Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

xwesx · March 2007

Thanks for the suggestions, fellas. I was leaning toward a shim or similar (pad-related) as well. This is certainly not a rust problem (thank goodness!), though I know that there are stories of rust when the car has sat a little while (such as Steve's thrown pad!!).

I was thinking I would pull that caliper apart and reset everything, add some anti-squeal, check for damage. I'm sure there was a lot of torque on that thing while it was literally being drug 200' down the drive, but at least it was on packed snow/ice (yes, we still have plenty of that here!), so the friction coefficient was relatively low (Potenza RE92 for the win!). :surprise:

I was scratching my head for an hour wondering why it took her that long to decide something was "definitely" wrong. :P

Would something like that cause any damage to the front open differential?

ebony5 · March 2007

Is it my imagination or has your new OBW been more problematic than your old '96?

ateixeira · March 2007

Our driveway has a drop off on one side and I can't tell you how many people have gotten stuck there, including my wife (just once).

The funny thing is how most people try to drive off with one tire in mid air, with open differentials spinning that single tire. They act surprised that they can't get unstuck. :surprise:

xwesx · March 2007

Philip - yes, indeed, though problematic in a different way. It is looking now like I will be selling it out of necessity as well as preference, so I have become far less negative about it. Now I am just trying to enjoy what I can out of it until the sale.

xwesx · March 2007

Hahah... yes. I have two stories that are somewhat similar to that. Both in the '96, one I was able to get out solo, the other required help from a passing motorist.

Last winter (05/06), I went over to my friend's house for Saturday night games, and had two passengers. His house is a 3-story on a steep hillside, so three sides are exposed on the south side and two on the north (it is about 30' from N to S). There is a drive that runs directly across the bottom, about 40' wide with a STEEP drop on the south side, and another drive that is about 15' wide directly across the upper (north) side. These two are connected by a tight turn on the east end, accompanied by a steep drop across the lower portion of the turn.

Anyway, I was driving up that turn in about 2" of powdery snow, to park on the upper side of the drive next to the main door. About 3/4 the way up the turn the car lost traction and just could not make it the rest of the way around. So, I backed down, but was close to the outer (drop off) side due to some spin out when it slipped, and I could not get it to grip and go forward at all. I slowly backed it down, but when the right front tire got close to the edge, the drive crumbled underneath it! So, here we are, with one tire hanging off the edge, nothing but sky to be seen out that side of the car, and we still had a way to go to get back down! I gave them the option to get out while I finished up the maneuver, but they were both to scared to move. But, the rear axle still had plenty of weight on it (it was a steep turn!), so it gripped enough to drag the front tire back up onto the drive as we finished up the recovery. I went ahead and parked on the south side that night.....

*whew*

Second one was many years ago, with wife driving. We had stopped at an "overlook" for lunch and were preparing to leave. She backed up.... and backed up..... and finally I said "STOP!" as I knew there was a deep ditch coming up behind us. No sooner did she apply the brakes then the car goes *THUNK* as the rear axle dropped into the ditch. The car was literally balancing on the undercarriage, just behind the B pillar. The front end was up high enough that the front tires had no grip. It took a couple tries to find a competent tow vehicle to get us out, but finally a fella in an old Suburban pulled us out. I still laugh about that one and she turns bright red any time I mention it. :P

ateixeira · March 2007

Adventures in Parking.

My driveway has claimed a 626, an Acura Legend, and a BMW M3. I should get stamps for each car it has defeated.

xwesx · March 2007

Yes! You could put up a memorial plaque along that side of the drive (rather than a warning sign), complete with photos of the "defeated" vehicles.

ateixeira · March 2007

I knew I should always have carried my digital camera!

jeffmc · March 2007

Get a Mazda, Acura & BMW emblem, attach to the exterior of your garage wall, & paint a red "X" through each one... like "kills" on a fighter plane.

sixtystacks · March 2007

I originally thought my radio had a short of some kind and that was drawing juice from the battery at night when the car was not being used; in the past, the backlight on the radio would stay on after I turned the car off; especially after a long drive. But a few days ago I pulled the radio fuse and I still arose to a dead battery. I have been checking the voltage regularly and it appears my alternator is fine. My battery runs at ~14.5 volts at idle and when I turn it off and check it immediately it is @12.7 or so. Last night I took the cables off after driving and when I checked it today the voltage on the battery had dropped to 12.47 from 12.7; is this meaningful - the loss of .23 volts without powering any accessories.

