SteveM

Upper shock tower front stress bar for a 2005-2009 Subaru Legacy or Outback (non-turbo, GT or XT).

This one is NOT Cusco but it's the same design - oval tube, tig welded. Bolts onto the shock towers with no modifications.

Will clear the air box on a non-turbo and looks like it will clear the intercooler on the turbo models.

5 minute bolt on with no mods needed.

$50

Local pickup in the Bridgeport CT area.

Thanks, Humble Rumble. Just the information I needed (although not what I was hoping).

Steve

I don't want to get into a shouting match over what is or isn't an emergency brake or why I don't like the pushbutton brake or how you can hold the button down to stop the car. None of that is relevant to this discussion.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm defining emergency brake as a brake you can use to stop the car in a controlled manner by modulating it, as in a handbrake.

I'm defining the push button brake system currently being used on the gen5 cars as a parking brake.

Now, here's the question.

Has anyone retrofitted a handbrake to a gen5 car?

Steve

So, I thought I had this radio thing licked. Turned out not.

Pulled the wires out again, and the other one was broken (one was power the other was ground doesn't work well if the electrons can't make the round trip).

Patched them by running pair of wires all the way from the body to the hatch with all the joints in the body and hatch, not in the boot.

Now that it's all back together, still having reception problems. CBS newsradio, one of the most powerful AM stations, and one I have gotten from Rhode Island, is just static 50 miles away from NYC, FM reception is bad with only a couple of stations available.

So, that leaves one wire left - the coax.

I noticed that the sheath on the coax was broken and some of the shield was frayed, but not completely disconnected. I could not tell if the center conductor was broken and I'm not sure how I could test it, short of pulling the radio out of the dash and checking continuity.

Has anyone spliced in a new section of coax?

What kind of coax is this? It's not the stuff used in TV or CB radios.

Where would I get a piece?

Steve

Just spliced together the wire to the antenna amplifier in my '05 wagon.

Haven't had radio reception for a while and decided it was time to fix it.

Clean break in the wire, spliced in a new piece and shoved the joints into the body and the hatch so that only the new piece will see bending.

Steve

Its more common on the right side then the left but does happen on the left too.

My radio reception has degraded substantially in the last month or so, so I guess my left side is going as well.

Steve

I sure hope all you guys are going to the NHTSA web site and filing complaints. At some point, it's got to trigger an inquiry by NHTSA.

Go here:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects

and click the "file a complaint" icon on the right.

Steve

Anyone care to email me pictures or an invoice of their repair? My documentation is grossly minimal, and I have not responded yet.

Do not send in someone else's documentation. If they see a duplicate, they will think it's not legit and you could have TWO complaints invalidated.

On top of that, it could be a federal crime to falsify documentation.

Just tell them what you have and what you did. If you don't know the answer to a question, then say that you don't know.

Steve

I called the dealer and they said no warranty or recall.

BTW, if you are going to repair it, take a picture first.

I just got an email from NHTSA asking for a picture of the broken wires or the repair invoice.

Unfortunately, I didn't grab a pic before I fixed it.

Steve

I submitted my report. I see a bunch of others there too.

How easy is it to change the harness?

I assume that there are two harnesses, one on each side.

Steve

My alarm goes on as soon as I close the drivers door, even with the hatch up, indicating that it doesn't know the hatch is opened.

Came here to post a question on the hatch switch and found this.

Have to go check my wires when I get home.

Thanks for the color-code chart!

Steve