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Comments
-mike
When the 5-spd on my 2000 Legacy started popping out of fifth gear, the rebuild cost $1,200. I had around 90k miles on the car and it was beyond the mileage where Subaru would assist in coverage. The Subie bucks helped somewhat.
Jim
most dealerships lack the desire or skill to do that and would recommend a new complete transmission, which would've been ~$1500-2500 just by itself.
I probably would've sourced a salvage yard tranny and installed it myself, but considering most people don't have that option open to them I think $1200 is quite reasonable. --assuming it is still running fine now? seems like.
~c
-Dennis
The repair report says: verified condition ... recommend tear down tranny for further inspection and repairs ... found fifth gear hub assembly worn and has broken ... replaced fifth gear hub assembly and related washer and locking nut for main shaft ...
It's running fine now.
Even if I had a tranny, there's no way I'd have the time to do this kind of repair. I can no longer see myself crawling under a car for a couple of hours at night after a full day at work.
Jim
-mike
Elissa
-Dennis
-juice
You could get a radio from a 2002-2003 WRX and swap it out. These E-bay for around $140. You might need a face-plate to make the fit look custom, though. They are available in Japan, supposedly SubieGal was saying she'd sell them here when they were made available, I just haven't seen them yet (haven't looked, either).
Crutchfield will soon have aftermarket stuff that fits the Outback, if they don't already. They did even for the bizarre oval radio on the Taurus from a few years back.
Or buy a CD-R or MP3 player, then convert them. This is extremely time-consuming, though.
Option 4 - get a walk man. Though you'll have to use headphones because there is no accessory input in the Subie stereos.
Subaru is behind here, no MP3, no aux input, and no cassette for those types of adaptors either.
-juice
-mike
I have the below unit for my iPod and it works very well. Note that the unit uses a standard mini headphone jack so it's compatible with a wide range of devices:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&a- mp;Section_Id=201526&pcount=&Product_Id=166893
Ken
I wired my dad's house with Belkin wi-fi products and they have worked well for him so far. I guess they make car stereo stuff as well.
-juice
As far as noise though, the PS's are noisier on some surfaces than the OEM Geo 900's (which are quite a bit noiser than the older gen RE92's were on my WRX wagon).
Ed told me that they were noiser than the Geo's and the SP5000's which he now runs. I'm a little surprised that the PS's got such a good customer rating for noise on Tire Rack. I suppose it depends what you're comparing them against.
I haven't pushed them that hard yet, but handling is much better due to all of the factors you'd expect (wider tire, lower/stiffer sidewall, UHP A/S, etc.).
In my test drive of the OBXT, handling was already better than the the stock FXT due to the tires, lower cog and maybe suspension(?). I confirmed from a few different Forester owner's that 225/55/17's would fit, so be careful about going with a 235. Any OB owner's done that yet? Do you have much room around the struts?
-Dennis
The OB XT already handles great on the RE-92A tires, in fact it's better than I ever expected. Unfortunately, the tires are very noisy on the highway, especially on concrete surfaces. They make a "boing" noise over sharp bumps, and it strings into a continuous hum over 65mph or so, as the tire reacts to grainy surfaces. Don't ask me how I know this, but the tires are silent on grass at the same speeds, so it's definitely some interaction with the road surface causing the noise.
So my tire priorities are 1) quieter than RE-92A, and 2) no appreciable loss in handling compared to the RE-92A. In the 225/55-17 size, unfortunately choices are limited. I could go to a grand touring tire like the Bridgestone Turanza for quietness, but would expect handling to degrade. I could go to the Pilot A/S for better handling, but it sounds like the noise might be worse.
I guess the noise issue is hard to peg -- while the Pilot A/S may have more tread noise, if it eliminates the "boing" noise it may be quieter overall.
Craig
Prodrive is working on an adjustable suspension and including the Forester. They will soon be expanding their products for the Forester, as well as creating some new items.
Another area that SoA is missing out on. At least they're making small steps with the SPT Forester line. They need a sway bar though and maybe stiffer springs that don't lower the ground clearance. I expect 17's to be offered as an option for '06 now that I bought some
elsewhere. :-)
-Dennis
They are louder than either the Geos or the SP5000s, but frankly I don't notice their noise as much on the FXT as I did on the S. A combination of exhaust note and turbo whine drown them out a bit I guess.
