Allpar Mod

I'd really have to read the fine print. One trend in aftermarket warranties in recent years is the wording in the agreement allowing them the use of used parts. If the client refuses to use the used component, the warranty company retains the right to only pay what the used part costs toward another form of repair. The labor charges are often not what would be charged by a reputable garage or dealer, but significantly less. My words here come from experience. I bought a used 4x4 several years ago and got an aftermarket warranty. The transfer case went and I tried to use the warranty. They had no issue covering the repair, but stated they were going to send my garage a used case with 100,000 miles on it. First, the repairs are delayed while they ship the part to your shop. When I had an issue with the used case with that many miles on it, I was told that I had no choice other than them paying for a new one or a rebuild with what the used case would cost and no more. There was a big difference in what they would pay labor and what it cost to have the job done right. I ended up with a big repair bill having the case rebuilt properly even though they did pay what they said they would. A close exam of the fine print in the agreement gave me no recourse. I've looked at several since and no way would I pay what they want for what you get. The ones that advertise on TV and elsewhere give you dollar limits on specific auto systems. These limits are for the life of the warranty. For example, if you got one for your Subaru and the head gaskets went fubar, they would cover it (if you got the plan that included these repairs in the first place. There are several plan limits based on cost to you including deductables). Lets say that you had a limit on engine repair of $1000 in the plan you bought with $0 deductable. The repairs to the HG cost $700. They would pay the bill no problem. Now, though, you only have $300 left in your plan for any other engine repairs that might happen before the plan expires. If the HG repair cost $1100, they would pay $1000, you would pay $100. Now, you have no engine coverage for the life of the warranty remaining. Other vehicle systems are covered in the same way. Does this sound like a good investment for what amounts to a several thousand dollar cost? That's right...these warranties cost well over $2000 each for a decent plan coverage wise. You'd be better off putting the same amount that the cost of the warranty monthly would cost (they will let you make payments to pay the warranty costs off. Isn't that nice of them?) in the bank for a rainy day.

Another thing that was missed. This car was used for some sort of towing. That puts considerable strain on the powertrain. You don't know how much this poor car was abused and from the pictures, this car didn't live a life of leisure. I tow a 24' camper with a 1/2 ton truck and know how much it gets abused even though it's suited to what I do to it. A Soob really wasn't meant to tow even though any car can tow a very light trailer. Still, you have no idea what was towed and how heavy it was much less how often. I'd wave $500 in unmarked bills under his nose and no more.

You can replace just the cable connectors, but I'd check the entire cable first. If it looks cracked in places and generally not so great, I'd replace the entire cable. Another thing is that the corrosion tends to travel down the cable from the connector given enough time. It depends on how bad the cables are corroded. As we cannot see your cables, you'll have to judge this yourself. I've used the commercial corrosion protector spray with success. The trick is to make sure the entire connector and post are well cleaned before you use the goop. I think it's worth the money. Another thing to remember with battery cables....just because they don't have the fluffy corrosion doesn't mean they aren't in need of cleaning. All it takes is the thin film that does develop to stop the transfer of juice. I found this out the hard way a long time ago with a Mazda we once has. The terminals looked ok, but there was nothing. After I cleaned them, everything was right as rain again. You could hardly see the film between the posts and terminals but it was there.

Anyone know where a manual for a '99 OBW would be? I hate not having one.

R2 is right. It's nearly impossible to tell anything by the picture to try to help you. Just to take a shot in the dark, though, I'm assuming that the leak is from under the hood. If so, this could be anything from possibly being a bad o-ring on a fuel injector, the fuel rail itself, the fuel line at or near the fuel rail. None of these are particularly difficult DIY or expensive repairs if you have to have a mechanic do them. I'd make a significant effort to ID exactly where the leak is coming from because any fuel leak is potentially a dangerous situation.

Buying fluid from a parts store, or Wal Mart for that matter, makes no diference for any car. No manufacturer makes their own fluids any more than they make many of their own components. You're not going to hurt your car just as long as you use the right classification of fluid.

My 99 OBW averages from 22 to 28 mpg highway. It depends on how I'm driving it and believe it or not, the gas I use. Many things effect gas mileage. I just put a set of very aggressive winter style tires on the Soob and I expect not to get the better mileage until I put the a/s tires back on in the spring. Dragging brakes will also. They can drag a bit and you not be aware of it.

A lot of people are hesitant to use the sanding technique for hazed lights, and one should be able to understand why. I've used Flitz polish very successfully to undo hazing. Using a rotary ball attached to a drill works that much better. Flitz makes their own that is excellent and reusable and washable, unlike the Mothers which is foam and falls apart too fast for too much money. Not a lot of retailers sell Flitz, but you can get both the polish and ball at http://www.flitz.com.

Just because the bulbs look ok and are newer doesn't mean that one of the filaments isn't quirky. It's probably a bulb going bad.

