Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

gjksn

I just got this email from my dealership: Did you know that Subaru recommends that the timing belt on your 2003 LEGACY be changed every 7 years or up to 105,000 miles? Our records indicate that your vehicle is due for this service. I've heard a lot about the importance of replacing the thing at 105,000 miles but never the part about 105,000 miles OR SEVEN YEARS. My 2003 Legacy wagon (purchased 9/11/2002) has 57,500 miles on it. Does Subaru really recommend that I change the timing belt, and if not, should I do it anyway?

xwesx

I have not heard the time limit before, but rubber belts do suffer the effects of age as well as use. I certainly would not let the belt go over ten years, just because it is much less expense and effort to replace the belt periodically than to ruin the engine should it break.

I replaced my '96 Outback's belt at: 83,500 miles (4.5 years old), 144,000 miles (3 years old), 192,000 miles (2.5 years old - I also replaced the pulleys this time). Every time it was replaced, it looked perfect aside from the timing marks, etc., on the back side of the belt being extremely faded.

I did the initial replacement because I had just purchased the car and it was closing in on the 105,000 mark, but the other replacements were simply due to having the engine apart for other reasons.

ateixeira

That assumes you drive more than 15k miles per year, which is crazy.

So no, I doubt the 7 years thing.

robr2

That assumes you drive more than 15k miles per year, which is crazy.

So no, I doubt the 7 years thing.

15K a year isn't unusual nowadays.

As for 2003 Subaru - here is the schedule:

http://www.subaru.com/content/downloads/pdf/maintsched/2003SchedFed.pdf

They recommend 105K miles or 105 months.

ateixeira

Yeah, but they would likely go with 12k miles/year. Like the warranty - 3 years/36k, 5/60k.

robr2

According to the DOT, the average is closer to 14K miles per year:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm

3/36, 5/60 are just easy to remember.

ateixeira

But aren't the service intervals 30,000 miles or 3 years? That's just 10k per year.

I doubt a timing belt is done at 7 years. The belts on my Miata started getting noisy at more like 11+ years. It was also very low miles.

robr2

But aren't the service intervals 30,000 miles or 3 years? That's just 10k per year.

Read closer - it says 30K or 30 months, whichever comes first.

Honda says 7 years or 105K. My VW should have it done at 90K. According to Miata.net, the timing belt on your Miata should be changed at 60K miles.

It's not just noise, it's also wear from stretching and oil. On an interference engine (ie Honda), breaking a timing belt can be an expensive repair.

ateixeira

I stand corrected. So a 12k/year pace, then. Still not 15k plus.

I wasn't worried on the Miata because it's non-interference, but I changed it and the water pump anyway, since I had some cooling issues.

EJ engines are interference I believe, so more of a concern.

gjksn

Thank you guys for your responses. I knew I'd get good information in answer to my question. It sounds like I should probably replace it. My mechanical skills are non-existent, so I tend to over-maintain cars. Both my all season tires and my Blizzaks were replaced after seven years even though they still had enough tread for more miles. I drive no more than 10-15 miles on city surface streets most days, but I love long distance road trips and don't react well when cars break down. That hasn't happened since the early 80s when my 77 VW Rabbit stopped in the middle of the Squirrel Hill tunnel during rush hour while I was in law school at U Pitt. It was rush hour, and traffic was backed up from Squirrel Hill all the way onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike (several miles, if I recall correctly). I've bought Japanese cars ever since then, maintained them well, and have not had a major car problem since 77. Though I only have 57,500 miles after 8.5 years, my 2003 Legacy has been from Minneapolis to Montana 4 times, back and forth to D.C. 3 times, back and forth to Boston once, and back and forth to Philly (where I had many spectacular break downs in VWs during the 70s as an undergrad) once. Sorry for rambling, but I really do appreciate the information, and as an over-maintainer, I'll probably go ahead and do what they tell me. This is a fairly expensive repair isn't it?

xwesx

Maintenance... it is not a repair yet! :P

My guess is that it is fairly expensive. If the pulleys and tensioner are replaced, the parts cost is about $400, with another $300 to $400 labor cost, so I suspect they'll get you for around $800.

mtnsun

re my catalytic converter and head gasket problem on my 2001 Outback.

1. I called Subaru, they said I had the special coolant done some years ago.

2. Mr. Shiftright, you are correct, Subaru wouldn't do anything for me on repairs. They did offer to rebate to me $500 after any purchase of a new Subaru, after I send them the paperwork.

3. I take my Subaru regularly to Lancer Automotive, the shop owned by Leon Kaplan aka the Motorman from 790 KABC Radio.

4. Can I drive the car with the leaking head gaskets, assuming I am only burning a quart every 4 or 5K miles. I heard Leon Kaplan on the radio tell another car owner who was burning oil to use a heavy weight oil 30 or 40 weight oil together with hyperlube oil, will that help?

5. Now for the 64K question, what will it generally cost to replace a CA catalytic converter and to replace the head gaskets, what am I looking at? If I do both jobs at once, can I bargain with the repair shop?

Mtnsun :confuse:

ponytrekker

4.A. I have had a slightly leaking head gasket for about 4 years and so far so good.

5.A. I was quoted about $1000 for the Cat and I have to imagine it would be at least $1500 for the head gasket which is why I opted to just run it into the ground. Eventually my engine light went out (though it's still operative) and the car has always passed inspection.

Cat does have a separate emissions warranty that runs up to 100k, depending on your state.

