goof_ball

I went xc skiing today and I got back to the small parking area and I shuffled over to my wagon where on the other side of an open parking spot was another wagon almost the same as mine color/style wise. I joked to the guy on the other side of my car "which one's mine?" and he laughed and said there was another subaru in the open spot. He then said "I feel like I'm at a dealership" and I looked around and saw a couple of Foresters and an older Legacy wagon. Sorry Chrysler...

I was just saying what my experience with these tires is. There are a number of different tire shops in my town. I checked them out getting estimates and info. A Goodyear store wanted something $500-$600 for winter tires. Can't recall which model but i was not going to spend that much. I didn't recall too much about this tire on this site when I searched before and wanted to add my experience. It wasn't directed towards any specific request for tire recs. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Tirerack reviews were okay but some seemed like they were written by Firestone interns. This board seems pretty good compared to other soob forums and I wanted to contribute something. Also, my tires are not studded which I failed to mention originally.

Follow the wires away from the switch and you'll find the plastic plug which is where you disconnect the hook up. The switch and wiring comes out as one unit. A pretty easy repair. I didn't even raise the car. Crawled under with an adjustable wrench and a drop light. Ten minutes later, reverse lights. Screw the switch in first or you'll just twist the wires around and around if the other end is plugged in. I jumped the wires to confirm switch malfunction as was suggested.

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but this is my first real winter w/ my 96 outback 5 speed. I did have half a winter last year w/ the all seasons. I got the Winterforces because they were buy 3/1 free at $75 a piece and I picked up a set of oem alloys for $100 on craigslist. Guy even delivered them to my front door. Got the stock 205/70/15 size. Been using them in lake effect snow mostly, not sure how that is different from regular snow. Was also caught in the Christmas weekend Blizzard and drove from CT to NY the first day the snow finally stopped. Freeways were still snowy and the NY thruway was pretty crappy with severe winds and drifting snow. A lot of people at work complain about sliding off the road on a regular basis, why aren't the roads plowed, or they leave 3 hours earlier to drive super slow. I've not experienced any slipping or sliding or abs activity that wasn't on purpose to keep my winter skills sharp. Gas mileage is about 21 mpg while the all seasons were around 25-27. No stop and go city driving, but short around trips combined with highway speed back roads to work. When there's lots of snow it's not uncommon to see cars off in the ditch maybe 3 times a week. Once I saw 2 Jeep Cherokee types in different spots on the same road. Point being the roads are pretty crappy and are not maintained like the freeways. Car has 185k miles and is stock w/ cross bars across the roof rack. I don't have any other experience with other winter tires, but they seem pretty good. Don't notice any increased road noise or poor dry handling. Sorry for the novel...

The car is parked in a level driveway. I usually back in, but sometimes I just pull in. It happens the same on both driver and passenger side. I've made it more of a point to get rid of the ice in the wheel well. I don't recall the last time it was above freezing and I guess we've gotten about 8' of snow so far this season. The pic is from the passenger side. I left some of the ice since I couldn't get it all out and thought it might be a plug too.

Yes, everything appears intact. Am not too worried, just thought I'd see if other folks encounter this.

This is my first Suby winter and I notice ice build up between the fenders and the front doors on the inside. Not in the cabin, but when you open the doors you see it. Down by your feet. I hope that makes sense. It happens on both sides and doesn't cause any problems except for the weather stripping freezing to the car. Just curious if anyone else gets this.

I have a 96 Outback w/ 185k and my stick has some side to side play in all gears. I'm not the original owner and have never driven a new Subaru w/ a manual transmission for comparison. I tried at a dealer in Oregon and the salesman said 'a 5 speed? nobody drives those'. My other car was a '93 Tercel w/ a 4 speed. I can't recall what that shifter did w.r.t. side to side play. I had some annoying buzz/rattles in my Soob that I traced to the bolt that connects the shift stick to the rest of the linkage under the boot in the cabin. Tightening it made the noise go away and made the shift feel more 'positive' through the travel between gears, but the side to side play while in gear wasn't affected. I've never had a problem with going into the wrong gear and no mechanic has ever said 'whoah you have to replace shifter stuff' after a test drive. I figure a 14 year old car has some worn out stuff. Hope this helps. Maybe you can wear a top hat and fake mustache and go to a local dealer and check out a new manual transmission car to see what it is like. Dancing banana.

I have a 96 Outback and am not sure about where the door weep holes are. Anyone have a pic or care to give a description? I see some holes in the bottom corner at the fender/door interface on the inside of the car. Is this them? Am interested in the original poster's conclusion.

Push the wiper arm hinge towards the windshield. It makes the arm perpendicular to the bolt making it easier to pull off. If you try to wiggle and pull too hard, the plastic edges on the arm could get damaged. That's how it worked for me. I'm still looking for the drain holes as I found water leaking out from below the glove box after driving on the highway in heavy rain for 4 hours.

I tend to think people should be able to tell if a car is moving forward or backwards without having to look at some little lights on the back of it. Agree. it indicates intent. I find that helpful. same as turn signals. Whether the driver does what the lights indicate is another story. That's all I was suggesting regarding the failed inspection.

I had intermittent reverse lights on a 96 outback manual transmission. Jiggling the shifter while in reverse would sometimes get the lights to turn on. Not sure if the location of the switch is different between auto and manual so I won't offer help on that, sounds like you already know where it is, but would suggest installing the switch firtst then plugging it in at the connector end to avoid twisting the wires up and possibly damaging them. I found it helpful to tie a string around the connector end and leave it hanging out of the engine compartment so I could easily pull it out after putting the switch in. Either way, replacing my switch fixed the problem. I'm not surprised it would fail inspection for that. I want people to know I'm backing up and want to know when they are too.

