cagranitz

I have a 2000 and 2001 Outback Wagon. Both have "slot" in the blower housing behind the glove compartment for a cabin air filter. My understanding was that at least for the 00 and 01 model years the cabin air filter was an option. I was going to add the filters to my car, but they seemed quite expensive at the dealer. I seem to remember something like $35.00 each

A set of 4 Blizzaks was my very first purchase after I bought our Outback Wagons. Now in the winter, it's no longer a Subaru, but a Snobaru

Yes, I wish it was more like an overdrive gear so it would get better highway mileage.

2000 Outback Wagon, Auto Trans - 25/26 mpg in daily mixed commute driving, 33/34 mpg highway with cruise set at 60 mph 2001 Outback Wagon, Manual trans - 25/26 mpg in daily mixed commute driving, 30/31 mpg highway with cruise set at 60 mph

I just did this job on my 2000 and 2001 OBW. Used the Beck Arnley boots from thepartsbin.com. I found the new boots a little difficult to get started on the threaded end of the tie rod. They didn't slide very easily after that either. The new rubber is obviously very snug. It was also a bit of a pain to get the large end of the boot on the drivers side onto the steering rack itself. There was very little room to get my fingers in there to get the boot on. grossgary covered everything else. Overall not a bad job.

I had an almost identical experience with our 2000 and 2001 OBW. Anti-seize is definitely a good idea. I just had to replace the rotors again on the 2000 since I apparently installed the cheapies the last time and the bracket bolts came right out

I will admit I think i chose a cheaper (not cheapest) replacement rotor. I think they were Centric rotors that I got from thepartsbin.com. They were about $45.00 each. I moved up a little with the new rotors. Still not the most expensive, but more expensive than the Centric. This time they are Brembo and were about $66.00 each. I think the most expensive ones were about $80.00 each. I guess we'll see...

I would expect that the local shop mechanic would at least know enough to tighten in a star pattern, but if he tightens one to 100 ft-lbs and then the next, and so on... I would think that could distort the hub and/or rotor. Unfortunately, I'll be changing the front brake rotors again on my wifes 2000 OBW some time in the next 2 weeks. The next time I take it to be inspected I am going to specifically tell them NOT to over tighten the lug nuts. Sheesh.

Thanks for all the feedback. I have been using 72 ft-lbs with a "clicker" torque wrench. What are the feelings about the possibility of causing brake rotors to warp by over tightening the lug nuts ? My understanding is that it's a distinct possibility. In fact, I feel fairly certain that the front brake rotors on my wifes 2000 OBW are now warped because the guy at the local garage where I get it inspected did the usual over tightening with his handy air wrench. The rotors are less than a year old and were fine before the inspection.

Does anyone have the actual factory torque value for the wheel lug nuts on a 2000 Outback Wagon (aluminum wheels) ?

No, I am referring even to newer vehicles that simply have headlight output that is dimmer and more yellow compare to what you get with a fresh halogen bulb. Try changing a halogen bulb that is only a year old that has been run as a DRL witha new bulb and I think you'll notice that the newer bulb is brighter and whiter. Personally, I would rather save my filaments so I can see better at night.

I disabled the DRL's on our 2000 and 2001 OBW by pulling the plug under the dash. IMHO, if DRL's are REQUIRED then everyone should also be REQUIRED to install new bulbs at least once a year (that'll never happen:) ) The constant use of the filaments seems to cause the bulbs to get dimmer and less white over time. I see far too many cars on the road with poor (dim) headlights, most likely due to tired filaments.

If you have enough foresight to avoid waiting until your lenses get that bad in the first place, you should be able to keep them like new without all of the initial sanding steps by simply buffing the lenses with Plast-X once a year. Awesome write-up and use of visuals !

I will try to snap the pics and send them tonight.

On both my 2000 and 2001 OBW, there is a ground strap that goes from that bolt in your picture up to a bolt on the firewall.

I recall that when I bought my first code reader at Walmart, the model I chose failed to sync up with the OBD port on my 2001 OBW. I contacted the manufacturer of the reader and they sent me a slightly different model that was able to sync up no problems. There are still differences when I use the reader on our 2000 OBW. I think on the 2000, I have to actually start the engine in order for the sync to occur. On the 2001 I just need to turn the key to the On position. My reader is made by http://www.canobd2.com

I am referring to the 3M Bondo product that contains short-strand fiberglass. It is actually called, "Bondo-Glass". It sets up very quickly into an amazingly hard substance. My brother balled-up a leftover quantity and let it harden. It is seriously as hard as rock. I almost think the holes we patched up with it will outlast the rest of the car

It would almost seem like Subaru (Toyota ?) really wants to eliminate that model within their line-up with that vehicle

My 2001 OBW had the same type of bubbled paint in the same location. I THOUGHT it was just bubbled paint, but when I looked more closely under the fender there were some fairly large rusted spots that basically crumbled to pieces when I began poking around. So on my car the extent of the rust and damage was much worse than that outer surface led me to believe. I took the cheap route and with the help of my brother, we used 3M Bondo-Glass to fill the holes and then used POR-15 paint to cover that and the remaining surface rust. Some basic gray primer and a can of spray paint from Pep Boys (fairly good color match off the shelf) completed things.

Maybe power steering fluid dripping from the rack onto the exhaust ?

Steering rack boot replacement is complete. It was fairly simple. Got everything back together and did not require an alignment. I would say the most difficult part was getting the large end of the new drivers side boot into the groove in the steering rack. There was very little room to work and it was just a tight fit. The passenger side boot went on very easily, but that end of the rack is different for some reason (black metal with a shallow groove for the boot). The driver side end of the rack was a silver cast piece with a much deeper groove for the boot. I'm going to repeat the same process on my 01 OBW. Thanks for the help.

I would be surprised if this was your problem but... On my 2001 Outback Wagon, I had a very similar problem. My temp gauge would shoot up if I had the A/C on, but was not moving. If the car was moving then no problem. There were no coolant leaks and I had just had new head gaskets installed at the local Subaru dealer about 6 months prior. I kept thinking about the symptoms and it almost seemed like the cooling fan was running in reverse, throwing hot air from the radiator onto the A/C condenser, but I thought how could that possibly happen when it used to work fine. So one hot day when I got home and with the A/C still running, I got out of the car and walked to the front of the car. Surprisingly, there was hot air blowing OUT of the front of the car !! I opened the hood and waited for the fan to cycle off so I could see which direction it was turning. It was running in reverse !!!! I don't think there is any possible explanation for it other than one of the shops that I took it to reversed the wires in hopes of generating a future service call. I reversed the wires and then the A/C and temp gauge were fine. If there is some other electrical anomaly that could cause this, then you may want to check to see what your fan is doing when the A/C is on.

I ordered the replacement boots this afternoon and should be installing some night this week or next weekend. I'll post after the repair is complete. Thanks !

2000 Outback Wagon, auto trans, EJ251 engine, 130,000 miles. The passenger side steering rack boot is torn and the drivers side boot looks like it's about to tear. I am planning to replace both boots. It appears to me that I should be able to replace the boots without having to remove the outer tie rod end from the steering knuckle by simply threading the tie rod out of the tie rod end (of course only after carefully marking the threads and counting turns during removal). Is this correct ?

I am planning to leave the rubber piece off at this point. I assume it's there to protect the fender lip from stone chips, but I would rather keep an eye on that possibility and repair it as needed rather than risk having water trapped in there again.