Scottbaru

My headlights are clean and clear, but still average for American headlights. Were better headlights available overseas? I can't find upgaded 9007(HB5) bulbs, has anyone? I'm not interested in blue tint or superwhite commonly available bulbs, I'm looking for HIR or slightly higher wattage in a good brand. I want excellent headlights that don't blind oncoming drivers, and I expect to pay for it. I'm looking at white fogs to put in the bumper, how much are factory fog switches?

Have you seen how much some of the big luxury cars weigh these days? Yikes! And they're computer designed and crash tested to crumple despite being much sturdier than lighter cars (and SUVs). Properly designed SUVs are no different. You've never seen trees taken out by a car? A big tree will crumple an SUV or car the same. A smaller one may go down for the SUV. Same with all the infinite number of potential obstacles. I'm not really defending SUVs, I wish we'd raised gas taxes in the Clinton years so we would have less SUVs, more gas, better roads, and more sports wagons for me to choose from. The thing is, it really chafes me to hear all this anti-SUV rhetoric repeated by car enthusiasts. This information was put together as a persuasive effort, not an unbiased study. Most of it either doesn't hold up to examination, isn't statistically significant, or is only true for a few models of SUV.

Another myth. My truck crumpled very well, frame and all. A 5000 pound truck needs to crumple much less easily than a 2500 pound car, it's designed that way just like a car is. This is one of the biggest complaints about large vehicles, they transfer more force into smaller vehicles because they don't crumple as easily. Lets say my wife's 5000 pound truck and my 2500 pound car, each at 60mph, hit head on. The truck is slowed by 40mph, the car reverses direction with a total speed change of 80mph. Both experience the same frontal force, but the car will crumple like it hit a wall at 80, the truck like it hit a wall at 40. The truck won't absorb that much of the force by crumpling. The truck is designed to absorb a much more severe hit, like the one I survived. Both should crumple evenly if they each hit a solid object, but most accidents are against real objects that give in proportion to the weight and rigidity of the vehicle hitting them. The bigger vehicle does better most of the time.

You can find evidence and argument to support all that. I've done some work in this area, there are some SUVs that aren't as safe. I can tell you that guardrails aren't the only thing an SUV can plow over in an accident, and that can be good for the SUV occupants. Most accidents happen off the highway and away from guardrails, within a few miles of the drivers home. My full frame saved my butt when I plowed into a construction crane on the edge of the highway at full speed. My Subaru would've been a splat. This was confirmed by my brother who's been involved in crash-testing for decades. He went home and sold his Subaru, bought a Landcruiser identical to the one I crashed, now has his & hers Landcruisers like I used to. Some SUVs are amazingly capable in cornering and braking, some stink, that's true of a lot of cars. Roof strength? I did some research for an aftermarket roofrack, again some stink, but others have roofs built for hauling loads and off-roading. SUVs, like airplanes and submarines, can be made unsafe. The less safe ones get a lot of press, safer ones are expensive, that's why I'm now driving a Legacy. It's not as safe as my Landcruiser was, but I've got a kid in college, and times are tough.

I've been an automotive engineer for a long time, and was an Air Force accident site investigator. This anti-SUV propoganda is a good example of coming to a conclusion then finding facts to back you up. In an accident the bigger, sturdier vehicle does better, and the occupants suffer less damage. The typical, uninformed car buyer has understood the relationship of mass to safety since cars became common. Historically, people with more resources have been able to protect themselves and their families better at the expense of the less wealthy. Castle walls to SUVs, same principle. Communism didn't even it out, nothing will. You could dictate one car we all need to drive, I suspect you'd have trouble getting the rest of us to comply. I ride my mountain bike to my consulting job, I'd be a lot safer if everyone would bike to work, but I realize some people have to drive cars and, yes, trucks. In a free society you allocate your resources the best you can for your family's health, safety, and comfort. Increasing my safety may decrease yours. Sorry, but that's equally my choice and your choice of how we allocate our resources. If I buy a small car and you buy a smaller car, you're at higher risk in an accident, but you can't really accuse me of willfully endangering you.

