Crashton

I used Permatex thead sealer with teflon. It's a thick paste that won't creap past the threads into the diff oil. A little bit goes a long way.

To take the clock out all you need is a small screwdriver. If you look close you'll see to places at the top to put the driver into. Just gently pry & it will pop out. The whole prosess of removing & replacing the clock takes 10 minutes tops. When mine went bad I just bought another. It wasn't cheap, but I had to have a clock.

I have 85K on my Forester. The dealer put the miricle mouse milk in my radiator & put a rear spiffy new sticker saying that they did it on the radiator core support. I feel this is at most a bandaide. It's free & it's a recall so why not I say? The only reason I had this done is because now the warranty on my head gaskets has been extended to 8 years or 100,000 miles. Keep your paper work though. It's been raining here for a week & the sticker is about unreadable. Total time to have this done was 20 minutes. I'd also bet that they replace your head gaskets again....for free.

I thought I was going to get 4 winters out of my Blizzak's , but as it turns out I only got 3 & 1/2 out of them. When those tires wear past the winter ice compound they really suck. I've replace them with Hakka 2's & so far they seem just great. The rubber compound on the Hakka's is the same through the entire tread. So hopefully I won't have to get rid of snow tires with 50% of the tread remaining like I just did with my Blizzak's.

My car has had that relay clicking from day one. Four years & 82,000 miles with no problems what so ever. Just the relay making its happy noise.

Most likely thing would be you are low on brake fluid. As your pads were the brake fluid level drops. The cold weather also makes the fluid contract some.

I get the same thing in my Forester when the mats are good & wet. Once I dry the mats it's no longer a problem.

Stephanie, I don't think you're an idiot. The same thing will happen with my Forester under similar conditions. I believe your mechanic is right. Time to stop worrying. Chuck

Just a guess on my part, but I'd have to say that yes they would be the same. I recommend calling Liberty Subaru 888-SUBY 4WD & asking the parts man if they are the same. I have found them to be quite helpful. Chuck

Good luck, I hope it works out for you. Let us know if those radios do have the clock in them.:-) A Merry Christmas to all the Scooby drivers.

There are quite a few Subaru Legacy 6cd changer radios on e-bay right now. I don't know if they have a clock though. You could ask the seller of those radios. I have a 6cd from a WRX & it doesn't have one. I believe the new Forester 6cd doesn't have the clock either. Maybe you should wear a watch with indiglo. Link > http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=mikesdad77&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50

Glad you got your tires. Tires are so much cheaper than bodywork.

I ran Bosch +4 plugs in my Forester for 50,000 miles. I pulled them out to take a look & they looked great. My Forester ran great too, but not any better than it had with the stock Champion's that it came with. I don't think they are worth the premium over a set of NGK's. I put a set of NGK's in & it still runs like a top at 1/4 the price of the +4's. As for leaving a set of plugs in for an extended time my advice would be...don't. I feel that the end of the plugs could become covered in carbon & when you take them out you'll strip the treads out of the aluminum cylinder head.:boohoo: Chuck

I've heard of other people having that problem too. I have a friend with a WRX that took his high wattage bubs out because of heating issues. I've had 80/100W Hella's in mine for four years without problems. I can't explain it.:-\

Howard, My recommendation still stands. http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4926 The Yoko's are very good tires at a bargain price.:santa: Chuck

Most likely a burned out fuse. Check the fuse box.

I'd have to say that in my case my 2000 Forester (80,000 miles) has been a very reliable car. If you keep up on all the maintenance you should have no problems.

Howard- That's a pretty expensive repair. I'd wait till you need to have it done. At least that's what I'm going to do. My 2000 Forester has 80,000 mile & my bearings are still ok. (Knock Wood) Chuck

If you could find a brighter bulb I'm not too convinced it would make the light any better. While a good bulb is important it won't do squat if the lens & reflector are junk. IMHO the Forester fogs are more car jewelry than anything else. Chuck

roy, I agree with you 100% those fog lights aren't worth the trouble to even turn on. I don't know of any lights that will fit the stock hole in the bumper. I guess you could coble some other lights in there, but it wouldn't be too easy.

I've been using Blizzak WS50 for four winters now. I'd have to say that this one will probably be the last one for them. They are the best snows that I've driven on. I may look into a set of Hakka's for next year. As far as buying rims goes I'd say go ahead & do it. Makes the change over much easier. Busting your tires on & off the rims every year is very hard on them. Once you drive on a set of real snow tires you'll never go back to driving in the winter without them.

My last tank gave me 26.6 mpg. All highway at 80-85 mph. My all time best tank was 30mpg. Mostly I get 22-24mpg in mixed city highway driving. 73,600 miles on it now.

I'm running the Yokohama Avid Tourings on my 2000 Forester L. I also went with a 215/65/15. I like these tires a lot. They are worlds ahead of those cheap Bridgestone duelers that it came with. Very good dry road & rain traction. Don't know how they'll be in the snow. That really doesn't matter to me, because I put Blizzak's on when the snow flies.

I feel that KIA has that huge warranty because few would buy one without it. I have a sneaking feeling that there won't be very many high mileage Sorento's around. The Forester is a much better car IMHO.

You can put 215/65/15 tires on. They are about the same circumference as the 205/70/15. You gain a bit wider tread without any drawbacks as far as I can see.