BlueTrain

I second the Rain X.. I recently got back from a Montana-Michigan trip and it helped a great deal. The moisture just runs off the windshield and doesnt have a chance to ice up. Just make sure your windshield is PERFECTLY clean before applying, or you may get a few small scratches.

if youre getting an oil change JUST GET THE OIL CHANGE. they seem to really like "discovering" all sorts of things they feel they need to fix for you. I got some tires there on my old pickup and they told me my brakes were bad (just had them done 1 month previous) and that i needed a new idler arm. i got the tires on and never went back.

Good score. i love finding good books at thrift stores, especially when theyre a whole 15 cents...

well, perhaps the low mpg will become the norm in the near future. Suburu did recently transform the Outbacks into light trucks in terms of government classification. cars must average 27.5 mpg and light trucks must average only 21.2 mpg. hmmmm...

You also shouldnt be trying to force it into first ever. With my loyale, it has to be a dead stop before it will go into first smoothly. And from what i hear, this is the case with most Subarus.

yep, and my return trip weas actually delayed a day because of the aforementioned skill-impaired winter drivers. mid-upper michigan received a nice snowfall, and the interstate was a mess from folks in their suv's driving still driving 90. there were so many accidents in I-75 i just decided to wait another day than get slammed into by a Ford Excursion. Oh, and im not being SUV prejudiced or anything, its just that almost every accident that happened during that storm was caused by a speeding SUV.

Well, made it back to montana last night. the return trip was much easier than the trip to Michigan. i have to say though, im mighty impressed with the ol soob. 148,000 on her now after the trip, and she served me well each and every mile. i believe i put a bit over 4000 on her and only used 1/2 a quart of oil. the seats do leave a bit to be desired after oh, the 12 or 13th hour of driving, but its all good. ahhh tis good to back in ol' Montucky.. cheers

ya see my friend, things often get cancelled due to heavy ice on the roads. us folks "down here in the states" have to deal with a thing called traffic, and putting a few thousand cars on ice rink style roads is wicked dangerous. Smaller towns almost never cancel anything due to there not being a whole lot of traffic, thus not a whole lot of danger. This is probably why nothing gets cancelled up there, no traffic.

Well, I left Missoula on friday afternoon and made it to flint, MI late sun night/early monday morning(3am). What a trip.. first ... the plow drivers on 90 in Montana should be shot. the entire interstate was essentially a washboard dirt road consistency, but made of ice/snow. it seems the plow drivers kinda fudged up the job and created one heckuva hazard. folks were going off the road like crazy, trailers coming unhitched.. etc. i didnt even make it to the montana border and had to wake up the motel owner in Forsythe, MT ( i think that was the name).. at 230am as my nerves were completely shot from going over 1 1/2 lane passes covered in ice chunks. so the next morning i at least was able to navigate the last 200 miles or so of Montana roadways in the daylight. once i hit the N dakota border tho, the roads were perfect, so kept on drivin thru Minnesota and Wisc as well. Finally took a nap as the sun came up and i was on the Wis/U.P of Michigan border. nap was cut kind of short due to the balmy -5 temperature. So onward thru the U.P, and finally made it to the Mackinaw bridge around sunset.Took another nap parked on the ffrozen windswept sand overlooking lake michigan. So aftter crossing the bridge, things got even more fun. Even with a nap, and 2 veins already tapped with espresso I.V's. , the eyes were getting wicked heavy. But then the snow hit, not one of those little dustings, but one of those glorious 2-3 inches an hour snowfalls. By the time i hit Grayling, it was just me, a couple VW's and honda's, and the truckers on the highway. So, a bit more awake fr0om the snow, south i went just trying to keep it on what i hoped was still the highway. At first it was a little annoying, as i just wanted the last 180 miles of a 1900 mile trip to be as quick as possible. But, then just kind of realized the storm wasnt going anywhere, so i might as well have some fun. So, picked up some speed, put it in 4 and just started cruisin. Had to get off at west branch exit to drain the coffee outta me, and got to slam thru hood deep drifts all the way thru town to an open gas station. After draining some old coffee out, and getting some more to refill, hit the road once again. More fun driving on i-75 all the way to Flint. Deep snow and wind kept it interesting. Now after like a day and a half sleeping it off, im semi-lucid enough to get online. So, hope you all have had some fun as well driving in the past few storms. Its been a great winter so far....

what part of the heating system is not working? need more info....

