out how much all three belts would be), question: is it better to buy the parts and have the mechanic install them or just take the car in and have the mechanic do it all?

when you say "cracking" do you mean across the belt or parallel? someone told me that if they are cracking parallel to the belt then it's got to be replaced ASAP, if there are three belts (my engine is a 2.5L, 2003 subaru outback) then i'll definitely will be replacing them soon...

...does a 2003 outback have in it's engine? my car's got 94k and i think i might have to change them soon, what are some signs i should look out for (besides the car breakin down on me) when i check out the belts? cracks, grooves? i'm buyin belts so that if anything happens on the road i have them with me just in case....

AND IN THE END... i punked out, i took it to a mechanic and they put it in, at least i had the right piece... thanks all for the help and advice.

got lubricating spray, and doused it, now i'm waiting... and waiting.... i guess i'll try it tomorrow (i already tried gettin off, no avail, that was after 30 minutes of applying it)

olnick thanx, did a search and i'm going to look for kroil spray, i need something that'll lube and eat away at the rust, but if i can't find it, i'm sure i'll find something...

thanks olnick, it's 7:36am and i just came in from trying to loosen it, the thing will not budge, what kind of penetrating spray would you recommend? can i walk into an auto parts store and get one off the shelf? i think that's what i need for it to move, i am tellin you folks, i don't want to give up on this (my wife calls it "hardheaded'), how long do you guys think it will take for the 'check engine' light to go off once the piece is in? like a day or two?

well it's nighttime and i'm exhausted, i'm gonna try tomorrow first thing when it's real cool out and the metal in the car has had a chance to contract (hopefully making it a little easier to get it off, i'll give the details tomorrow....

....and it's RUSTED tight. am i spinnin it the right way? left or right? i'm dizzy and greasy, i don't know which way is up, i'm in there pushing the wrench hard to the right to make the sensor spin left (it's upside down, where the nut is on the bottom), everytime i'm pushin and feel like it's moving, i take out the wrench but it feels like i'm rounding the edges, i gotta stop for the night and try tomorrow, is there any advice out there to try to get it off? what would be good to try to budge it? there's not a lot of room in that area, i'm like "this" close to grabbin some wd-40 but i don't want to blow myself up.... here's a question that i shoulda asked: how long should i wait for the engine to cool to work on it? i mean it seems cool to me, i can work on it without burning myself but i was driving it about an hour ago, should i wait til tomorrow morning?

gnuman, if no one's told you, you are the wiz, well, here's the update: i went to the subaru dealer and got the sensor (they looked up the piece with my VIN) and got the wrench from lowe's which is by my house, so i'm lettin the engine cool down and i'ma get to it in a few and i'll let all know the outcome....

so far i've been looking for the sensor, i've been looking to see if i can find a subaru piece and i find that vendors here have bosch and denso, if i had to pick, which one? i also called about tools, they don't rent out wrenches, being the ignoramus that i automechanically am, could i just use an adjustable wrench from home depot (and please give me a solid answer on this one, a "maybe" and i'll go off and do it), all of everyone's advice and suggestions have been the best....

i 'll check for the subaru part and see how much that piece is going for, i want to do this myself, and thanx gnuman for givin me detail on where the piece should be and yes that's what i was lookin at before, i'll call the nearest subaru dealer to see if they have one in stock, i just don't want to take it to someone, the last garage was going to charge $90 for labor, i ain't rich....

yeah, i think i'll go with one that's direct fit and not cut, okay i went out to check my car, i popped the hood and went lookin for the sensor, question: is the sensor located on the left close to the bottom but above the exhaust, car facing me (passenger side of the car)? i'm a newbie to automotive engine maintenance so i want to be lookin at the right thing before i go diving in, as for the tool loaners at the auto store, i'm going to call up autozone/advance auto parts to see if they do it in regards to the engine fusebox, which fuse am i lookin for? i see a bunch of relays and sbf fuses, does anyone know how many amps the fuse is for it? i am PRAYING it's the fuse and not the sensor (the car runs like a dream)....

