Strakes

I've been running Gates brand from Advance Auto on my wife's 93 legacy for the last 50000 miles. I bought the pre-molded kind. IIRC, they were only about $12 each...top and bottom. No problems yet.

Mom's are the best!

A van...excellent. I know, what could say "family" more than a minivan. But hey, we've got 2 kids and would love to have a Subaru minivan.

For my wife, who is allergic to a lot especially in the spring and fall, she can tell a difference with the pollen filter. So, if you have allergies, I think it's a good option.

Very Nice! Plus, it's better than a new car, and no payments!

Has the car ever been towed by a yahoo that left two wheels on the ground?

Park South Automotive 1511 William Blount Drive Maryville, TN 865-681-1121 About 10 minutes south of Mcghee Tyson airport. I have 2 friends that are really pleased with their work and service. One of the friends is an aircraft mechanic that is very particular. Good luck, and I hope this saves you a long drive.

There is a great place in Maryville off of 321. Those guys worked for Harper Subaru dealership for 15+ years before it got sold to evil Grayson stealership. Let me get the phone number and address and I'll post it up soon....

Trusted Advisors: Finances: Financial Advisor Law: Family Lawyer Medicine: Family Doctor Taxes: Tax Accountant Are there bad doctors, accountants, etc? Yes. Can a great doctor make a mistake? Yes. But throwing out the baby with the bath water is not wise. I strive to listen to all advice, and filter it...and try not to make snap decisions. My opinion is that CR claims to be experts at everything. Therefore, they cannot be experts at anything. In other words: I don't want to go to the plumber for financial advice, and I don't want to go to the doctor for help fixing my toilet. CR wants you to come to them for everything. I think you should look at their ratings. But please take their advice with the perspective that they cannot be the sole advisors of all the areas of your life. Every publication, including CR, has positives and negatives...and we need to weigh them carefully.

First, do you have a cable operated adjustable clutch? Or automatically adjusting hyrdaulic one? If it's a cable, I think you may be able to adjust it. But if it's hydraulic, the clutch is spent. With that many miles, you did well...so don't knock yourself for being bad to your clutch. I'd replace it before your long trip just so you can have peace of mind. Plus, you can price it in town, or take it to your favorite Subaru shop that you trust and not risk it being stuck on the road and have to pay-up for a clutch replacement at an unfamiliar shop.

Nice! Looks really nice in black.

I read their stuff but take their findings in with a whole lot of other sources. I believe that by reading a lot of varied publications, you end up with a better idea of what to purchase and what to avoid. I know some people read only CR stuff and nothing else for everything. I don't think that is necessarily the wisest option. In my opinion: Their tests aren't always thorough. Trying to be an expert at everything makes you an expert at nothing. A lot of times, their tests are flawed. A lot of times, they appear to make a "stunt" to raise readership because they don't take advertising money. I can give you the example of their best dogfood test. They only ran the feeding test for 8 weeks. If they had run the test for over a year, their "best buy" actually resulted in about a 20% frequency of the dogs coming down with a nutritional disorder directly related to the lack of key nutrients from being absorbed. I highly doubt they consulted experts in the field (veterinarians, veterinary teaching and research hospitals, etc). I don't think they did this on purpose...only that their expert test was flawed because they think they know everything. That's why basing a purchase of a consumer good on many sources, including Consumer Reports, will generally get you the best available choice.

Post a pic! We wanna see it!

TR = Tuner Ready. Marketed directly to those that will end up heavily modifying the car. So the TR comes with cheap everything and a reduced price. The evidence is in the number of stock, barely used WRX parts available like wheels & tires in the used classifieds of NASIOC and other Subaru sites. It appears that the majority of WRXs end up losing their stock wheels and radios in the first few months of ownership.

http://www.ipdusa.com/ProductsCat.aspx?CategoryID=1677&NodeID=5265&RootID=1414 Call them up and see if the 2005 Legacy ones will fit. Husky makes them, so price them out at various places to get the best deal.

Did you soak it with a good penetrating fluid like P-blaster?

The later model Saab's (the GM clones) are apparently always in the shop. My friend's 2004 9-3 has been in the shop almost every other month since he bought it new. The dealer has always given him a loaner, but the hassle has really gotten to him. We're both car freaks and bringing up his Saab in a conversation will get him highly aggravated. He says that according to the dealer, the Subaru clone Saab 9-2 doesn't have those service-garage-queen issues. The older non-GM Saabs are the ones with the stellar durability reputation.

Check the balance and then the strut. My wife's 93 chewed through set of tires because the struts were bad. If it's the strut...try and replace all 4 at the same time and get an alignment too.

Bolt pattern should be 5 X 100. I think it has a 48mm offset for the outback. 55mm offset for the legacy & impreza.

Had the same mustard yellow stuff in my car. Gone since the last flush. Don't know what it is.Yes, I used the sealant stuff even though my VIN was after they fixed the HG issue. The Subaru sealant stuff was not yellow when I added it in. Maybe it discolors to yellow after a while.

Thanks for the pic. My 02 GT does not have that sensor that you have on your pic. Mine has 2 sensors between the air filter and the intake. One mounted on top, just prior to the throttle...maybe the throttle position sensor? The other is on the passenger side of the throttle body area. A black small square box with 3 wires.

Wasn't that the year that Subaru modified the MAP/BAP system or whatever you call it? When Cobb designed a cold air intake, the parts decription said something about 2 or 1 sensor systems and to call with your VIN for the correct CAI and the changover year was 2002. What does it look like? I've got a 02 GT built in Sept 2001 and I can go look for it on my car if you post a pic of the item you're looking for.

It all depends on what you want out of your car's capabilities. I went from the stock 16in on my GT (205/55R16) to 17in (215/45R17) because I wanted a wider tire after doing from suspension upgrades. My opinion: Narrower 16in will do better in the snow and the tires are generally cheaper to replace. Wider 17in do better for performance driving and handling response. A compromise is to get an ultra high performance tire for your 16in wheels, which I had done before going to 17in. Ultra high performance tires on the 16in traded in snow traction for the handling and bridged a lot of the gap between the two sizes.

Brilliant!

Yeah, you can add "Maybe the previous owner beat the crap out of it". Who knows if the previous owner let it run low on oil a few times or ever changed it. Who knows if his teenage son drag raced his buddies on the weekends in it low on oil. There are a lot of what ifs. I'm glad you're okay and that the old Subaru was able to give her all in getting you out of a situation that could have resulted in injury or death. Best of luck on getting your car on the road soon.