nickb21

Hmmm.. I think that's a bit less than 2 hours south of me. When do you think you're going again? Might have to have a mini-NJ meet! Stock OBW here, so not too much mud for me

Not sure if it is the same for the gen 2's and 3's, but my '02 you kinda have to pull the top of the backing out first, then pull the whole backing up and out. The bottom of the back piece has some tabs that fit into the bottom of the airbox...

Sounds just like my OBW! ('02, ~65k). From what I understand at some point in MY02 they revised the HG (and the WP-99 recall doesn't apply). My outback has been great, minus one or two uncommon issues I'm having. Auto or MT? The clutch in mine isn't the greatest, but it works just fine. I think the only thing I wish it had was the cold weather pkg. just for the side mirror heaters. Good luck!

I'd agree with your mechanic. Something you should do, but it isn't a show stopper. My 2000 Legacy has the same issue. I cleaned everything off and it's been running fine for the past ~10k miles. The sparkplug wire boot seals the electrical connection pretty tightly. I would imagine you'll get a CEL if the connection gets oil in there. I believe the gasket kit is about 10 or 15 bucks (US). Includes a new valve cover gasket, grommets for the bolts, and two larger grommets for the spark plug holes.

Like cookie said; the plugs on the SOHC are pretty easy. You'll want to pull the plastic intake from the pass side, and the washer tank from the driver side. Word of caution; be careful to not cross-thread or over torque the plugs. Consensus is to use NGK plugs, your Sube will be happier. If you want to flush all of the AT fluid it's a bit tricky. But you can probably drain and refill and get 60% or so of the fluid replaced. Maybe more if you take off the filter. The external filter is supposedly a "lifetime" item.. but depending on fluid condition it may be worthwhile to replace. Plenty of threads on these though, good luck!

How many miles? Tune-up recently? Does it do this on the first try at starting? Reason I ask is that my '02 get's cranky when you bail out on the starter before the engine get's going. Maybe the IAC needs some cleaning..

You might also try loosening the parking brake adjuster. On the inside (back) side of the backing plate near the bottom there should be a rubber cover. Pull that off and with a flat blade screwdriver spin the gear looking thing up. ... You'll just need to re-adjust it when putting things back together..

Google Images says; That would look sweet!

Before i put the new tires on, I had the originals (re92's) re-balanced to no avail. Put the new ones on hoping it was an issue with the oem's... rotations didn't help either. I'm just confused since it's so inconsistent. Might have to just bring it up to a reputable shop and see what they think. Bearings and CV's seem tight. I think i'm running out of stuff to check!

Cool article, I had wondered how the honda awd system worked. I think the page is a bit misleading when the use the term 'locking'. While the VC attached to the rear of our 5MT's does provide a limited slip function (like the diagram says) it isn't a true locking coupling in the sense of a physical gear or clutch. With that said I believe that the center VC and the rear vLSD function basically the same.

'02 OBW, ~65k I have been fighting some type of steering issue for a little while now, but haven't been able to diagnose the exact issue. About 3k ago I put on a set of new tires, and new front rotors and pads (which fixed my shake under braking). At about 60mph and up i notice a pretty significant shake in the wheel. It seems to be much worse on rough and rutted highways vs fresh pavement, but that might not mean much. The car tracks straight at speed. With the new rubber I noticed steering is a bit softer, I figured it was the better traction rating of the new tires. I check the tie rod ends and ball joints and they seem okay. The 2 steering u-joints seem tight. When I grab the lower steering u-joint and move it back and forth I get a fairly loud "knock" coming from the rack-area. I did this while holding one of the inner tierod joints and i don't think they moved. Oddly enough if I rotate the u-joint while pushing out on the tires, the noise isn't as loud... So.. any suggestions? I'm thinking of just replacing the inner tie rods. But could this be an issue with the rack itself? Sorry for the long post.. thanks for the help.

I believe the Outbacks from '00+ have LSD rears (at least mine does, '02). I also think the Legacy GT's do as well, though I'm not positive of the years. Should be listed on the cars101.com site.

I _think_ on my '02 OBW there is a paint code on a tag on the top/front radiator support.

Might want to also do the PCV valve, fuel filter, and replace the front and rear diff oil. Should also take a look at your your drive belts, not sure when the recommended replacement is for them, but i'm planning on about 75k.

speaking of subaru police cars, stumbled across this. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4290699538413595495

I am battling a similar issue with an '02 OBW, 65k. Just put new tires on it and new front rotors (old ones were pulsing badly). And it didn't eliminate the shake (in fact it's gotten slightly worse). It doesn't pull to either side on a flat road. Perhaps the most confusing part is that sometimes it only shakes the steering wheel a little, other times it's a lot worse. I'm going to re-check my ball joints and tie rod ends.. Here are two threads you might want to take a look at: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=53176 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48208 Hmm, didn't think of checking there.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48543 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50279 Yup, seems like the AA100's (last digits of the part #) are back in force now. I'll be using one next oil change, they are a good filter (from my reading).

Glad to hear you're all fixed up. I spoke to Burlington (VT) Subaru about mine (hasn't had the recall done yet), seems like putting in the conditioner and letting it idle 30mins is standard practice. Did you have them do any other work while they were in there? I plan on doing the t-belt, front cam and crank seals, oil pump reseal, water pump, and driver rocker cover gaskets (since they're leaking). Maybe the tensioner too.... Oddly enough they said they usually don't replace the water pump until it fails.. interesting.

I believe it's 55mm.

Must be that time of year for these... My sisters 2000 legacy with 75k just started doing the same thing. I bought it at 60k and replaced the coolant and added conditioner then, so I'm not sure how subaru deals with that. I'd be interested in how things turn out. I planned on giving SOA a call to see what their thoughts are. How many miles you have on it?

Information wants to be free, right? http://www.mytempdir.com/374387 Hope that helps.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48543 I just put an H6 filter (pn SOA5165109) on my 2000 legacy (2.5). It catches the same number of threads as the AA09, that was my only concern. Wish I had a pressure gauge to see if there was any difference, but I don't think there would be much if any. Note- you can't use those filters on the 2005 and later, and i'm not sure about using it on a 2.2.

Slightly OT, but I looked and couldn't find any zircs, do the 2000+'s have any? Did you already do a 60k service? Stuff like coolant, rad hoses, air/fuel filters. If you don't have a cell, maybe bring along a hand held CB radio. And some blankets if you're going through the Adirondacks, it gets cold.

I'm going to try out the filter for the H6 (SOA5165109). From what I've read it's exactly the same as the old H4 filter, just more filter media. The only concern i've seen is that it has a concave opening, so not as many threads will engage. The new AA09A filter is concave too... so I'm guessing it isn't really a problem. I'll do a measurement and post my findings.

I picked up some Yokohama Avid V4s about a month ago. Great in the wet and dry and they do just fine in fresh snow. They fail were I think most all-seasons fail, packed snow and ice. For the number of times it is that bad around here, I'll just drive a little more carefully. Cheers.