I am thinking that I will just trade in this battery for a new one - bought it at Autozone - should be able to get a fair amount on this one pro-rated since it is only 6 months old. Maybe get a high end Duralast.

c_hunter · March 2007

Are you sure the radio fuse was the only one giving power to the radio? If it is an aftermarket radio, then I would not assume it uses only one circuit. Actually, even the factory radio uses three circuits -- one is the switched radio/acc circuit, one is illumination, and the other is a constant +12V for the memory and clock. It's not uncommon for poorly installed aftermarket radios to mix/mess these up.

gaucho1 · March 2007

Sixty stacks, Fibber,

You guys didn't say where you were. Cold temps will drop battery voltage. (Couple that with lowered vaporization of cold fuel, thicker oil, and you'll understand why starting on a cold morning can be a pain.)

The battery chemically decomposes to provide current -- one way. To recharge, current has to flow across the battery poles the other way, and at a greater potential than the battery resistance.

In normal temps, the battery cells can provide about 12.8 Volts. To recharge, the alternator/generator has to provide at least 13.8 to 14 volts.

Your car is claimed to run on "12 volts". In actual practice, it's circuits are designed with the alternator voltage in mind.

Granted, the addition of all the full-time digital crap does produce a daily drain.

Another cold-weather phenomenon is the fan belts. They *expand* in colder weather, allowing for slippage. On extremely cold days, that's why you may hear a belt squeal, which soon goes away, as the belts heat up and contract, restoring the orignal tension(s). Check their tension before going too much farther into your respective wallets.

Gaucho

sixtystacks · April 2007

Thx guys. I am in Florida - so the cold is not an issue. The radio/cd is the factory install. However, I had the dealer install a replacement for the original after I complained that the box ran hot to the touch when playing cd's more than an hour or so; it would also starting skipping at that point. The replacement is no better really. Maybe they wired it incorrectly both times? The backlight staying illuminated periodically is a new 'feature'....lol.

I pulled the radio fuse per the car manual and have it still die once since then. I was not aware that more one fuse was involved. Pulling the radio fuse - turns off the radio and the dash clock. What is the illumination fuse? Is it all the dashboard lights.

I bought a radio shack multimeter for $20 and have been trying to see what the draw is when the car is off. I know less than nothing about electricity and currents but saw this on the i-club forum:

<<Best way to check for parasitic drain with the engine off is to disconnect one of the battery terminals and connect a milliameter in series between the battery post and cable terminal. Make sure the car is in full "standby" mode- key out, all doors and trunk closed, interior light off. You should see well under 100ma drain, probably closer to 10ma if all is well. If it's much above that, in the hundreds of ma or more, there is an excessive drain someplace. Find it by disconnecting suspected circuits/devices one at a time until the drain drops back down to normal.
While the meter is connected, do not turn the key on or attempt to start the car, this may destroy the meter (or at least pop its internal fuse). In fact don't put the key in at all until you complete the test and reconnect the battery terminal.
To verify the battery is charging, measuring the voltage across the battery is usually sufficient. However you also want to be sure the battery is in good condition, so it should meet the following conditions- at least 12.5 V on the battery with the engine off and after sitting for a while, water levels in cells full and equal (if applicable), hydrometer test of cells shows all w/good and equal charge levels (again if applicable). If the battery is sealed it should be tested with a load or conductance tester (conductance test is preferred as it is non-destructive).
With the known good battery, there should be 13.5-14.5 V across it with the engine running. For a more thorough charging system test, a shop can put a scope on it to check for alternator function. Some problems such as bad diodes can only be ID'd with a scope.>>

I assume I should disconnect the positive post (leave negative intact?) - switch meter to DCA mode and place red lead on post; black lead on cable? Sounds like I should see a value of less than 100 on the draw or ....maybe I'll just fry the meter - Is DCA the correct mode????

nohackle · April 2007

Cathy,
I have a 05 Outback XT and just this past week the turbo went out while my daughter was driving home from school
Still waiting at the dealers for the replacement. I had another outback years back with recurrent gasket problems.....fool me once I guess. So much for the 1st time

will let you know what happens.....

paisan · April 2007

Wow, that's really odd. My guess is that it wasn't the turbo itself but rather one of the oil or cooling lines too it. It's very rare one of these turbos "blow"

-mike

billatthebeach · April 2007

Hi,
We have an '07 Forester Premium version that's supposed to have 120 watts of sound. It sounds to me like about 5 or 10. The radio/CD unit says model "6 CD Changer C-123." Does anybody else have the same impression as me? Did we get the correct model of stereo?
Thanks.

