[Ahowe125]

Hey all, I got bored and figured I would put up a thread about my car. Its my daily driver and winter beater, as my summer car is a 1998 Talon TSi AWD. I store that car in the winters and drive my awesome outback.

I can tell you that I sold my 96 Tahoe to get this, and I haven't looked back one day. I have driven 2 winters now, one with all season tires, and one with Firestone winter-force tires, and the cars a tank. I love it.

Well, here are a few pictures I figured I would share for the heck of it.

When I first bought it.

First accessory I picked up for vacation trips, Luggage rack. Its huge!

Got the windows tinted all the way around with 15% shortly after buying it.

On a hunting trip with a few friends, the back end packed down good.

A little unpacked while setting up camp

On the way home with my buddys trophy - a 7x5 Elk rack

My 2012 Spike

My Grandpa's 2012 6-point

Second major accessory - Yakima bike rack for my mountain bike.

My Outback with my Yakima single bike roof rack attached to my factory cross bars, and my buddies 2 bike hitch mounted rack. We took the bikes up to Boyne Mountain here in MI for some biking.

Another hunting trip, just figured it looked cool out in the woods.

My second winter driving the car, I got a deal on gently used Firestone winterforce tires, they were amazing.

And hands down my favorite feature about this car.... Heated seats!!

Pulling my dads trailer to move a queen size bed. It pulled it quite well and had no issues.

Well that's all for now, hope you enjoyed. If your a fellow owner and have any questions about my car let me know. I'll try to stop by and check in when I can.

 

[Ahowe125]

A little history on this car, I bought it with 150k on it, and it was in pretty good shape. No major issues at purchase and I drove it a good year before a few issues started popping up. Nothing major, just needed head gaskets for its second time, lol. According to the private dealer I bought the car from, it had them replaced at a Subaru Dealer at 125k, but I really don't see how they could have gone bad after just another 30-35k. I think it was just a way to sell the car because I knew what I was looking for.

Either way, I tacked the job myself with the use of my dads shop and hoist, and it was a pretty simple 2 day project. The car runs amazing now and I have had no other issues besides maintenance things like brakes and oil changes. It was comforting to know that ALL the timing parts were replaced with the gaskets and It should be good some time.

Fast forward a few years, and at 170k my clutch decided to make some crazy noises at part clutch engagement. After talking with a few transmission techs and having him drive it, he guessed the pilot bearing was toast and his guess was right on the money.

Last week I replaced the Clutch with an Exedy brand replacement we sell here at Napa where I work. I turned the flywheel, replaced the clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing and pilot bearing. The pilot had seized up and was making horrific noises. Then I also found out the throw-out bearing was making noise also. Either way it wasn't too bad and took about 8.5 hours with the help of a few friends and my dads shop with hoist and trans jack. I opted to remove the transmission instead of the motor just because I had the hoist and jack.

Now this weekend I need to button up a few left over things that I didn't have parts for during the first job. The shifter linkage bushings were 100% bad and would not even come out without falling apart. So I have a crazy amount of slop in my shifter assembly. So I ordered a replacement joint that has all the bushing and it should be a simple bolt in project. While I'm there, I'm going to drop the cross member and replace the transmission mount.

I'm also going to replace the gasket in the exhaust, hardware and springs because that is leaking after we removed the exhaust. And almost forgot the clutch fork boot that was dry rotted horribly. But after all that I should be back to stock feel and no more noises.

I love working on these cars, they really are pretty easy.

 

[Ahowe125]

Almost forgot, I just ordered some HID upgrade kits for both my H1 headlights and the 9006 Fog lights. I opted for the 35watt 5000k bulbs for both. I know I know, its a great debate if its "right" to just install an HID bulb with out a projector cut off, but I have done it on my other cars and I'm going to do it to this one as well. As long as your headlight is adjusted properly you wont blind other drivers, I make sure to check them often.

I currently have the Napa Tru-view bulbs, and they are decent, but I want the HID style back that I had in my truck. I'll be sure to post some pictures of how they turn out.