thanks for the knowledge grossgary, yeah the car has about 85,000 on it (it needs an oil change too), i did see sensors with the oem adapters and ones with the cut wires that you would need to splice, knowing me, i'd pick the ones that i could splice (eventhough i never done it before, but it shouldn't be that hard, just match the color wire right?), but then again, knowing me maybe the best (and surest) way to get this done is to go with ones with the adapters, i'll go out and check my car in a few, the only thing i don't have is the wrench.... i wonder if i could just rent it, like home depot rents tools?

thanks so much! i knew i could come to this site for the best advice, i love my subaru to death (i was a vw fanatic, WAS...), i did check the net to see how much the piece would come out to, i saw sensors for my 2003 (2.5L 4 cyl.) for about $35, i'm already taking it to another shop (i checked on cartalk.com to see what other shops around me had good reviews, then again i take those reviews with a grain of salt)... grossgary, where is the sensor located? could i do this myself? mcdave, you mean the fusebox under the hood right by the engine (it has one) not the one inside the car under the steering wheel, right? what fuse would i be looking for? holy moly if it's just a blown fuse, it would be a miracle of miracles (and a money saver)

so the 'check engine light' comes on, and yes "oh crap, what now" thought crossed my mind. took my subaru (2003 outback station wagon) to get a diagnostic at the auto store. they ran it through, and got this read out: PO3002 HO2S bank 1, sensor 1 the associate at the auto store said that it looks like it could be emissions, took my sub to a mechanic, he checked it over and told me that it was the oxygen sensor (i believe that he told me it was the 'downstream' sensor) and that the piece would be $180 (he told me that if it was the 'upstream' sensor, that it would set me back $500, WHUT!?), i want to know is (because of money issues) what can happen if it don't get this repaired right away? i'm strapped for money (yay high gas prices!) and i don't want to see this become worse soon but want to know what could happen, case in point: the family wants to take a trip, an 800 mile trip (1600 miles roundtrip), i'm nervous driving around as it is and my nervousness goes into overdrie when i think about taking the wagon on a long trip like that, i don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere, can someone tell me if what the mechanic said was true about the oxygen sensor?

greeeeat, i looked in the manual and it doesn't say anything about driving with a spare, where would the FWD fuse be? is it a switch? i am now digging through the manual and plan to take the car back to the dealer to get the tires replaced, if not get a replacement for the blown tire (because places won't sell me the S cause of the car's make and model for safety reasons...ugh) i didn't know all this about AWD, but i love my car so i gotta do what i gotta do...

i recently got a pre-owned 2003 outback wagon, i drove it today and popped a flat, the tire specs are 225/60 R16 97S, well i started calling around and looked up on the net for a replacement, but what i found out was that the car should have THESE tire specs: 225/60 R16 97H, my question is: should i take it back to the dealer and tell them to replace ALL four tires and match the factory specs (and for free cuz the car should have had them on in the first place and it's "certified pre-owned", i know it's my fault that i got the flat but discovering that the speed rating on it was wrong shouldn't the dealer take the hit? im not telling them to give me a tire for free, morelike they were in violtion of safety regulations that did not meet car manufacturer specs for safety) cuz aren't they responsible eventhough the car is used they should have checked out and known which tires should have been on it before selling it, or should i just buy a tire with a 97S rating to match the other tires, the tires are winston classic (having a had time tracking those down) and would buying a different brand tire realy make that big of a deal? i mean the treadmight be different but can that have any ill effect? some people are telling me yes, some no, some say take it back to the dealer, i need help and i can't spend a lot of money on new tires, any info would be very helpful, this is my first AWD car and i don't want to end up screwing it up... right now i'm rollin on the spare, and by the way how long should i be on a spare? a week the most (i doubt it's going to take that long to replace the tire BUUUUUT...)