jp98

Usually when suspicious noises start it is too late.

I have a 98 Outback that was manufactured late in the year and it doesn't have the external filter.

Is it not starting or not turning over? If it is hydra locked water has entered the cylinder and is preventing the piston from moving because of hydraulic pressure.

All you need to fix that is a can of WD-40, a chain, large hammer, and a tree. Spray it with the WD-40 and wack it with the hammer for a few days, then connect the ball hitch to the chain and wrap it around a tree. A coupld of light pulls should get it out.

Do you have a quarter to toss into the air and take a guess? It may last another 50,000 miles and then again it may crap out on you tonight. Then how is your luck on the one that you get from a parts store? Most all alternators that you buy are going to be rebuilt and they are only as good as the rebuilder. When I had to replace my alternator on my Outback I picked up one from NAPA with a lifetime waranty. It lasted over night. The next one that I got from them was the same as the first. Now I am still running the third one after 50,000 miles. At times you just never know.

One other beneffit is that you pay more to your power supplier unless you also buy a timer to use with the heater. You don't need the heater on all night but only a couple of hours before you plan on starting the engine.

I just had mine done this last spring in a 98 Outback with the heated elememt window and it was only $290 installed at my home. It really depends on where you are located at for what price you can have it done for.

One thing about tires is that with different manufactures they will wear differently and soon the fronts will not be a match for the rears anymore. It is also possible that the reason the other person was selling the wheels was that they went thump on his car. I would take them to a shop and have them check them out. As far as mounting a balancing at home, if you have the equipment then go ahead but if you are out there with a sledge and tire spoon go pay to have it done. I learned that every time that I have mine rotated by a dealer I will have them check the balance and redo if it is needed.

Just go down to your local pet store and pick up a 2' boa. Where ever the mice go he can go go. Now on a serious note dryier sheets and moth balls work wonders.

There was a recall on the master cylinder that you might want to check into if yours hasn't been done.

If you have a flat you can always do what my ex wife used to do with her Toyota. She packed a few cans of "Fix a Flat" in the trunk. She would use a couple to air up the flat and then adjust the pressure when she got to a air compressor. One weekend I was driving the car and it felt like the wheel was going to come off it was so unbalanced. I took it to a tire shop and when they tore the tire down they must of found that she use about a dozen cans of that fix a flat over the life of the tire. Needless to say they were not happy cleaning that crap out, but hey it got her home.

A rag and electrical tape.

After popping the latches pull up on the upper housing. Are you the original owner or when was the last time it was changed? Sometimes the rubber seal will stick to the housing to where it is fairly hard to pull them apart.

While I don't have a hitch on my Outback I do have one on my Ford F350. I went to pull the ball hitch out of the receiver one time and it would not come out with out one heck of a struggle due to some rust in the receiver. All I did was to take a small angle grinder that you can buy at Harbor Freight for $20.00 and ground down the shank on the ball mount to where it would slide in and out with no problems. Afterward to try and keep the rust inside to a minimum I just spread a little bearing grease onto the shank when ever it is out of the receiver.

I'd take it to a good alignment shop and have them check it. As has been said them quite possibly will tell you what the problem is and then it is up to you to either have them fix it or take it home and do it yourself. Perhaps I am lucky in that I have a alignment shop that will check it for free and let me know what is bad if anything. They don't push for them to do the fix but they also will not align the wheels until the problem is fixed.

I'd just wander down to the local dealer and see what they have. Usually on their parts diagram it will show how it is attached. Or go down to your local junk yard and check them out. Other than that if you see a car similar to yours in a parking lot just go take a quick look on how things are attached.

I agree on the Fumoto Valve. I have one on all of my vehicles and love it. No drips, no leaks, and no fuss. I can change my oil with no wrenches involved.

One thing about fuses do not and I mean do not replace a 10 amp with a 15 amp unless you want to be replacing a wireing harness.

The big thing here in Colorado is that the crack can not obstruct your vision of the road. I have had one in my outback for the last 4 years and my neighbor who is a CHP officer hasn't even questioned me about it. Now just the other day the crack decided to run and boy did it run. If figure if I get pulled over I'll just say that it did it that morning and not worry about it. I am going to try to get at least through this next winter with it. So in your case I wouldn't worry about it until later.

I believe that the new one was $95.00 vs $75.00 for the rebuilt one. But that was 2 years ago when I did mine. Their web site still list the rebuilt one for $75.00

I'll second the MWE axle. I haven't heard of a problem with them from anyone on the board and I haven't had a problem on the one that I replaced. Also you have a choice of a rebuild CV joint or a new CV joint. I went with the new one since it wasn't that much of a difference of price.

If you want to see the AWD cop cars you need to head for the mountains. I know at one time that the pd of Vail and Aspen, Colorado both ran Saabs. But as was said earlier the towns will put out for bid for new cars with their specifications. Then it is up to the manufacture to come up with the car and the right price.

I bought a new axle assembly from MWE a couple of years ago and with shipping it was $120.00. But he did not charge me a core charge. I just shipped the old axle back to him once I got it out. I did just pull the ball joint but I had just replaced it the year before.

In my case I park my car in an unheated garage and leave the windows open so that any moisture inside has a chance to get out. If you don't have a garage then you'll just have to either live with it or figure out a way to get it dry inside. Until you do get it dry you'll have the moisture build up.

A good oxy-acetylene outfit is going to run you $200+ and then there are the bottles and weather you want to buy them or lease them. For a weekend you might want to check on a rental shop and see what they have. But I think that the quickest way would be to go on down to your local home improvement dealer and pick up a 10' piece of 1" water pipe. That should give you enough leverage to break something.