While I make it a point to not offer 'shot in the dark' advice in real life and on line, I had sloppy shifting and a rattle in almost all gears on my outback and found the bolt that connects the shifter to the linkage, essentially where the 90 degree bend is, to be loose. This is accessed from in the car. I didn't have to remove the shift knob or boot. Found the screws that keep the plastic trim in place, 2 on my car, and lifted it out of the way. There are some washers and a brass fitting that the bolt passes through as well. Took it all out, cleaned it, a touch of grease, and put a drop of some 425 loctite and the shifting is considerably more solid and feels more 'direct' for lack of a better term. As always, this may not be your solution but could be worth a look. If the Forester is radically different, sorry. Now back to Walker, Texas Ranger.

Yes, a 14 year old wagon with 183,000 miles probably could use some new suspension parts. Will have to do some more homework.

I want to improve the road manners of my '96 Outback wagon. I searched this forum and the web in general, and the best description of the problem I feel is 'boaty'. It doesn't feel up and down, but more side to side. Also in my search, I see lots of comments about the Outback's somewhat lacking sway bar. I don't believe everything I read, but it sounds reasonable. I've had the car checked out but no smoking gun was found. Haven't been on a test drive with a mechanic though. Is the Rallitek kit a good way to go? Other options? Looking at the rear sway bar kit from Rallitek. Having moved from Oregon to Rustville, NY, it's hard to put money/time into cars seeing how every third one on the road I see looks like swiss cheese from rust. I don't know the strut history as I'm far from the original owner of the car. Is there a chance of messing the alignment up during the install? All the directions I've looked at make no mention, but thought I'd ask. Not really a car person so sorry if my questions are not super technical. I think that about covers it....Put new struts in the rear. They were quite weak. The fronts still have some life. I don't get the rollercoaster car feel going over little rollers at speed. Also found a loose end link on the passenger side of the rear sway bar. Once that gets replaced everything will be a-okay I hope. Might replace the part or go whole hog and get the rallitek. A guy at work is/was a mechanic so he offered to do the work for the cost of parts. For once it paid off to talk to the people I work with. Sweet. Updated for others who may have similar problems.

Not a major issue, but am wondering if anyone knows or wants to guess why the "Legacy" plaque has two knobs that fit into holes on the rear gate along with adhesive while the "Outback" is only held on with adhesive? Am not a big fan of logos, etc. But I don't want two holes in the back of my car. Maybe I can fill the holes with something, but I just want to rip the "Legacy" off, clean off the adhesive, and have a nice clean back gate. This is on a 96 Outback wagon.

Mine works the same, but once I parked illegally with the lights on and was preoccupied when I got out of my car and went through all the motions except for taking the keys locking myself out. Thankfully I borrowed another Subaru key from someone in the parking lot and got into my car. Anything can happen.

I had a left rear bearing installed for $280 on my '96 Outback at an independent Subaru garage.

No signs of damage. Of course, I woke up this morning to heavy rain and on my way to work, I noticed there was some water on the panel just below the speaker cover by the rear view mirror. I should have stayed on the couch instead of working on the car.

Ever since I got my car, the driver side window hasn't gone up all the way because it starts curling in then gets jammed into the weather stripping near the top. I have to push out on the window as it goes up. Kind of annoying. I somehow figured out how to reduce how high the window goes up but not sure how to keep it from coming in. The window gusset is ripped pretty good from the window going too high. Previous owner(s) went in and screwed around with things as evidence by the torn plastic lining. The Haynes manual isn't too helpful but it says something about having an assistant preload the window to make a good fit against the weather stripping. I searched the forum and found some information. This is a '96 outback with auto windows. Any suggestions? Guess I could buy a new car. That was a joke. Have been out in the sun all day monkeying around with the window. I compared things to the properly functioning passenger side and saw no discernible differences.

Thanks for the feedback. I was also thinking that with the work going on the area that something could have been inadvertently knocked around. But it is pretty obvious and annoying. Hopefully the short trip back and forth to work will not cause any issues. At least it doesn't make the horrible clunking sound everytime I turn right and step on the gas. Will post the resolution.

Also an intermittent squeal. The noise stops completely after the car stops and doesn't seem related to brake pressure. Brakes are in good shape. Never had this before Friday when I had a right front cv axle installed. Also got an alignment/tire rotation done. I plan on going back tomorrow to hopefully get the issue resolved. Any thoughts? Possible problem with the new axle? The old axle definitely needed replacing. Also, just a little venting about why can't things just be done right the first time. Grumble. '96 outback, 5 spd, 180k miles. Thanks. Did a search but didn't find anything. Mechanic said the backing plate was rubbing the disc. It was confirmed immediately on the test drive. Now my car just makes the usual noises I'm used to. Hopefully I haven't jinxed everything. Thanks for the input.

That makes sense. I wasn't thinking of the 60,000 mile service. Thanks all for the clarification.

I got a letter in the mail from a soob dealer saying it's time for my 180,000 mile maintenance. It doesn't say what that would be though. I don't have a manual and a web search did not reveal much. Car had water pump and timing belt done about 8000 miles ago. '96 outback.

Thanks to a work relocation, I am now in scenic Auburn, NY. Where's a good place for Subaru service? The dealer wanted $49 for a PCV Valve replacement and so I thought I'd see if anyone had input for another shop. No service specificially needed just yet, but I try to plan ahead. Not sure if this is the right forum since it's not a question specifically about my New Gen Soob. so sorry about that.