Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

xwesx · November 2007

This and the timing position sensors are definite possibilities. Another may be the Mass Airflow Sensor (MAS). A good cleaning of the element should make it less sensitive to moisture.

dorishschultz · November 2007

The engine on my 2000 Subaru Outback has recently started running rough. When we opened the hood, sparks were apparent around the wires to the spark plugs. We replaced the wires and the spark plugs. The mechanic then told us that the gaskets needed to be replaced and the ignition coil is cracked. Has anyone had experience with this problem and can share their experience.

Thanks.

xwesx · November 2007

It is a tough call at this point, but it really depends on how much life you think it will give your car, and how long you plan to keep it (independent of the repair). The block repair is going to run you what, about $2200? If you spread that over a couple years, you spent quite a bit less than a new vehicle. If you get 4-6 months along and have another major problem or decide to trade it in, then you would be better just buying now.

Good luck with it, regardless. I have to remember how many miles you said you have on it, but it seems like it was between 120 and 130K. There is, potentially, quite a bit of life left. This is coming from an owner of a 220K mile '96 (and it could have gone for quite a few more).

xwesx · November 2007

To what gaskets was your mechanic referring?

The symptom you describe does sound like the coil is cracked (small plastic box mounted on top of the intake manifold). Those are incredibly easy to replace; I think they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $80. Juice could confirm that, his experience with chipmunks makes him a master of knowledge in this regard... :P

As for the gaskets, that must be another issue. I do not think there are any gaskets involved with the spark delivery.

xwesx · November 2007

Well, I agree that it is never effective to start throwing parts at a car in the hopes of hitting the right one. The codes for the O2 sensors are particularly troublesome because there are so many intertwined possibilities that can result in an oxygen sensor code popping up. Unfortunately, the only way around this is to do physical inspections/testing and to run the vehicle while plugged into a live feed diagnostics system, and both of these options cost money because they take time.

Hopefully another member can provide you more insight into P0160 specifically.

margot2 · November 2007

That was exactly what was said to me at the dealership. So, I think I probably will have to go that route and get the intense diagnostics done. It does disturb me, however, that there are these small private garages that also have the diagnostic computer and come up with the wrong diagnosis...or an incomplete one. The dealership was the only one who said, let's do a more intense check to see if the catalytic converter might be in play, or it might be something else like a vacuum leak. The other garages said nothing about that...one saying it was the knock sensor...which I believe was totally wrong. I wonder how many people get work done they don't need or that doesn't really address the issue at hand.

lilengineerboy · November 2007

I think it happens a lot. I think many people and some mechanics feel like they can just read the computer and it will tell you everything, but in reality, it gives you only a place to start. I was getting a code for cylinder running lean and then another code for catalyst below efficiency (bad cat) and 2 places said it was an O2 sensor, and one place said it was the catalytic converter assembly. It was a $7 cracked plastic hose causing a vacuum leak.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2007

I'd like to have a dollar for every needlessly replaced 02 sensor in America.

ateixeira · November 2007

You'd be a millionaire, no doubt.

xwesx · November 2007

I had code P0420 (Cat Converter below threshold) popping up on my '96 Outback for more than 2 years. At first go, the dealership said it needed a new converter. At ~400 for the part, I opted to wait until after I had done the emissions testing to see if there was an issue with the tailpipe emissions. There was not. In fact, the emissions tested better than they had 2 years prior. So, I left the converter in there. I never could find the problem, but I still do not think it was the converter. It probably was an oxygen sensor, but bygones are bygones at this point.

ateixeira · November 2007

I had a misfire on my Forester, people told me to change the 02 sensor.

That wasn't it. After investigating I found a chip munk had chewed up some wires under the hood! Needed new plug wires and a new ignition coil.

Car ran fine for 2 years after that, all with the original 02 sensor.

jnt · November 2007

recently tried to replace a factory radio with a VR3. The VR3 radio has only one illumination wire but there is a positive wire and a negative wire from the factory. If I only hook up the positive the stereo works fine but I have no speedometer/tachometer lights... unless i blew a fuse somewhere? Anyone know anything about this "illumination" hook up... i'm not much of an electrician.

In some vehicles, OEM uses PWM + (dim plus) and PWM- (dim -) to light up all light bulbs for radio buttons. Note that the dim- wire is isolated from GROUND to isolate dim noise from affecting radio performance.

