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Comments
You have been missing out on the fun! Thanx for Darlene's number. But, you mentioned that she had a website. What is it? I want to peruse for accessories etc. I wonder if I can beat the prices of my dealership. Juice do you change your cooling and Brake fluid every 30K like the Subie manual recommends? And what oil do you use. I also have to check when to change the tranny fluid. I am beginning to have the squeeky brake sindrome! Only when I back up first thing in morning.....I don't like that! I must say that I have been getting horrible gas mileage. The last tank full gave me 18 mpg! <<<< Horrible. And I always use super. Any ideas? Thanx
I do have a question about fuel. I have been using 87 for the most part, since the manual says it's ok. Are there any thoughts on doing this? I use 1 tank of premium to 3 of reg.
Also, is anyone adding 2 lbs of pressure to the Firestones for better handling?
I have no real problems, but keep seeing some on these posts, so I keeep looking. I only have 1300 miles on this vehicle.
By the way, Borcherding was wonderful to deal with, if you live in this area.
Fred W.
I have been using 93 Octane since I bought the car. I am curious about any degradation in performance, or engine knocking, if I went with 87 or 89 Octane. Fred W., have you heard any engine knocking with 87 Octane?
Has anyone else noticed what seemes like a "delay" when stepping on the gas until the car actually takes off? I didn't notice this on the LLBean. The VDC down-shifted right away, similar to the H-4's. Maybe the extra weight?
I did drain and refill my coolant at 30k. My brakes were recalled, so when they changed the brake master cylinder the fluid was already flushed.
I use dino oil, 10w30. I change mine every 7.5k, though now that we have 3 vehicles I may have to shorten the interval to twice a year, depending on how much each is driven (I change all 3 on the same day).
Brakes get a thin film of rust that goes away after the first use. It's normal and I would not worry about it.
I have not changed the tranny fluid yet. The drain plug is easily accessible. Anyone have a photo of the fill hole?
Mileage tends to improve with age, so hang in there. Mine was far better at 20k miles than it was when new, by about 2-3 mpg.
No need to use premium on the 4 banger, IMO. The H6 recommends premium, but you can use regular if you're willing to give up about 4hp. Most people cannot "feel" less than 5hp anyway. The engine will retard the timing to prevent knocking, so it should not do any harm (this is also what causes the power loss).
I find the recommended tire pressures low, so I now use about 32 psi. Find what you're comfortable with, just don't go below the recommendations of SoA.
Thanks for that website. It looks good. Might order some accessories from Darlene. Hey Juice I think you should open a Sub dealership....ha ha ha you would do great. By the way, how do you drain the brake fluid??? By the bleeders on the wheels??? The coolant is easy. Just need to make sure to use 50/50 coolant water combination for the best results! I may get the woodgrain, I think it looks nice. Anyone have that Mirror and compas? How does it work? And does it need a power supply? Juice I need help on the mirror thing. I got the acrylic hood deflector already. After a trip to Tahoe I had 2 chips on my new subie. I touched up with paint and put on the acrylic. Much better now. And finally, it seems that Klasse is the best wax to use. Where do you buy it? Also someone reccomended I use Lexor leather treatment. Where do you buy that? I could not find it at Kragen Auto. Thanks all for the help. Later
Cheers Pat.
Thanx for that! Any particular reason why you use lexol? Just curious? I did not know pep boys carried automotive stuff......I do now. I have seen them around! Thanx again.
Cheers Pat.
cheers Pat.
Thanx so much. I don't have anyone in England. Pat, what do you use to clean them? I can see that the passenger seat is already dirty, probably from wife resting her wet hair on it. Should I just use a damp cloth? Or is it better to use a product? I appreciate all the help.
Bleeding the brakes is not as simple as most routing maintenance, and I've actually never done it myself. I did help my Jeep buddy do his (it was an emergency job - he broke a brake line during an off road trip), but he did the hard work and I just watched and pumped the brakes for him.
-juice
I have done that maintenance of bleeding the brakes as I have replaced brake pads etc. I have a 90 accord and I always did brakes. But I never turned rotors. No need to! As I always replaced pads before they damaged the rotors. Also, the rotors don't just come off on that car. I think Honda machines the rotors on the car! I NEVER flushed the brake fluid though. Am not sure how to do that. I would need a repair manual. Hayes only covers up to 99 OB's. I am curious to get that autodimming mirror. However, I am not sure if you need any special assembly stuff. I presume it needs a power supply.....Any info on that? Thanks Juice.
Cheers Pat.
Take a turkey baster, looks like a large syringe suck all the brake fluid out of the master cylinder do not!!! touch the brake pedal, fill the master cylinder with fresh fluid, repeat this about three times over about a 2 week period using fresh fluid each time and you will have effectively replaced your brake fluid without introducing air into the system therefore you will not need to bleed.
Cheers Pat.
