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Why should I get a OB over an '05 Taurus? From all I have been reading the new OB are not holding up like the older ones did?? Or are all the complainers just posting and not the happy Subie drivers
I would like a good untility car that I can drive to 100K and not have to rebuild when it hits 90K (like my Sable)
Tell me the truth, I can take it.
Car is so noisy its an embarassment to drive. Also way more maintenance centric than a Sable (I owned 4 of them going back to 86).
Then again, you might get lucky.....
Larry
Notably, the Outback feels spunkier than our lighter Legacy, but sluggishness off the line has always been a complaint I've logged against the 2.5 NA and 4A.
~alpha
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Most 'full time' AWD cars have a tire uniformity requirement. In the case of Subaru it is 1/4" circumference, or between 1/32" & 2/32" in terms of tread depth. This is to save the center differential from cooking itself trying to resolve what it thinks is some tires spinning faster than others. Some AWD systems that only act in reaction to bigger wheel spin are not so 'finicky', but then they are not "on the job" full time like the Subaru system.
It is a trade-off. Something to consider when going in to a large investment. In theory, you can disable the electronically controlled center diff (on automatic tranny models only) and run in FWD only mode by inserting a fuse (see your owners manual), but then why buy an OB???
Steve
SO ok, now I am a part of the 'crew' I have been reading the manual like a book, I am drinking this all in, not being a 'car gal'. I know a few important things right off: don't tow, put it on a flat bed. No snow chains, Make sure all the tires get changed at the same time.
Anything else that is really important to know up front? I am going to keep up on this board now for sure!
Thanks for your advice. Don't worry I will keep this baby maintained and serviced regularly.
Here she is:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gc137/detail?.dir=6371&.dnm=2a4ascd.jpg&.src=ph">My Subie
Since its at 30K you probably want to check the info that Enterprise gave you and see how it lines up with the owner's manual.
Most of the light maintenance items should be done now (if not already)
Air filter,
Fuel filter,
Check the front and rear differential fluids,
Check the transmission fluid
Change the cabin air filter (if it has one - if it doesn't you might want to get one, I think most of us that have them installed like them)
Spark plugs should be changed
Cooling system flush
If the brake fluid is dark you might want to get the fluid flushed - that's kind of a religious issue with some folks - some never touch it, some flush it yearly. Note that's different from getting the brakes bled. If a shop tells you its the same thing, run away, run away
If Enterprise didn't change the fluids, I'd consider pecking at the list over the next few months, vs dropping a lot of cash to get everything done at once.
I know that a brake flush is about $70, front and rear diff fluid change is about another $70, if you decide to have them do a drain and fill on the transmission (note that only replaces about 25% of the fluid, that's about $65).
Cabin air filter - about $35 with a half hour's labor, fuel filter about the same, and air filter should be about $20 with less than a half hours labor.
Spark plugs are between $60 - $100 depending upon who does them.
Cooling system was also in the mid $60's I think - note that Subaru is insistent that only their brand of coolant be used in the engine.
It looks like a lot, but it will help extend the life of the car and I notice you tend to keep them for quite a while.
HTH
Larry
My advice is follow the normal maintenance plan. An occasional cleaning won't hurt, either.
Good Luck. Rob M.
Steve
-juice
I had my 60k service yesterday. They said I did not need to change my spark plugs yet. How long do (can?) the plugs last?
The mechanic (not the dealer) said it would be 2-hour job to change. I know it is complicated, but does that sound right? I know Scooby-Mods has a detailed set of instructions, but I don't feel like doing it myself.
Thanks!
Matt
-juice
Only time I ever had a car which needed plugs changed at an even longer interval - A Windstar which needs them at 100K, one shot out of the engine at 75K!
When my wife starts her OB H6 04, the engine does not turn over right away. It takes a few tries before it starts. I guess it happens when the car has been sitting for a long period of time(over nite and leaving work).
Could it be the ignition coil? I checked the water levels in the battery cells. They are fine.
Any advice will be appreciated....
If it happens most often after the car has cooled, it could be a fuel line pressure problem. Try a little experiment. Insert the key, and turn to the "on" position. Wait about 5 seconds, then proceed to "start". This allows certain electronics time to initialize, and for the fuel pump to run and prime the lines.
The need for doing the 'on position for a few seconds' thing seems to be very vehicle dependent. A check ball arrangement is supposed to keep the fuel system under a slight degree of pressure, and all of the lines up to the injectors primed. Some fuel pumps do it better than others. If you have one of the cars in which the seals are less than perfect, sufficient fuel leaks down and you need a few seconds of pump priming to re-establish full lines and proper pressure. Otherwise, the injectors just will not fire correctly.
If this works, bring it to the attention of your dealer and push for a new pump.
Steve
Yes, it cranks but will not start the first time. When she cranks it a second time, the car would start.
I will follow your directions and let you know. If this is the case, I will inform the dealer.
Thanks again.
If it wasn't such a PITA, I would swap them out myself.
-juice
This was my first 'full' winter with them. All I can say is 'awesome'. I think I posted a review when I purchased them last spring, but, anyway....
The tires were great in the summer rainstorms. I have never hydroplaned in them, even when trying.
You won't like them in the winter if you 'like' to play in the snow. You can't with these tires. I always liked to pull up on the emergency brake and slide around and pull in my driveway. It won't work anymore, ha. We didn't have any ice this winter, so, can't comment on ice traction.
The tires have made a world of difference in snow traction compared to the OEM tires. I would recommend them on your Subaru in a heartbeat.
