Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

once_for_all · June 2006

ok, the '03 2.5l has 3 belts, one for the power steering and alternator, one for the AC.

So the water pump (which is snuggled down below the crankshaft area) must be off the timing belt. I gotta believe that the water pump gets changed every time the timing belt comes out. Thank God that is every 105 k on the Forester.

John

locke2c · June 2006

not a dremel, a variety of grind & polish stones on an air grinder.

I should've taken pictures of the valve removal & installation process, but that was done at an earlier time, around 20k miles when I installed Cobb Tuning cams.

at 33.5k when pictured, I was replacing the driver's side head gasket. at 43k it started overheating again and I dumped the sucker. I learned my lesson and haven't touched my Evo other than installing a nice stereo, but I can't help but notice tons of people who didn't modify the crap out of their Subarus have had head gasket trouble.

your 2003 2.5L looks much the same, it's just that my '99 pictured in that album doesn't have the timing cover in place.

~Colin

ateixeira · June 2006

99 was the first year they went to SOHC so those engines should pretty much be the same. I think the intake changed for MY2000 but not much else.

My 98 is a DOHC and even that isn't all that much different. Intake and cams, mostly.

-juice

xwesx · June 2006

For what it is worth, Scarlett, your not being able to find the cord after it fell off is not surprising. Things as slender as cords are often VERY difficult to see on a roadway, even at low speeds. I accidentally left a blue dog leash (about 3/4" wide and 3' long) on top of my car a few months back and noticed it as it slid down the rear window and off the car. I turned around and hunted for it (and I knew almost exactly where it fell off!). I had to make 4 passes before I finally noticed it scrunched up in the middle of the road. I was amazed that it was so difficult to see. Not that this is important compared to the "what happened to the spoiler?" question, but I thought I would toss that out there.

xwesx · June 2006

Yep, sorry to say it. The '96 2.5L DOHC is set up the same way. Water pump driven by the back side of the timing belt. My water pump failed at 172K. Silly me, I did not replace it the first two times I put in a new timing belt!

105K sounds like a nice safe mileage to swap it out.

xwesx · June 2006

This last go-round, in February (at 199K), I devised the best way ever. Lacking any real tools or clamps to perform the compression (I usually use a bench vice), I just inserted a hydraulic jack under the trailer hitch of my '69 Chevy C20, placed the piston nose-up between the jack and the hitch, pumped up the jack until the truck's frame began to lift a bit, and then just left it there for a minute or two. The piston slowly compressed until I was able to insert the pin.

jfl · June 2006

The water pump is driven by the flat side of the timing belt.

What I think is strange is the thermostat located at the bottom of the engine. I know that thermostats rarely fail but if it does, no coolant goes from radiator to engine. Also, they are a pain to change.

Jim

rob_m · June 2006

My co-worker has an 03 SE Wagon. She brought it to a local dealer for the 60k service.

They called her, and said that the water pump was leaking with a price tag of almost $400. I told her to have the timing belt replaced, while they had it out to replace the water pump. The countered with $105 for the belt, and told her that the tensioner would need to be replaced for an additional $160.

Are these guys playing games? Rob M.

xwesx · June 2006

While higher than I pay for mine, the $105 part cost for the timing belt is not abnormally high. I'd pass on the tensioner replacement though. They are reusable and I doubt they typically fail unless they are compressed too quickly when preparing them for installation. If you replace it, it is a spendy part. There should not a be a labor charge for either of them though, since both must be removed in order to access the water pump anyway and "replacing" them requires nothing more than pulling the new part from a box during the reassembly process.

tankmaster · June 2006

Im not following the logic of why to replace the pump because it is driven by the timing belt. It is clear on certain engines where you need to get the pump off to get at the TB. But this doesn't appear to be the case with the 2.5 liter.

jfl · June 2006

The thinking behind it is that it's cheap insurance.

If the waterpump fails between 105k and 210k (the next timing belt change), the labor to replace it is much higher than the cost of the pump.

Jim

dankorte · June 2006

Juice, Steve, Colin- thanks for your help and advice.

I just wanted to post an update.

I stopped my practice of topping off the fuel, and thought I had the problem licked. The CEL cleared a few days after filling up, and stayed off for a few days, or roughly 75 miles. Then it came back on.

