CROSSBOLT

Major lifestyle change, Morgan. Only room for one car: Hers stays(VW New Beetle TDI), mine goes(Yellow over silver Baja with A.R.E. shell to match). Moving to Colorado Estes park as Workampers for two months and then on to who knows where, all in a gas-hog motor home. One of those beasts I have always hated to get behind and said I would never own let alone drive. Never say never.

Thanks, Shadow for the comeback. I tried the Marketplace you recommended and it required the password I could not remember. I did not have time for that hassle so I put it in Autotrader. Contact me at karlshumaker@yahoo.com if interested.

I do not want to, but I must sell my '03 Baja. Can I do that on this message board?

I am sorry, Patrickjd9, that you de-selected the Forester. I thought our '01 was a great rig except for the rock hard seats and the downward kink in the cat back pipe. We had no noticable slop in the driveline with the auto trans. My real gripe is with the 5 speed MT in our Baja and the engine control programming that only allows for either torque out or torque in and no smooth transition. I think the slop is mostly in the ridiculous clutch. This will probably be my last Subaru because of these stupid problems and SOA attitude.

Had the same problem with out 2003 Baja. Drove me nuts! Reset ECU by disconnecting the battery for half an hour the first time. Second time pulled the fuse on "Eng Ign" for 30 minutes. The trick after resetting the ECU is to drive and shift absolutely SMOOTHLY as possible for about 30 minutes in all gears with SMOOTH accel, transition and decel. This will work at diminishing this irritating transition lurch for a while. Whatever you do, DO NOT engage cruise control at any time during the driving after reset! The cruise sems to really install the lurch! Be prepared to reset the ECU about every 6 months. I think it is all caused by goofy programing and excessive backlash in the drive train. Subaru M/T is the only rig I have ever driven that has such a problem.

Forgot to mention that the total miles after the trip are 39500 in about two years. Also have switched to Castol Syntec 5W30 and Purolator PL14460 filter. Interval has been increased to 6000 miles. Will post any problems or significant positive gains.

Just finished a round trip to Washington state towing a 1500 pound trailer. The Baja did real well considering the extra weight. We had to shift down to fourth a couple a times in the Rockies but most all the hills were taken in fifth while on cruise control! Burned nor leaked no oil for 6025 statute miles. Mpg was in the 20-22 range while pulling the trailer. I know in comparison to other Subaru models the Baja with n/a engines is kind of a slug, but we were quite favorably impressed.

The oil mystery is the stuff "wicks" up the stick after it sets awhile. Yeah, it shows more than really is there. Ya gotta wipe it off before ya get a good reading. This is caused by the stick being in the sump at a shallow angle. This angle is also greatly affected by how level or not-level the parking surface is. This and the clutch shudder are fust two of the things that give the Subaru its unique personality. Although, one of these days my Baja clutch will be replaced.

What you outlined pretty well makes the point of the sports car club. Those folks are very serious about max performance with stock cars with max physical safety to both car and driver. A gymkhana in a deserted parking lot will show the concept of high performance driving & precision control at generally less than 40mph! This will teach any candidate the beginnings of how to go to the limits of adhesion and not beyond. Hey! And when you washout, you flatten acouple of rubber cones. The worse that can happen is you have to rub out some scuff marks in the paint. Give it a try!

Hey, Kev! I see things have not changed much in KS since I left. While I was at KU I learned that many drivers were legally receiving aid to the blind! KS was the birth place of the single white light in the center of the grille so others could tell that was a car. The forerunner of DRL's, I guess. You got door dings in three days after getting a new car. Cheez! That is when I glanced at your drivers corner and saw you are in KS. SCCA was and probably still is alive and well in KS. Rally and race can be had on almost any weekend somewhere within the state. A Sube sedan oughta make a great rally and gymkhana car.

I have searched the threads and still need a part number of a clutch disc that does not judder, shudder or chatter. I want this for my '03 Baja with the sohc 2.5 engine and 5MT. I do not care who makes this thing. It would probably work better if Subaru had nothing to do with it. I remember last year someone found a clutch that worked really well but I cannot find the thread. I think the reason why the judder was in that thread also. Anyway, part number please if ya got one.

Snotrocket, thanks for the heads up! "Coolant migration" for the rest of the gang does not affect Subaru since the coolant overflow tank is not pressurized as it is in the VW TDI systems. The overflow tank starts to leak at an electrical connector on the tank and the green stuff "migrates" up the ELECTRICAL HARNESS to the speedo and the computer....creating all sorts of electrical gremlins!

Thanx, guys. I knew I would hear what was needed, not wanted. Hey! SHE wanted the damn thing! What you have all said does not surprise me in the least. The "Assembled in Mexico" has always had serious drawbacks for any manufacturer in terms of QC. I think my point was that some of the features that exist on the VW as standard simply are not even considered at Subaru and THEY ARE UNRESPONSIVE TO CUSTOMER SUGGESTIONS! I figured that maybe they read this excellent board and take heart to what is said. I might also be dreaming. I am on the VW board and have seen several posts that indicate some owners are PAST owners and intend to stay that way once the particular VW is gone.

Just got a VW New Beetle for my wife. It is a TDI turbo diesel with lots of torque! And not only that, the clutch does not shudder and the cruise sets right on with no special technique required. Further, it has three, that is THREE standard power outlets that are HOT ALL THE TIME. Speedo reads fast about 6 percent. This has to do with Subaru in that they should be able to do as well or better since they are a smaller company and should be able to FIX STUFF that ain't right quicker. Do not get me wrong: I still think the Baja and the other models are the cat's a-- and will probably get another Sube when this one wears out.

That was fun,entertaining and informative! Do it more! Karl