Greetings from the Pacific Northwest - EAST! Slush and Ice

[gwoiler]

Just joined this forum. I am a new Subaru buyer. Just bought a 1996 outback Wagon off ebay for my daughter. I have been in Volvo's for many years and this is my first experience with a Subaru. My mom buys a new Lagacy wagon every three years. I had to pick up the car in New Jersey and drive it back home to north of Spokane. 2850 miles or so. Car ran great over the snow and icy roads of Montana. My turbo Volvo 850 wagon is more fun to drive though. but as we think about replacing my wife's aging toyota pickup, we are now thinking about getting her in to a 98 or so outback wagon. Today is the second day my daughter has her car and she ran off the road! We have slushy - Icy back roads and we are 1.5 miles from pavement. So, she now knows an Outback with summer tires slides on slippery roads. :) It was a slow slide backing down a slight hill. Girls!

Question: The wheels on this car are corroded around the edges and some paint is coming off. What can I use to get rid of the corrosion and also remove the paint and lastly... what paint to re-paint with? How can I find out if this car is equiped with keyless entry? Just got 1 key with car.

[Reason]

Welcome, I'm not sure about the keyless, maybe you can get a key from a suby Dealer. As for paint for the rims, just sand them down. I used engine paint on my CRX steel rims. That was my work/winter car. 2 years of beating the shit out of it and the rims looked as good as the day I sprayed them.

[gwoiler]

So I should sand on the corrosion also? These are alluminum wheels. Not as nice looking as later years like 98. Would Naval Jelly for alluminum work on these wheels to get rid of the corrosion?

Thanks

[Reason]

If it's safe on aluminum it should work. I never done that before.

[Huffer]

Welcome!

You can media blast the corrosion off the rims - alternatively just pick up a replacement set of WRX rims and match with tires appropriate to the correct speedometer (wheel diameter).

Keyless entry - if you have it pre-installed, you'll find a black module box under the drivers dash.

[Plays_with_Toys]

I slid off the road last week too. 30mph, right side of car sank in softer snow and pulled me off. Luckily slowed by then.

For what its worth, I had an 87 toyota pickup with a 22R, and my subaru wagon is leaps and bounds better both in comfort and 4WD capability. Granted, I could get over much larger obstacles in the truck, but even with weight in the back, it wouldn't plant what little power the toyotas make to the ground.

As for the wheels, I used duplicolor wheel paint on some oxidized aluminum truck wheels with a polished lip and it worked great! I sanded it down and scuffed up the polished lip and sprayed. The finish is really nice for a rattle can (with flecks and everything). How to remove corrsion is beyond me, I would just use sandpaper and a file.

[d1giPhux]

This is the basics of what you will want to do with the rims :

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/ ... shing.html (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/6144/DSM_Home/Wheel_Finishing/wheel_finishing.html)

Aircraft aluminum stripper works for any chipping clear coat / paint. And then just sand sand sand sand till your arm hurts.. then polish, and clear coat!

[gwoiler]

For what its worth, I had an 87 toyota pickup with a 22R, and my subaru wagon is leaps and bounds better both in comfort and 4WD capability. Granted, I could get over much larger obstacles in the truck, but even with weight in the back, it wouldn't plant what little power the toyotas make to the ground.
Our Toyota truck is a 1986. It has some pretty good size rust holes in the bed. I have wanted to take off the bed and custom build a wooden flatbed for it since I have a band saw mill and lots of trees. But that would be more wieght than the orriginal bed I think. Springs are sagging fairly well. but I had the 22R engine rebuilt a few years ago and it runs like a champ. Its only carburated. But for the first time in years, the wife is re-thinking this and is liking her daughters Outback! over her dream of a Tahoma.
Thanks d1giPhux I copied the directions and will do that this spring.