Well, I'm going to keep it I suppose

[chipper]

98, OBW, 2.5l. 180k miles

 

HG finally gave up on me 5 miles west of nowhere last weekend in the snow.

 

Limped it to a safe-zone some 85 miles back down the road on 10 gallons

of antifreeze.

 

Tried to get a flatbed in 'nowhereville' but none to be had due to the weather.

Which is completely fair. Bought up the entire stock of premixed antifreeze

at the local parts house and drove her back through the mountains. Averaged

about ~8mpg on antifreeze

 

Spent a lot of hours over the weekend reading about this issue, and all things considered, this is just flat out the best car for driving in the mountains

I've ever encountered. Shod even with old blizzaks, she climbs and descends

anything with confidence in bad winter conditions. So, I'm going to get her repaired.

 

I really like this car. I've had her for going on 2 years, and 70k miles. She's been

great. I limped the HG problem for nearly a year. Keeping a close eye on the

temp gauge, and keeping some coolant handy, running a cored out thermostat

and using cardboard radiator blocks in the cold weather.

 

So, she's down for a while, However, one thing this car needs, that I haven't

seen discussed, is new headlight lenses. Where can I get some? These are so

eroded from whatever it is that eats the finish up, that they are just don't lightup

the road very well. Her '03 Forester has pretty good lighting, but my headlight

lenses are really crudded up, and don't work well.

 

Clues?

 

Thanks in advance.

[adwolf1]

Before replacing the headlights, you may want to take them to a shop & let them sand them down.

 

Here in vermont, for 6 months out of the year, every subaru is covered in filth and scum. After a while the headlights just get pitted, yellow and nasty.

 

My mechanic buffed my 96's out for $50.. they look like new. It's certainly better than replacing the covers ($$)

[Zephyr]

My mechanic buffed my 96's out for $50.. they look like new. It's certainly better than replacing the covers ($$)

 

A few threads on this board have mentioned that the dealer's lens buffing is the same procedure as applying brake fluid and elbow grease.

[JPX]

I sanded, buffed and clear coated my lenses - what a difference it made. It is important to put a coat of clear something (acrylic in my case) after sanding the yellow off.

 

Factory puts a clearcoat on. But as it wears down, it flakes off. Then the plastic underneath starts to yellow. So sanding will get rid of the yellow, and it will come back if not protected.

 

Click on the picture for the full writeup.