Rockbolt

Thanks!

Today I noticed that the rear suspension bushing (the fluid filled one) on one of my front suspension arms is leaking on my 2001 H6 Outback. Since I have no prior experience with fluid filled bushings, my question is, how urgent is it that I replace it? Is there a safety issue? A tire wear issue? Has anybody replaced one of these before? Can I replace it without tearing apart the whole front suspension? Thanks!

I got rid of that foam spacer above my "full height" donut in my 01 H6 and bought the cheapest rim I could find and put a full size spare down there. It just baaaaarely fits and supports the panel perfectly. Just keep the best tire next time you replace yours, air it up to 40 psi to balance out any circumference issues and have the piece of mind of a real spare!

Hello everyone, I have a 2001 OBW H6 VDC (love it) and have had the CEL come on intermittantly over the past few months (heat related?). Anyway, rather than give my money to a shop to read the code, I want to get a code reader that is "inexpensive" but will easily read my Subaru codes. I have a cheap one (i.e. the cheapest one I could find) that works well with my wife's Ford Ranger but it will not communicate with the computer in our OBW. Can anybody suggest a code reader that they are sure will work with newer Subarus (they are particular about returns/exchanges of these things)? Sorry if this topic has been discussed previously. Another question that has been bugging me recently, what did Subaru do to the newer H6 platform to pull 250 HP instead of the 212 (or whatever it is) that mine is rated at. Is there something I could replace on my engine (air intake, new chip, etc.) that would cheaply allow me to grab this hidden power? Thanks!

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this message board but I have consulted it from time to time since the purchase of my used 2001 H6 VDC (41000 mi then, 56000 mi now). I remember when I first purchased my car I read on this (or another?) message board that somebody had found a way to download the service manuals (from Subaru?) in a PDF format for a one time fee of like $25. Does this ring a bell for anyone? If so, what is the site that provides this service? Also, my wife and I went camping over the 4th and noticed something new. We had a full load, including a yakima rocket box and two bikes on the roof. We live in the eastern Sierra and our trips often take us over passes ranging from 7000 - 8200 ft in elevation. When climbing over a few of these passes last weekend, every time we downshifted to third hit around 3900 RPM the engine would lurch in a bucking motion until I either floored it or let off. Is this the point that the secondary valves open up on an H6? I don't think it was trying to downshift as it improved when I floored it. My planned approach is going to be to replace the spark plugs, air cleaner, and fuel filter (all things that I have not done yet since I have owned the car) and then see if the problem goes away. It strikes me as an electrical problem (gulp) but I am hoping one of these quick fixes will do the trick. Any other ideas? Thanks!!