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What did you do with your 4th Gen Outback today?

2M views 7K replies 1K participants last post by  denverandy 
#1 ·
I Rain-Xed the windshield (Actually, I got carried away and put Rain-X on all the windows)

I put ScotchGuard on all the seats and carpet.

I removed this warning sticker that proves the car is Japanese:


I discovered that the visors are too thick to clip my garage remote on, so I used Velcro to attach it next to the parking brake:


This afternoon, I'm going to stop by the window tint place to see if they can tint the driver and front passenger windows to match the rest of the windows.

If I have time, I'm going to remove the fog lights and paint the silver black.
 
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#3,937 ·
#3,939 ·
What gives with this pic? You are in the middle of the desert, parked on dirt. Yet your Outback almost looks like it was just detailed. Except for a couple spots, even your tires look clean.

You are right when you say, this is what a Subaru is meant for. But when I do that, my Outback is covered in dust.

How did you do that?
 
#3,935 ·
I changed out the high beam bulb today...it followed the other one by just a few weeks. it was not yet blown but had dimmed quite a bit, was blistered and on its way out. Not bad...they lasted about four years. They are Philips HIR1 bulbs...good life on them...impressed. Now I am just waiting for the low beams to go...that will be a PIA to change.
 
#3,941 ·
Installed TorkLift Stealth 2"

Weekend project, took my time and got it on perfectly, even took lots of pictures. Really liking the TorkLift Stealth hitch.
Removed lights, bumper cover and bar, muffler and heat shield. With everything out of the way install was easy.
 

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#3,948 ·
Weekend project, took my time and got it on perfectly, even took lots of pictures. Really liking the TorkLift Stealth hitch.
Removed lights, bumper cover and bar, muffler and heat shield. With everything out of the way install was easy.

Was the electrical unit already there? I'm looking to do the same but wondering if I need to get ready for electrical work.
 
#3,942 ·
Took the car into Subaru for an oil change and have them check out the starter. Found out the starter drive is going out, so they are ordering a new one. Cool thing is it is covered on my Route 66 extended warranty.

Also, a fog light has already gone out on my wife's Crosstrek (2014), and part of the rear defroster grid stopped working. The dealer is now going to replace the whole back window under warranty. Now both cars have to go back to be fixed.....fun fun.
 
#3,945 ·
Installed a Kensun HID kit and LED position lights. Used the DIY guide to do it and also took the recommendation to aim the lights down a touch. Look good, works well, and I haven't been flashed at. I'd like to do something with the turn signals, but my lights have an amber lens in them. Not much I can do there, I'm afraid. Sorry for the lousy cell phone pic. :rolleyes:

 
#3,946 ·
Hauled 500 lbs. of paver sand in the back. Makes the back end sag and turning gets sloppy.

Of course it's expected! :) found out my neighbor is selling their small tent trailer and I'd need to find out its dry weight to see if the OB could handle it, but if it could, I may pull the trigger. Would need to install a hitch too. And eventually new rear springs to handle the load!
 
#3,950 ·
Ditto to what BHopkins said. In my case I ordered the harness from TorkLift, it is truly plug and play. There is a rubber plug in the spare tire well, I just put a slice in mine and pushed the connector thru so it's under the car about an inch or so. The connector has a cover. The excess wire I kept in the well next to the tire so I can pull out what I need to hook up. I prefer that way over closing the door on it, ymmv.
 
#3,952 ·
Got my 2013 Outback Limited about 2 years ago brand new. Last week I decided it's time to start tinkering with it. K&N filter went in after I bought it. 19mm RSB went in the other day. Exterior LEDs (except Hi, Lo, and Fog) ordered up. Interior LEDs ordered up. HIDs from DDM on their way as well. I'm still in the air about which way to go with horns (Stebel or Hella). Also going to have some fun with Plastidip.
 
#3,958 ·
The driver's side headlight finally went out. I could tell it was dim, but didn't notice it was out until I saw the reflection in a store window over the weekend. I ended up going in through the wheel well. It looks like this was not the first time the light has been changed, since the windshield washer lines were popped out of the white clip and the push buttons were gone on the liner. Also, when I was peeling back the liner it ripped in 2 places :O

Now I will have to use some kind of rubberized tape or stitch it back together once it warms up.



 
#3,959 ·
Drove thru some serious wind drifting snow (whiteout zero visibility) and subzero F cold this past weekend in Upstate NY. The winter wheels/tires were worth every penny as we zipped around stranded and spun out cars on I-390 and some back roads as we shuttled back and forth between Rochester and Geneseo.

Issues:

That OEM battery has to go. It cranked so weakly at -10'F that my wife was freaking out that it wasn't going to start. Sad after only 17 months.

I'm assuming it was more the slush & then deep freeze than my aftermarket wheels, but I had to pull off the road at one point and use a wooden brush handle to remove the buildup from between spokes and around the brake disks. The tire balance was so off that the car was jumping down the road.

I'm rethinking the OEM mudflaps. Again, it required removal of the packed snow/slush/ice that stopped me from being able to negotiate parking lot turns. Yes, it was that packed. I think I was shaving the tires, and not the buildup on some tight turns.

Black interiors suck in the land of white salt. The old OB with it's tan interior never looked like this.

I had trouble with properly closing the rear hatch and getting it to latch in the extreme cold. And unfortunately with the trim covering the retaining hardware, it's not easy to adjust the striker plate, as I've had to do on other vehicles. Pulling off plastic is not what you want to do at these temps.

Otherwise, she was a fine foul weather companion.
 
#3,960 ·
OEM battery is only in the 350CCA range - way too weak for continual starts in such cold weather. Heck, my 3 year old outback struggled to start in 15 degrees after work the other day. Optima yellow tops fit and they're above 600CCA, will look into that next - get them for free with my fishing sponsorships anyways.

Regarding the black interior, I look at it as a good thing. Yes it shows more, but that makes it easier to actually clean. But, I'm kind of a clean freak haha
 
#3,970 ·
Yeah the handle broke on Sunday and it finally dawned on me to cut that in half. My daughters car seat doesn't come out often, I keep camping chairs, a crate for dog stuff, and a foam pad for naps in the corner held down with bungees. The passenger side rear seat and trunk area stays flat for my dog. Every now and then I need something out of that cargo area. It was a pain lifting everything up, now it works. Don't really care about the resale value. That would be like keeping my d@!I vacuum sealed at all times. I tend to use things...
 
#3,972 ·
Here's the last two weeks summed up:
-Got a Stebel Nautilus compact installed. LOUD. Higher pitched than I would have liked, but it will serve it purpose and then some.
-Full interior LED swap completed using the Autogoody set from ebay.
-Full exterior LED swap completed (except highs, lows, and fogs). All exterior bulbs were purchased form Diode Dynamics. I will be exchanging the turn signals and brake/stop lights for the next level of brightness. I started with the bottom level and they are perfect at night, but since the sun finally came out I noticed the turn signals are a little washed out in bright daylight.
-35w 5000K HIDs from DDM tuning installed in the lows and the fogs. That's a huge difference. Hopefully I won't have to adjust the level as the cutoff was even when I compared the drivers side HID to the stock passenger side. Also, they're not as bright or as high as the crazy stock LED setup on the wife's Acura MDX.
 
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