So with the VR3 connected, did you get the radio buttons lighted at night? Note that if you do not hook the dim+ and dim- to the VR3 radio, it should work but without the back lighting of the radio buttons. Doing so may get you back the Tach/Speedometer lighting. You could have blown the fuses during the process.

jt

margot2 · November 2007

Follow up news: Brought the outback in to the dealer for further analysis. Since leaving the dealership the check engine light was off. When I brought it in today...low and behold....it turns out that the computer is telling us now that it is indeed the knock sensor. I was told that this also plays a role with gasoline to make it lean or not...and if I had put in some bad gas at some point...it may have triggered this sensor...but, because of the fact that I waited a while to get into the shop....the 02 sensor was compensating. It's really complicated, I suppose. Anyway...let's hope that this cures it. It's $200.00 that I could use for xmas...but, I guess....I can't afford to waste gas now either.

jlipman · November 2007

I have a auto transmission w/ approx 80k miles on it. When I bought the car it had the wrong fluid in the tranny. I had it serviced about 20k miles ago. Here is the issue. When I put the car in drive or reverse when I start out in the AM it does not engage right away. If I give it some gas it engages hard no slippage ever. After it is worn the chance of occurring is less likely. The dealership speculated that there is an internal leak and need a new tranny $4k. A friend of mine was in the car when it did it and said it did not feel like an internal leak and thought it might be a selenoid that is bad on the tranny or did he say servo? Anyway, Any ideas or things I can check to to narrow down the problem. Thanks in advance!

blackbrick · November 2007

My 74 year mother and I just got off the phone. The 2001 Legacy she recently purchased is throwing a check engine code. The dealer she bought it from has been trying to fix a slow tank fill issue that he says is related. There are a miriad of valves(?) that he has replaced and he still has not solved it. This is all second hand from my (non-technical) mother. Is there a known related issue? What is the fix. Are there related recalls?

ateixeira · November 2007

There is probably a leak in the fuel vapor recovery system. My Forester had a canister under the fuel fill door that you could see from underneath.

All those hoses need and air tight seal, or it will throw a code, some even will disable the engine so it won't run.

I found out by accident, while installing a hitch, I did not connect the hoses properly. I re-connected them and that resolved it.

markk1 · November 2007

My tranny failed in a similar manner a little earlier in its life (luckily) as Subaru picked up the replacement cost. The only difference I see is that in my case i don't remember it engaging better after it warmed up. The issue typically occurred at a stop light. You might look back a couple of years in this archive there was a big discussion about the transmission problems.

You might want to get some other quotes for a rebuilt transmission 4k sounds a little high.

ryanloose · November 2007

it is winter now here in colorado and i have started using the heater in outback. this is my first subaru so i am uneducated. when i stop and have the heater on after driving for awhile there is a burning rubber smell that come in the car. just wondering what that could be? also, when i turn the vent preference from one setting to another, like from feet only to defrost and feet, air always comes out from the dash vents, i was wondering if this is normal?

billb8 · November 2007

I need information on removing the glovebox in order to change the cabin filter. I think I need to remove the console panel and don't know how. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

ateixeira · November 2007

I smelled some undercoating burning off for the first few months, but yours it 2 years old now, so that's strange.

The climate control has a mind of its own, that was discussed a lot when the 2005s came out. Go to the 05+ Legacy/Outback thread and ask there.

ncc4 · November 2007

I have a 2007 Outback and have found/done the following which might help some of you.
The wiper blade refills for a 2004 Toyota Corolla are an exact fit for my Outback, and cheaper.
My car is Moss Green with the Tan interior. Living in Canada, with lots of snow and slush, I tried the Subaru rubber mats to try to keep the carpeting cleaner, but found when you parked on a slope, all the melted slush from my boots would drain over the back of the rubber mats and get the carpet dirty anyway so I did a couple of things.
One, I bought a set of black carpeted Outback mats. With the black dash and upper door mouldings they don't look out of place, and are much better at hiding the mess.
Two, I kept catching my foot on the floor mat retaining hook and rather than waiting till I broke it I cut off the "hook" with a hacksaw blade leaving enough of a stub to make sure the mat stays in place.
Thirdly, I bought some vinyl floor runnner ( in the carpet section ) from Canadian Tire and cut a piece approximately 9"x41/2" and used some silicon to hold it in place over the drivers footrest. The little piece of vinyl the factory used didn't do much, and the tan carpeting soon got filthy. This black runner has some light ridges in it that lets water run down, and I left it long enough so that it goes out onto the floor mat.

I don't like rattles so I bought a square of white adhesive back felt from a local craft shop and lined the glove box. I couldn't get 100% coverage because of all the curves/angles, but it certainly helped. Being white it also helps my middle aged, bi-focaled eye sight find what I'm looking for!