So now that it's on again, this time I have to deal with it. So I'll take it in and give my mechanic a printout of your suggestions. That way at least he won't waste time looking in the wrong areas.

Thanks again to all. will continue to keep you posted.

Dan

zenigata · June 2006

My 96 2.5 L legacy just broke the drive belt on the alternator and power steering and I wondered if I needed any special tools to put a new belt on and if I (not too mechanically gifted) would be able to install it myself or if I should just pay the $60 bucks to have a professional put it on for me. Thanks

locke2c · June 2006

Dan, try a new gas cap before taking it in!

~c

pathtomax · June 2006

My 2001 Outback Ltd Wagon (99,500 miles) has this way of hesitation when running from a cold start. I put my foot on the gas and it takes a few seconds for the car to respond, and then it works fine. Is this the timing belt? The dealership just did a tune-up but said it seemed fine at this point.

Also, this is another odd one. When I first run the car, the RPMs are fine at a stop light, but sometimes the car seems to 'shake and vibrate' a little bit. It is not like the car is idling high at all, but it starts to vibrate.

Thanks for any help! Looking forward to my next 100,000 miles

:shades:

ateixeira · June 2006

Did you get new plug wires?

They say spark or fuel, so I wonder if the tune-up included that.

Also see if they swapped the fuel filter.

-juice

rob_m · June 2006

You may need the injectors cleaned. I would try some techron additive to the gas first. $7 for a bottle vs $89 for the service. Good Luck! Rob M

ateixeira · June 2006

Now that I think about it, on our Mazda 626, we needed a "throttle body service" to unclog our fuel injection system on that car. That might help, sure.

-juice

alaskanwill · June 2006

I should preface this post with a disclaimer that I am not the kind of guy who condones drag racing, and I didn't buy either of my Subarus to use as a race car. In fact, as a 25 year old single male with $22,000 to spend on a car, I believe I'm somewhat of an anomaly in my selection of a Subaru station wagon over something with more performance.

My last car was a 2000 Legacy sedan with the 2.5L engine and manual transmission. I now drive a 2006 Legacy 2.5i wagon with the same engine and tranny (although the hp has been bumped on this engine to 175).

Something I noticed on both cars is a lag in acceleration from a standing start. I've tried two methods: revving up to around 4000 RPM then dumping the clutch while flooring it, or letting the clutch out with moderate throttle as I normally would, then flooring it. Either method seems to result in some pronounced initial hesitation while accelerating, which seems to last about a second. Happened in both cars.

My friend, who has an old beat-up 1993 NA Legacy AWD wagon with a 5-speed, is able to consistently beat me in drag races to 50 MPH. His car just seems to pull faster off the line, as though he isn't suffering from the same hesitation problem. I shift at around 5000 RPM when I'm trying to achieve maximum acceleration, by the way.

I should also note that I could never get either Legacy to peel out on dry pavement. I just got back from LA, where I rented an HHR with an AT and (approximately) 150 hp engine, which would peel out when I floored it.

Any idea why I'm experiencing this lag? Have others noticed it in their 2.5L powertrains? I crunched the numbers and even though my car is 200 pounds heavier than my friend's and I had a passenger at the time, my hp and torque to weight ratios are still higher than his.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Any input would be appreciated.

locke2c · June 2006

Every manual transmission Subaru produced since 2003 except for the STi (oh, and I guess the '07 spec.B) has a clutch force limiting device. Basically it is a valve on the clutch cylinder that prevents you from dumping the clutch.

To get around that, you have to launch perfectly. It sounds like you're describing two kinds of slowness to your launch, the first one is unquestionably the force limiter and the second is probably bogging the engine.

Here's my old post about it:
locke2c, "Subaru Legacy/Outback 2005+" #8692, 17 Feb 2006 2:06 pm

Good luck! It actually is possible that your car is slower than his. Your car is probably more than 200lb heavier.

~Colin

p0926 · June 2006

Help! I took my FXT to the car wash on Friday (yes I know shame on me

) and when I got home, the DRLs and the tail lights stayed on after I took the key out of the ignition. FYI, I normally leave the headlights on all the time since they go off automatically when you shut off the engine. My first thought was that an electrical connection got wet so I disconnected the battery and let everything dry out. However, the problem persists (everything else seems to work fine). Any suggestions?

