teppichkopf

Great write up. I'll replace the o-rings this weekend. Thanks!

From what i read if that rev sensor is bad than the compressor will run for 30 secs or so before turning off the compressor. Since mine isn't turning on at all could the problem be elsewhere in the system? Anyone have any insight on the rev sensor on these?

Last summer A/C worked fine. This summer not blowing cold air and I can see that the compressor is not turning on. I swapped the relay with some of the other fan relays and no change so I think the relay is fine. I also ran the self-diagnostics and it showed everything fine. What is the next step up the ladder? Recharge? If there is a leak will this disable the compressor from turning on? Thanks in advance.

Yeah, I know it can be a pain. I bought a 96 OBW from MA before. Had to chisel the axle nut off when changing CV Axle. And one of the control arm nuts was painfully frozen/stubborn too. Never good when a 2 hr job takes 5 hours because of rusty bolts/nuts. But hard to pass up a good deal... And our DOT just starting using road salt around Seattle last year so we'll be dealing with that from now on.

Looking at buying an 02 Outback. Spent half its life in NY. Wheels show some nasty corrosion. Picture shows worse of the 4. I don't mind stripping them and powder coating them, or getting new rims in the long term. Probably would try and clean them up in the short term. My real question how well these model year Subarus handle body rust. No body rust showing right now. How well is the anti-rust treatment on Subaru under coat? This will be our weekend mountain hiking/skiing car so I'm not too concerned about it looking perfect. Thanks for any thoughts on this.

Cool. I can probably reuse the one from the old radiator once I find some double sided tape to put it back on with.

Just replaced the leaking radiator in my Forester. How important is the foam strip that is taped along the top? The A/C one is still in there. I assume this keeps air flowing through radiator and blocks air flow from coming over the radiator.

I pulled the housing back off, sprayed some Kroil from the top to loosen the bolt up and was able to back it out with my fingers. I also saw that these bolts are designed to shear right wear it did, since there is a taper to the threads. I suspect I need to source these from a dealer parts counter?

"you might be able to put a nut at the other end of the hole. I have done this, on the frontmost bolt" What do you mean?

Water pump and timing belts done less than 10k ago when I had head gaskets done. I think I just over-torqued it - my torque wrench calibration must be off. Usually I don't even bother with torque wrench. Oh well. lesson learned. Hopefully a little penetrating oil and I can extract it. Otherwise drill and re-tap. Really don't want to replace an almost new water pump. And hopefully can get this done without removing timing belt and water pump.

I haven't removed the other bolt and housing yet (called it a night and will check it tomorrow) but guessing there won't be enough for vise-grips. Good point about just tapping new hole.

Have radiator seem leak so replacing it and thermostat too. I was putting the thermostat housing back on and snapped one of the bolts off. Top third of bolt broke off. Looks like this is the water pump so I am thinking probably easiest to remove water pump and easy-out the bolt or retap with larger bolt. Any thoughts, advice, or suggestions?

01 Forester. I have a few stubborn bolts on the tow hook. Anyone try some heat here? I'm not sure that it's a good idea, assume the bottom rust inhibitor and whatever insulation is above that might burn. So far 2 of 3 on passenger side aren't budging. Have used 24-inch breaker bar, air-impact wrench, and PB Blaster (sprayed a few times and let to sit for 2 hours.) Definitely don't want to break off the head and go down that road. Anyone find a better product than PB Blaster? Luckily I'm not in a hurry to get it installed but want it off the "summer to do" list.

Looking at 2001 OBS. If anyone has unused reports and can run this, it'd be cool! 2001 Impreza Outback Sport Vin -- JF1GF48591H802964

Slight problem with my CV axle replacement. The head on the pinch bolt for the the steering knuckle is well beyond rounded. Before I try getting it loose with a pipe wrench or vise grips (which won't be a fun two or three hours I'm sure), can I remove the castle nut on the bottom of the control arm and separate the ball joint from there and still get the rotor/caliper to swing free to remove the axle??? Anybody had a similar issue with the pinch bolt being rounded?

Before swapping my cv axle wanted to double check. Haynes doesn't mention axle nuts as having reverse thread so I assume both sides are regular thread ie turn counter-clockwise to loosen??

Replacing my first cv axle on '96 outback. Haynes says to use a breaker bar to get axle nut off. (looks like it is 32mm) Any problem if I use an impact wrench? Manual says to have someone engage the gear and put the brake on while breaking the nut. Don't have another person easily available to do this. Will I need the wheel/brake to be secure if using the air wrench?

I don't notice any difference. Seems to be there from start to finish. I'll give the fluid flush a try since that is the cheapest option aside from ignoring it. If no work there I'll research a rebuild.

'96 Outback EJ22 Noticed my steering has felt stiff the past two weeks or so. And now I get a slight vibration when initially turning to the left of right. Fluid level in the pump checks out fine. Searching shows most people's problems with steering pumps have to do with squeals related to bad bearings. But has any one had similar issue like mine?

Anyone have any experience or luck with cleaning O2 sensors? Came across info on using a propane torch to burn off containaments from the sensor tip. We'll see how long it takes for the CEL to trip again.

How'd ya get the new sensor with wires intact back on?

Need to replace the front o2 sensor. Any tricks to getting at it? Do I have to pull the cat heat guard (those bolts look damn rusty, PB blaster didn't seem to help getting them loose and two bolts had the nuts on the top part??) to get to the sensor? Maybe use crow's foot wrench to get in there?

Bought a cheap $40 one on ebay that didn't work on my ej22. Couldn't get an Innova 3100 to work either. But the cheaper Innova model 3030 works perfectly. Very handy to have.

I have to do an axle before too long. Know of a good source to buy them in Snohomish County?

What kind of mileage on the tranny? Service records from previous owner(s)? From experience with two auto trans that had similar problems, once they're bad, they're bad. I tried flushes and no slip products but nothing took care of the hard shifting. Usually of neglect from previous owners.