IMO they handle better than a lot of dedicated summer performance tires in the dry, and their wet performance is far and away the best I've experienced to date.
One reason I went with a performance A/S as a summer tire is that I often see varying road conditions as well as weather conditions. Pennsylvania has notoriously bad paved roads, where pavement types vary often in very short stretches and are punctuated by potholes as often as not. (That's one reason I wouldn't dream of slamming my Forester and shoeing it with dedicated dry-type rubber.) My Foresters, particularly the S, have seen more gravel than most. The S even saw a little dirt and mud, though the XT hasn't yet. Now I find out via Dennis that the PS A/S are good in the sand as well!
Combine the improvements in handling and the high treadwear rating and (again IMO) they offset the noise and admittedly high price.
Ed
More info on the RacingBrake Caliper Testing....
They are HP+ pads which I've used extensively with the Subaru 4-pot calipers as well as the Subaru 2-pot calipers. The noise actually occurs after warmup.
After 4hrs of testing on friday we figured out it was likely a combination of a few items. Mostly it was due to the SS Shims provided by the caliper manufacturer that didn't work very well with our setup. This combined with a slightly taper wear previously on the rotors produced the horrible sqeel. The HP+ pads still squeel slightly but no where near what they did initially and are normal to slightly less than HP+ combined with the Subaru 4-pot calipers.
RacingBrake owner and Chief engineer is working on special shims for the HP+ pads that will actually quiet them down. RacingBrake actually made some of the first shims in the industry back in the early 80s but stopped making them when cheaper parts started being produced overseas for them.
Cool thing about the company is they are small and totally into customer service, where else could a small reseller/racer get one on one sessions with the manufacturer for testing and R&D? I'll hopefully have some pics up later tonight.
I also convinced them to bring their 350z that has special calipers they designed to move them out further and allow a 2-piece larger rotor to fit under them out to the NASA-NE track day at Limerock on Monday Nov 8. Ken from Racingbrake will be driving it in the Novice group and I'll be driving it in the Instructor group. Pretty excited to get some track time with a different car especially one with RWD
-mike
-juice
In the Watkins Glen Garage Area:
For more pics go to "Installs/Pics" on the http://AZPInstalls.com home page.
-mike
~c
What's that red paint on there? Were you trying to cover a label, or was that an "oops" caliper that the sponsor provided?
-juice
I'll second that!
Ed
Owen
Ken
Cheers Pat.
-mike
They tend to look very gourdy [sp] on aluminum without a flat undercoat.
-Dave
-mike
Kewl.
-juice
I just figured the coloring was meant to imitate Brembo.
Ed
-mike
http://www.accusump.com
Eric
Anyway, no need for an accusump in a car that only sees normal street use. I wouldn't even bother in autocross personally, but hey, maybe someone would. I have seen them on Prepared class autocross cars but they have GT-sized slicks.
~c
-mike
I live in east tennessee which has lots of mountain roads. Assuming I'm traveling 80-85 up the mountain and down it I travel at least that fast without having much throttle input due to the steep grade. Because of the short gearing, my speed is revving the engine instead of the throttle input.
And it was my understanding that throttle input controlled the oil pressure. So in this case, would not my engine be underlubricated?
Eric
Am I right?
Eric
Craig
~c
-mike
Good luck on your other projects
Eric
Eric
Subaru actually sells the adapter that screws in place of the plug so you can install a gauge.
Looking down at the front of the motor under the alternator you will see the oil pressure switch,this is the front of the oil gallery.
Go straight back to the firewall end and you locate the plug you have to remove,but be warned it is a royal PITA to remove the plug and install the adapter and sender due to limited access.
This where I mounted the gauges the other gauge is a voltmeter.
 
Cheers Pat.
Eric
The adapter was only about ten bucks from a Subaru dealer, I cannot remember the part number but a good parts person should know what you are looking for.
Cheers Pat.
I'm suprised you use them Pat. We've had nothing but trouble and cheaply made parts from autometer. I like VDOs personally.
-mike