AMCDawes

I'm looking for anyone who has replaced a door lock cylinder. I'm pretty sure this would be the kind of thing I can handle (but advice and tips are welcome). I've got the Haynes book, tools, and plenty of other experience inside the door and mucking around various parts of my car (98 Outback). The dealer and my local shop both say $200-ish for the door cylinder replacement, but the part is ~45 so it's attractive to do it on my own and just have the locksmith key it to match the others before I put it in. First question: Do these sound like good numbers or should I look for parts at other sources? A little background: this was damaged by an overzealous player my wife coaches who tried to open the lock with the wrong key (the key for our Jeep). Upon meeting resistence rather than trying another car-looking key she apparently figured more muscle was the solution and kept wrenching away. The bottom line is that neither her key nor my key now unlocks the drivers door. Both keys unlock everything else and start the car fine so it seems to be the cylinder itself. I don't know about how these things can break so is there a change a little lube and shaking would help or is it surely bent beyond function? In the mean time we're unlocking the doors from the passenger side or with the flaky key-fob (the other item on the todo list). Thanks in advance, Andy

The noise "seems" to come from the rear although being the single driver I can't tell from which side (or if it's centered). This only happens in specific conditions: 1- turning right in a reasonably sharp turn (parking lot aisle turns can do it... provided the following hold true as well) 2- Curve is banked "the wrong way" something like 5-10 degrees so that the left edge of the car is lower than the right edge... i.e. _NOT_ the way a racetrack curve would bank 3- On the gas during the turn. I'm impressed with how specific it is, and I am a bit relieved that it doesn't happen at all in slow turns (no matter how sharp) which to me indicates it is less likely to be differential (correct me if I'm wrong here). Some thoughts: brakes are starting to shimmy a bit so they are due for a turn before long. The noise is never a steady scrape... even if the turn is a steady turn. It seems to pulse with wheel revolution as if whatever is grinding or rubbing is not aligned on the axle. I'm just hoping to get an idea of how urgent this might be or see if anyone else saw something similar. There was a similar post that indicated a turn-specific scraping happened based on part of the rotor rubbing on the backplate. This sounds pretty close but I'm hoping to narrow it down just so I don't get taken through the laundry list of replacements to find something sneaky and hidden. -Thanks, Andy

Just a small update on my situation. I've still got one new tire (I'll move it to the back today or tomorrow) and I'm running in FWD around town (~2m to work so not much during the week). Just to satisfy my curiousity, and for some peace of mind, I came to work early for the empty parking lot and pulled the fuse. Did some slow straight driving, a couple turns, then sharper turns, and then faster sharper turns. All seems well and no signs or sounds of binding. I put the FWD fuse back in just to avoid any damage from having one new tire with three older ones. I'll probably accelerate the schedule for changing the AT fluid just to be on the safe side. I also plan on taking some orange paint and adding the letters F U S E to the spare tire's wheel just in case I'm weary enough to forget this next time a tire goes. Thanks for the replies all and hopefully my experience is another demonstration that subaru AWD isn't the fragile system some may have us believe.

Alright, I've exhaled. At this point I have a new tire (I was only on the space-saver spare for the 45 miles home). It's been in FWD ever since I realized what I'd done. For now I'll throw the odd tire onto the back and leave the fuse in. For now I'm driving my jeep around so I can leave the sube until it's shoes match again. I'll keep my fingers crossed about it. Even at the end of the trip (with the fuse out, and the spare on) I didn't notice any binding during street-corner drive to my house... but I'll certainly double check it for binding. On another note, why doesn't subaru put large orange letters on the space-saver spare that mention the fuse in the FWD slot? It seems like an easy way to prevent stressed drivers from absent-mindedly hosing their clutch pack. Even the note in the manual is just a (somewhat hidden) instruction step, not a !WARNING! like many of their other comments about how to prevent damage to the vehicle. Guess I'll never forget it again... but still, such a well-designed system deserves to be protected from road-weary idiots ;-) Thanks, Andy

