Shifty

Found it on fleabay classifieds. Had a 500 mile round trip to view it but got the seller to send plenty of pics beforehand. He wanted £4200 but I knocked him down as it needed an exhaust and all the wheels have snow chain damage which he forgot to mention. Cost me £700 for a custom stainless exhaust from longlife.co.uk (subaru wanted nearly £1800 for a stock exhaust) and the wheels are going in for a professional refurb costing £400 for all five when I can get to the shop. Also spent half an hour per side polishing the headlamp lenses as they had started to go cloudy. £12 for the polish kit and they came up like new. Much cheaper than new lamps. I've done about 5k miles with no issues and it drives lovely. One last job is to change the front control arm bushes as they have a slight knock on bumpy roads but they are only £40 a pair and an hours work when I can be bothered. Happy days.

I picked up a one owner 05 auto Outback 2.5 with full dealer history and 80k miles for £3k. Its virtually immaculate and only the alloys let it down as they are all damaged from snow chains. It has full leather and all the extras. Went for the Outback as already mentioned they are a lot of car for not much money and the extra ground clearance is useful. Forester would not fit in my garage as it has a low ceiling. It drives and handles very well and is super comfy on long trips. Large boot also fits all our crap so no need to sit with stuff on your lap for family holidays. Also has oodles of space when the rear seats are folded its almost like a small van.

It sure would if they were that knackered but methinks you would have noticed other symptoms and various noises before then. I was given this tip by an old school mechanic and it worked on my Volvo T4. Apparently it works because the wheel is hanging and extends the splines inside the CV and by pulling ithe wheel it sometimes moves just enough to jiggle any grit or metal filings alowing the balls to seat properly. It is a temporary fix as the iCV probably has grit inside causing the balls to stick and wear excessively. What have you got to lose? You may get another few months or even years out of the CV before it wears too much and needs changing.

Might have to order another one as she's hidden it from me.

Happy days. Got my T shirt yesterday. Not so good news - my old lady has knicked it. Thanks for chasing Gambit.

Got my pack a month ago but still no shirt ?

My other motor is a TD5 Defender 90 remapped to 180 bhp running 21psi boost with alisport intercooler and Alive tuning stainless exhaust. Disco 4 front brakes.

Reset poxy P0420 error code for the fourth time this week

Mine averages 26mpg with me driving and nearly 30mpg when the Doris borrows it.

Consider changing the water pump when they do the cambelt it sits behind the timing belt which will already be off.

No worries. Cost me nowt. Its what being a member is all about

Thanks mate. It did say Ts and Mugs to follow but summer is running out and I need to go posing lol.

Hi guys. Got my stickers, discount card, and welcome pack, but still waiting patiently for my T shirt. Cheers Shifty aka Steve

Either get a mirror or crawl into the drivers footwell and look up. It should be somewhere near the bonnet release. Even though I know where mine is I still have to !Removed! about to plug my code reader in. It will be there somewhere.

Found this while surfing last night. Seems quite comprehensive. http://opposedforces.com/parts/

Once you work out where the various bolts and plastic rivets are located its a doddle. Took me an hour but now I know how I could do it in ten minutes. The hardest bolts to get to are the ones up under the rear wheel arches behind the plastic splash panels. There are also two bolts (one each side) that are accessible through the round access plugs inside the boot space. Other than that its not a hard job and you only need very basic tools.

Sorry for the delayed response. They had the motor for about 50 mins. Told me exactly what they had looked for and also did an underbody inspection while they were at it pointing out my slightly worn front ARB bushes which I already knew about. The actual recall problem was not present on mine which is nice.

My motor went in to Bell & Coleville for the recall inspection and all is well. They did a full inspection underneath the car and just gave me an advisory on slightly worn front anti roll bar bushes which I already suspected due to the occassional bump from underneath. As for the actual recall issue no problems. Sorted.

Got my stickers and discount card. Thanks. Just waiting to go posing in my T shirt when it arrives.

Although I got it on fleabay Nov last year it was from their ebay shop which no longer seems to exist. Their website is http://www.aircontopup.com/ However their prices seem to have gone up during the hot weather :( You can get some for about £20 but they dont come with a pressure gauge which means it is easy to overcharge the system. In the case of aircon refrigerant more is not always better. The compressor will cycle on/off continuously and cooling will be pants.

Just done regas myself on my Outback. Nice and easy job with instant results. Got the regas kit on fleabay for £29.99 delivered including the charging hose and pressure gauge. Now my old lady is complaining its toooooooo cold. :) Happy days.

It really is easier than it sounds. Plenty of how-tos on youtube which may explain things better than me. I just like having a bash myself before splashing the cash. Stripped and rebuilt my first engine when I was 14. Gearbox shortly after that. Only way I could keep my beloved Escort Mexico on the road all them years ago. Wish I'd kept it as I'd be minted now. They go for silly money even for a shed these days.

Easy way to check compressor runs is to disconnect the power cable and apply 12v so the compressor clutch operates. If you hear a loud clacking then it is working. If the engine is running when you do this the compressor should turn when voltage applied. Next find the aircon gas pressure switch and disconnect it. If the system is low on gas then it stops the compressor turning. The connector will have four wires. You need to short out one of the two opposing pairs to fool the system into thinking it has enough gas pressure. Imagine the wires are located north south east and west on the connector you need to short either north and south or east and west and the compressor should kick in if all fuses are OK. One of the pairs is the coolant temp and shorting them mimics coolant overheat so the compressor wont spin. If the compressor still wont spin then check the aircon relays. Once you are happy its not an electrical or compressor problem you are ready to regas. Find the low side connector which on my Outback is next to the bulkhead with an "L" on the dust cap. The regas hose wont fit the high side as it is slightly bigger. Follow the instructions on the can. Basically purge the connecting hose, connect it, add gas with the engine running and air con set to max. If the compressor is running then good, if not it will kick in once the pressure gets to about 20psi. You are looking for a stable pressure of 25-45psi low side. Dont go above 45psi under any circs. Assuming you dont have a major leak it should take about 10-15 mins for the low side to stabilise with the compressor running. Turn the compressor off and the pressure should gradually start to climb towards 90psi. This is normal so dont panic. Restart the compressor and check the pressure. Once it stabilises somewhere between 25-45psi you are done and should have ice cold air coming from the air vents. Disconnect the regas can and fit the dust cap. Just a warning if you do manage to connect the regas can to the high side it will likely go pop if the compressor kicks in as most aircon systems run at 250-300psi high side. Also wear gloves and eye protection as the gas will freeze skin and eyeballs virtually instantly if spilt. I'm no expert so as in all things you do this at your own risk should you decide to have a go. It sounds more scary than it really is though.

Did mine myself. Hardest bit was working out how the rear bumber was held on then getting the !Removed! connectors undone. After that it only took half an hour to bolt everything on and connect the plug and play loom.

Yes mate got this one and it works just fine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390665706953?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Just been playing and am a happy bunny.