logtrail · April 2007

I don't know about you, but my 06 LL Bean's stereo is just fine; I suspect that if I were a 16 years old pimply faced guy I would want to have about 5000 decibles blasting out, but for an average adult, why does anyone need a loud sound system to listen to good jazz, classical music or NPR?
Beats me. Reminds me of a friend years ago who was so excited that he got a huge speaker system and proved it to me by playing the sound of a freight train !! Hey, cool!

paisan · April 2007

Some folks are audiphiles. I'm not one of them but I know some "old" folks who love to blast their stereos. Heck I've driven 100s of miles listening to just my exhaust note.

-mike

locke2c · April 2007

You do have the right stereo for the Premium, and you are correct that it is underwhelming. It is 120 watts peak, at best, which in reality probably boils down to a single IC amplifier chip producing maybe 20 watts RMS total.

The first step would be to replace the speakers-- big gains can be hard for $75-100 per speaker location (start with the front doors, of course) and then if that's still not enough you can replace the source unit and add amplifiers.

But I think that quality speakers will probably make you happy. If not we can discuss it in more detail in Modifications.. I have a few thousand invested in my Evo's stereo and have been an audiophile for a long time.

~Colin

paisan · April 2007

Colin, being the BMW guy that you are, any thoughts on a 1998 740il w/60k miles little old lady driven, friend of the family, probably can pick it up for $13k-13.5k

-mike

c_hunter · April 2007

The problem I discovered when adding aftermarket speakers to weak factory radios in Subarus is that the sound level (volume) often drops in a noticeable way. Typically, a good aftermarket speaker will take higher power levels to drive than the cheesy factory speakers, so you have to go to higher levels with the volume knob than before. Couple that with the auto-loudness/EQ built into the radios to prevent distortion at higher volumes, and the result is that the factory radio runs out of oomph to power the new speakers. Sound quality improves, but the overall sound level drops noticeably. It's a lousy situation for upgrades. In my WRX, I ended up replacing the whole system; the factory radio just did not have enough guts for the aftermarket speakers I put in.

hypov · April 2007

"so you have to go to higher levels with the volume knob than before"...
..."and the result is that the factory radio runs out of oomph to power the new speakers."

to avoid that, select speakers that require least to be driven.
I had the OEM 6 CD HU drive a set of Kenwood KFC-X170 and KFC-X138 for a while before getting aftermarket HU, which only requires a minimum of 5 watts to drive. The sound is a big improvement from the "Upgrade Speakers" I'd had. As to volume and sound, it is crisp and clear up till volume level 23 [I think that's the level] but by or before then it would be considered really loud for most of us.

As for the 120 watts, I guess that's the newer models. My '03 WRX, the HU is 80 watts peak[20 watts/channel] and the powered sub is 120 watts.

-Dave

xwesx · April 2007

As to volume and sound, it is crisp and clear up till volume level 23 [I think that's the level] but by or before then it would be considered really loud for most of us.

:surprise: I should say! Haha, the loudest I have had my '07 (stock system) is 10, and I think that is "really loud." I only put it that high if I am on gravel and trying to listen to a talk show/voices that tend to fade rapidly with road noise. Otherwise, 6 to 8 does me well. My wife prefers 4.

I should note that I put the bass setting on 4 of 8, with treble and tweeters on 8. At "0" across the board, it seems very muffled.

locke2c · April 2007

The v8 is pretty reliable and that model shouldn't have many electrical gremlins either. Very solid car assuming it's been properly maintained. If so, it's definitely worth $13.5k.

~Colin

paisan · April 2007

Thanks Colin, yeah his aunt and uncle followed the book on maintaining it. Will go check it out. Color isn't the best champagne with light interior, but I figure it'll be less flashy and less likely to be stolen in my hood that way.

-mike

billatthebeach · April 2007

Thanks everybody for the good, helpful information.
Bill (at the beach)

logtrail · April 2007

Silly me. And I thought an audiophile was someone who appreciated music and the way that good music could be reproduced, and I forgot that the meaning has changed to someone who loves loud sounds.

subearu · April 2007

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiophile

Though, I tend to call the extreme loud music or bass thumpers "loudiphiles" lol

-Brian

pab985 · April 2007

Recently upgraded the radio in the Forester and moved the Forester radio with weather band to our Outback sport. We are not receiving anything on the weather band. Question is should this band work in the Outback sport? Maybe it was just installed incorrectly?? Don't remember having to do anything special with the Forester when first using the WB, but maybe there's something I've forgotten?

