the_bard

I've got a brother in law a few hours away with welding experience... I don't know how neat a job it'll be, but something's better than nothing. If I can get the dealer to come down on the price enough to make it worthwhile, it'll be one thing. Otherwise, I'll walk on it. I did poke my head under... nothing detailed, but it has that "been in the salt belt for a few years" look to the undercarriage. Nothing I saw would've prevented it from being inspected, but I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb, either. There's another one a few hours away, an '06 Sport with 145k miles. Dealer's getting a video of its condition to me tomorrow. Gives me ammunition to get the price down on the rusty one. That '06 Sport in WA has my eye, but I'm leery of buying anything that remote. I figured I'd see if the seller can't drop it off at a Subaru dealership for a pre-sale inspection (on my dime, most likely). Anyone know if Subaru will ship a used car dealer to dealer for a third party? If it's going to the dealership for the inspection anyway, and it'll make it easier to pick up if it's sitting at one of my local dealerships.

The prices on the Bajas seem crazy in some markets... others, they're reasonable. Makes me want to switch markets . There's a 06' Baja out in Oak Harbor WA that's gorgeous... 53k miles, with what looks like Mudrat bumper and a carrying rack on it, already. He's asking $9,500 for it. I wish I lived in WA, fabled land of Subarus. We've got VT, but VT may be the fabled land of the salted Subarus. I suppose I could get it transported from there to here, but it violates my principle of seeing it before I buy it. Maybe he's a board member I definitely do not want a show car. It'll be a daily driver, and it'll be worked (albeit mildly). I worry not about scratches that don't make it to the bare metal. Anything that does gets a spot of POR-15 on it and a once over with color close enough matching. I ain't fussy. I hate rust, though. I place it on the same category as cancer... slowly eating the car away from the inside out. Despicable stuff. So while I'm not concerned about aesthetics so much, I do want to keep the rust at bay for as long as I can. Subeman90, you'll have a PM in a couple minutes.:cool:

Hey y'all, Figured I'd drop by here and see if I can't get a second opinion (and third, fourth, heck, however many folks wanna give). I want a Baja badly, which I fear is clouding my judgement. They're hard to find, but pop up every now and then, so my timing needs to be good. I've found one that's been sitting on a local Jeep dealer for about a month now. I stopped by and took a good look at it this morning. 2003 Baja Classic. Just short of a 109k on the odometer. Overall condition looks good... some paint chips on the hood that haven't developed into anything serious. Some cosmetic issues in the interior. It's a nine year old car, so I'm not going to complain about any of that. Tires could have better tread, but it's something I can dicker over. The deal breaker, however, is the rust. Overall, especially for being in the NE, the body's pretty good. Random bolts and brackets have surface rust, but it looks to be something I can brush and POR-15 without too much issue. So I thought, until I found the rust. It's hitting the back of the rear door sills. Paint's all bubbly and there is flaking rust underneath. I'm gonna guess it's coming through the backside, from the front of the rear wheel well, since that's a pretty common rust area from what I've seen. I don't imagine there's much good metal around those rust spots. It's affected both rear door sills, too. They're asking $9k for the Baja. Given the above, I expect that price to be adjusted a bit depending on what happens with those rust spots. No idea if the timing belt has been done or any other maintenance. I figure I have three options: Run screaming in the other direction. Try to dicker the dealership into doing the rust repair. Dicker the price down and deal with it myself. My bodyworking skills are rudimentary at best. I might be capable of cutting out the affected areas, then riveting in sections to match those curves (I expect to find rust under the plastic sill cover). Might have some friends that I can call favors in for to get some decent sheet metal welding. I have a feelign that trying to talk the dealer into repairing it will be as effective as beating my head against a brick wall. Any thoughts?

Saw an ad for a '69 360 on Craigslist today. Thought I'd pass it along. http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/2558839895.html

I've heard good things about POR-15. I haven't had the "opportunity :-\" (thank the Big Guy Upstairs) to test it on any sizeable amount of rust, though. I did order a sample size from them about a year and a half ago to cover some surface rust starting up where the paint had been knocked off my OBW. I just cleaned up the little spots of surface rust by knocking the loose stuff off and lightly sanding the area. Cleaned it up a bit to get rid of the dust (can't remember what I used), then painted POR-15 over the areas. It adhered well to the rust and bare metal. It does not adhere well to existing paint, but that's to be expected. Assuming you don't paint over it, it's will fade to a dark grey when exposed to UV. It hasn't cracked under UV, though. Edit: I read up on their site, since I've been doing some research for waterproof/toughness coatings for skin on frame kayaks. They do recommend topcoating the POR-15, since UV will break it down and cause it to fail, doing more damage than just changing the color.

