mtsmiths

MAN, that's brushing the cobwebs outta the memory banks! BTW, that same '00 Leg wagon is now at 165,000 and running just fine thankyewverymuch. I did twist a Maryland dealers arm into replacing the front O2 sensor again on warranty after we got repeated CEL codes on a cross country trip. Still throws the occassional bogus CEL, so I just either battery dance it, or usually just ignore it until it goes away ... which it eventually always does. Our only problem we ever have with the car is the mystery miss that pops up now and then for a few miles, then goes away - rain or shine, wet or dry, cold or hot, just started or running along after two hundred miles ... still haven't figured THAT one out.

Well, our 'horrific' 2000 Legacy has 165,000 miles on it with no problems to date, and none pending.

I am in agremnt with Blitz. It's Fugly, overwrought and is a marketing (not autmotive) solution for a non-existant market. Note to SOA: get the 'marketing consultants' out of the shop and give the company back to the engineers. Fire the stylist that designed the 'Tribeca', AND the 'branding consultant' that named it. Note to GM: Go away, be a 'silent partner' and leave Subaru alone to design simple, reliable, effecient cars that also happen to be able to go anywhere in any weather. If you want to do something productive, get busy on hydrogen power cars and a nation-wide distribution system. Never bought a Subaru yet based on 'style' never will. But poor styling will definately KEEP me from buying one.

Mixed country/town 15 mile each way commute, two tank averages, mixed cruise, A/C use: 2.5 - '04 Legacy wagon A/T, 165,000 miles = 25.5 mpg 2.2 - '95 Legacy wagon A/T, 130,000 miles = 26.5 mpg On cruise the 2.2 has one downshift for a hill that the 2.5 ignores.

If it were mine, I would have it done now, since you're doing most of the labor anyhow ... but not by a Subaru Stealership. Find a good indie in your area.

Well, it looks like we will be spending some time on the peninsula in the future. My daughter has gotten a major contract with a Seattle firm, and will be commuting from L.A. to Seattle on a regular basis, then moving north full time next year. She has found property she wants, so it looks Like I'm placing an offer on ten acres with two houses in Pt. Ludlow next week. I reckon The Pretty One and I wil be making a lot of Empire Builder trips in the next few years, and maybe moving there in 2009.

So, does a faulty MAF sensor throw a CEL and code? Can it create totally random intermittant missing (feels just like a plugged fuel filter)? How much do they cost?

They missed the mark with the design treatment. It's obvious they were going for a forties/fifties woody 'look', hence the beanie/beautyring wheel treatment with whitewalls. To keep the look 'correct' they should have avoided the rear fender flare and left it body color. No real woody ever had the wood go all the way to the wheel arch. Close, but. I give it a 'C'.

Tons of Outback rental cars in NW Montana. Car of choice for incoming skiers, comes with a rack.

I've had a weighed 1,300 lbs of rock in my '95 Leg. And cut firewood clear up to the ceiling, plus the roof rack full.

Thanks, NorthWet, every time I look at your avatar, and think of actuall moving to the area I get, well ... depressed. Daughter is heading up to Seattle as we speak, for a contractural conference, and to relook at property she found in Port Ludlow. Will know more by Monday. What will I do with my handle if we move wasmiths just doesn't have the ring ... meanwhile, in Whitefish http://www.bigmtn.com/summer/livecams.aspx .

He reads like P.J. O'Rourke on supreme unleaded. Funny stuff, too bad SOA can't read.

Thanks guyz, does the rain shadow extend up to the Anacortes area and the northern mainland around Birch Bay? We are looking to purchase now (maybe, if my daughter sells our L.A. house and moves to Port Ludlow) and rent until we retire. We expect to stay in Whitefish for four or five more years. But we figure after that we'll want to start hitting ski hills all over the NW, and not just Big Mtn. We want to live where we can find reasonable airfares to Hawaii, especially if we still own property there. The Flathead is an airfare black hole, even Spokane is half the fare to any given destination. So, we're looking for a mainland base, not too big, but with shop and/or hangar that we can buy now and rent until we want to start using it. If my daughter buys the subdivision she's looking at, we 'could' buy one of the lots and build, but we really don't want to be THAT close to kids and grandkids. mtnman, we like everything about the area, but need SUN. And yes we sure know about the Whitefish blahs. We lived in a condo about 1/8 mile from our current house and so when we built we knew what to expect, so ... LOTS'A windows, multiple fireplaces, hot tub ... all the ' winter depression survival' needs.

So, did they put it on anyway, and if so, is it now an "Outacy" or a "Legaback"?

No, I've never Polished a windshield, but I have Chezked one for cracks!

An Outback 'Woody', this I gotta see! pics, pics, pics ...

Is thare any part of the Olympic Peninsula or the islands that actually have 'sun'? At least part of the time. My daughter may be moving to Port Ludlow, and we will have a 1031 R.E. exchange to get rid of when we sell her house in L.A.. Since it looks like all our kids and grandkids will be in western WA we may want to look to retiring in the area. We would have to buy a place that we could rent for four years or so, then move to. Oh, need a small airstrip close by, or a hangar home on an airstrip. I found a 'perfect' house on Decatur Island, directly across from Anacosta. Airstrip, hangar home, community beach/dock, but I don't think it would be a good rental. Thanks fom Montana.

"Hopefully, you mean fiberglass heat tape. . . . . In either case, header wrap tape will lead to premature failure of the pipes due to accelerated corrosion. You may want to reconsider this decision." Could be either, it's leftover from the builder of my airplane, twenty-five years ago. Living in NW Montana I'm not really concerned about accelerating corrosion. The underside looks a clean as new after five years.

I removed my heat shields ('00 Legacy) and wrapped the exhaust pipe with asbestos ribbon, then reinstalled them. No recurring rattles.

Ask if there was a TSB on the O2 sensor for the Forester, there was for the Legacy and Outback.

Do a search (I can't my company firewall seems to block search functions). There was a posting by a guy that was involved in Subaru aero-engine conversions that did a whole test series and data search that seemed to indicate that most HG failures could be linked to an overheat incident, often after a post cooling system change airlock. Sometimes, doesn't seem to happen for a long time, but I would find the thread and print it out for your meachanic, and your records for if & when.

Good nipper, but be prepared for it to NOT be OK. There still may be a bubble in there, keep your eye on the tamp guage. Also, historical data indicates that what happened to you is the trigger for later HG issues, the supposition is that the heat stress weakens the HG, and later on down the road, blooey a $1,500 bill.

I second the Lexol. I use it on my airplane, and our flying jackets (open cockpit) great stuff.

Make 'em send the car to a detailer to have it fumigated, too!

I just did a mileage check on my '95 Legacy (135,000 miles). Highway R/T Whitefish>Spokane mountainous secondary highways, mixed AC use - 29.9 mpg. One week's commute to/from work (15 miles each way, combined city ... well, town) highway, mixed AC use - 23.6 mpg. I tend to drive a little over the limit, but ahead of the traffic so I reduce jackrabbit starts and hard stops.