Air in the system seems to be a common problem with Soobs when the systems are flushed. Since you say you corrected this, we'll look elsewhere, though I would double check this as you possibly still could have air trapped in the system. Before I'd start tearing into the heater core, I'd check the heater control valve. If this is stuck closed, you'd get no coolant flow through the heater core. This should be inline of the heater hose coming off the water pump. If you used a/c over the warm months, the slide switch would have been in the blue, therefore, the heater control valve shut. If a malfunction in the actuator or the valve itself occurred during this time, it will still be in the shut position internally.

I was wondering about the Hankooks. I was at Pep Boys today and they want to give me a good sounding deal on the I Pikes, $360/4 with a $60 rebate mounted and balanced. They are a seriously aggressive looking tire, all right. The guy behind the counter told me that I should only expect 15,000 miles or so with them. I'm going to keep the a/s tires I have and use them spring through fall on another set of rims so whichever ones I end up with should last much longer timewise. I went to GoodYear and got a quote on the Tripletreads and they are WAY too expensive for me, good tire or not. $600/4. I got a quote for Blizzaks at nearly $500/4 and I'm going to check around for another quote, but as of now, I think the Hankooks are going to win.

I certainly would like to hear about other owner's experiences with specific tires after this morning. I left work after 16 hours at 0700 this morning to freezing rain that made the entire region a skating rink. The AWD seemed to work well enough especially uphill, but the tires that were on the car when I bought it (generic a/s tires but nearly new tread. All 4 matched) allowed me to go out of control completely three times going downhill at a crawl. Just what I needed after such a long work day, total panic x 3 over exhaustion. Fortunately, I only sustained a scrape on the front bumper from contact with a guard rail on one encounter. Now, I know that no tire is perfect on ice except the closest thing being studded snow tires, but I saw fwd cars doing a bit better than I was doing which really infuriated me. I need to seriously consider something real soon before the flakes really start flying by what I experienced this morning. Unfortunately, my finances are a bit limited right now (and who's isn't these days?) so the really expensive ones like Blizzaks might be unobtainable. I'm seriously considering looking into an SUV style tire like a Wrangler, etc. if I can find any decent ones in a 205/15.

Problem is that he has to get the car running to get it to AZ first. If you get the car running, the charging system can be checked with a multimeter. Easy and accurate. I can walk you through the few steps if need be. I agree that the battery could be bad and I would remove it and have it tested first. Let's rule out easy stuff first. I always liked the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). If the battery is good, check the connections off of the battery to where they terminate. There could be corrosion there which could be the issue. I would also look at the terminals that connect to the battery themselves. Make sure both ends are clean including what they connect to. The battery posts should be cleaned with a terminal tool or just sandpaper will do well. Most people just look for the fluffy corrosion that shows up, but they can develop just a film that is hard to see but can effectively block the flow of power. I learned about this the hard way many years ago when I car I had just stopped dead. That's all that the problem was. As far as discharging the battery sitting, this is usually caused by something draining the battery which shouldn't be. A stuck relay is often the culprit. If you get to this diagnostic, I can walk you through a way to see which circuit is the culprit. All you need is a multimeter and some time. It is a time consuming process, but reasonably accurate.

GD has got it. Sometimes, heat is quite necessary. I also agree with the MAPP gas over propane. Much hotter and better. It's maybe the next best thing to oxyacetylene. The whole point of using heat is to break the bond between the metal parts due to the corrosion and you need to significantly raise the temperature of the metal to do that. Propane just doesn't do the job. Make sure you use a penetrating oil when one is needed. By that, like was stated, use PB Blaster, Kroil (another very good product), or any other brand if that's all you have available. Give the plenty of stuff time to soak. Don't just spray it and go to work like many do. The stuff just doesn't work that way.

I'd lean toward Rainman's advice. There's no excuse for his behavior and demeanor. I've dealt with Ford and Chevrolet reps in the past and received nothing short of respect at least in how I was treated. That's their job. I'd take it upstairs and wouldn't back down until I was satisfied how it was dealt with. Now, that's just me. I tend to be a pit bull with things like this. It's paid off, though. I could tell you stories.

You were kinda vague on whether the starter was cranking and the engine just wasn't catching or vice versa, no crank. If it is cranking, it is possible that moisture in the ignition could be a culprit. Definately plugs that are fubared would figure in to this issue also.

I like the Rain-X Latitude blades. Great wipes regardless of weather or temp. They do last also. Pep Boys sells their own brand of them cheaper now and I put a set on the Outback. I like them so far. The only thing you have to watch with these blades is if you scrape ice off of the windshield and knock the plastic end caps off of the blade. They can be replaced back on the blade, but if you lose one, you're screwed. The refill will come out of the blade during wiping.

I read you, GD. They were foreign made, period. Tax man, just having drilled/slotted rotors does not mean no more warpage, for sure. I've noticed the ones on my truck are starting to show signs of that because of the hard braking trailering (even with trailer brakes, it is still hard on the tow vehicle). Those are EBC which is supposed to be a very good brand.

