wkoepp

With these gas prices it may be the last year for the 6 cylinder models!

Get a Thule rack made for that year & model and you"ll have the best and safest.

You'll have to look in the manual for that model of scanner. My OBDII scanner says 23 is the "B" camshaft position circuit, 35 is the Turbo bypass valve circuit, and 52 is the HO2S Heater control circuit. Helpful ? I don't think so; if you don't have a manual, don't bother to scan it.

Anytime someone makes a big point of telling how much this or that expert test would cost to do and how expensive the super testing equipment is, it rings a warning bell in my head. You can put whatever filter you want on your diesel engine but a K&N filter will always go on my subaru and my mazda. Oily filters beat paper filters in California!

It depends, our Jiffy Lube is owned by a family that work there and they do good work, even installed a heat shield on our Forester - no charge. As for oil changes, it does no good to try to convince someone that 3k oil changes pay off in the end, because few people keep a car as long as I do. I sold my pickup at 120K miles and a Toyota at over 200 k miles, they're both still on the road. I follow my own advice not my buddies or a dealer. An oil filter doesn't catch all of the tiny metal filings and crap, I know that when they're drained from my car they won't wear out my engine. It's your car, treat it any way you want to.

Then later on, if you change lanes and smack the car in that blind spot on your left you may put it back on. I have small curved mirrors on the driver's side mirror on every car and at least once or twice a year they show me a car or motorcycle riding close on my left but the big side mirror doesn't show it.

It's the one thing I'm disappointed about, they're charging you to peek at the service manual, then putting a limit on the time or the amount of the manual you can download. They have several plans and fees. Some owners have bought a CD off of the net for a few bucks with the entire manual on it, others say that a CD doesn't have the electrical diagram on it, others say buying the CD is immoral, they wouldn't do it. I have a couple of Mazdas and the service manuals can be purchased in a smaller version than the three ring binder monster for a few dollars. I don't remember what the Sub. factory site is. If you have an older subie you can probably get an aftermarket manual at any large auto supply.

I have an '04 Forester XS automatic with just 9k on the odo and it shifts very smoothly, so it must be the turbo mods that make the difference or do they put a heavier auto tranny in the XT models? I doubt it. I just installed a heat shield on the exhaust pipe under the rear CV boot, as that boot rots much faster on the Forester due to the extra heat on it. Hope this helps extend the life of the boot. When are the car makers going to go to a boot with a zipper or some other closure so a replacement won't take so much labor?

I'd stop every 1/2 hour for a few minutes to stretch my legs. We had the oil changed in our new subie at 1000 miles to get rid of any metal particles that weren't trapped in the oil filter, then I change oil every 3000 miles; I refuse to let oil go longer than that despite what any owner's manual states. My old toyota had 220,000 miles on it when I finally sold it to a guy for a work car!

You should check the water level in the battery twice a year, a battery low on water has more gas in it than a battery that has had regular maintenance.

I only go to dealerships or major shops that appear well equipped and here's some things I've discovered when I brought a car home from a shop (no subarus): oil filler cap left off (car smoked until I found the cap lying there) heater hose left off (cost me a tow job) battery caps left off smog hose left off spark plugs not even finger tight (amazing that I got home) tools left on the engine (so cheap I tossed them) ignition left dangling (saw that before taking the car) oil spilled on engine top (I keep a really clean engine bay) Those are the shops I don't return to.

I took off the roof bars, aired the tires up to 34 and turned the AC dial up from 65 to 75 so it doesn't run all of the time; haven't checked the milage since so I don't know what it is now. It's a great car, hope it lasts as long as my 220K mile toyota tercel did.

Our '04 is the same, I took off the roof bars, aired the tires up to 34 and turned the AC dial up from 65 to 75 so it doesn't run all of the time; haven't checked the milage since so I don't know what it is now. It's a great car, hope it lasts as long as my 220K mile toyota tercel did.

As the left rear Forester CV boot has a shorter life due to the proximity of the exhaust pipe, I'm installing a proper heat shield on the pipe, just under the boot, so I don't have to pay someone to replace the boot earlier than necessary. The heat shield can be had at most hot rod sites or at J.C.Whitney: http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product?showCustom=0&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%3A2006315&catalogId=10101&Nty=1&productId=2006315&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntt=heat+shield&Ntt=heat+shield&tmplframe=EndecaControllerView&langId=-1&storeId=10101&Ntk=AllTextSearchGroup The part # is ZX501643N Bill

I use a Thule rack on a 4 runner, I'd get the Thule clamps they're very solid and they lock. Give them call and order overnight delivery if necessary: http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/default.asp Good luck!

Many things to think about, will it reduce your MPG, what about smog tests, will the tuning and timing be exactly the same or are there changes that have to be made? I think I'd spend my money on a good tune up and a K & N air filter. Good luck with it!

The dealers here in central Ca are very experienced, I've had the old I'll have to talk to the manager, supervisor, boss, owner, whatever, also the just arrived mystery customer who is really, really interested in that particular car. Do your homework on the internet and print it all out, take it along with you and wave it around; there's lots of web sites that will help you get a fair deal. Be sure you know your models and what they have loaded into them. I'll buy a new car only when the next years models are just arriving on the property getting prepped. That helps I think. I've had a manager tell me we don't deal that way, so I gathered my papers and said call me, you have my number.They called me at 7 pm. I think it helps to arrange financing somewhere before you step on their turf. Even after bargaining for a day or two I have the feeling that as I drove off the property with my proud purchase everyone back there was giving each other high fives!

If the car has a light in the glove compartment, trunk or under the hood, take the bulb out.

Carry a fire extinguisher always. If you don't need it you might save someone elses car with it. A friend of mine watched his custom sportscar burn to the ground after uselessly trying to throw handfulls of dirt on the fire. I keep one in every car I've ever owned.

Our '04 Forester is perfect for us, the power is more than adequate. Drive the larger models and make a U turn on a residential street, then do a parallel park, now do the same with a Forester and you'll buy it.

My '04 Forester has had no problems, a good, stable machine.

That's what I said earlier on this thread, my '04 Forester came new like that, the running lights on a Subie are a partial illumination of the headlights.Period. I just ignore the running lights until it gets dusk, then switch on the headlights as I have done with every car I've owned that didn't have runnning lights. If you want the tail lights on during the day, merely switch on the parking lights.

That I believe, is normal, at least it is on my '04 Forester.

If you do de-activate the running lights and later have an accident, the post- accident inspection would probably bring out that fact and the attorneys would jump on it.

I bought the stock Subie hitch at: http://www.subaruaccessories.com/ I use it for bikes but when not in use I always have a 2 inch ball in it, since that sticks out about 8 inches behind the bumper, it influences crazies to not blast right up behind me at a signal. Why hide it; the bike rack is super, my rack will fit the large or small hitch receivers so it works on several cars.