That's a disadvantage for me. I've hit a lot of deer, probably will hit more. My VW synchro wagons had the 5-cyl all the way to the grill, with the radiator on the side. Twice I hit deer and the top of the engine sent them over my roof. I'm a bit nervous about that with this Suba, really need to upgrade the lights, maybe add driving lights. I had a bull-bar on my Landcruiser, and I've seen them on smaller cars in Australia. Not so practical for fuel mileage I suspect.

I agree that's low miles for a clutch. I've had several cars go over 200k on the original clutch, my daughter has my quattro now, over 250k on the original clutch. I bought my Legacy with 77k and a new clutch, thought that odd but it was a great price for exactly what I wanted. I've since found threads on this and other Subaru forums about clutches failing with fairly low mileage on them. Some postings suggested the '03 and newer clutch parts are improved to deal with whatever the problem is. If yours is like mine, the clutch cable adjustment is just in front of the firewall, top center of the transmission, can't miss it. Two nuts on a threaded shaft. The air box above it comes off easily. My owner's manual describes the required play necessary at the top of the clutch pedal, I used that as a start. My clutch used to engage at the bottom of pedal travel, I adjusted it to near the top, pretty easy. If the cable is too tight, the clutch won't be fully engaged when you let the clutch pedal up, like you're resting your foot on the pedal. The clutch will slip and wear out.

My VWs and Audis had locking rear diffs, and one of my Landcruisers had locking front, center, and rear. My brothers also all had quattros, and we had many hill climbing, deep snow, and ice competitions every winter. Locking the rear diff made a small but significant difference in many situations. Ground clearance, weight, and good tires usually helped the most in pushing snow. Locking the front diff helped a lot in traction, especially with the weight of the engine up there, but reduced steering authority. Most of my lockers were disabled or couldn't be engaged over a certain speed. Things get dicey at normal road speeds with locked diffs, and even at slow speeds with the front locked. I only know of two passenger vehicles ever offered in the U.S. with a locking front diff: Landcruiser and Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It's a liability thing. Limited slip diffs are just less locked, and can cause the same problems as locked diffs, in lesser degrees. I've never heard of a front LSD, doesn't sound like a good idea.

I won't allow even experienced mechanics to put my wheels on with an impact wrench (unless it's someone I know and trust). The place I go to for new tires has a nice torque wrench sitting in it's case next to the torque chart. One time they didn't use it, I commented on it but drove away. Lost a nut on the way home, found the stud threads cross threaded, grrr. Even if they don't obviously damage them, overtorquing weakens them and stretches the threads making them harder to thread later. And how would you get the wheel off on the side of the highway? I had a shop owner swear his impact wrenches would torque correctly. I grabbed his torque wrench and we checked a few finished jobs: way over-torqued. Guys rarely take time to set their impact wrenches properly. Anyway, get an inexpensive beam-type torque wrench if you're doing your own wheels.

I had to use a filter wrench last week for the first time in years, on my "new" '99 Legacy. I used a strap-type with flex handle, that worked well. If you do your own oil changes and just put the filters on finger-tip tight, you'll never need the wrench again. I do it by feel, finger-tip tight, but I've read 3/4 turn after the gasket hits the engine is good. Always put fresh oil on the filter gasket before installing, always check the engine sealing surface. If the old filter left it's gasket on the engine, you need to get it off. I always fill the filter with oil before installing, especially recommended for turbo engines. That lessens dry running while the filter fills. Are the oil filter pliers much better than a pair of really big channel-locks? Every tool box needs giant channel locks.

I was hoping someone would ask that. I've had leaky injectors before, the little puddle drained out through the piston rings after an hour or so. It was only a problem from 30 to 60 or so minutes after shutdown. Could the sideways cylinder retain fuel that much better? Maybe if the car is parked on a slant so the fuel doesn't drain out the rings? You'd also have to be on the compression stroke when starting. I suppose you only need enough to fill the cylinder at top-dead-center, but that's still a fair amount of gas.