I like the Turkey Baster idea. But it is easy to bleed brakes. Pump pedal and when hard hold pedal down. At same time the other person opens bleeder and air/fluid comes out. As it does the pedal goes down. Keep foot on pedal until the person tightens the bleeder and says ok. Repeat process until all air is out. BE CAREFUL, not to strip the threads of the bleeder. Don't over tighten it!!! It is very small and you can easily strip it. It is then that you are screwed. But if it happens, you can tap the hole and use a slightly larger "bleeding plug" Not sure on the terminology. Now would someone tell me about that mirror installation??? I tried to call Darlene but nobody answers???? It is 3:50 California time. Are they closed Juice? Pat my question about brake fluid is How do you drain it? Hope the tips on bleeding it helps!
I am becoming a fanatic about my new Subie as you can all see the posts. I have been doing some research on how to care for the Subie and make it "shine". Pat has told me about Lexol! I will probably buy that today. Folks what should I use to treat the rubber seals for the doors and moonroofs etc? The rubber seals on my 90 Accord are coming apart. And since Subies don't have door frames I can't have that happen. As for the exterior, it seems to me that the best is Klasse all in one. Then you might follow that by Pinnacle wax for more shine. Does everyone agree? Would love tips on this. Klasse is used by Mercedes so I presume it is a great product. You can also use it on the wheels...which is important. I never cared so much about the accord and it survived through Northeast weather. Now I live in CA and have a Subie (AWD) and am more concious of protecting it. IRONIC!!!
So without getting under the car you can change brake fluid no hassle and the beauty is anybody can do it whether you are mechanically inclined or not, I realise there are purists who will like to do it the hard way in order to get the last little drop of old fluid although this is totally unecessary but do it whatever way you feel happiest with the easy way or the hard way both work.
Cheers Pat.
Definitely wax the wheels. They stay cleaner, are easier to clean when you do, and do not accumulate ice/snow in winter. Totally worth it.
I just spoke to Darlene (as I'm writing this), so she is there. She has a lot of parts back-ordered and in the process of following up to get those to customers quickly.
-juice
Cheers Pat.
I like the idea! You are right that it is definitely easy and agree with what you say, when you take the fluid out of Master, there is hardly any fluid left! As for Darlene, I tried her yesterday and I realize you guys are talking about today. I will give her a buzz. I went to Pep Boys and got Lexol leather conditioner and the Vinylex for rubber and plastic. No one seems to have Klasse all-in-one or pinnacle wax. I know Klasse is imported from Germany! But is supposet to be worth it. May order it from the net somewhere. I don't have much time to spend on cars and Klasse is supposed to last 9 months. When I try it I will let you all know! Thanx for responding!
I believe you need to order Klasse from auto-detailing specialty stores to get it. Go to Yahoo or Google, and do a search on Klasse. You should find many hits.
Klasse is supposed to be pretty good from what I hear. It's an acrylic (synthetic wax) sealant so it's more durable than natural waxes. The benefits of sealants is that they are easier to apply and remove and last longer. It also gives a more "wet" look which some people might prefer. The downside of synthetics is that it doesn't do as well a job of hiding fine scratches compared to natural wax.
I recently tried some sealant myself that I got from a detail manager from a local Subaru dealer. I've been quite impressed with the results so far. I'm thinking of switching to Klasse once I run out of the stuff.
Ken
I am having Napa call to give me a price on the Classe kit which includes the all in one and the glaze sealer to go on top of that. Might as well do the whole thing!!! Juice I just talked to Darlene and ordered the woodgrain kit and the Cargo basket. The basket is in case I need to go to Home depot and get a few 2x4's or something. Or to carry some luggage when I pick up friends at the airport. Now I am considering getting the auto dimming mirror. I figure I might as well get the complete package........ At least I am having fun! Keeping my mind off stock market.
Ken if Napa does not give me a good price I will order it online. Can get the kit for 39.95. I rather pay tax and get it for this weekend if it is not as much as paying shipping!!!!
I started asking around and was told that a brake system is a closed system (no pump to circulate the fluid) so the fluid is static rather then dynamic. Therefore the fluid in the lines essentially stays in the line and the fluid in the master cylinder stays there. I'm sure there must be a little exchange but the fluid way down at the end of the line probably moves very little. So at the very place (wheel cylinders) where clean fluid is critical it may not be clean. Anyway I do work on hydraulic systems on boats (open center systems with pumps) and this seems to make sense to me. Notice that on brake systems there is no return line.
Or I could be all wet. Again
Any how, he was offering it for free (though he'll likely ask for shipping).
Have a look. Darlene is pretty cool, and will probably let you cancel or at least change the order.
-juice
First of all it is a royal pain and you need two people, although there are some one-way valve gadgets you can get. Second, it is easy to screw it up and waste a lot of time and fluid if you inadvertently get air in. Third, you have to dispose of the old fluid and the only legal way is to take it back to a shop. Fourth, you may as well get a shop to do it whenever you get new pads, as it adds little to the cost. Fifth, the wheels have to be done in the correct sequence and some people don't know that or if they do they get it wrong anyway. Sixth, it isn't really necessary unless you've had a leak, badly overheated the brakes, or the fluid is old, say 5 years or more. Seventh, lives depend on your work so you had better know what you are doing!