BFG Control A/T M65's.. reasonable in price and high in performance. i just put a set on about a month ago. fabulous tire. handles dry, wet and snow covered roads very well.

please go to another mechanic. maybe 2 or 3 more. at least get some different opinions before you throw down some serious coin. GOOD LUCK..

good to see y'all got some snow over there... we didnt get much over here in missoula, but i was up at Lookout in n.idaho today and they were getting hammered..freshies thru the trees all day...

A Yakima Rack and Big Powderhound snowboard attachment....

990 does seem a bit high. but it does have a new clutch which is good. check to see what other parts it has had replaced/needs replacing and start the hagglin'...

congrats on the new ride. nice rig. drive it a bit to see what noises and quirks it has, and i'm sure one of the many knowledgable folks on here will be able to help you out. cheers

i agree with the ignition switch conclusion. try jiggling the key a bit while in "start"..if it makes a contact quicker because of this, it most likely is the ign switch, as they get pretty worn over time.

most mechanics wil tell you that regular oil changes, a good filter and a high quality dino oil such as valvoline or castrol will keep your engine runnin fine. if you want some real world advice tho, i'd probably ask some of the folks on here with 200,000 plus on their rigs what their oil regimen is. their answers should help you draw a better conclusion. good luck..

Well, if anyone is in the market for some all seasons that handle well, in snow, ice, slush i can recommend some BFG Control T/A M65's... i don't really have the $$ to get an extra set of rims and snow tires, so i think these are a great compromise...i had them put on Friday and we've gotten quite a bit of snow since then and theyve performed admirably for an all-season. just thought i'd post this in case anyone out there is looking for a great all around tire that is easy on the wallet and high in quality. cheers

good to hear she's up and runnin... wow.. 292,000 miles...good to see...

i kind of agree with northguy that 10 grand is a bit much for a car to use at college. the parking lots alone can be hell on a rig. an early 90's legacy would suit your needs perfectly and think of all the extra $$ you'd have for gear etc.. those ej-22's are nearly bulletproof.. good luck with whatever decision you make.

Must be something with the name "Baja". back in the early 90's Cevy came out with the Baja pickup. Nothing more than a 4wd pickup with a light bar (not roll bar), different bumpers and paint job, and a different interior. It was discontinued after 3 years i believe. The Subaru really hasnt fared much better either. heck, out here where every third car is a subaru, i think i have seen at the most 4 or 5 baja's. All the newer soobs are either legacies or outbacks.

i hope you were jokin when you said you hated lake effect snow... i used to live in the upper peninsula of michigan right on lake superior, and when the cold arctic express would come rollin over the lake out of canada, the snow machine would dump 12-18 inches of beautiful lake effect snow overnight. ahh .. kinda miss those dumps...

right now 22-24 mixed driving, but its winter now and all the stations have the seasonal ethanol mix which lowers the mpg. we'll see once spring comes....

regarding the cupholder dilemma.. go to wal-mart and pick up an "euro jr." cupholder.. it is adjustable for just about any sized drink. it has these lame little velcro tabs that dont work for anything... throw those out.. next, cut a thin piece of wood a bit bigger than the base of the cupholder.. then glue it to the little change holder tray thingey just in front of seat belt to the left of the ebrake. the cupholder has a small hole in the center of its adjustable track that you can use to screw it into the piece of wood you've already glued in place. so there ya go.. a new cupholder.. enjoy...