Spokane-Pete

Should definitly not be red wire for ground, and I wonder about the rust or corrosion issues of grinding area's not to be covered. They'll need to be painted or plated to avoid it. But what started the problem anyway? Peter

http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm Especially read the end.

I think if the oil is dirty at 3000 miles or otherwise, its because its collected dirt. A big reason why its detergent oil to suspend it and let it clear out when its drained. You probably had a fair bit of grunge in the pan and so forth and with that oil it started cleaning it up. Consider it a bonus. Ever use the engine flush stuff? You'd be amazed at what comes out of what you thought was a clean engine.

Fantastic. Good on you. Reminds me of an MG Midget story a friend of mine owned. Bought it cheap at auction because of very low oil pressure and external oil leaks. Guess what it really was!? Mechanical oil pressure gauge sender line heading to the dash gauge. Line leaked causing apparent low reading on the gauge, and the oil leak of course was just the broken oil line leaking all over the engine. Replaced the line and voila, instant oil pressure! Peter S

Watts and South Central LA should be bulldozed over, After a nuclear bomb. thats about the only way it would improve.

I just had my Lexus ES300 windows tinted. I'd hate to do it myself. Hot work, hard on the back, pain to get right. I'm very glad I had it done and made a deal to get the glass sunroof done in limo black. If I want to see out I'll open it! Seriously keeps the heat out. I did the windows 33% which was plenty. The back looks darker only because of the combination of the 3 back windows adding to each other. Its much less glare and much cooler. Well worth the $165.

The interior is really nice actually. The front is especially bad though. Back is a bit odd too. Paint was weird though I forget why. I think it was that some pieces solid black and others were very fine pearl. Weird. Probably goes and functions well, just looks weird. I like the analogy to the Saab 93. PS

You could use a higher wattage resistor also. But the motor is almost certainly teh culprit. PS

What year model is it? Does it use R12 or R134a Freon? Do you have any test equipment, or can borrow some? Have you checked fuses and see if the compressor is even turning? Might be electrical rather than low freon. Peter S

I like cut-away drawings. Part see-through view learning and part art. Can anybody point me to any Subaru Engine and Outback etc? Also any animations of engines operating would be great too. Thanks. Peter S

Interesting to say the least. Apparently different variants of the same year model have different dash controls, but which do, and which don't? With this in mind I wonder if they are interchangable. I'd rather have a rotory dial than climate control if thats the exchange. Peter S

Can somebody tell me if their 01 Outback (any variant) has a one button fan speed control vs a rotary dail? PS

Really like the H6 VDC outback I test drove but didn't like the black leather. Just too hot. Probably cold and stiff in winter too. Was there a dark color cloth available with H6? Is there a dark color cloth seat from another version/model that would fit properly I could sway with? Peter S

I drove an 2001 Outback VDC with H6-3.0. It had an irritating one button control for dash fan speed. Push once to forward up in speed or continue to push till you're back to low speed. Is that unique for the H6 or any 01 Outback? The 02 had a proper rotory dail control. Don't remember the 00'. Peter S

The sales guy said the 'real' price was $2-3K off the posted price which was on a car that wasn't there more than a couple days. He said it was to come down a lot and to make a low offer since it had 92K miles. They only came down $200 so wasn't anywhere near half way or whatever to meet me. They wanted me to come up $5K which is unrealistic. Peter S

I've been to 3 different dealers in the last 4 months or so and tried to work a deal but on every occasion they only come down in price $2-300 from full price or make the deal appear better by trying to finance the remaining amount above my offer price. Today I tried to buy something for about $10K but of course needed more to get it done. Dealer wanted $16K but that was full price and were said to really be $13.5K. 'Ignore that sticker' statements. We kept being told they were trying to move inventory to make room yada yada and to make any low offer. So I said $10K. Dealer came back with $15.8K. I said I'm not going back and forth so said $12K out the door and my final offer. Another return with the 'manager' showing me the value claim from KBB and other BS then said only if I add taxes and transfer fees to that. I said my final offer was $12K out the door. I figured/hoped he'd come back with $12.5K but that was truely the highest I would go. Again he left and returned saying it would be a $2000 loss and now wouldn't take the $12K with taxes either. BS! So we walked. It has black leather which I don't like being very hot in summer so I knew I would have to do something with that so another reason not to over spend. This was at a Subaru / BMW dealer and was trying to buy an Outback 6cyl. Couple months ago was the same scenario with a Toyota dealer, and again before that at a Checy dealer selling a Toyota. Is that the latest trend!? $200 off full price? Peter S

Nobody has the H6-3.0 engine? Peter S

Just dump the old filters fuel into your drain pan of your next oil change. Or into the container you put used oil. There is no need to reset the computer for a fuel filter. Peter S

Looked at a real nice 2001 Legacy Outback with the H6-3.0 engine. Its black granite exterior, black leather, dual sunroofs, winter package, lots of bells and whistles and 92K miles. For maintenance I need to do most of it myself and am very capable, but is the 6cyl hard to access or otherwise service? More than the 4cyl? Couldn't even see the spark plugs. What sort of problems has this engine history have? Once the plastic top cover comes off is access decent? Is about $13000 at a Subaru dealer. Please advise! Peter S

Eastern Washington is the same. They're everywhere! Peter S

When I test drove a 2002 Outback I noticed the mirror was irritatingly low too just like you said. But, since the mirror is mounted with 2 articulating joints it can be slid upward then repositioned correctly. I gained about 2 inches up having it set right. Peter S

What models and years have this push button feature? Peter S

Wondering about the ability to change the ride height easily for snow/winter driving and lower for summer. Was there a model that used air or something else stock? What do people do to raise a Legacy to the height of an Outback or higher? Peter S

The pressure underneath just keeps the unit from falling as you removed the attaching nuts and bolts. You will lower the strut finally with the jack. On some cars the swaybar will fight you some but often have enough movement to get it out anyway. The brakes lines hopefully only hook onto the strut with clips, no need to open the hydraulics normally. Peter S

In my experience the best approach is to place the area of the car on jack stands, then using your jack, support the bottom area of the suspension side in question. The Spindle as you call it. Just barely take the weight off is fine. Mark the camber and caster settings where possible. Trace the strut connections with a marking pen for example. If applicable, remove any brake hoses or ABS wires and hoses from the strut, but don't disconnect them hydraulically or electrically. Loosen ALL the strut attaching bolts a turn or two but don't remove them completely. This is easier with all parts attached than fighting with one while the others offer no support. Remove the strut top nuts from the chassis (not the center large strut nut!). The weight of the strut will be held by the jack below. Remove the lower attaching nuts/bolts and lower the jack to clear the upper section and remove the strut and take to your bench vise. The rest sounds like you already know. Suffice to say - be careful with spring compressors! I have changed many struts. Never a Subaru however but the basics surely will be the same or similar. Peter S