unverviking

If a new radiator is needed, I priced one out this week on www.radiatorbarn.com for $100.95 with Free Shipping... That may be helpful in Inlet, providing that the UPS/FedEx guy can get there... and I don't remember seeing an Auto Parts store there, except in Old Forge, Napa (??) on one of the main streets... Maybe ??

You don't shop at the world famous Old Forge Hardware ???

That's good to know, I was starting to shop for a new rad... Thought that the bottom was starting to rot out. Kinda wierd, no coolant loss noted in the rad either, that's what had me kinda stumpped...

Wonder if it may be burning oil you are smelling... At least to me, they are kinda close in smell... Reason I am wondering, on our 01 OBW the passenger side valve cover gasket is leaking. It is leaking onto the Spark Plug wires on that side. Wonder if the hot oil is causing the rebber plug wires to heat up a bit... Easy way to tell if it's leaking is to pull the spark plug wires and see if they're oily. Keep posted with results... BTW: Welcome aboard the board...

I noticed that with my 93 all this weekend... I changed the oil on Sunday, I looked with a trouble light for about 20 minutes and found no source of the leak. Since then I haven't seen any green in the snow.... I will have to double check the tightness of my lower rad hose at both the block and the rad.

If I remember correctly, Subaru's have a modulator valve. These can fail and cause the engine to burn off the tranny fluid. I know that they had/have them on the older models, not sure if they carried over to the current models. BTW: Auto Transmission's only. Manual's don't have it.. If I am wrong, I know that someone will correct ...

Check on the top of your steering wheel. You will find a switch up there that controls the parking lights, even with the key removed. Turn it off. Chances are you bumpped it by mistake... Welcome aboard...

Can't say that I've had this problem, but it does sound like a vacuum assist issue... I would highly recommend, since it is soooooo cold, I would take it in to be serviced. Brakes especially, are nothing to mess around with. keep us posted on the results...

On my 01 OBW, that plastic pan you mention comes completely off. Take a look toward the front of that shroud. You'll see what appears to be a handle covered from the back by a rubber flap. In front of that there are 3 plastic screws and mollys. You may have to pry the screws a bit to get the out, and once you remove the mollys, that whole shroud pulls straight out the front, giving full access to the oil filter above. Once I figured that part out, it was clear sailing.

I plowed thru 2 snow drifts today that were up over the hood... (of the 93) It was fun, except I didn't have the wipers on soon enough to clear off the windshield... I ended up parking in the middle of a 3rd drift and had to let the family out... About 30-45 minutes later I went out to pull it into my father-in-law's barn to do an oil change, etc, and was stuck. Rocked it a bit, got it free and into the barn. Snow was packed underneath up to the belts... Had to shovel it out to change the oil...

Have you checked Wal Mart ?? I would buy the match to the 6 Pole plug that is on the Baja and with a volt meter, check the individual leads off the match's end. From there, you can get the 4 flat adapter and wire them together as needed for the 4 flat trailer. I did that with a camper I once had... I wired my utility trailer the same as the camper and had to buld a adapter to match my 4 flat on my pickup truck... If no Wal Mart, out local NAPA store sells those plugs, just costs a little more there than Wal Mart...

try a lower grade oil... 5W30, etc... a lot of shops use 10W30 as their "bulk" oil. With sub zero temps, that get pretty thick..

The FWD Fuse is for mis matched tires... IE: flat, and you need to install the donut tire... mmmmmmm donuts... (sorry couldn't resist the Homer Simpson relate) Towing should always be flatbed, no matter what... Even with the FWD fuse in, towing on 2 wheels can cause damage to the clutches, etc...

Since we're driving less now than in previous years, I've adopted to the 4 times a year oil change. (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) If we make a long trip, may 1 in between... I've used NAPA 5W30 Oil (Valvoline makes it) and NAPA gold filters (WIX ??) for awhile and I like that combo... Keep all your oil/filter purchase reciepts, buy as needed, so there is a record there. Buy an Oil Change pan from a local shop, Wal Mart, NAPA, Advance Auto, Auto Zone, etc... The engine holds a little over a gallon (4.2 Quarts) Make friends with a local repair shop, so that you can give them the old oil back. Seeing that you are in MN, chances are that they may even have their heating system running on old oil. I know a bunch of guys do here in NY. Not sure what you mean on #4. I've always just drained from the plug and refilled from the oil cap on top.

