ron917

Sounds like a good idea for an aquarium. Of course, you shouldn't run it when it's full of water and fish.

GM's Versatrak system, at least as used in the U-body vans, can tell when you're running the donut spare and turns the AWD off. So it's been done before. Of course, the difference between regular tires and a donut is pretty extreme, so it's easier for the software to notice the difference.

The bubbles and filling-up overflow tank are exactly what happened with my '99 2.5 DOHC. For a while, I would check the overflow daily and move coolant back to the radiator with a turkey baster when it got full. Most of the time, it would take a few days of my normal commute to fill it up, but a 20 minute run on the highway would do it. The car never overheated. New HGs fixed the problem.

For P0420 codes, read this: http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/

I assume that was before the liquid tape hardened?

Another vote for the GR2s. 15K miles with them on the '99 OBW.

My son and I looked at a used Imprezza with a driver's seat belt that had been cut and spliced back together with duct tape! Someone may have been trying for a Darwin award with that one.

Regarding those grooves in the second pic above: Are we talking about the 2 grooves on the tops of each tooth, or the 5 on the sides of each tooth? Or both? And you just grind with a Dremel or similar? Asking because I'm sure I'll need to deal with it at some point.

That would be a thread locker of some kind. I noticed it on some of the accesory mount bolts when I did my engine swap. While it was reddish in color, it wasn't the familiar red Loctite from a tube, because they came right out.

I had Michelin Harmonys in the past (Nokian WRs now). I found the Harmonys to be very good all around tires. They were very good in the rain, better than my current Nokians. The Michelins started off quiet, but got noisy as they wore down. I don't know if the noise was characteristic of the tire, or due to an alignment issue that caused the tires to feather badly near the end of thier life. I got 60,000 miles out of them, but as I said, I had an alignment issue. I would buy the Harmonys again if I decided to run dedicated snow tires in winter. I bought the Nokians this time because they are far better in snow.

Sent you a PM.

On my '99, the bleed screw is on top of the radiator on the passenger side. It's right above the upper radiator hose fitting. It takes a philips head screwdriver.

Agreed on all counts. We run Blizzak WS-50s on the minivan. My wife's requirements for a winter tire are simple: "I don't want to slide, ever." Dry performance isn't a factor. They kick butt on ice, as well. On two occasions last winter while driving the minivan, I discovered that the road was icy when other vehicles started sliding off the road. Conditions were detiorating and I was already driving carefully, but I never slid, never skidded, and the ABS never kicked in. If I hadn't seen the other vehicles lose it, I wouldn't have known about the ice. The Blizzaks just stuck like glue. A Subaru with Blizzaks must be an awesome winter machine. I have Nokian WRs on my Subaru, but I know that they are not equal to Blizzaks in winter weather.

Yep, the 99 OB is DOHC.

I don't have personal experience with skid plates, but there's some info here: http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9034

KYB does make the original struts, but they are not the same as the GR2s. I have GR2s in my '99 Outback. The GR2s are much stiffer, and the car handles much better with them. They are a little harsher than I like, but I was spoiled by Bilsteins in my Volvos. Bilsteins are firm, but not harsh. Alas, Bilstein does not make struts for my Outback, so I must settle for the KYB GR2s.

The '86 VW Golf that I used to own had an oil pressure buzzer along with the light. It was a very different sound from the other chimes (keys, etc). The sender had a habit of going bad in those cars, so they often buzzed and lit the idiot light when the oil pressure was fine. My brother had a Jetta from the same generation. His oil pressure light/buzzer started alarming, and a new sender fixed it. A few years later, it started alarming again so he ignored it, figuring the sender had gone bad again. Minutes later, it threw a rod. Reminds me of one of Aesop's fables...

Sounds like you need a skid plate.

You might be pleasantly surprised at what the insurance co. offers, if it's totaled. I had a '89 Volvo 240 that was totaled by hitting a deer in 2003. It had 220K miles and really bad rust. Book value on one in average condition was around $2000, insurance offered just over $3000 for it! I accepted before they could change thier mind and used it as part of the downpayment on my '99 Outback. Body work is mega expensive. My wife was in a very minor rear ender with the minivan. It scratched up the plastic rear bumper cover and popped off some of the clips that held it on. New bumper cover, clips and paint to match was $800. The other guys insurance covered it all, of course.

True, dat. However, automatic was implied because he asked about the spin-on filter.

In cars where I run conventional oil, I use Castrol GTX. In cars where I run synthetic, I use Mobil 1. I have only had one oil related engine problem (siezed camshaft in my Outback), and I was running Havoline instead of my usual Castrol at the time. That ought to stir the pot

For P0420 codes, read this: http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/

The only time I every had noise from an automatic transmission the fluid was low (cooler pipe was leaking). Did you check the fluid level? The tranny problem that led to my AAMCO horror story mentioned earlier didn't exhibit any noise, it just wouldn't shift out of 1st gear (that was an old Chevy, if anyone cares).

Yes. Even though the parts guy at the Subaru dealer insisted that the gasket he sold me was for the filter, it was clearly the drain plug washer. BTW, it is the same drain plug washer as for the engine oil.

Just in case you didn't get what Nipper said, STAY AWAY FROM AAMCO!! There are many, many horror stories about them on the Web. I have my own, but it's from 25 years ago, and I will never go near an AAMCO shop again. Nipper was almost right - your car can be perfectly fine, but they will still sell you a transmission AFTER TEARING YOURS APART so that you have no choice but to pay a huge bill.