D13

Well.. I have taken the obvious steps.. dry out the floor matts and get them outta there to let the rest dry out. and leaving the windows down as much as possible. It doesnt fog up excessively anymore.. and has dried out a bit.. but the drivers side floor is still quite wet.. The good news is I will be taking a four hour drive next week, so that should give me an opportunity to dry it out. without just letting it run in the parking lot. So It should be all dried out by next week.. hopefully spring will arrive soon and Ill just have to worry about rain and slush. Most of the other tips on what the check have been helpful, hopefully i wont find anything to worry about.

Ok.. guess i didnt word my initial post properly. My car has Excessive moisture build up. I dont drive my car very often, and usually only very short distances, so I dont have the opportunity to really get it all dried out. I understand how AC and defrost works as well as leaving the vents on fresh air, sorta common sense, but doesnt solve the problem. I'm quite sure the AC is draining correctly, or was in the summer. I have been trying to leave the windows down when i actually have the car on long enough to defrost the ice on the floor. I shake out the snowy rubber mat and the floor mat after every few drives, and obviously attempt to keep the snow out to begin with. The main problem is it doesnt warm up enough outside to get all the moisture out combined with not driving long enough. So I was wondering what Other options there are? and that people have experience with. What do others that live in persistently cold and snowy areas do? yes a general car question i suppose. thanks...

Ok.. so i've searched and read a few threads involving the interior moisture issues ... My car fogs up on the inside a bit much... I live in a snowy area, and always assumed it was that, I have looked and never noticed any patterns of arrival. I cant pinpoint any leak or source other than my snowy feet. There could very well be another source, but my issue is more with how to get rid of the moisture. yes a band-aid So What i didnt find in other threads was how do most of you deal with excessive moisture? heater? chemicals? some sort of dehumidifier? looks like i may have to buy a small space heater to dry out the car!

I've had this issue for a while now too. I've had a few mechanics look for it while doing other maintenance, but never any successful answers. The smell is bad sometimes and non existent at others. I'd be very interested in knowing what you find. personally mine is a '00 outback

Somewhere around here I read nobody ever keeps posting the results after getting advice.. so ... I finally got the rear diff today, looks good as far as I can see. (150$) After calling and calling and getting prices all over the board, and combined with checking the better business bureau.. finally got a reasonable quote to install from a reputable mechanic. $150+ cost of fluid. So assuming everything is correct and goes as planned it should be done by tomorrow for under $400, I would have rather had it done a few weeks ago, but oh well. Thanks for everyones help and advice!

So with the continuing search, Does it matter what I put in there as far as LSD and non? locking non locking.. same thing. I would prefer whatever is the simplest, and easiest to get in there. and how would I find out what i currently have, perhaps a stupid question, but looked through my documentation and cant find any info. I think I've found one that seems ok and will fit.

As of about two years ago it was an average of 25. I havent accurately attempted to get a mpg lately. I've got to ask, what is trail breaking? Not to sound argumentative but I've never seen someone break with their left foot who wasnt destroying their breaks and wasting gas by using both feet and giving the passengers a very uncomfortable ride. But since you do practice this.. what is the advantage and why do you do this? Just seems very pointless to me perhaps I'm missing something to it?

excuse the machine gun posting here... Ok so i've been searching the salvage sites, and I'm getting a bit confused. I know I need a 4.11 rear differential, but all the sites dont have it listed that easily, so what the heck am I looking for? Rear diff assembly? I'd assume that sounds right. Nothing has come up on any searches.. hmm. seems like i'm doing something wrong. I keep getting crazy quotes $2,000. huh, wonder what they looked up.

^^ Cool, I wasn't sure if you were talking about the whole job done for that price or not. The shop I spoke to today said 350 for the part and 450 labor. Thats not my price range, and from what I can tell, thats a bit high. The subaru dealer all reviews said to stay away from just called and quoted 905 for the assembly, and 300 in labor. yeah im lookin for the cheap option. anyone know of any sited that has a list of mechanics that have experience on subarus? I'm having a hard time trusting all these sketchy guys.

Most people that are in vegas living here dont gamble from what I can tell, I'm only a part timer or something I guess. But what is the $150.00 solution? I'll take it! I'm assuming youre talking about just the seals and whatnot? Seriously I was given estimates of about $800, there is metal in the oil, and according to the mechanic the "spider joints" are bad and a whole buncha crap. So a new rear diff is called for.

Haa shady indeed! I've never heard of that. I guess I shoulda stressed that I would rather use a band aid that would get me about 2k mi, than actually deal with it properly right now. I'm really not in a position to deal with it at this point unfortunately. Just dont have the time or money. I dont think i'll be going the saw dust route though.

Hey, thanks for the info; and the offer of the differential; I'll decline for now. One band aid treatment that was recommended was "Lucus Oil Treatment" in the place of differential fluid. I was told it slows or sometimes stops leaks. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? or thoughts on using it? I plan on finding someone tomorrow to have a look either way.

yeah nipper you got it.. basically run dry, and now it whines as described above. How long it was virtually dry I actually dont know. It was checked/serviced at the recommended intervals, so at approx. 90k. over a year ago its now at 115k. As for the current leak, there is one, its dripped way too much just to be overflow from changing the oil. It drips about 15 drops a day? I just wiped it off and parked it in a dry spot to see how much accumulates again. So either way I'm leary of driving it long distances, does anyone know how to go about finding a reputable shop here in North Las Vegas? I did a quick search and know NOT to take it to the subaru dealer here.

Hi, yep first post seems like a good place; Im looking for some advice on a possibly big issue on my 2000 Subaru outback with a manual transmission. I recently noticed a interesting whine coming from what sounds like the middle or back of my car. When traveling at 55+ to maintain speed, any press of the accelerator causes this whine. There is a "sweet spot" in the accelerator if you were to try and cause the whine. It sounds like sawing the end of a board off, or very loud tires on the highway. It is definitely related to maintaining speed and acceleration. Out of gear there is no noise. And to make the issue oh so much more fun... I took it to a mechanic, kinda ghetto mexican guy. He rode with me, noticed the sound, threw it up onto the lift and there was hardly any oil in the differential which was covered. He drained it and cleaned it and no metal chips were found. He filled it back up and sent me on my way. He said it was ok to drive if i had to, but i should get it worked on. It has been two days, I have driven probably 50 miles, and there is certainly a leak from the rear differential and the whine is still there. So my questions are: Has anyone had this problem, or have advice to what it is? How major is it? How alarming? How far can I go? To make this an even better story, I'm supposed to be road trippin and traveling starting on the first, not just that but moving with my car full of crap! Should I suck it up and deal with it now, or drive 1000mi+ and risk it and deal with it when settled? thanks, any help would be great.