To answer your question about the issue with the Jeep rotors, it had nothing to do with the de-icing substances. Rather, it was the composition of the rotors themselves. This is why I suggested that it conceivably could be a part issue. Remember, we are dealing with foreign made parts using foreign made steel. There have been a LOT of automotive issues with foreign steel over the years. While I usually agree with replacement rather than returning more often than not, where are you going to have rotors turned that cost you $35, unless you are paying them to take them off of the car also. The shops around here charge much less if the rotors are off of the car. Has anyone used aftermarket drilled/slotted rotors on their Soob? I have them on my F-150 and used them on the Jeep and really liked them. They do what they are intended to do as to brake fade. I had an issue with it involving the Jeep and I trailer a 24' camper with the truck and braking is better there also.

It's entirely possible that a particular braking system could put demands on the rotors that would promote warping. This might be the specific issue that you are concerned with. I apologize if it sounded like I was ignoring the root question, but I've never heard of a specific issue with brake rotors in any particular year range or product line within the Subaru marque. The Jeeps we've owned, yes. Not the Soobs. That's not beyond the realm of possibility. Personally, I never owned any car or light truck that didn't ever have a warped rotor or two. That's both foreign and domestic. I've owned my share over the years. I do have to admit that the ones that had the least issues with this were the three Loyales we owned, '89, '90, & '91. Let me ask you guys this....is it possible that this could be a climactic thing? By this, I mean that rotor warpage could be due to the climate in the part of the country one is in? reason why I ask this is I just remembered a recall on our Jeep rotors for premature wear in climates that use road de-icing substances. The recall was model year specific so it wouldn't be hard to imagine a similar problem within a specific year range of any other vehicle. Just throwing something out there...a possible reason, maybe.

Usually this is one of two issues: 1) Burned out filiment in the bulb 2) Corrosion in the socket. Remove the bulb and replace it. It's the most likely culprit. If the new ones still is a problem, there is most likely a socket issue. Doubtful in the wiring. Both sides would be out if it were a fuse.

GD queried.... I have had experience with Haynes manuals for vehicles other than Soobs and I have found inaccuracies, blatent ones also. It wouldn't surprise me if they were wrong about the runout. I know I was making generalities rather than addressing specific Subaru issues. They are still pertinent to our cars. If a rotor has been cut multiple times, it wouldn't surprise me if it needs replaced. You have to remember that every time that you cut metal off, there is a weakening of the rotor as a whole.

I, also, have bought several disgnostic items from Harbor Freight. I'm very careful about what I buy from them. Some of their stuff works well enough and some is just not worth the price because it is certified scrap. Their gauges usually work well enough to do the occassional job you would need and if it doesn't work, like Scooby said, they'll exchange it or give you a refund. Just keep your receipts. I have quite a lot of $$ tied up in tools and such. What I've found is that when you buy any tool, with the rare exception of a real specialty tool, you will find other uses for said tool so buying a quality one is often a wise investment. Basically, you buy good and you have it forever. You buy cheap and end up paying for it twice. I buy all of my hand tools at Sears and go with Craftsmen only, not their cheaper line. They still even exchange broken Craftsmen tools without receipts or any hassle. Sears started selling Lysle brand auto tools. These are decent. I have bought a few Kobalt tools at Lowe's when Sears didn't have what I needed at the time. Their warranty is the same and so is Home Depot's with their Husky line. All of these companies will back their products without hassle. By the by, I bought a Husky impact gun several years ago and have beaten the snot out of it. It rivals The professional brands in quality without the high price. My code reader does OBD I and II. It's made by Innova. You cannot cheap out on these. I got it through Amazon.com, believe it or not, because after shopping around, they had the best price by far.

Aside from use, the most common cause of warped rotors are overtightening with impact guns. Loosening the wheels should have no effect on the rotors. All rotors will show some signs of warpage eventually from the constant heat transfer that occurs. Disc brake rotors always are in contact with the pad so there is constantly heat in place. This becomes greater during braking, significantly during hard braking. The repeated heating and cooling of metals cause warpage. The quality of the brake parts will have a direct correlation with warpage, mostly how bad and how soon.

Ask me about transporting hazardous materials in this country and I'll have answers for you. Internationally, not so much. Rooster's attempt and answers he received I find interesting and I'm not surprised. Maybe Guy needs to find out what would happen to a shipment from his end before any more attempts to figure out a possible solution are made. You should talk to your customs people. As to smuggling this in a suitcase, just don't even try. They sniff luggage now and it will trip the alarms. One thing the machines look for are aromatic hydrocarbons. Putting it in another bottle could trigger a potential espionage investigation. You don't want to go here, or anyone else for that matter. Just to show you how they are scrutinizing luggage these days and how little it takes to trigger an alarm, I had taken a bomb class in New Mexico a while back and obviously flew there from Pennsylvania. Yes, I'm one of the good guys. Anyway, I packed the boots I wore on the range in my checked luggage on the return trip, specifically in a black duffle with POLICE in big white block letters on it. When I got home I found that the bag had been opened and inspected throughly. There was a note in it telling me so. The nitrates from the explosives used on the range stuck to my boots and triggered the alarms at the airport. You cannot get away with much at airports here these days.