Ok, I'm coming off of panic mode right now wondering what I may have done to my car yesterday. I headed from Ontario to NC and after a long day in Baltimore traffice I crossed the VA/NC border around 9pm and when I went for gas saw a scary-low right front tire. I knew there was no way to finish the last 45 miles on it, so out comes the wimpy donut spare. Swap the two and after cursing myself for not checking the spare pressure before leaving, I head down the road at 45 mph for about 10 miles to find a gas station with compressed air. After filling the space saver spare to required 60psi (I finished the trip but not before the CEL came on). This morning I woke up and realized I'd just driven 50 miles on the spacesaver spare (in the right front) without having put in the FWD fuse. So I pull the radio fuse, plug it into the FWD slot and head to the tire store. One new tire for now (the rest will get done soon, after next payday). So my questions are: How bad could I have hosed things by driving this far w/o dropping into FWD with the fuse? What should I do now to be sure nothing gets worse (i.e. change/check fluids etc)? How urgent is the replacement of the other four tires? The oddball is well-matched tread, same size, different brand. I'm still running FWD should I do this until I replace the rest of the tires, and would it be good or bad (or neither) to move the odd tire to the back vs. the front? Finally: The CEL is a P0420, it's been cleared and didn't come back on today yet (knock on wood). Could this be at all related (from slow highway speeds, with several back to back stops) or just bad luck and part of an epic journey home? I don't know when the O2 sensor was last changed (I bought this car at 96k and it's now at 107k, new belts and h2o pump at 104k ... $$$) Sorry for the long post, I suspect this is still an unresolved conflict (about the robustness of the AWD system) but any tips and or experience are welcomed. Thanks, Andy

Let us know what you find. It would be good to get some definitive results from a dollar bill test. It really makes sense to me (I sure don't know of a good reason for an engine to suck air up the exhaust pipe). Hopefully we aren't all in the same expensive-repair boat. How frequently did you get the lights. I reset mine and it's been about 600 miles. -Andy

Good to know. I've seen these things on motorcycles... but then again I know a lot of tweakheads that wire all sorts of crazy stuff onto their bikes. One of the other students here had his headlight flicker with the timing so it looked "old-timey." Mine resets quickly so it has the added feature of annoying other drivers. I'll poke through things more closely... I haven't cross-checked the relay part numbers or anything, my guess is it will become obvious once I look closer. -Andy

Random question: On my way back from the shop (see previous posts: misfire 1 & 3), I was driving behind my wife who was in our 98 Outback. This turns out to be the first time I was ever behind the car while the brakes first come on. The brake light blinks a few times (6-7) and then stays on solid. Just wondering if this is the standard behavior for these vehicles... I think I would have noticed if I saw one on the road doing this... but I never know. Maybe an aftermarket "safety accessory"? Just a quick poll :-) Thanks all, -A

I had heard about the coil issue... since it covers both 1 & 3, I may check this along the way. I'm less suspicious of the timing belt since AFAIK it is still in its factory-installed location (suggested change at 105k). The update from today, and driving it to the shop: Drove in, explained the situation: light on, codes P0301 & P0303. Mentioned story of exhaust valves throwing these codes. Mentioned air being pulled in via exhaust. Got strange look. Was told usually plug wires, safest bet is to clear it and wait. Done. The guy even made me write it in the manual (@ 100956 CEL with P0301 and P0303). So he suggested the conservative approach. No sense in pulling the engine or doing anything else if was just a jiggle in the wires or coil that threw a code one time. Wasn't anywhere near as concerned as I was (made worse by valve replacement fears). At this point I figure two things: 1) If pete isn't worried, I'm not worried. Plus he clearly isn't willing to rip me off since I made it clear I was suspicious of the valves he had a great opportunity. Not that I would stand for it... think of it as a little test of the shop. If they are willing to just replace a head no questions no tests... then that probably isn't the shop to be at :-) 2) It's due in less than 4k for the recommended valve inspection so even if it is exhaust valves starting to go, I'll be well under the 10k that you ( Buddythedog) got out of it. So again, thanks for the insight everyone, I'll still keep an eye out for any signs of valve trouble and try to get a look at the coil output. Of course if the light comes back with those codes, I'll let you (and Pete) know. -Andy ps - from the people that scoff at the dollar bill test... what is their justification? I'm a physics grad student so I know pressure and forces pretty well. I know my way around a four stroke engine, and I get the basic ideas. So what else in the car would try to pull air back up the exhaust pipe. That seems wrong no matter what is doing it! Any comments there... I think it's a slick little test... and if this problem turns out to be valves then I'll swear by it in the future.