Nah... I just don't know my audience, so I'm trying to generalize, as best I can. I like working on my OBW, and don't mind regular maintenance. My wife, on the other hand, as well as most of my friends... if they turn the key and it doesn't start, they'd be happy simply swapping it out for a new car (I've literally had this conversation with someone, just to tighten down their battery terminal and watch them drive it away...) I doubt the turbo lag would bother me, too... but again, I don't know my audience. That last bit is the part that irritates me. I don't know anyone who owns a Baja. Of my friends and co-workers who own turbos... well... I wouldn't buy one off them. That leaves me scouring the country for a used Baja turbo from dealers who will probably never see me ever again. Not fun, but I want one pretty badly Edit: Cars101.com claims the Baja Turbo requires premium 91 octane, at least. 'Round here, that's worth 10 cents a gallon or so.

Shameless bump. I wouldn't mind hearing people's opinions. I've done a bit of research, since I'd like to pick up a Baja when the wife's OBS is paid off in three and a half years. From what I understand, the turbo's obviously going to increase power, but you have to account for turbo lag, too. It's not instantaneous VROOM. On the other side, you've got the following: Needs higher octane gas (91?) Regular oil changes become that much more important Regularly checking the oil level, since turbos have reputation for burning oil Increased complexity, possibly leading to decreased reliability and additional repairs/maintenance If the turbo dies catastrophically, pieces can be sucked into the intake and cause all kinds of havoc inside the engine. Keeping an eye on the turbo's health is that much more important as a result. I'm also rather uncertain about high mileage turbos. By the time I get around to buying one, I fear that most Bajas I find will have quite a few miles on them. I'm confident looking for typical trouble spots for a high mileage NA engine... turbo, not so much. Anyone wanna correct me, or add any experience?

Bstone, the wife agrees with you. I'll be driving her OBS down home, and she'll get a ride from her sister tomorrow to her marathon tomorrow. The plot thickens, though. I had started it up briefly to move it from the driveway to the garage. I noticed the leak after sticking my head under the car to pull the drain plug, then came inside to post this thread. Seein' as there's not much I can do about it now, I went on with the oil change. I usually fire up the engine afterwards to check for leaks. This time, I wiped down the leaking coolant, slipped clean cardboard underneath, then ran the engine temp up to normal. Of course, the cardboard's clean. So it looks like it's only leaking when it's cold. Regardless, I'll be keeping her garaged until I pick up the spare funds to do everything else, including the water pump.

'95, so it's a non-interference. If the pump seizes on the way down, I know it'll shred the t-belt, and I'm dead in the water. It'll be a PITA to deal with it on the side of the road, a couple hours from home, but it ain't the end of the world. I'm nearly certain the rear main oil seal is leaking, too, since I'm nearly certain I'm the cause of it . The fellows I enlisted to help swap out my clutch convinced me that the oil we found in the bell housing was due to the rear main oil seal. I should've mentioned the plate, but didn't think of it (my father was a month away dying from cancer, and at the time of the swap, giving me crap for not hanging out with him instead of fixing the car so I could get down to him more often). So I swapped out the seal... ten minutes before I tapped it into place, my dad reamed me out again, and I took the frustration out by tapping that seal about a 1/4" too deep. It started leaking almost immediately thereafter, but slow enough that I thought I'd put it off 'til I swap out the t-belt and what not.