Thanks for your help!
Pat

paisan · April 2007

Possibly there is an antenna connection not being made?

-mike

leharvey · April 2007

Wondered if anyone had seen any other reports of this:
Bolt that holds the timing belt tensioner pulley 'sheared' off on my 99 Forester (155,000 miles) -- severe valve damage when the belt released. Shop is working w/ the car now. I am the original owner and all maint had been done.
Orig timing belt replaced at 85,000. I had never seen this issue reported before .. curious if anyone else had?

paisan · April 2007

99 Forester was that a DOHC or SOHC? I'm guessing since you had valve damage it was a DOHC engine.

Did they replace the tensioner at 85K, usually it's a good idea to replace the tensioner when they put in a new timing belt.

-mike

ateixeira · April 2007

Nah, loud sounds usually comes with distortion and is simply obnoxious. High end audio isn't like that at all, they go for quality over noise.

leharvey · April 2007

This engine is (suprisingly) a SOHC ... the bolt broke at about 70mph which may have contributed to the damage. Shop manual states that valve damage is 'unlikely or minimal' so guess I got 'minimal'. The tensioner assbly was not replaced prior to failure ... suspect may have gotten some play in there which stressed the bolt.

paisan · April 2007

Hmm interesting, I blew my timing belt on my XT6 (non-interference also) under heavy acceleration but didn't blow the valves

-mike

c_hunter · April 2007

Specifically, which bolt on the tensioner unit was it? Was it the actual pulley "axle" bolt?

ateixeira · April 2007

I think the EJ25 actually is an interference design...

paisan · April 2007

The SOHC ones aren't though.

-mike

ateixeira · April 2007

Gotcha. I knew mine was.

leharvey · April 2007

The bolt was the main 'axle' bolt which anchors the assembly to the block.

xwesx · April 2007

Very unusual. Were you hearing any noise, such as humming, rattling, etc, prior to the failure?

leharvey · April 2007

Absolutly nothing. Owned the car since new - cruising on interstate highway at about 70mph. Heard a 'snap' type noise - loss of power. Coasted to a stop and 'check engine' light came on as engine died. Shop that works on the car also said this was very unusual. Anyway, looks like no major damage other than valves - based on this - I would recommend (at the very least) checking the tensioner assembly and attachment bolt when replacing the timing belt.

c_hunter · April 2007

Would that bolt have been taken out or loosened when the timing belt was changed at 85K?? I wonder if it was overtightened when reinstalled. We would be able to tell how the bolt failed by looking at the pieces.

leharvey · April 2007

I looked at the bolt and it appeared to be a 'clean' break.
No twisting or anything - just appeared to shear off right where it went into the block. Yes, it could have been over tightened or have worked loose and gotten 'stressed'.

Shop has ordered new valves and parts to re-assemble .. probably looking at 2100 - 2500 in repairs. Machine shop says no damage other than the bent valves.

Plan to keep the car for a couple more years - with the way I had cared for the car and really liked the handling and all - just a little discouraging to not get more miles before major engine problems.

xwesx · April 2007

As there was no associated noise, I would rule out the possibility of it having worked loose. Also unlikely to be a problem with the bearings on that pulley as a potential source. Possibly over-tightened and led to eventual stress failure, or the bolt had an impurity/irregularity that led to the failure.

leharvey · April 2007

Update: Well, got the car back this week after repairs.
Seems to run smooth and power is good.
Couple of things .. Air bag light is on (was not on prior to repair)-shop was unable to retrieve code and suggested taking it to the dealer (which I will do) - also -cruise control will not set using the 'set' lever on steering column. Wondering if these are related = common connector, etc? Cannot find anything 'loose' under dash.

Anyone have any ideas? Will be taking it back to the shop for 'head retorque' and valve adjust in 1000M so will have it checked then ...

masteryoda · April 2007

I'm having cold starting issues on my 98 GT wagon. It actually just started happening a few weeks ago. When the car is cold it takes about 6 or 7 cranks (although in one single try or turn-key) for it to start. When the car is warm, it takes about 2 to 3 cranks. I thought it was the battery, but I just got a new one and still no change. I checked the oil levels, everything seems to be normal. Any thoughts? :confuse:

samiam_68 · April 2007

My guess would be spark plugs and/or plug wires.

ateixeira · April 2007

You're priming the fuel pump, I suppose?

masteryoda · April 2007

Priming the fuel pump? What's that?

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