 

[frogsthatmoo]

Good looking outback! Looks oddly familiar

 

[burnout8488]

I know I know, its a great debate if its "right" to just install an HID bulb with out a projector cut off, but I have done it on my other cars and I'm going to do it to this one as well. As long as your headlight is adjusted properly you wont blind other drivers, I make sure to check them often.

It won't be directly in other driver's eyes, but it will glare like crazy. Your beam pattern will be worthless and shoot everywhere. Please get projectors if you are going to do this. We need less cars on the road with HIDs in halogen housings, not more.

 

[papaginos]

I heard when you have HID you need an auto leveling system so you wont blind other drivers.

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

Almost forgot, I just ordered some HID upgrade kits for both my H1 headlights and the 9006 Fog lights. I opted for the 35watt 5000k bulbs for both. I know I know, its a great debate if its "right" to just install an HID bulb with out a projector cut off, but I have done it on my other cars and I'm going to do it to this one as well. As long as your headlight is adjusted properly you wont blind other drivers, I make sure to check them often.

I currently have the Napa Tru-view bulbs, and they are decent, but I want the HID style back that I had in my truck. I'll be sure to post some pictures of how they turn out.

got a link to the HID fog kit?

 

[burnout8488]

I heard when you have HID you need an auto leveling system so you wont blind other drivers.

Technically yes, however an HID-specific projector aimed properly (to DOT spec) is very pleasant to look at

AHowe125, I didn't mean to come off as unbearable in my previous post - I enjoyed looking through the pics :29: Very clean!

 

[Ahowe125]

got a link to the HID fog kit?

DDM Tuning 35W and 55W HID Kits

I like the 35 watt kits because they are not crazy bright like the 55 watt kits. My personal preference is 5000k because it gives it a slight tint of blue, but not stupid like some cars on the road. Between my friends and myself we have easily purchased hundreds if not close to a thousand dollars worth of products from there. For the price you cant beat it. We have had a few bulbs burn out, and a couple ballasts go bad, but the company is pretty good with warranty service if that happens.

 

[Ahowe125]

Technically yes, however an HID-specific projector aimed properly (to DOT spec) is very pleasant to look at

AHowe125, I didn't mean to come off as unbearable in my previous post - I enjoyed looking through the pics :29: Very clean!

Thanks bud, I know its a widely debated topic and once I install them I will see how bad they are in this housing. I gotta believe they will be fine considering our lights have a diffuser and a pretty good cut off from the factory. Even though the light will be brighter it still needs to be directed by the housing. If they are crazy I'll have to check into a projector upgrade in the future. I didnt take any offence and I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. More to come. :29:

Edit: Since you seem to know what your talking about, do you have a source for protector headlights? I don't have the ability to retrofit any type of projector into mine, but if someone had a set for sale I would consider going that route. I looked around on the web but have not really found any. Thanks!

 

[Ahowe125]

Well, I'm not happy to report that Napa (my employer) does not have the correct listing for the transmission mount for the 5MT or the exhaust gasket. I left work yesterday to finish up those last few things, and the mount is totally different. I dont "need" to replace it, but since I had to drop that cross member to get at the shifter joint, I figured why not.

They actually have the same part number listed for both the automatic and the manual. Maybe that should have thrown up the red flag for me, but It didn't. Then on top of that being wrong, the doughnut gasket between the cat pipe and the mid pipe was wrong. It was just a little to large and did not sit flat on the pipe. Then the new spring bolts would not draw in the pipe close enough to seal it up and now it leaks worse then it did. I have to research that one some more and replace it again soon.

But on the plus side, replacing that shift joint was the best thing I could have ever done to the car. It is so tight and shifts like a dream. It had so much slop with out the bushings and now its like brand new. If you have even a little bit of slop this could be the best 45-60 bucks you will ever spend.

Here is a picture of the new next to the old, its hard to tell but that small bushing is all that was left in the old joint. And the spring pins where what held it onto the shaft. It was a strange 2 spring pin setup with one inside the other.