I was planning on taking Serenity ('97 OBW w/ the EJ22 swap) down home this weekend for a family get together (Daytona 500 party! WOOT! ). Call it a 3 -1/2 hour drive, ~200 miles. I popped under the hood tonight to drain the oil, and discovered coolant leaking from the timing belt cover. It's definitely seeping from the cover, and I can't find any coolant on the top of the engine, so I'm thinking it's a water pump leak. Just a slow leak right now. Now that I've got a garage (moved into a new house a month ago), I was planning on pulling the engine this spring and "overhauling" it (rear main oil seal since it's leaking, new plugs & wires, new t-belt and related, etc). I don't drive her often, as we usually take my wife's 08 OBS for errands when it's the two of us. I drive a company vehicle for work, so Serenity's more of a pleasure vehicle or a backup when the wife's got her OBS. That all being said, the wife's got other plans for her ride before I'm back. What're the odds that Serenity's pump will hold together long enough for me to get back home? Or should I put my foot down, demand that the wife find an alternative mode of transportation Monday, commandeer her OBS, and suffer the marital consequences?

The roads are still pretty messy out here, but my '97 OBW is manual, too. My impression, regardless of what gear it's in, is that the ABS keeps me honest. Seems like it thinks the conditions are worse than I do... I like to test it just after leaving my house. If it kicks in when I don't think it should, I leave a lot more room in front of me than I normally do. Just in case.

For once, I've got something to offer, instead of just lurking . I toasted a 2.5L in my '97 OBW under warranty, since the dealer I bought it from was convinced it wasn't a clogged radiator. When I say toasted, I mean burned. Overheated. Warped. Killed 'til dead. Over a two and a half month period, it'd overheat. The dealer claimed to have swapped one headgasket, water pump, thermostat, etc., prior to my having bought it. Every time I brought it back in, saying it was overheating again, he'd claim he couldn't replicate it. Like grossgary, it wouldn't act up all the time... stressing it by running up a good grade at highway speed wouldn't cause it to oveheat, but running on a flat grade at 40 would. Other days, the reverse would occur. Eventually, it died. I limped it over to him (CEL flashing, blowing oil out the back), and he took a month to swap in a '95 2.2L. After that, I never bothered bringing it back in, and just dealt with it myself. It began overheating as I was pulling it back into my apartment's parking lot. I never saw any sediment in the coolant. But when I pulled the radiator, drained it, and filled it upside down... I got a chunk of calcium (I assume) the size of my thumb falling out of the top. Several smaller chunks came out, too. I swapped the radiator, and haven't had a cooling problem since. So I'd also recommend checking the flow through the radiator... it's better than simply replacing part after part (or in my case, having the dealer swap engine after engine...:-\ )

My wife's 2000 OBW had a bit of tapping noise when it was cold. Let 'er warm up, and the noise would go away. I shrugged it off. Turned out to be a failing timing belt tensioner. It'd keep tension once it was warm. 'Til then, it'd let the belt slap. We caught it by having the dealer replace a head gasket under warranty... the tech apologized for not catching it on its way into the garage (engine was warm, so it wasn't broadcasting itself). He knocked half the labor off for swapping it out as a result. If I could've gotten my hands on the guy who did the last timing belt change... :-\

I haven't touched a Forester, much less worked on one. That being said, if the rear seat lifts up, I'd imagine there's an access panel for the fuel pump under there. You'll probably have to lift that noise deadening material to see it. Four screws to remove a panel. There should be a plug for the fuel pump there. Took me all of a minute or two to get at it when I swapped my clutch last time. The Forester could be different than my OBW, and I've lost money on better bets :-\, but I'd be surprised if you can't access the fuel pump that way. Edit: I'm an idiot. It's not under the seat on my '97 OBW, it's under the cargo area "floor", directly behind the rear seat. Pop up the retaining tabs, lift the floor, and the panel's right under there.

When my radiator clogged up, diagnosing was as simple as draining it, removing it, flipping it upside down, and shaking it gently. Got a chunk of mineral deposits out the size of my thumb, plus a lot of smaller pieces. Mind you, this is after the garage I bought the OBW from swapped two engines, plus a lot of extraneous work on anything cooling related. The radiator fins looked fine... no corrosion. It was just clogged up, bad.

I took a look at the grounding wire that leads from the tranny to the pitch stopper. The bottom bolt was *tight*... too tight for me to break loose easily, without having to take something else off to get the room to do so. I did break loose the top bolt. It had a bit of corrosion on it... I cleaned it using a small screwdriver and wire brush. Took Serenity around for a twenty minute drive, and all seems well. Time will tell.

