the_bard

In comparison, I picked up my '97 OBW a few years ago, for $4,000. That's $3,000 for the car, $1,000 for the engine swap. Mileage on the chassis was around 135,000 miles, if I remember correctly. Very little rust, which was great for the northeast. Carfax was completely clean, no accidents. Garage/dealer couldn't track down an overheating problem under warranty (clogged radiator), so I burned out the replacement 2.5L. Since he had difficulty finding another 2.5L, I mentioned swapping in a '95 2.2L... and I haven't regretted it yet. Rock solid engine, as far as I'm concerned. The 2.5L might have more get up and go at highway speeds, but my driving style hasn't needed it. The 2.2L has enough power (coupled with the OBW's 4.11 gear ratio) to power up significant grades at 73 MPH, too. It's nice blowing past all the other vehicles struggling up the grade . So that should give you a bit of comparision... $3,500 might be a bit higher than I'd want to pay, given the Carfax info. If everything looks clean, that dealer might get the $3,500 out of me, though.

I'd also toss in a new radiator. As I've posted repeatedly up here, the issues I had with Serenity ('97 OBW) were initially caused by a clogged radiator consistently misdiagnosed as bad HG's by the shop who sold the car to me. It kept blowing HG's, and they couldn't figure out why. It'd suck to get the HG replaced, then blow it again due to something as basic as a clogged radiator. As a side note, we ended up slapping a '95 EJ22 in my '97 to replace the 2.5L. The shop supposedly couldn't find anyone willing to sell him a Phase I 2.5L without having the heads redone. I really haven't noticed the loss in power, 'cept when I'm passing at high speed on the highway. Couple that with the non-interference design on the '95 2.2L, and I'm willing to deal with it. I certainly didn't buy Serenity for her speed. We just traveled down I-88 (between Binghamton and Albany, NY), and there's one long steep grade on the way back that's a good test. Three lanes... rigs will be in the right lane, pickups and SUV's in the middle, and anything that can keep up in the left lane. My wife's '00 OBW (auto) will handle it at cruise speed (~73 MPH), but it keeps jumping between gears. My '97 with the 2.2L (manual) will take it at cruise in fifth gear. Like I said, I don't miss the extra power.

My '97 LOB has the "spit" for the rear washer integrated into the pivot point for the washer arm. There's a little protrusion molded into the arm mount itself, just to the driver's side, where the fluid gets sprayed upwards. What's behind there, I have no idea... haven't had the "opportunity" yet .

I got my '97 OBW with a '95 2.2 swap cheap because of this. I bought it off the back off the used car lot (never bought one off the front line, and I never will... salesmen hate me ). Owner of the garage/sales lot said that it was overheating, that they swapped out one HG, amongst other parts. His offer was $3,000 for the car, a $1,000 to swap in a EJ25. Sold. (~125Km on the ticker, two spots of rust the size of my pinky, in NY state. Duh.). So he swapped in the 2.5, and I brought it back a week later for overheating. He couldn't replicate it. Same thing a week later... and this continued. He extended the warranty. Finally brought it in while it was overheating... and they couldn't figure it out. It stopped, they handed it back to me, and continued to verbally extend the warranty. Throughout, he stated several times that they "checked out the radiator". Finally, I toasted the engine. Big black smoke, rough running, CEL blinking. Bad mojo. Drove it back to the lot, and it sat for a month while the owner of the place tried to find a replacement 2.5 (cheap, I imagine... he stated that he had problems finding someone who would sell a Phase 1 2.5L without rebuilding the heads & updating the HG's). I mentioned the '95 2.2L swap, which was something that I had been considering doing myself down the road. His eyes lit up... called some reference, who assured him that the swap would work. A week later I pick it up. And it overheats driving it home. So I pulled the radiator, flipped it upside down, and chunks of what I assume are various minerals fall out. Checked the radiator my arse. Anyway, a $150 radiator later, and I've got the engine swap I wanted, with a wonderfully almost-rust-free chassis, for a great price. Sometimes you just gotta get lucky.

That STI just looks like it's gonna have the Imp for breakfast... maybe two of 'em

Nice Subie! Guess I'm kinda partial, 'cause that's the same blue that Serenity's clad in. No Limited decal on the back end, though... which is odd, 'cause she's got the cold weather package, the rear diff cover, weatherband stereo (no electric antenna), and cloth seats instead of the leather. Geico says it's a Limited from the VIN, too... *shrug*. I'm just happy Serenity's got a twin ;o).

