upDUHcreek

Well, I can tell you guys love the custom builds as much as I love the large scale stuff. Here's something that we can all drool over, a custom built 1/4 scale Peterbilt 359. This thing is epic, and good to show the wife when she complains your spending too much on RCs. Check out all the custom work he's done to the trailer too. Here's a link to the builder's Youtube page. http://www.youtube.com/user/VirtualMakerLuca

These guys recently changed from a honda powerplant, to a soobie powerplant. This can go places no other soobie can go, and the many owners in Alaska love it for it's durability, and it's ability to go places nothing else can get to. The best part is the price, a new soob for under $4k, but you probablly won't be driving it to work, unless there's a HUGE flood...yes, it's a boat. Here it is, the Mokai Jet Kayak, check it out. http://mokai.com/index.html Here's a short video showing it's abilities to go where no other boat can go, even through the back window of your truck if your not carefull. There is a little cursing in this video, drunk redknecks tend to have colorfull language. After searching the forum to see if these have ever been mentioned, I thought you guys might like to know you can have a subaru powered boat that can take you to the only places your current subaru can't go, to the middle of the lake. These are praised as a simple, practical, go anywhere ATV for the water by their owners. Sounds a lot like how many of you describe your soobies. Hope you like it.

Cool, glad to see you got some more parts for this project. I was wondering if all 8 tires are going to have 4 ounces of ballest in them. It's a good thing that's going to be a crawler, you'll never set any speed records with 2 pounds of ballest in the tires. I'm in a motel room, having trouble sleeping. I'm in Osawatomie KS for the Spooktacular race at Timberline raceway. Gotta get one more 5th scale race in before the outdoor season is over. Then I'll be stuck racing small stuff indoors all winter long. At least there are some good indoor races around here over the winter. Have you heard of the Chili Bowl? It's an indoor circle track race held in Tulsa every Jan. Next door they have the Chili Bowl Jr, an RC circle track race. Last year they added an offroad SCT race, and I'm entering this year if I'm not too broke to get a hotel room for 3 nights. http://adamscreekrc.net/forums/showthread.php?1261-2012-2nd-Annual-Short-Course-Shootout If any of you guys are close enough, come on down for some fun.

Your helping, you can be a dork all you want. Just try not to take it too far, like this guy did. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. I am handicapped, not lazy...well, at least not quite that lazy. I could do this. I just don't have any tools, and the manager of my condo's goes postal on people for working on their cars in the parking lot. She doesn't even want us to top off the fluids because we might spill some. I'd like to locate a tranny, just in case the old one gives out after changing the ATF. I hear it's not as likely with the Soobie trannys, but I always believe it's better to be safe, than sorry. Eventually I'd like to build a smaller engine to drop in, in hopes of better MPG. Now, just a couple other questions. Does anyone make a CNG conversion kit for soobies? I've also been looking at trying one of these setups. http://www.runyourcaronwater.com/ Is anyone here running something like that?

I am Sgt Shultz, I know nothing. My Forester is the closest thing to a perfect vehicle for my needs that I've ever owned. The only problem is it's a 99 and getting tired due to lack of maintainance by the previous owner. The 4EAT's fluid is pretty dark, and smells a little burnt. I took it to the tranny shop, and they were afraid to flush the fluid. I called a few more tranny shops, and most of them don't even change the tranny fluid any more. Ok, I guess the best thing I can do is tell you guys what I'd like to do, then you can tell me the best way to get it done. I'd like to replace the drivetrain with these goals; maximum reliability at a minimum price, better MPG, and better offroad performance. This is my daily driver, and my only properly running vehicle at this time, so I can't afford for it to be down long. I'm thinking I'd like to find a 4EAT, and a matching LSD to start, then I'll turn my attention to the engine. How do I determine what gear ratio is in my Forester, how can I tell what gears are in the parts I look at in the junk yards, and how can I make shure a rear diff is an LSD? That's probablly enough questions for now, thanks for all the help. Charlie.

Do you have brake parts? A buddy of mine needs a brake caliper for his forester, I'm pretty shure it's an 03, but I'll ask him later today just to make shure. I don't expect a reply soon, because it's Saturday, and I can post the correct year before Monday if it's not an 03. We are in Oklahoma City, so it would be awsome if you would find out the shipping costs to here too. Thanks , Charlie. Oops, it's a 02, and he needs the pasenger side caliper.