I've been hot and cold on the dealer issue myself. We have 3 in the area, the first 1 was nasty from the get go, 2nd ok for awhile, until the writer started asking me specifics that my wife had already told him, 3rd is owned by a woman, since my wife drives the car primarily, she felt most comfortable there. Now since they are a 30-40 minute drive, I'm starting to reconsider. My local Inde shop guy is great, the most honest guy I've seen turning wrenches. He's done several inspections on all our cars, LOF's, etc. I just took the 01 OBW to him on Monday for a State Inspection and asked him to check the Valve Cover Gaskets... (The dealer had said awhile ago that they were leaking) He did, and found only the pass side was leaking, not the driver's. He doesn't feel comfortable doing it because he didn't have the torque specs, etc, and since he doesn't have a high Sube cust base (only us) he didn't want to invest the time to "figure it out". I thought that was very honest of him. He did call the #2 dealer and found out for us that it would cost $150.00 to have them do 1 side. I still have yet to make the call, because I'm still stuck on maybe having some "green" wrench put on my simple VCG and screw it up worse than it was before it came in. I guess since I don't have a garage to park in anymore (new 4 car on the way in the spring) I can't do it myself, so I'll have to rely on the dealer to do it, we'll see if they can do it right the first time or not... As far as the knock on the floor... maybe the "green" tech that serviced your car is still under there and is trying to get out... Keep us posted...

Good to hear that they're still doing well. There must be another Road Rescue dealer closer to Rochester than Inlet... I dealt with them a number of years ago... Kinda off the subject... Now back to our regularly scheduled Subaru conversations...

You mean that he wasn't chasing Ambulances ??? That's right the Caldwells retired... No more out of town Ambulances in Inlet...

Mine too. It was about 1 degree this morning. My 1 month old battery in my work provided Dodge (ewwww) 1500 van had trouble. It sounded like a good ole 1950's / 60's Chrysler trying to start up though... I should have said like the General Lee chasing Roscoe... Sorry got the 1st Season on DVD for X-mas...

Reformulation of gasoline for the winter will cause this. I too questioned it when it happened on our 01 OBW. Check the air filter and it's opening to the front, it may get clogged and thus burn more gas... On my 93, I was getting 25 city, 30 highway in the summer with the AC on. I'm lucky now if I get 20-22. The 01 was averaging 25-27 highway this fall, it's probably not any better than 20 as well. I remember in the really, really cold snap last year, my 93 got only 17.

When I was a Mechanic Apprentice 1 of the old timers always put a magnet on his oil pan, right by the drain plug. He would remove it right after he pulled the oil drain plug, so all the metal particles would flow out when it was draining. Just my 2 pennies worth of insightfullness...

check in front of the radiator. Our 01 OBW's is there. There are 2 horns, they are kinda small and flat... Not a standard looking horn (trumpet looking) Wimpy horn ?? My wife's uncle HAD to have 2 after he heard ours... 1 of his Jeep Wrangler and 1 for his HOG... He loved it because it says "Jeep Jeep" Maybe the forester's is different...

check http://www.vanbortelsubaru.com they are in NY, but it will give you some idea of some competitive pricing... good luck

I just did this a month or so ago on my 01 OBW. No removal of anything more than the retainer ring and the clip on the bulb. The bulbs SHOULD cost less than the $15 you were quoted. I paid about $4 at the NAPA. Advance Auto does not sell the bulb, so don't waste the trip. It is a 55 watt bulb. I call it a "Fog Light" bulb. I replaced 1 on my 95 GMC Sonoma, it was the same bulb as the OBW has. I would do both, the other side isn't far behind...

My 93 Legacy Wagon has 200,850 on it and it has the original clutch. It's still feels fine... Hope I didn't just jinx myself...

I just did both low beams on out 01 OBW a few months ago. I don't remember anything out of the ordinary in having trouble getting the bulb in place. I do remember trying to get the retaining clip off the first time... I also did the Fog Light bulb, that was memorable. That was tighter than the low beam, plus I had to lie down on the ground (gravel driveway) to get at it... BTW... The low beam is a 55 watt bulb only, it's not like a 9003/4/6, etc. It's what I call a "fog light" bulb. I went to Advance, they didn't sell them, but the kid behind the counter told me it was a dealer only item, expect to pay over 100 bucks for it. Needless to say, my trusty friend at NAPA had the bulb for only $3.91 /ea. Good Luck and go Steelers...