Don't worry, you'll change your mind at least 5 dozen times by that time :)

I'll probably get another one too in a few years ;)

I have an NA bugeye impreza lol. No such thanggg as brake boosting.

:(

I legit have no idea why it committed seppuku like that.

On the bright side, the outback sport suspension I swapped over is way nicer than the blown suspension that was on the car earlier. I'm embarrassed just thinking about what this car has cost me over the last 3 years. I keep thinking that the next thing I fix will be it and it keeps laughing at me.

n/a impreza: it doesn't brake, or boost.

It certainly does break though.

Ok, so without replacing my bumper what donor cars provide OEM Subaru HID housings fit my 2004 WRX?

:bigtu:

04-05 sti

in fact, your car had 04 sti hid's on it when I bought it, but had 1 broken tab and I took them off and put the stockers back on. sold the hid's.

Heh.

Sexually Transmitted Infection HIDs worth it with aftermarket capsules and ballasts? Or not worth the expense/effort.

Maybe I'll just polish the stockers and get gooder bulbs. I've been doing a lot more night driving recently, and I realized the URABUS is the only car I own that still has stock headlights. :rofl:

Subaru-folks, I'm helping my elderly dad shop for a new used car could use some Subaru schooling. I think an outback wagon could meet most of his needs (AWD for long, snowy MN driveway, slightly higher than a normal sedan to ease entry and exit, and better highway mileage than a full-size SUV) but I don't know much about their reliability. Based upon cost, I'm looking at mid 2000s models with 100K+ miles. How far can I expect one of these to go without serious problems? I saw a couple of pages back where 18 psi said that Outbacks are among the most problematic of Subaru models but that 07+ are better than 05-06. Thoughts? Alternatives include slightly older Acura MDX, Rav 4, RX 300, Jeep Cherokee, etc. Thanks.

Those years and with that much mileage, and you better be prepared to do a ton of maint and even major repairs. I'd guess a rx or mdx would both be much more reliable in that age and mileage range.

Someone in the office just called me and said my car was sitting in the parking lot "hissing and leaking something." Expecting coolant I walked down to check it out and there was a stick hanging out of the lower opening of the nose of the WRX. I don't know where this stick came from, the car certainly wasn't making any noises when I drove it in this morning. Looks like the the A/C condenser is venting oil and refrigerant from around the stick.

Fuck.

I mean, I guess it could be worse? Denso branded condenser is $67 on RockAuto and I already have an A/C O-Ring kit. I guess I just need to find an A/C service manifold set? Maybe buy an A/C service vacuum pump. /sigh

Anyone ever replaced one of these things? I'm trying to decide if I should replace anything else while I have the system vented. The condenser looks like it comes with a dryer, maybe replace expansion valve? I'm better at removing A/C systems than repairing them. :giggle:

No need to do the expansion valve. Do the drier, o rings, and condenser and you'll be good, unless there's something URABUS-specific that should be looked at.

Oh, and for reliability, RX > MDX. No need for valve adjusts, and that Toyota engine is bulletproof.

Yes all orings. Those valves do fail every so often on wrx's but there's really no lifespan so it's hard to say. It's usually replace it if it fails situation

You guys think that condenser comes with the dryer as pictured? Maybe I'll hedge my bets and order one anyway. The Denso dryer is out of stock, but they have a couple other ones and they are like ~$12.

I appreciate the feedback, don't let anyone say you aren't a mensch.

Anyone have an A/C gauge manifold set they can recommend?

It definitely should. At least every single one I ever ordered came with one.
Around here I have an AC guy that for $50 will pump out old stuff, vacuum test, and refill your system. Maybe there's someone like that in your parts. If not, I've had decent luck refilling with one of those walmart/parts store all-in-one refillers with the gauge, fitting, fluid, and oil all in 1 bottle.

Oh, so that's why cylinder 1 was misfiring so badly on my FXT.

Attachment 236994

The Denso condenser showed up this weekend (yay!) but it rained, and then I didn't get a chance to follow up. I've got a ton of life stuff 'getting in the way' right now. lol.

What I need to find somebody who can suck all the old oil out of the system, not just vent the refrigerant so they can resell it to someone else. I'm about 80% sure that's all the guy did the last time I had an AC system drained (on the Miata) before I removed it. Got oil EVERYWHERE.

Oh man, THAT. SUCKS. Sorry to see that, but I guess at least that didn't chunk out didn't start wandering around the cylinder? What's the root cause? Injector issue maybe?

I’m going to guess age (189k) and a bad injector. The car seemed to struggle relearning idle when I’d reset the ECU, stalling at times on the first day after a reset. That went away when I replaced injectors in an effort to troubleshoot. I should have checked compression soonest, numbers were 90,120,120,120.

Anyway, I’m paying someone to pull the head and replace valves on the 1/3 bank. In the meantime I went out and bought a minivan and I’ll have to decide whether to sell the Forester or keep it as a backup/fun winter beater.

if you plan to keep it, I would never just replace what's broken but actually refresh the whole thing

I wish I had the cash to do that. In all likelihood, the car will go up on Craigslist to fund a set of snow tires and wheels for the van.