OK, I've got an update for you guys. I got new tires, and the vibration while driving is gone. I still have the vibration at idle, and after spending much time reading here, I think it might be a valve problem. I can hear a pop coming from the exaust like one of the exaust valves is not closing fully. I ran a bottle of Lucas tune up in a bottle through it, and for some reason that ended the p0420 code, and my check engine light is now out. The vibration is much better, it's still there sometimes, but sometimes it's not. Even when it shakes the car, it doesn't shake the car quite as bad as before. I'm running a tank with no additives, then I plan on buying another bottle of Lucas for the next tank. Hopefully that will clear up the rest of the junk on the valve seat. If anyone has an idea for a different additive that might work better, I'm willing to try almost anything to avoid tearing into the engine. At the tire shop I found out 3 of the tires were made in 2003, and one was aparantly the factory spare, it was made in 99. That's the tire that was looking like it might separate. I'm shure glad I didn't go on a roadtrip before I got new tires. danbennett2u Sorry for the confusion, I should have been more clear, but I wasn't taking it to the dealer for tires. I was thinking of taking it there for a general inspection to get an idea of what's wrong with it. Now, I'm starting to think I might have a good idea what the problem is, thanks to all the info on this wonderfull site. Thanks for helping. Once again, thanks for all the help from everyone. That's not limited to only those of you replying to my thread. I've learned a lot from reading others' old posts with similar problems. Thank you all. Charlie.

I don't think it's an out of ballance problem. I noticed some bumps on the side of one of the tires. I've seen this before on tires that wound up seperating and coming apart. I bought some cheep tires once, and 2 of the 4 tires had to be replaced when they started coming apart. Both of those tires had these bumps on the side of them before they started to come apart. While I'm at it, can anyone reccomend an awsome tire? This is my daily driver, and it's still on 205/75/15s. I would like something with a long tread life, that still works well in the snow, and ocasionally mud. I'm not planning on taking it to the offroad vehicle park, but I might need to drive across a muddy cow pasture to get home from the fishing hole. Ok, there are a couple other things I've been wondering. First, how can I tell if my Forester has the LSD in the rear? Also, I think this mod will work on my Soobie because it's an automatic, but I havn't seen any feedback from people running this. Is this a bad idea for a daily driver? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50264 Where are my manners? Thanks for all the help guys, I can't believe I forgot to thank you guys for the help twice already today.

OK, I've got a new symptom. We've been having a drought here, and it rained early this morning for the first time since I purchased this car. The car didn't shake the least little bit when I drove it in the rain. It stopped raining a couple hours ago, and when I took it out again, it was shaking once again, but not as bad. Aparantly moisture in the air cures the problem? I also have a vibration in the steering wheel, but I'm pretty shure it's not related to the vibration I'm feeling at idle. The vibration in the steering wheel was still there while it was raining. It actually feels like one of my tires is not quite round anymore. I'm starting to think I should drop down to the Subaru dealership to let them check it out. The problem is, I used to work for their service department, and I know these guys are crooks. I've been pretty busy the last week, and havn't had time to deal with this yet, and when I do finally get the problem fixed, I'll be shure to let you guys know what it was.

Sorry guys, I've been in a pretty bad mood here lately because of this, and it's not anyone here's fault. Every thing I try to do, somehow gets all fubard. At least the gas milage isn't nearly as bad as I thought. I ran a full tank down to the last little line above the empty line, and it only took 12 and a half gallons to fill it. I guess I shouldn't have paid so much attention to where the owner's manuel says it's a 16 gal tank. They must be hiding the last three gallons below the Empty line. That's fine with me, it could come in handy some day! I havn't had the chance to swap to the NGK plugs and wires yet. I will do that soon. Everyone carries NGK plugs, but only one store in town has the wires in stock. Once again I'd like to thank everyone here for all their help. I have no idea here, and I'd really be in trouble without your help. Thank you, Charlie.