-Frank

locke2c · June 2006

Do they still have that light switch on top of the steering column?

~Colin

ateixeira · June 2006

The euro-style parking lamps, bet that's it. Top of the column, and old secret handshake Subaru has. Fooled me once, too.

-juice

andytnj · June 2006

Ah, good one. Next problem, how do I get the left front turn signal assembly out? I can't figure out what is holding the bottom/rear of the lens unit in place.

captstoobing · June 2006

I have a 1998 Legacy GT LTD. Over the course of the last year and A half, some of the dash lights have been fading and going out. The first to go was the hazard light button. All function still work, save for the light. So far I've lost the hazard, cruse, defrost, all climate control lights except the green light for the A/C and the green light that shows which air position is selected, the fog light switch and most recently, the lights for the automatic shifter that show what gear your in. At first I thought there might be a fuse gone but this seems too random for that.

If anyone has any ideas I wold love to hear them.

Thanks

samiam_68 · June 2006

Don't floor it off the line - you're flooding the engine. Slip the clutch, punch the gas about half-way from stop in 1st gear, then floor it around 15 MPH.

samiam_68 · June 2006

Could be loose / corroded contacts. Gen 2 Legacys had finicky dash lights. I had a '96, and every once in a while, the climate control lights would go out. A swift punch on the center console would usually bring them back.

masteryoda · June 2006

Captstoobing,

I feel your pain. I also have 98 GT and same issue here. My AC controls don't have any lights at all. And now, my right blinker is blinking too fast, as oppose to left blinker. I'm hoping that the blinker issue is a fuse. As far as the dash lights, my guess is that the bulbs are giving out. It seems like there was a bad batch of them installed on 98s. If you search the forum you'll see a few other folks with the same problem.

nuknuk · June 2006

Anyone know of good Subie mechanic or even a dealer near Schaumburg, IL?

locke2c · June 2006

definitely not Subaru of Schaumburg, but I would ask this question in the Midwest region of Nasioc. I know some of the guys from Chicago fairly well and I know that some of them hate SoS.

~Colin

xwesx · June 2006

I am shocked that your lights have lasted this long! On my '96 with 207K, to the right of the instrument cluster (HVAC, radio, etc), the only lights that still work are the blue A/C light (when button pushed in), the stereo display (clock, radio station display), and the CD display (mine has the second DIN Panasonic single CD). I had my first back light in the instrument cluster go out about 4 months ago. It rarely bothers me any more, probably because I never need to look at the controls anyhow. Should the dash continue to lose them, I will probably make the effort to replace the whole lot. :sick:

kat95 · June 2006

Your right blinker too fast means the light needs to be replaced on the outside of the vehicle. This happened to me. To confirm turn on your right blinker and look at both the front and rear blinker lights to see which one needs replacing. Hope this helps.

cptplt · June 2006

The ONLY mechanic in IL ever to receive a Senior Master Tech
certificate from Subaru now runs his own shop - Import Motors in Schaumburg. He
used to work for the Audi Subaru dealer on Golf till they ditched
Subaru (then Subaru Schaumburg appeared a few years later)
Those bozzos in Schaumburg Subaru used to call him up to get help
till the boss there even banned selling parts to him.

p0926 · June 2006

Dang I'm an idiot! I totally forgot about that stupid switch on the steering column and it makes perfect sense since the car wash guys wiped down the interior. I suppose that's fitting punishment for my stooping to use a car wash in the first place. In addition, I'm guessing that my membership in the OCD club has been permanently revoked :P

-Frank

samiam_68 · June 2006

Exact same thing happened to me in my old Legacy at a car wash. I noticed it right away, and the guy at the car wash was a Subie owner himself - pointed me to the switch right away. :surprise:

ateixeira · June 2006

No, but you're on probation.

-juice

mb789 · June 2006

I bought a 2006 Forester in April. I have noticed when I switch the key to start the engine, I hear a clicking or slight hum noise -- is this the fuel pump? The car starts fine, but sometimes when the car is running I have begun to hear a slight hum noise that sounds like it's coming from the rear of the car either near the muffler or gas tank -- you can't hear it when the radio is on -- is this normal for Subarus? Also, the car has just over 1,000 miles on it, and after I drive it I can still smell a slight burning smell like new engine -- when will this go away?