Everything's back together, and I took it for about a twenty minute drive or so. No more nasty vibration, everything sounds smooth, so I guess I get to wait and see if I've shortened the bearing life. As a side note, the die cut the boogered threads well, but it required a bit of patience getting it started. The threads weren't all that bad, really... just one knick on each stud, squishing a thread or two. The core charge on the axle covered the tap & die set (cheap set, but I hope to need it only once) with extra to pick up the extra die I needed (didn't discover that 'til I got it open at home). I really couldn't stand any more hammering, so knocking the studs out was not an option. Normally I'm all for spending time applying muscle where it'll save me a dime or three, but my hammer arm is tired & sore. Everything got Never-Seize on it. Well, almost everything... the studs didn't. My dad's a good guy, with a lot more "practical" knowledge than I have, or hope to have. I could always tell where he'd been, since there was Never-Seize on whatever he thought he might have to take apart again. At least that part of his teachin' sunk in.

Got it out... sparingly applied heat, and a lot of hammering. No neighbors complained about the noise, I didn't blow myself up (that propane torch is a lot simpler than the a/o torch Dad used), and minimal damage to myself (one big blood blister, one small skinned spot on my thumb). Now all I gotta do is figure out how to repair the stud threads boogered when my hammer slipped (can I just run a die over it?), and hope that the heat didn't trash the bearing.

So the wife's 2000 OBW suddenly started vibrating really badly a few days ago... and since I knew the outer CV joint on her driver's side axle was throwing grease, I figure it's probably the axle. Remembering how easy the swap went on my ol' Loyale, I figured that, weather be damned, I'd do the swap. Now, I've spent the better part of the evening pounding on the axle, trying to separate it from the knuckle. Managed to booger two studs, too, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Penetrating oil hasn't helped yet, and good ol' fashioned brute strength coupled with a 3 lbs hammer hasn't done much good, either. So I went out and picked up a propane torch kit, figuring I'll heat the knuckle. I should've paid more attention to my dad when he was heating something with his acetylene-oxygen torch. Does anyone have any hints or suggestions on this, before I go blow myself up? :Flame:I figured I'd simply heat the back side of the steering knuckle, hoping it'll expand enough to break the axle loose.

Boy, it's nice to see someone else around Albany (I'm in Latham). And it's nice to finally hear about a good indie in the area, if I need to. Goldstein's on Central is nice, but being a dealer, they're expensive. I ran across this thread, researching info for my clutch swap... 'cause I'm bound and determined to do this myself. It's *my* car, it's *my* work going into it. Unless I'm just way out of my element... and it's my wife's car. Then it goes to someone who knows what they're doing. Anyway, how essential are the air tools? Ratchets, wrenches, torque wrench... I've got all that. Air tools, no.

Now there's his problem! (Honey, it's just a joke. Really. No, I'm not serious. Crap. How many flowers do you want now? Diamond? Diamonds?! What?! Crap.)

I called the wife last night, and asked her to keep an eye on the temp. gauge on her way around errands this morning, specifically paying attention to how quickly it warms up. She said something to the effect that the car warmed up normally on the way over to Advance Autoparts *shrug*. Troubleshooting from three hours away is not fun. As long as it's not going to develop into something serious (CEL probably won't, but with my luck...), I'll wait 'til I get back home to worry about it. Thanks!

Title says it all, for the most part. I'm three hours away, visiting family, and I get call from the wife stating her 2000 OBW threw a CEL. I suggested she drive by Advance Autoparts and have them read the CEL. She called back, stating the code was P1490. AA said it was a manufacturer specific code, and that she needs to contact a Subaru dealership for it. Now, I really don't want to have Subaru charge me for pulling the code :-\... but a search for 1490 on the boards doesn't yield anything. The closest I could find on Google was "Low Speed Fan CTRL Relay Circuit", but the list mentioning the code wasn't specifically labeled for any manufacturer, much less Subaru. Several Subaru specific lists did not mention 1490. Can anyone confirm what the code refers to? I'll be back in town tomorrow, where I can clear the code and watch for anything else popping up, but I'd rather know what's going on before I clear it. Or I'll just suck it up and take it into the dealership to have the code read, per recommendation here. Thanks in advance! :cool:

Yeah, looks like my searching skills are a tad bit rusty. That first thread linked looks like it's got a lot of good information on it... which in turn means if I'm going to do this, I've got a lot of prep work to get started on. Thanks!