And if you thought that was the rant, you are mistaken.....I have noticed that some questions are asked here that are answered in the book that comes with the car. I realize that many people won't read it, ever, but speaking personally, when I got home with a brand new 2000 OB the first thing I did was sit in the car and start on the book. I wanted to know all about my new baby "from the horse's mouth" as it were. I actually spread it over a few days and some parts I didn't read at all, like the bit about child seats, because it is irrelevent to me at the moment. But it told me about the FWD fuse, some important facts about towing a standard as opposed to an auto, the interaction between the fog lights, headlights and daytime running lights, etc. The Sube OB book is a world away from the 11 page pamphlet one used to get with a car, showing you how to open the door and where the steering wheel was. I recommend it.
My wife thought I was in the terminal stages of dementia, but she expects me to know all about the car whenever she has a technical question, like "Where do I put water for the rear squirter?" or "What's this thingummy for?". And if you are now thinking to yourself, "Gee, yeah, where do I put water for the squirter?", READ THE BOOK!
Juice,
The woodgrain is a self adhesive and I imagine (glues) to your current panels. So if that guy removed them, I am not sure they would be reusable. I think they will look nice and match the front of the car....
Ken,
I was able to get Klasse all in one for 29.95 at a local Napa dealer. I will let you all know how it works.
Cheers Pat.
Cheers Pat.
Tom
I asked the dealer service manager if I could install the woodgrain myself. He said "oh yeah, it is just a self adhesive overlay that goes on top of what you have there now." So I imagine that it glues to the top of the gray plastic that comes with the OB's and Legacy. So, if that is correct then the woodgrain does not replace the gray piece, it glues on top of it. Am I right? I am sure I will find out in about 2 weeks when I get the woodgrain from Darlene. As for the rubber I am going to use Lexol Vynelex. It has good reviews plus I can use it on the dash. I hope to do the leather treatment this weekend. Would love to put on the Klasse but it seems that it is going to rain!
Fred W
bit
The nature of Edmunds Town Hall has a continuous stream of posts rather than messages and responses.
Try following along for a while and figure it's a bit like having a beer in a busy bar with a large group of friends. There are multiple discussion streams running at once. There are a couple of guys who can keep talking intelligently in five different directions at once, whilst ordering drinks and chatting up the waitress (Juice, take a bow).
There are others who only concentrate on a single discussion topic at any one time. They want to analyse and argue in depth.
There are lots of others who sit back, enjoy the talk (and the beer) and chime in when they have a really good point.
We'd all love to hear your views. And of course, its your shout for the next round.
Cheers
Graham
Cheers,
-wdb
Cheers Pat.
Phill
I know that the woodgrain on the dash is its own piece. The OB ltd comes with that standard. I think it looks pretty nice. I know some people don't llike it. But I think it makes it look a little dressy. That is why I ordered the switch woodgrain. To match it.
Last night I used Lexol leather conditioner and did my whole interior. I could not believe how much conditioner my seats absorbed. It was unbelievable. Is that normal? Were the seats just dry? In any case I noticed that the passenger seat has marks. It was the first one I did and I did not let the conditioner stay on that seat as long as the rest of them. So I may redo it lightly.
As for the seats, I sprayed this stuff on, A lot. I then gave the seats a nice massage and rub. I let it sit. As it was drying in various parts I came back and gave it another good rub to get it spread evenly all around. Went to have dinner. Came back and buffed out the excess. They look and feel great. But used half a bottle of Lexol. My hands felt great after that!
Thanks for the Lexol tip......
If you just bough a new Subie it probably has been 6 months since it was painted. Most cars come with clear coat these days. It is standard! Buy a good wax. I just ordered Klasse all-in-one. It is an Acrylic not a wax. So this forms sort of a clear coat on top of your clear coat. It is supposed to last 6-9 months. It is imported straight from Germany and used on Mercedes Benz. I don't want to wax every month so I am going to try this acrylic stuff. My car is white so it wont take much for it to shine. I want to make sure that I preserve the rubber seals since subies don't have door frames!!! So far I have Lexol vynelex. Someone here has recommended a stuff made by GM.
If you take care of your car right from the beginning you will see that it will last much better and look great. My 90 Accord still shines and engine still idles at 750. Never adjusted valves and never had any maintenace done at dealer except timming belts. Clutch went at 160K. But drives excellent. Although now it parks excellent because OB is there. I hate idea of selling it.
Cheers,
Jas
Then I am lost. My dealer said it is an overlay. I don't mind what it is. But would prefer a whole new piece more than a self adhesive. I don't mind as long as it looks nice. I will find out for sure when I get the kit. What about the back doors Jas???? Darlene said kit comes with 4 pieces!
Thanks:)
Tara
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Cheers Pat.
Cheers Pat.
FredSW