Either way, the car is pretty solid right now, and I cant wait for some snow here in MI to go play around. Then after I play around a bit, I may put my snow tires back on at some point. Its been a strange winter here in MI and we still have not had any measurable snow on the ground.

 

[burnout8488]

Thanks bud, I know its a widely debated topic and once I install them I will see how bad they are in this housing. I gotta believe they will be fine considering our lights have a diffuser and a pretty good cut off from the factory. Even though the light will be brighter it still needs to be directed by the housing. If they are crazy I'll have to check into a projector upgrade in the future. I didnt take any offence and I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. More to come. :29:

Edit: Since you seem to know what your talking about, do you have a source for protector headlights? I don't have the ability to retrofit any type of projector into mine, but if someone had a set for sale I would consider going that route. I looked around on the web but have not really found any. Thanks!

No problem! I don't think I've ever seen an OB with HIDs around these parts but there's a first time for everything.

I use TRS (theretrofitsource.com). Unfortunately there's no way around baking your headlights to open them up and install projectors, but they have some really simple bixenon HID projector kits that look awesome and install great. Bixenon is *so* cool, you get the little solenoid that moves a flap in front of the bulb to change the pattern, controlled by your highbeam switch

 

[Ahowe125]

No problem! I don't think I've ever seen an OB with HIDs around these parts but there's a first time for everything.

I use TRS (theretrofitsource.com). Unfortunately there's no way around baking your headlights to open them up and install projectors, but they have some really simple bixenon HID projector kits that look awesome and install great. Bixenon is *so* cool, you get the little solenoid that moves a flap in front of the bulb to change the pattern, controlled by your highbeam switch

Hey, thanks a lot for that source. I just researched a little bit about the kits and they look pretty easy to install. I may look into doing this in the future. I may try and find a set of lights in the junk yard first and test it out. I'm kinda surprised how easy it looks to install them. Just gotta figure out if the individual projectors will work with my HID's I just ordered.

 

[burnout8488]

Morimoto H1 projector kits come with adapters to fit in nearly any size, but yeah, the bulbs would have to be H1 HID bulbs in order to fit in the bowls...regardless of what the Outback uses.

 

[Ahowe125]

Wow, my thread got featured in the December edition of the Newsletter. How cool! Thanks to whoever makes that decision. I got the email on my phone and was like "look an outback like mine" then I read the title and post and it was mine!

Loved checking out the other featured threads as well. Hope everyone has a great New Year holiday.

 

[dborla01]

glad you have a nice 01 wagon. we bought a new one in summer of 01 and it was a lemon. glad you have a nice one. Darrell

 

[Ahowe125]

glad you have a nice 01 wagon. we bought a new one in summer of 01 and it was a lemon. glad you have a nice one. Darrell

Thanks! Other then having to replace the head gaskets and now the clutch, its been a great car. Its funny that I don't consider those major issues, I guess its just because I have the ability to fix them.

 

[Ahowe125]

After someone asked me about my Intake Mod, I noticed I never posted about it on this thread, so here is a little information about it.

The thread behind the idea.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/38195-02-outback-wagon-intake-mod.html

I basically used the idea behind that fender intake, but omitted the 2" to 3" flexible coupling as it wasn't needed. then I just turned the 2nd 45* PVC elbow towards the stock front piece, and used the extra 2" coupler to connect it. The straight piece was about 10.5 inches long on my setup, it could vary with yours. It took a few times to get the angles lined up right, but it works well. Its crazy how much louder it is from like 2k to 3/4k.

 

[frogsthatmoo]

Did you notice any bumps in MPG? It actually looks really good because my intake is loose as crap and I've thought about redoing it.

 

[Ahowe125]

Did you notice any bumps in MPG? It actually looks really good because my intake is loose as crap and I've thought about redoing it.

Quite honestly, No.

With my commute of 15-20 minutes, which is a mix of 3 quick highways and some light city driving, I get around 19-24 depending on how I drive. 20-22 is pretty normal for me and I did not notice and increase when this was installed.

If anything was gained from this mod, it could be a small increase in throttle response and a lot of noise. I honestly think most normal drivers will not enjoy it. I personally love it.