It does frost over occasionally in FL, from what I've heard. I drive a Subie 'cause it occasionally snows around Albany NY (by snow, I mean 8+ inches in a single snowstorm... anything less is a dusting). If I can drive a Subie for that reason, he can have heated mirrors for his reason . As a side question for him, the mirrors on the '99 fold, right? And the ones on the '96 don't? Will they mount up, without a problem? My '97 has the heated mirrors already, but they don't fold... I'd love to swap them out for a folding set.

Thanks for the sympathy, Nathan. It's one of those facts of life, though... almost as bad as taxes. I'll check the ground when I get back home. i should have time Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to play with it a bit. That tranny got yanked around enough while we were trying to line the engine up with it. I wouldn't be surprised to see if we damaged that ground wire or its connection enough to allow the wet weather to wreak havoc. Come to think of it, last night was the first occurrence of wet weather since the swap, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Background: '97 OBW. Manual transmission. Swapped in a new clutch & kit last weekend. Changed the transmission fluid last Wednesday. No problems immediately thereafter. My father's fighting cancer (and a gall bladder infection, now), so I had the work done in preparation for using it to travel to see him. It's a good three hour trip, nearly all highway. Symptom: Halfway back to Albany last night, the CEL came on steady. No other indications of problems. Speedometer was steady. Cruise control had no issue. Engine continued running fine. I stopped at the next "civilized" exit, and found an Advanced Auto Parts located just off the exit. I pulled the codes: P0500 and P1540. Confusion: I haven't had time to actually take a look at the problem, other than reseating the connection to (the/one of the) VSS on the passenger side of the tranny. I crawled into bed last night at home, then drove my wife and I back down to the hospital in Elmira this morning. Not that having the car in front of me would help... I'd probably still be confused . Now, from what I understand of my research: I've only got one VSS. Manual tranny's have one VSS, auto's have two (the TCM refers to both when controlling the AWD). I'll check the manufacture date, but I believe a '97 OBW shouldn't have a speedometer cable... it should be run off the VSS. 1 + 2 means the speedometer should have quit if the VSS quit. Because the speedometer didn't quit, the VSS might be intermittently failing, or there's a wiring issue. So I think my best route now would be to simply clear the codes, and see if it reoccurs. Might be a good idea to waterproof that VSS connection, too, since it might've picked up moisture off the road (it was foggy last night with light rain). If those codes reappear, then I should swap the VSS. Anyone want to poke holes in my boat?

Mine's done. '97 OBW, '95 EJ22. I bought her off a local garage... they did the swap for me, after toasting a 2.5 under warranty (they couldn't diagnose a clogged radiator after two engine swaps and two and a half months of me bringing it back to them). I followed the information posted up here, and relayed it to the garage. They handled it fine. I did keep the 2.5 clutch & flywheel, though... just swapped them out last weekend. You anywhere near Albany? I'd be more than happy to show off my OBW

Forgot to mention that I've got the 2.2L in mine... that'll probably account for a bit of a mileage increase, too.

Just tossing a bit of praise their way... I put in an order earlier this week for some parts for my clutch swap. Some of it was on back order, so it wasn't shipped right away. Waiting wasn't supposed to be a problem. One of my family members (who's fighting cancer) ran into some complications, though. I needed the parts ASAP now... and it didn't matter how much the local dealership was going to charge me for the parts. Waiting for a deal wasn't going to happen. Jaime at SGP had no problem cancelling the order, without a restocking fee, even though the parts were being packaged. No complaints, no arguing, just that "We'll take care of you" attitude. I couldn't ask for better service. The next time I need parts, I know who I'm going through...

My '97 OBW puts the fuel guage at empty when there's about four gallons left. I've just gotten used to filling it when it's at the E... and knowing that I don't have to dive for the first gas station I see . I believe the low fuel light has a sensor separate from those feeding the gauge. I've had the light kick in, just about when it was supposed to... and the gauge had been sitting on E for a while. It's also getting about 25 MPG... I'm pretty happy with that. The wife's '08 OBS averages about that, too.

Will they let you return it after it's been installed, though?

Think about all the little kids who might stick their fingers in the windows... and all the parents who had to spend time teaching their kids not to stick their fingers in the windows. Now all you gotta do is teach 'em to holler loud enough that the driver can hear 'em, and stop raising the window (since if the kid was the one raising the window, I'd hope they'd know enough to stop). Think of the kids, right? Who wants to be parents any more? /sarcastic