I try to do as much of my own servicing as I can, and have been doing so for 35 plus years. I use a set of ramps for oil changes but found that, because of the angle, when you remove the oil filter you get oil down onto the exhaust. To stop this mess I made a shield out of 3" heat duct that I bought at Home Depot. I cut it to approximately 10", and notched the top corners about 11/2" each way to fit around the oil filter housing. The duct isn't snapped together when you buy it, and this allows it to stay in place just through tension.

I have photo's of these modifications but am not sure if they can be posted. I don't mind being e-mailed but I'm not sure if that's allowed?

Perhaps the host can help??

Nigel

ic_designer · November 2007

The link covers up to 2006. It should work for 07 model.

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/airfiltration.html

Alland

paisan · November 2007

I have a 2007 Outback and have found/done the following which might help some of you.
The wiper blade refills for a 2004 Toyota Corolla are an exact fit for my Outback, and cheaper.

You can also use the '08 wipers which don't have the little spoiler on it and they should be the same price as any wipers of that length.

-mike

batman47 · November 2007

It is customary when someone buys a car that the vehicle comes with the Owners Manual (free). Equally, many brands (e.g. Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Kia, etc) also publish something called Shop Manual or Repair Manual that can be ordered from the brand Parts Department. Does Subaru also publish these types of manuals for its different brands? I found these publications very useful indeed. There are cases like for example Hyundai that allow Hyundai owners vehicles to access its parts database on Line. Has someone in this forum bought some of these manuals?

paisan · November 2007

I'm not sure you can buy the paper shop manuals, however I know you can order and download the shop manuals directly from SOA for the subarus for 1997 and newer OBDII equipped cars.

-mike

jfl · November 2007

I purchased a few sections of the "Service Manual" for the 2000 Legacy and Outback. Back then, it was an eight(?) volume set with a total price about $200 (or more).

I only bought 4 of the 8 volumes.
See if you can find it online at 1stsubaruparts.com. They also accept Subaru bucks you earn from a Subaru credit card. The bucks can be used for parts, service, or towards a new car.

Jim

kurtamaxxxguy · November 2007

On another Subaru topic it was mentioned that some Subaru turbo engines suffer from boost "stutter" that cannot be repaired or adjusted away.

Has anyone seen this in the '08 Outback? I am considering an Outback XT Limited, and would not appreciate like turbo stutter, etc. in a nearly $34 K automobile.

ateixeira · November 2007

Honestly, I've never heard anyone complain about that. :confuse:

The only stutter complaints I've heard were from the clutches on late 90s models.

The WRXs and Legacy GTs and Forester XTs I've driven were all very smooth, in fact I'd argue the turbos are a bit smoother than the normally aspirated engines.

paisan · November 2007

There is a very small drop in the hp/torque curve on the turbo models, but it is in no way noticeable except on paper at the dyno shop. I don't have an issue on my unmodified 05 LGT, and none of my customer's unmodified cars either.

-mike

billb8 · November 2007

Alland, Thanks for the info. I checked out the site but it leaves a bit to be desired. The instructions that come with the filter don't help much either. They just aren't clear enough to give me the confidence to remove parts without breaking them.
Billb8

bj69s · November 2007

I have a 97 wagon that is pulling from side to side and the trans don't want to shift into drive it is a automatic its like it don't want to shift up .

jjcunningham · November 2007

Sounds like two or three *dfifferent* problems..

parrett2 · November 2007

I REALLY need someones help. I have a outback that has a lot of problems that noone seems to know how to fix or whatnot......anyways right now my car will not start. when it tries the lights flash on and off.....I am assuming that its the security system. When i bought this car from another person it did not have a manual in it nor did it comes with the black keyless entry box. Does anyone know how i can disable or reset the security so my car will start?
thanks so much.....

xwesx · November 2007

If the car has a factory alarm system, there should be a button located on the left side of the car, up under the dash. Pressing it should reset the system. If the car's battery was changed or the battery died, the alarm system will need to be reset. I thought the need for reset was accompanied by honking, flashing lights, etc., but have not had one with an alarm, so I cannot say for sure.

parrett2 · November 2007

.....well i went out and looked to see if i can find some sort of button and i cant seem to see it.........although i dont know what im looking for either .....under the hood it says it has a security system so im guessing that it also has an alarm as when the battery is hooked up the lights flash on an off and the people i have mentioned this to says when the alarm system has been activated it will shut down the engine so it wont start........so i have to figure out where to reset that system......I will have another look under the dash as it could be somplace else......there has to be somwhere to reset it right? Gosh if i can get this started im getting me an manual for sure so i can figure out this dang car........thanks a lot for the reply.....