It is also very hard to get them to loose traction while cornering on dry pavement. You hear tire scrubbing way before you hear them begin to squeal.
(No, I don't work for, nor am I affiliated with GoodYear. ha!)
Mark
2003 Legacy Wagon L Spec Edt.
My mpg is back up to 20+ with the coming of spring. Still haven't broke +30F yet, so probably seems cold to those of you living in warmer climates. But, we are seeing +20F and greater temps! If it were not for this darned persistent north wind....
I believe a new timing belt it due at 105k miles if it was not done already, and they should change the O-ring (front main seal) at the same time. Just build that in to the price if it was not already done.
You can have a compression test done to see if the head gaskets are in good shape. If they are now, at 100k, they'll probably never fail.
-juice
Treadwear and all-season effectiveness (along with price) were the primary factors in choosing the TripleTred for me. I suspect that these are the last tires that will be mounted on this car. I put about 22K a year on mine, so if they last their full 80,000 treadwear I would have 275K (some time in 2009) on the car and I doubt that will happen - at least not while it is our primary driver!
I do not use premium. I did for the first few tanks I had it in Alaska, but there was absolutely no change in fuel economy or performance (granted, that was during the first three months I owned it... the trio of hell!) so I stopped pouring my money down the pipe. The overall cost, as a % of price, is much less now than it was back then. I think prices were about $1.45 or so when I first brought it to Fairbanks in 8/2000 and premium (91) is always $0.20 more than regular (87) here. The best MPG was a tank I put in at Spokane, WA. I drove it about 380 miles to some little town in British Columbia before filling up and put in about 12.5 gallons - it worked out to 30.9ish mpg. I put in 87 all the way from Helix, OR to Fairbanks, AK because many of the pit stops along the highway did not carry anything better than 89 and Canadian fuel prices were wickedly high anyway. That 30.9 was my "glory tank" that gave me false hopes! The best since was mid 28 and normal summer highway these days (at least last summer) is 25-26 depending on cargo and driver. If occking's observations hold true for me, I could lose another 2.5 mpg off of that! Hopefully some of the tuneup work I've done and will do this spring will offset it a little...... :sick:
They buy the house on the spot.
Why? Cuz "what are the odds of that happening again".
Consider yourself lucky it happened under warranty.
The new gasket is a better version and you should have many years of service.
Its not chronic, but its a weakness that you will have taken care of.
If I were looking at buying used one, yours would be at the top of my list BECAUSE you had the new "better" gasket installed.
You should be OK unless it overheated very badly and warped the heads. Did you drive it long after you noticed it was overheating?
-juice
I understand the warranty for drive train (and head gasket) is until 60k.
Have they extended all the 02's to warranty the gaskets until 100k?
Thank you in advance.
I looked again last night, in 02 the CR rating for engine is below average, but for 03 it jumps to above average. Again, this data tends to agree with what we have observed here.
The gasket material was supposedly revised. That was their claim at the time. CR's data and our empirical data from observations here at Edmunds tend to confirm that hypothesis.
That's all we know.
-juice
From what I was told, the DOHC gasket is now on either rev 3 or rev 4. This engine most often failed for internal passageway leaks, and the head bolts are found to be loose, as though the gasket were compressing excessively, then delaminating.
In the case of the SOHC engine, the open deck design has excessive creep, resulting in external leaks first, but now were are hearing more and more of internal leaks and overheating. At the time my very early '02 went (mid '03 with 15k miles), I was told that the gasket series had not changed. The conditioner was announced about a year later, and is a leak-stop type and possibly a gasket sweller, meant to rebuild the wall as creap damages it.
My source - a former regional rep that now makes a robust business out of repairing Subaru failed HG's as a private garage. BTW, a certain other birdie eluded to much the same when I asked on the phone to confirm what I had heard....
Now why many '02's (including mine) are not covered by the extended coverage campaign is a question I could never get answered by either source. I forced the issue on my own and had my dealer change the coolant and add the conditioner last year, but I have no way of knowing if it will help, or if SoA will assist me if mine then blows at high mileage. I too have a SoA Gold plan, but only to 6 yr / 80k miles.
And so far, the data for '03 and beyond engines looks better, but nobody will say why. I cannot help but wonder if some very minor change in molds or casting technique of either the block of head somehow changed the dynamics of deck creep.
I'm not sure that we are ever going to know the 'real' story on all of this. Yet I love the car anyhow!
Steve
Seems to not be all of them. I suppose I need to just think that a 900-1600 repair is in the future.
I got such a good deal on this car I have room to pay down the road if its an issue not covered under warranty.
I won't see the car for few weeks and maybe the records are available. At worst, when the 60k service comes up I have the coolent flushed and the conditioner put in.
Well, like I said before, I am going to just roll with it and see what happens. But no, the answers I've gotten are not confidence building.
Steve
Alland
-juice
Alland
Brought car in for a routine 16,000 mile checkup:
Had a set of new front Brake Pads ( under warranty)'
Brought car in for 36,000 mile checkup. Another new set of Brakes.
Changed the oil at 41,000 miles.
Now need a set of Back Brakes and a replacement of the Valve cover gasket.
Is this normal??? It is according to the dealer. Help.
Valve cover gasket is not something with which to be alarmed necessarily. They can be very sensitive to heat and/or slight oil overfills. So, if nothing specific happened to which you can point as a possible culprit, that one could just be bad luck! It is an easy and quick fix. Do not expect them to generally fail that often though.