Next question -- my passenger side windshield washer squirter stopped working. The driver's side is fine, and I checked under the hood, and it looks like all the tubes are connected and are not leaking. There is no blockage on the outside -- that side just stopped working entirely. Has this happened to anyone? I guess I'll have to take it in to have it looked at.

Thanks.

cptplt · June 2006

>I bought a 2006 Forester in April. I have noticed when I switch the key to start the engine, I hear a clicking or slight hum noise -- is this the fuel pump?

yes

>The car starts fine, but sometimes when the car is running I have begun to hear a slight hum noise that sounds like it's coming from the rear of the car either near the muffler or gas tank -- you can't hear it when the radio is on -- is this normal for Subarus?

probably fuel pump again

> Also, the car has just over 1,000 miles on it, and after I drive it I can still smell a slight burning smell like new engine -- when will this go away?

soon

>Next question -- my passenger side windshield washer squirter stopped working. The driver's side is fine, and I checked under the hood, and it looks like all the tubes are connected and are not leaking. There is no blockage on the outside -- that side just stopped working entirely. Has this happened to anyone? I guess I'll have to take it in to have it looked at.

probably blocked , have dealer blow it out

xwesx · June 2006

>The car starts fine, but sometimes when the car is running I have begun to hear a slight hum noise that sounds like it's coming from the rear of the car either near the muffler or gas tank -- you can't hear it when the radio is on -- is this normal for Subarus?

probably fuel pump again

Indeed, but that is not normal. If I recall, there are several '06 Forester owners who have experienced similar problems (mostly early production run buyers, but that is not to say your car is not an early production even if you did not buy until April) and have had the fuel pumps replaced. No indications of a recurring problem, at least not any of which I am aware.

I recommend that you bring it up to your dealer and request that it be replaced. It might never develop into anything more than an audio problem, but now is the time to address it.

gaucho1 · June 2006

Rahul,

The CT-CA trip is approximately 3,000 miles. The normal Subaru maintenance interval is about the same.

The simple answer? Get a 3k inspection done before you start. Get one shortly after you finish. If your tires are worn, spring for some new ones before you start.

=========

I own a 1987 Subaru GL (station wagon). It has 457,000(+) miles on it, to include annual three-day CA-FL round trips; the last one, just this last May. (My goal is half a million miles before I retire the old girl.) Given her age, I do carry some extra oil, water, belts, etc.

The other thing to carry is spare cash. For example, losing an alternator puts one on the side of the road, no matter what one does. You'll need to be able to pay for the tow truck, the hunt for a new alternator, the installation, etc., before you can get back on the road. Also, plan on an overnight stay in order to get repairs done -- nothing breaks in the morning!

AMEX Traveller's checks may be good around the world, but they don't always fly in the civilized(?) USA. Credit/Debit cards may or may not work. Cash always works!

As I said, after 457,000 miles, that car has left me on the side of the road exactly three times. Only the alternator was unpredictable. The other two times, I stretched the maintenance intervals, which was, by definition, my fault. Keep up the maintenance inspections, and replace when in doubt. Subarus will keep running.

As for the trip -- get off the Interstates and run the old US routes when you can. The scenery beats the hell out of watching an endless ribbon of gaurd-rails.

Have fun!

Gaucho

gaucho1 · June 2006

Outback3,

I jut recently purchased a 2006 Forester XL, 5-speed manual transmission. I ran into a similar problem -- usually, though, I was stalling it out.

My problem was the short-throw gearshift. I have been inadvertently putting it into third gear at stops, rather than first. "Low power" up to 3k rpm is a fair description, at that point. (The spacial difference between first and third isn't much on that shifter.)

Ask her to get in the habit of walking the shifter into second before trying to find 'first' gear. If that clears up your problem; all to the good.

Gaucho

parkbp · June 2006

Does anyone know what's wrong with my '04 Forester automatic? It makes a whining noise under load at certain speeds - 55 again at 75 (drive in Az). Selling dealer rode with me, said rear differential carrier bearings. Replaced diff. About the same noise but a little different. Second dealer (I moved) rode with me and said pinion bearing. Replaced diff. About the same noise but a little different. Now on 3rd diff. in a 27K mi car. Nuts! After service mgr diagnoses tech simply does as told. Car is not smooth when on road. All like this? My Chevy pickup and Honda van are both smooth as glass. Car is good otherwise and I see why Sub owners like them, but this is my first and likely the last.

ateixeira · June 2006

Next time you drive with a tech, do a figure 8 pattern. That basically tests the differentials to their max, in both directions. See if the cause becomes more obvious to them.