tirebuster420 · November 2007

On my `98 the on/off switch for the security system is to the left of where the clutch pedal is, against the wall. It was too close to where my feet are, that my dealer had to move the switch closer to the door jam, because I kept hitting it with my foot. It looks like a very small cargo switch that you could get at any Radio Shack. If not you could go to any dealer, or sellers of "Code Alarm", to get replacement fobs and instructions.
-W.

parrett2 · November 2007

Hm thank you...I will have to look although mine is an automatic so its probably somewhere else.........well its good to know that there is a switch somewhere atleast

Well i will keep looking........this car of mine is the Limited also if that helps anyone.....thanks!

sloanesq · November 2007

Hi,

I own an '06 Legacy SE with the 2.5 engine. Lately, the engine has been making a lot of noise for the first couple of minutes/miles when driven after sitting idle for a long time (like overnite). When I say a lot of noise, I mean a LOT of noise. So much so that people turn to stare at it as it passes down the street. I don't know if the colder weather may have something to do with this but I don't remember having this problem last winter.

Does anyone know if this is normal or is ist something I should be concerned about?

xwesx · November 2007

Noisy startups are never good, but what sort of noise is it? Clacking? Screeching? Yodeling? Disco? :P

sloanesq · November 2007

Thank goodness its NOT disco! But it is nearly as bad. It's a very loud rumbling/chug-chugging type noise. Like you hear from a loud truck engine. The frequency of the "chug-chugging" increases as I give it gas. I don't know that much about engines but I'm guessing it may be noisy valves. The noise goes away when the engine warms up and my Subie purrs along just beautifully.

ateixeira · November 2007

I would start with an ECU reset. Disconnect the negative battery terminal, wait 20 minutes, reconnect. Have the remote handy, lock/unlock a few times when you reconnect the battery.

Also note the alarm hints mentioned above.

I'm a bit surprised it's not also throwing a check-engine light. No light?

jay_24 · November 2007

I would have guessed a tick/clank sound like a old diesel engine. That comes with piston slap that many subies have. Subaru actually replaced 2 pistons in my 2001OB engine because of slap at 45K. 20K miles later it was back. Other than the noise it hasn't been an issue. Now at 115K and still not burning oil and getting 28mpg durng the summer. After 10 minutes of warm up its gone, and it only happens when temps are below 30F. Colder it is the loader and longer it is.

Subaru has long said not an issue and won't change pistons. I think I just hit a good day when I brought it in and Subaru happened to be curious on if it really was OK. If I recall somebody else on Edmunds also had piston replaced that same week as I did.

zman3 · November 2007

My guess is also piston slap. I equated my 98 OB piston slap to sounding like a sewing machine.

xwesx · November 2007

Yep, that might be it - especially if it is present until the car warms up versus going away in a few seconds (or at least quieting down significantly) But, also check to see if you oil level is right at the full mark, as well as verify the type of oil used (5w-30?). My Outback sounds very "raspy" when I start it up at cold, but the sound is, I think, related to the transmission or front differential and goes away when it warms up. Still strange, but the lubricant levels are right on.

j654321b · December 2007

i have a 97 legacy outback 2.5L with an over heating problem when i run the car it only overheats after it has been runn in 20+min. the top radiator hose is hot but the bottom stays cold. i have changed the thermostat, radiator cap and fan relays, the fans only turn on when it is overheating. so i think it may be my temp sensor that engages the fan but my repair manuel does not show where it is it only says under the intake manifold where my top radiator hose leads. i have looked all over there and cannot find anything that looks like it. if you have any helpfull advice please let me know perhaps i have a air bubble in mycooling system. if so how do i get it out?

paisan · December 2007

It is the water pump.

If the lower rad hose is cold it means that coolant isn't flowing into the engine. I'd say the thremostat but you said you checked that already.

If it were an air bubble it would manifest itself as a cold upper rad hose, not a lower one.

-mike

xwesx · December 2007

Full agreement here. Darn water pumps, anyway. Hopefully you are about due for a new timing belt as well, as that is where you must go to replace the water pump. :mad:

-Wes-

bj69s · December 2007

My 97 Legacy wagon is pulling side to side but I have no idea what it could be. This is my first Subaru and don't know what to look for.

xwesx · December 2007

That is an odd combo there: your title indicates transmission problems, but you are describing a steering issue. ?

Anyhow, the steering issue makes me think worn tie rod ends. Is it a fast side-to-side motion, or does the car just randomly drift back and forth in a casual fashion?

bj69s · December 2007

The reason I think it is in the trans is what it feels like if the brake starts dragging on one side then it will switch to the other side. It don't feel like loose steering like tie rods It is a reel strong pull and then it will switch sides, And another problem is that the trans will not shift from second to drive, I was going to change the filter on the trans to see if that helps on the shifting.

Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

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