REPLACING THE HEADLAMPS ON A 2004 SUBARU OUTBACK - TECHNICIAN'S GUIDE

Since "changing the temperature sensor on my 2004 Subaru" has come to be the 5th most popular post, I thought showing you how to change the headlamps would be of interest. The lenses are plastic and over time become milky and opaque. This appears to be a common occurrence for most new cars, as the bulb itself is no longer external and made of glass, but rather is a high intensity bulb within an enclosure.

The first step was cost feasibility. The suggestion that cleaners are available to restore the original appearance of a plastic lamp. The cost for a new lamp alone without replacing the housing?

I headed over to www.rockauto.com and looked up replacement lights. Wow, for $40 each, new headlamp enclosures with bulbs. I order one for each side. Here is my car with the new sitting on top of the old:

The new ones are an exact replica of the originals.

There are three screws holding the lamps in place, as well as three electrical connectors.

One screw is a sharpie in that its pointed. The other two in the front are more like bolts.

Images of where the bolts are located:

Remove those and the three electrical connectors and you have this - note how dull and opaque the old lamp is:

Putting the new lamp assembly into place requires a small amount of finesse.  It's actually simple... first plug in the two outside electrical connectors. You'll plug the inner one in last. Then slide the outside edge of the lamp inward as if along a track. That will leave you with the inside edge of the lamp caught against a metal-post, which with a little finagling you will get past.

The result... brand new front headlamps! Total cost around $80. Total time? 1/2 hour or less.

2004 SUBARU OUTBACK - BODY WORK - AMATEUR STYLE

Updated Sept. 27, 2014

I am an amateur when it comes to body work on a car. I've never shied away from doing it; sometimes I do better than other times. A lot depends upon what part of the body needs to be repaired and how? I've never worked at a body-shop. I was an auto tech, not a body specialist. Still, given the interest in changing my temperature sensor, I thought some body work as an encore would be appropriate.

In most way modern day Subaru's since the late 1990's are a great car. Like any car there are problem areas. Seems Subaru doesn't have many, but one obvious problem is that the rear fenders tend to rust out:

This is my car before I started the repairs. I had sprayed some silver paint on the rust to make it less obvious, but you can see how bad it is.

Here is a close-up:

 

The other side is only starting to rust. This is the side that I need to repair. If for no other reason than it wouldn't pass inspection.

I begin by grinding as much of the bad, rusted metal away as is necessary. Then I swab it with gun bluing acid.

It doesn't take long to dry. But here is where one has some serious choices to make. One can probably buy the body panel. It would cost a lot I'm sure, and the labor would be a lot also. One could weld metal onto the area. It would take additional time preparing the area to be welded, and getting those curves would take talent, which I don't have. 

What about Bondo? Auto-body filler? Well those are some seriously large holes. Spray-in foam? That would trap moisture - no good. My choice is to spray the area with primer and use fiberglass.

Looks messy. It is, sort of. Actually you cut the fiberglass mat to size, mix up the resin with the hardener, and paint the mat on with a throw away paint brush. I probably should have used epoxy first to glue the mat in place - More work and also messy, but provides a much better bond to the metal.

Now we use the auto-body filler. Sorry, no pictures of that part. I was to occupied trying to fill all the holes. To get it smooth; involved a lot of sanding, refilling with filler.

I ordered the factory matched paint online. So here we have it. It'll pass inspection; I doubt I'll get a very good grade in auto-body repair. I think it looks worse in the picture than it does looking at it. Of course it'll weather. It'll fade and blend.It won't rust to quickly. And it's better than it was.

UPDATE: After another day and a half work I improved on the final product:

MANIFESTO _ WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?

EDITED JULY 24, 2014 8PM

We've heard enough in the news lately about mass murderers writing manifestos, alleged violent ones filled with hatred.

What struck me the most was the young man in CA recently who was distraught being rejected by his women peers. 

His actions defined by his "manifesto" were very extreme.

I'd say it's quite fair to say a majority of us young men (and even as we age) have dealt with plenty of rejection. One wins some, loses some. Yes, it's extremely frustrating. It hurts sometimes, sometimes very much. Seems like some guys have discovered a secret though, is that true? What's the secret many want to know.

Is it getting frustrated and angry to the point of beating people or worse, shooting and killing people?

Before I tell you the "secret", and yes, I know it; I did a search on the internet for what a manifesto was, as I was curious - I have a BA in English and I've only heard the term a few time in an historical context. I discovered there are lots of sources for what manifestos are, however I felt this explanation from Wiki-How best summed it up:

[A] "manifesto is a statement of your intentions, which can consist of only a few words or many pages of text. Its scope may be limited to a particular role or period of your life, or include your goals and aspirations for your entire life. Many people find it useful to compose a manifesto, believing that such a document will help guide them in making decisions and keep them focused on their goals. Manifestos are traditionally written by those with political aspirations, but anyone can write a personal manifesto for his or her life."

It does not say that murderers write manifestos. Anyone can write manifestos and they may be beneficial.

Okay, the secret about women:

Maybe there are many secrets and this is simply one that I learned in my early 20's.

Women are people. Yeah just like us guys! Yes, there are differences, but I would like you to stop and consider for a moment what I just said.

Women are people.

At an elemental level people accept and reject people. We made decisions. We make friends. We make enemies. Some people we get along with and others we don't. Some we are friends with, others we are intimate with. And within that tiny framework are millions upon millions of innuendos.  It's a wonder any of us get along, but were social as a society; may not trust other societies, but that's for another time.

Fact is, life is difficult, and relationships with the sex of we sway to can be very frustrating indeed!

But one od fact I've discovered... women in general like sex also, just like us men, some more, some less. Being a friend can make both people very happy too. And there's a misconception born from an unwritten analysis of relationship between the sexes, and black and white thinking, that people (when it comes to relationships) are either friends or intimate, but not both. And that is far from true.

All sorts of possibilities exist. Friends can become lovers, lovers friends. It's not weird, and more than that, the other person may never want anything to do with you again... that is not weird nor out of the ordinary either.

The secret is talking to a woman, creating a rapport. Enjoy yourself, be true, and flirting is allowed and encouraged, but do try to be subtle at first. Adjust yourself with both the other person's words and body language. Touch when it feels appropriate, but back-off for a time if it's shunned. And don't forget, if you really are itching to "get somewhere and you think the other person may be also, you can simply ask - "would you like to have sex?"

Just be ready for the answer.

Most times it seems some men just have the worst luck. But we really don't. We all have a roller coaster of luck.

If you feel you can't make choices... call a therapist. Most insurance covers a psychologist.

To kill people for rejection and then have a "manifesto" waved in the public's face, deludes the public. Writing a manifesto is a positive thing. A couple of bad apples doesn't spoil the crop! And there are sick, really sick people out in the world. They don't have to be - or stay sick. Options other than killing and hurting people are available.

Manifestos are words, important to some, but still words. Actions where people are hurt are more than words, and in a society as modern as ours there's no reason for violence of any kind. Yes, the "manifestos" of killers can yield insight into there minds. My reason for writing this post is that writing a manifesto doesn't mean or make you the killer type. Manifestos can be good to write and lead to a peaceful, prosperous life without harming others while getting there.