Oops, I guess now you all find out why my DUH is in caps. That statment was not entirely true. I should have said, "under normal driving coditions" in there somewhere. I'm sorrry, but I tend to write posts that are too long. Then I tend to over edit them so they don't sound like a novel. I can also feel it shake when the car's in neutral, or park, and when idling in gear at very slow speed. Also, sometimes it runs smooth for the first second or two after I stop before it starts to shake. I am getting less than 300 miles out of a 16 gallon tank, so something's got to be wrong here. I never had a problem getting the 18 MPG my Olds was EPA rated to get in city, but my Subaru isn't even getting that much. I was hoping to go to Texas this weekend, but I can't afford to take the trip with the MPG I'm getting right now. My biggest fear is that one of the head gaskets has failed. Is there a simple test I can do myself to determine if that's my problem? I'm to the point where not knowing what's wrong, is actually bugging me more than the car shaking, and almost worse than all the cash I'm spending keeping gas in the Subaru. This all seems weird to me. I have a buddy Roger with a Forrester too. Mine seems to take off just like his. I give it just the tinyest little bit of gas, and it takes off like I'm in a race, even though I'm only giving it enough gas to get to about 2k rpms before the automatic tranny shifts into the next gear. Please, if there is anything else anyone thinks might be the problem, and an easy way an idiot like myself could check to see if that's the problem please let me know ASAP. I've been stressing out a lot lately, and if I could get it fixed by this weekend, going to the race in Texas would really do my attitude a world of good. Thanks Charlie General Disorder That's one way to look at it, but I look at it this way. If they aren't 100% shure they can fix my car, then they won't waist my money to throw parts at it that might fix the problem just so they can make some cash. Only a truly wise man will admit when he's ignorant. These guys are friends of mine, and I would appriciate it if you would refrain from talking about them that way. Thank you Charlie

It's no where near undrivable. I can't even feel the miss once I give it some gas, or if the car is moving. The only time I feel it is when the car's in gear, and I'm stopped with the brakes on. Then it will shake the car some. As soon as I let off the brakes, the shaking stops. I was planning on fixing the misfire before dealing with the catalitic converter. It's starting to sound like I should at least get the CC checked out, so I can figure out if the p0420 problem is an O2 sensor, or a clogged CC. I'd like to get the misfire fixed first, it's possible the unburned fuel in the exaust is the cause of the problem here, and anything I replace will just be ruined again if the miss isn't fixed. Hey guys, thanks for all the help. This is my first Subaru, and I'm likely to need quite a bit of help. I have lived here long enough to find a great mechanic, but he doesn't do serious work on Subarus. In fact, the shop pretty much likes to steer clear of any serious repairs on any imports. They'll do minor stuff, but they send most people to the dealership when it comes to Soobies.

Hello My name's Charlie, and I'm hopelessly addicted to RC racing. Nice looking custom builds there. I've never had the patience to build anything like that. When I get a new RC, I turn into a lunatic. First there's the frustration of waiting on all the backordered parts to come in, then there's the mad rush to build it ASAP once the parts all get here. Right now there is a kit for the SC10 4x4 truck sitting on my workbench waiting on it's brushless motor to get here so I can start the build. My main racer is my HPI Baja 5B SS, and it's my all time favorite RC. I have neglected all my nitros ever since I got it.

If the coil pack is the problem, and I decide to fork out the cash for a new one, is this something I should buy only from the dealer, or can I get one from O'Reilly's? Oops, I've been wanting to try the E3 plugs, so that's what I installed. I was hoping to get a little better milage out of it. So you guys think I should swap them out for NGKs? I've always been happy with the cheep NGKs I've used on other vehicles in the past, so I guess that's what Ill swap back to.

My new to me 99 forester(2.5 SOHC w/ 150k miles) started missing, but never showed a check engine light. I swaped out the plugs and wires, and that didn't fix the misfire, it started showing the dreaded p 0420 code almost immediatly after I swapped the plugs and wires. I need to find out exactly what's causing this misfire and get it fixed ASAP. Hopefully before the CC is completly ruined by the unburned fuel in the exaust system, if it's not already too late. I was frustrated by the local parts store when they told me there is no book for this year vehicle. They offer one that covers all Soobies up till 98, then all other books start at 2000. HELP! Thanks Charlie

Hello, my name's Charlie, and I'm the new owner of a red 99 Forrester with a SOHC 2.5. It's got 150k miles on it so far, and I hope to get at least that much more out of it. I noticed there are several people in my area on here, do any of you guys get together for some fun? I'm into RC offroad racing, fishing, camping, and just about anything that's funner than what I already had planned. I also noticed there are a few other RC guys on here, cool, I'm tired of being the only RC guy on every non RC forum I join. I've had this about a week now, and somehow I've managed to resist the urge to drive to the closest ORV park to see what it will do. I did at least find a muddy spot at the local lake to make shure the AWD system works. She seems to be good to go. If anyone around here's taking their Soobie to the ORV park, let me know. I'd definantly be interested in tagging along if I'm not already busy.