I've got this regular sound anytime I let the clutch engage (pedal is not pushed)... sounds like a belt squeal. From what I gathered in my research, this could be any one of a few different problems, but all of them involve getting at the clutch components and replacing what needs to be replaced. Worst case scenario... it's the pilot bearing, which means it's busy tearing up the input shaft on the tranny. Let it go long enough, and I'm looking at a new tranny. Unfortunately, I don't have handy access to a garage (though I'm in the search, believe me), and upstate NY is not a place to be tearing apart a clutch without a garage, this time of year. So I'm driving it for as long as I can, until I can either find a garage or the weather clears up (How's August sound?). Which got me thinking... What if I just replaced the AWD tranny with the dual range part time, via that EJ-EA adapter? Yeah, I lose the AWD, but I was rather fond of the way my old single range Loyale handled... and the dual range might come in handy, if nothing more than to play with. The way I drive, I'm not sure I'm exploiting all the advantages of AWD anyway. I swear I've seen Grannies' giving me the finger. And if I've got to yank the tranny anyway to get to the clutch... Anyway, I tried doing some research on the forums here, and there seems to be veritable lack of information on it. Is it that the swap is that easy? Or that nobody ever bothered to look into it? I'm concerned about those little surprises that spring up when you've got the new tranny halfway in. Things that come to mind: First off, obviously, I'd need that EJ-EA adapter. Any other drilling/tapping/slotting required? Do my current halfshafts slide right on, or do I have to look at alternatives (either due to length of the axles, or different spline counts, etc). And what about the speedometer? Cosmetically, I'm going to have to do some slick stuff to neaten up the console. In short, the only example I've come across in my research who's done this before what that '98 Forester... and his cardomain page (can't remember right off-hand exactly) isn't exactly descriptive on the subject. I could just grab a donor, and give it a go when I've got the spare time, space, etc., but I figured it might be wiser to just test the waters, so to speak, before I go diving in.

I've got a pair of tires that have got a slow leak, too... worst one happens to be the same tire that was nearly flat when I picked it up off the car lot. I don't imagine sitting their flat did much to improve the problem. I'm planning on using one of my dad's old farmer tricks... mix up some dish detergent and water, then brush/splash/whatever the mixture onto the tires to see where it bubbles up. I'm expecting it to be around the rim, but I could be surprised. I just haven't gotten around to it lately... fillin' them up once a week really isn't all that bad when there's a gas station with free air right around the corner.

Nevermind. Gotta learn up on these newfangled AWD systems.

I gotta second this. Seems to me, one of the things that sets Subaru aside from the rest of the crowd is AWD. Going to RWD kinda defeats the purpose of getting a Subie, doesn't it?

Sounds to me (too) like you've got a bad dealership. I specifically kept my mouth shut about the warranty extension on the external headgasket leak on my wife's '00 OBW... the dealership stepped up, brought the warranty extension "to my attention", and warned me not to go over the 100,000 mile limit (I was 90 miles away from it). They continued to show this care for their customers (at least for the wife and I) on another two separate occasions. On the other hand, I've also had another local Subaru dealership treat us with dismal customer service. I can't blame Subaru for this. Same thing with retail stores... there are some with excellent customer service, and there are other who just plain suck. Sometimes the company is to blame, and sometimes they should be given some allowance.

I heal. Unless I'm dead, at which point I don't have to worry about my health any more (at least, nobody's sent me a postcard from the other side, saying otherwise). Now, if I'm in the process of healing when the insurance company calls up and lets me know they're not going to be paying my bills 'cause of some loophole, I'm going to be miserable and hurting. I'd rather be just hurting. Besides, I'm still young, and relatively invincible . My air bag light comes on for a few seconds at start, then turn off, like normal. I'll give the dealership a call tomorrow.

So according to the notice on the visor, my '97 OBW is up for its air bag inspection down at the dealer. Anyone have any idea what this entails, how much it costs, etc? I'm tempted to brush it off, but the last thing I need is to get into an accident, have some issue with the airbags, and have my insurance company refuse the claim due to my airbags not being inspected at the proper time. Yeah, I don't trust 'em not to find a loophole :cool:.

Just out of curiousity, did you leave the airbag sensors on?

Ah, well... at least I was only backwards. It's better than being completely wrong ;o)

Aren't the '96 and later EJ22 exhausts dual-port? And the ones earlier than '96 single-port? So they won't even match up coming off the engine.

Subie's are starting to spread across (upstate) NY... one of my client's bought one after moving from Texas, "'cause every other car she saw was a Subaru, and that must mean something." me: "Yeah, 'cause we have winters here." They aren't all that bad here in the Capital District, compared to the snow belt of the Tug Hill Plateau or the Adirondacks, but apparently it's bad enough for some people.