Yep, that's why I bought this Subaru. I've owned awd Misubishis, awd Volkswagens, awd Audis, awd Toyotas, and this is my second Subaru. My first choice this buy was another quattro. A quattro same year, mileage, and condition as this Subaru would be two to three times the price. The quattro would be a lot better car, but I'm a cheapskate with kids in college. I have two quattros in the driveway, a 200 turbo and an A4 turbo. The Subaru pales by comparison, even to the 200 with a quarter-million miles on it. The 200 is still quiet and smooth at 130mph, gets 25mpg at 80mph, shifts, brakes, and corners with smooth confidence. But all the rubber bits in the 200 are getting brittle, and I'm getting nervous about doing my 200 mile commute in it. The Subaru drives like a cheap and honest car, which it is, and it's adequate. Subarus aren't nearly the best awd cars out here, but I think the one I bought is the best for the money, and thats what may keep Subaru going. I'll be back in the market for another car in a couple years, when this car goes to my next new driver. If things go well with this Subaru I'll consider another one. I don't think I'll be buying a used 2.5 with a 10% chance of a headgasket repair.

Maybe they've all peaked. The 5-cylinder awd VW and Audis were some of the finest awd vehicles made, and they lasted well into the 200k mileage with average care. A lot of guys "upgraded" to the newer Audis, only to discover newer Audis were more sophisiticated but less reliable. Awd technologies have improved tremendously, making it cheaper to produce a respectable system, but overall quality seems to have slipped everywhere.

You'd probably do better when the tranny case is hot, like after a long drive in the summer.

I heard locksmiths could cut a key from the VIN, but today I checked a few and they said I had to go to a dealer. Anyone know? The keys that came with this car are pretty worn, and I don't want to wear out the tumblers. No power locks, so they get used often.

Any moly grease is good for CV joints, the added molybdenum disulfide reduces friction. Moly isn't recommended for roller bearings, like wheel bearings.

Subaru's have built a good reputation, which is why I've come back after a marginal experience many years ago. In my research for a new used Subaru, I read and heard a lot of bad reports. The 2.5l seems prone to head gasket failures, a major fix seems to have improved the problem but not fixed it. That's a pretty major weakness! Clutch problems at low mileage seem common, that's also pretty major trouble. I just bought a low-mileage Subaru with a new clutch, I wonder why the PO dumped it. A customer of mine is thinking of selling his classic Camaro to buy an STI, despite several ominous problems with his wife's '03 OBW. I don't get that. I'll be giving this Subaru to my son in a few years, and looking for a newer vehicle. If the head gasket and clutch problems are solved, I'll strongly consider a Subaru, they're good cars for the $ other than that. Subaru has got to fix these problems and stand behind the cars they've already produced.

I see four different idler pulleys there for my car. One is a tensioner, the others all point to the toothed pulley. I didn't expect to see much variety in idler pulleys. I'd hoped to find the shipping cost.

It's a no-brainer if the bearing numbers are visible. I buy a lot of bearings, get excellent prices, and have a lot of experience pressing them in and out. Time, bearing cost, and shipping might bring my cost too close to $50 new to be worthwhile, but I'd like to try it.

Check your mailbox. Hopefully not too $$$ from Washington to Michigan. Better if someone around Chicago has some, I work out of O'Hare.

At my machine shop we charge $50/hr for machining time. We pay insurance and such, and buy a lot of cutting tools and equipment. Yesterday we recieved one of four new CNC mills ($100,000 each), and we're a small shop (35 guys). I'm comparing apples to oranges I'm sure. My local independent Audi shop has saved me buckets of $ over the dealer, similar equipment I see, looks like less beauracracy and the owner doesn't live on the lake.

I'd like to get some of those used pulleys, to see if I can replace the bearings. I moonlight as a project engineer at a machine shop, design and build industrial machinery. I could make a set of smooth pulleys, hardened with good bearings, but that would still be $$. I'd like to start with some old ones, anyone? Any difference for 2.2 vs 2.5?

Bridgman? There are no dealers around me, I'm planning to stop at a dealer in your area to get keys made, next time I go to O'Hare. Maybe I'd better drive a little farther?

I have to agree with starting with the basics of the system. It's probably not plugs or plug wires, or you'd get ignition on the good ones. Maybe coil or coil wire or something else central to the ignition or fuel system. These components get flakey at high temps sometime, maybe finicky about low voltages. So sitting a while may help.

What would the hardened steel valves contact to put a nick in them? It would have to be very hard, maybe a lump of carbon build-up?