-juice

lfdal · June 2006

Are they sure its not the front diff? My wife's 03 OBW (same transmission, 4EAT) had a problem very similar.

Hard to tell in the cabin where the noise was coming from. They finally replaced the transmission and its been quiet ever since (17k ago)

HTH
Larry

xwesx · June 2006

Hmmm.... now you folks are worrying me. Mine has had a faint whine for 30-40K miles and I have never been able to pinpoint it. At first I thought it was the idler pulleys on the timing belt, but replaced those 10K ago. No worse, no better, so I just said to heck with it. Old cars have their little nuances. :surprise:

moscowmom · June 2006

Same problem on my '06 Forester. Dealer says the '06 has an electronic cruise that they can't adjust--unlike the old cable-driven ones that could be "tweaked", so there's nothing they can do. Bad answer. The crazy speed variations trash any sort of decent MPG. Regarding overshooting on the downhill, another "feature" of the electronic cruise is there's no downhill coasting compression when the cruise is on. Ok if it's completely turned off (not just hitting the brake) so basically you have to turn the unit on & off when going over any bit of a hill. NOT acceptable! Basically the cruise is useless on anything but completely flat ground.

msb22 · June 2006

Purchased new 2006 Impreza first part of May and now have about 2000 miles on it. We were barely off the sales lot after delivery when we heard a !!totally!! annoying noise closest approximation sounds like combination screech/whistle/squeal which can last up to 4 seconds or so at all speeds usually around 1900-2500rpm. After four trips to dealer (three just to identify the noise), the air conditioner compressor was replaced, only to have it reoccur immediately upon leaving lot. Shop foreman and I took another new Impreza off lot and what do you know, same noise. Prime theory at this point is we are hearing the high pressure noise of freon going thru the line. We have also clearly determined the noise can be cycled off and on by turning off the air conditioner or defrost. We have filed a formal complaint with Subaru, but I am not too hopeful of any quick solution. Has anyone else experienced this noise, or have any thoughts on mitigating it short of a seriously improved sound system playing very loud music at all times?

kavoom · June 2006

Hello locke2c

You seem to know a lot about Subaru Clutches. Maybe you can answer this. I tow a pop up and was wondering if I could get a heavier duty clutch for my 2004 manual X Forester than OEM?

I am within parameters for towing but if I have to change the clutch (and I will soon)I might as well go big... so to speak.

mayc · June 2006

At what mileague will the tires normally need to be replaced?

My Subaru Legacy L 2002 has only about 34,000 miles on it. A couple of days ago, I found my parked car at the end of the day with a flat front driver side tire. I drove to a gas station nearby and fill up the tire.

Yesterday the tire looks fine, but this morning the air was visibly low. So I took it to a tire shop. The sales guy told me that the tires cracked and probably is slowly leaking (this is just a visual inspection). He tried to sell me some expensive tires and told me that because it's AWD, I need to replace all of them.

I plan to take the car to the dealer (where I have it serviced) for a second opinion on Monday. But I am planning to buy the new tires from Sam's Club. Can you recommend which kind of tires I should buy? I live in the upper Midwest with quite a bit of snow, but flat serface.. mostly freeway.

Thanks!

cptplt · June 2006

the mileage depends a lot on how you drive/brake.

you need no more than a 1/4inch difference in circumference between the tires or there is a potential to mess up the AWD differential, at 30K you may well want to replace all 4

since you get snow, splash out on a set of Nokian WRs, it has the winter snow traction rating but can be used in the summer without losing all its tread. I use its predecessor the NRW as my winter tires on a 98 Legacy GT and the WR all year round on a Windstar (which has had 30000miles on these tires and still has 4mm tread on the most worn ones - about 5/32 inch (they have tread wear numbers in the tread)

Sams occasionally have great deals on certain tires. check whats happening locally. spmetimes you can get a much better higher speed rated tire for less than the usual price of a much lower rating tire.

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