mrlynn

UPDATE: With some advice and illustrations from other forums, I managed to get at the cabin air filter. To take it out properly, you have to remove the glovebox, which would be quite an undertaking, requiring removing the console box and assorted other interior trim panels. I dropped the glovebox door, pulled out the upper-level box, and then struggled to get the filter holder out far enough to pull the filter out. Sure enough, the mouse had chewed a hole through it. So he had got in above the filter and fallen into the fan, or so I infer. How he got in through the small cowl openings I can't fathom, though there is a bit of an opening by the hood hinge on the passenger side. I stuffed a ball of aluminum foil in that. This Subie seems to attract mice. One got between the hood insulation and the hood last year, and chewed through a windshield-washer hose. Never seen a mouse in any of our other cars. In fact, no mice in the house, either. We do have cats, but I've never seen one catch a mouse. It's a puzzle. Now I've got to go back to AllData and tell them I want a refund. That site was totally useless. /Mr Lynn

Yep, turns out this '07 one is, too. Got the blower motor out with only a little trouble reaching the back screw. It was a mouse. It was quite dead, but fortunately more or less intact, except for a number of very large maggots feasting on the poor critter. They actually looked like grubs, about 1/2 an inch long. The fan blades were encrusted with hard-too-remove goo; I spent about two hours scrubbing with soapy water and alcohol. Hopefully I got most of it, so the smell will disappear. It was only Tuesday when the mouse hit the fan. How he got in there (the intake holes in the cowl are not large enough for a mouse, I think), and how the insect that found him got there I don't know. There is a cabin air filter above the fan, which according to the one illustration I was able to find on AllData, should be accessible with the glovebox door released down out of the way, but in fact it is not. I can't figure out how to check that. I'm thinking there may be a hole in it. I need a manual, dammit! /Mr Lynn

The other day my wife complained that the heater/AC blower fan in her 2007 Outback was making a terrible rattle. Sure enough, it was. "Got something in there," I said, figuring I'd deal with it on the weekend; "let me know if it starts to smell." This morning she left for work, but came running back in, announcing, "It smells!" So, as I feared, there's something dead in the blower box. I climbed in the cabin this afternoon, took off the panel underneath (just three clips and a couple of screws), and then looked at the bottom of the blower motor. "How do I get this out?" I wondered. Since I had long planned on getting a service manual, I went online, and discovered no one seems to sell one. Instead I signed up for a five-year subscription to AllData.com, and figured I was all set. But when I went to the listing for the heating system, selected blower motor, I got no instructions, no diagrams, no nothing except a sketch of the motor (and a price), and some wiring diagrams. Where's the R&R instructions? How do I open the box? Nothing. Maybe I'm missing something; I emailed AllData (no response as yet). If anyone knows, please tell me. The subscription cost $45. Or if AllData ain't for real, a link to a repair manual would be welcome. I could just start taking stuff apart, but it's sort of a new car, and I really would like a diagram or two, or better yet step-by-step instructions. /Mr Lynn

Well, most of the cars I have owned have not had ABS, so I'm still not that familiar with it. I'm still surprised when I notice it kicking in and vibrating my brake pedal. I grew up in the days when you learned to slow down in advance of situations (the art of coasting up to a stoplight—and pissing off the guy behind you), and you pumped the brakes judiciously when you noticed a bit of a skid. I'll have to keep this advice in mind. In the old days, 'bald tires' meant just that—billiard balls! Now people are suggesting we junk tires with 5/32" of tread left. That's many miles, by my reckoning. Then, I remember two-ply ("four-ply rated") tires, too. /Mr Lynn

I'm confused. The whole point of ABS is to prevent skidding. Yours did the reverse? Maybe there's something wrong with the system. /Mr Lynn

My wife's 2007 Outback that we bought used last year has only 23K on the OE tires, but with winter here I'm thinking of upgrading to newer and better all-seasons. I've toyed with the idea of a separate set of winter tires, but since most of the time here in suburban eastern Mass. the roads and our driveway are plowed out, she's not usually driving in deep snow. Presumably the all-seasons handle and stop better on wet and dry snow-free surfaces, including ice. I looked at the TireRack surveys, but am overwhelmed with the options. So I'd welcome any opinions and comments on your experience with currently-available tires. The Goodyear Triple-Tread Assurance tires seem to be well-regarded. But I'm open. My wife uses the car for mostly commuting on secondary roads; occasionally we might use it for an highway trip. /Mr Lynn