Thanks for all your tips, like I mentioned earlier, having this forum was a big plus when deciding on what makes of car to look at. I'll call the shop on monday and see when they can get me in. Never been to the place before but they specialize in subaru, and the other japanese makes. I'll be sure to have them check compression. I'm willing to bet money on the valves but that doesn't mean I won't make sure that's the problem. Just helps to know what to test first rather than go round and round with it... plugs, wires, injectors, etc. You are sure getting good karma for offering your experience and insight on this one! True a grand or 1500 is less than a new used car... but the tough spot is that it is a new used car :-) I got it just over two months ago. Now I'll know to always whip out a dollar bill when I'm shopping cars! I've put about 6k on it so it's entirely possible that it wouldn't have shown this problem yet... but there isn't much to do about that now eh. I feel strange saying it but it's in great shape, tidy, solid and especially for being here in the south, very little rust. It sounds like it's just another victim of the occasional subaru valve gremlin. As annoying as a valve job can be, it's good to know bottom-ends are solid in this car. Knock on wood this is the only time I have to pull the engine. Also thanks for the numbers on compression, good to know what I can expect from it at this point. I'll look on the bright side... I just thought it was slower off the line because I went from a 6 (jeep GC) to a 4... with a new head and full compression on half the engine... I could be in for quite a boost! -Andy

Thanks for the replies. As usual I wish they contained better news Did the dollar bill trick (good call by the way) so before it was warm, all good. Just the slight flutter but always positive pressure (pushing out). Once, warm, and idle dropped <1k, ~500 rpm. Started sucking... evenly too, like every other pulse (i.e. with 1 & 3 cyl.) Sometimes clamped onto the pipe so hard almost pulled ole george out of my hand (I need that $ !!) Big explative with that realization. Just to be sure I did the same thing on my '93 jeep, no dice. Even warm it just fluttered with the hum of the engine. Looks like I'll be driving that beast for the rest of the weekend. So I'll call the local shop (good with Subies) and hopefully cut right to the chase since the dollar bill trick suggests valve issues. Now, if/when they do the job, what else should I have them do. It'll be close enough to the timing-belt + water pump schedule. That makes sense especially if they have to pull the engine (I can't imagine this car has room for a valve job with the block in place!). It's an AT so no clutch to swap... any other suggestions. I just bought a house so I'm not really looking to blow the whole wad... just what makes sense for the sake of not having to do this kind of thing again for a long time. Thanks again for the help and I'll give an update when there is one. -Andy ps- just so I can bargain well, what should be a reasonable price for work like this. It's my first subie and my first time to the shop so I don't have a baseline for this car. I trust the shop (highly reccommended and known for taking it easy on students with budgets) but its worth a poll

First off thanks for such an active support forum. This site was one of the many things that made me really comfy buying a used subie. Car: 1998 Outback bought @ 97k now 100,800. 2.5L. Runs great no indication of any trouble. First oil change two weeks ago (DIY) cakewalk compared to oil change on my older Jeep. Problem: Yesterday Check Engine Light came on. No indication of trouble. Not sure if it was at startup on on highway, just looked down, saw it on. Again didn't feel any shudder or stall etc. Still runs fine. Codes (thanks to AutoZone) are P0301 and P0303 (checked today). I've seen some posts about similar items. I don't have full records on the car but it's in great shape, one owner, trusted dealer etc. I was told to run some injector cleaner around 101k so I'll probably do that now since it may help. I'm basically looking to see if there is a good plan of attack on this problem. There is a local shop in town that is known for solving mysteries but I'd like to avoid anything serious unless its really a serious problem ;-) So far I have only wiggled the plugs and wires just to make sure it's nothing obvious... but again there is no physical sign of a problem (stalling, shuddering, rough idle etc... all are fine). Mileage averages 22 (+/-1) over the two months I've had it. My instinct is to do a round or two of injector treatments and see if the code will stay gone. I am suspicious of wire/plug issues simply because I doubt both 1 & 3 went within 14 hours of eachother. Since 1 & 3 have paired injectors (from what I've gathered here) that feels more like the problem. If any of you have thoughts on this, or experience to pass along, that would be great. And thanks again for a great forum. USMB lives up to its name! -Andy