Mr_Shiftright

I think ponytrekker gave you good advice (see above).

As for driving with the leaking head gasket, that really depends on how much it leaks and whether or not coolant is also leaking into the engine oil. Coolant in the engine oil will (not may, but WILL) destroy the engine. But if the head gasket is merely dripping oil externally, and not losing coolant externally or internally, then yeah, you could drive it---but it could bust out at any time, and if this happens on the highway, and you dump LOTS of oil, you may not react in time to save the engine.

Sure, it's expensive to fix, but if the rest of the car is in top shape, think of it this way: what piece of junk can you buy for $2000? Better the devil you know than the one you don't.

mtnsun

Thanks ponytrekker for you response. I called the repair shop today and asked them how much would it cost to fix both the cat and head gaskets. I intend to bargain--beg--do both at once, give me a discount, pretty please. Hopefully they will call me back tomorrow. The Cat is about 600 on the web, so add the labor and 1K sounds about right. The head gasket kits on the web are not that expensive, but the labor (to pull the engine) is expensive, but according to some sites should not exceed 10 hours. I think this all sucks, but I love my Subaru. I may still buy a new car, but I want to fix this one if not too expensive. For those of you who don't have a manual tranny Subaru, you are missing out on how fun it is to drive. But I understand from looking at the inventories on this website and from comments some make, that manual trannys are going out of style. Mtnsun.

mtnsun

went out or turned off after about an hour drive, from LA to Orange County. I was told previously by the repair shop (see my other posts) that I need a new cat converter, and that my CEL would stay on, but now it has turned off. My 2001 Outback has 115K miles. I am assuming that the CEL will come back on tomorrow or soon. What does this mean, that my CEL was on for a solid week, then turned off for a day, then turned on again, anything?

Mtnsun. :confuse: :surprise:

xwesx

It is going to do that quite a bit! The problem is likely not the catalytic converter, but the oxygen sensors - if the code that is posting in the system is P0420. I had this code periodically pop up (sometimes daily, sometimes it would be off for weeks!) for several years on my '96 Outback and also on my '98 Escort. The tailpipe emissions were always good, so I have to surmise that the oxygen sensors are just getting old.

I picked up a cheap handheld code reader in order to check the codes and reset the light.

pilot1226

The way that the modern OBD2 works, from my understanding, is that there are a bunch of categories of codes.

Some of these, when they detect an error, will send a "pending" error code, to rule out 'flukes' with emissions, etc. I had this problem first-hand when I had a lean mixture issue that later turned out to be a faulty MAF sensor which I replaced myself.

Anyway, even if the engine light comes out, if you DRIVE enough, it will reset the code itself. The code can also be reset by disconnecting the battery so there's no power going through the car, but of course, this is more extreme and you'll lose your radio presets and, if equipped, your seat memory prefs.

So, it sounds like the code you're mentioning above is coming and going based on either the driving conditions at the time, or potentially a faulty component. You can usually bring your car into a national chain like AutoZone or Advance Auto and they'll extinguish the light for free - but as wes says below - you may find it more convenient to just buy yourself a cheap OBD2 reader and do it yourself.

Mr_Shiftright

The 2.5L engines like to eat 02 sensors. You'd best attend to it/investigate it because eventually the catalytic could become so stressed that you *will* need a new one. This is not a code I would ignore.

sstevek

In a 2002 Outback, is there a separate resevior for the rear window washer fluid? It was working, now I can hear the motor but no fluid. The front washer fluid is fine.

sghusker

In my 2000 Legacy, both the front and rear washers come from the same tank under the hood. I had a motor go out for the rear and it was very easy to replace. I suggest taking the battery out for easier access to the tank. Pull the hoses from the bottom of both motors and have someone run both the front and rear washers so you can look to see if there is any fluid coming out of the motors. If there is, then your problem is in the hose line or even at the nozzle end above your wiper. Try to take a small wire or needle to push into the nozzle to try and free any debris that has collected at the end. You might have to just follow the hose from your tank to see it there is any leaks somewhere. Good Luck.

subyob

You may find that there is only 1 washer bottle with 1 motor which washes both front and rear screen but the intake for the rear screen is at a higher level as this is a safety feature so that you do not run out of fluid for the front screen. If the fluid is any lower than half fill the tank and recheck the rear washer.

[Deleted User]

Posted in a different forum, but no answers, so trying again here:

I had previously reported that a repair shop determined I had a head gasket that was weeping coolant.

I spoke to SoA who asked me to bring my 2000 OB to a dealer for an official diagnosis. The dealer now says the radiator is busted and that they cannot do a proper test of the head gaskets until that's fixed.

The other repair shop claims they did a pressure test. Before I talk to them again, I wanted to know if is actually possible to perform a proper pressure test when there is a hole in the radiator. How can they tell that one of the HGs is leaking coolant when the dealer says they can't take a proper look at it?

Are these two diagnoses reconcilable, or is one of them trying to take me for a ride?

FWIW, I have never seen a puddle of coolant under my car, but the dealer says it's leaking pretty badly. No doubt about that as I can easily smell burnt coolant after only a couple of miles of driving. I guess it's only dripping when the system is pressurized, or it's dripping onto something that can collect a fair amount of coolant without it reaching the ground. I guess I could take my car home and idle it for a while to see for myself where the leak is, then replace the radiator/hoses or have someone else do it.

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment!
MM

Mr_Shiftright

If the system holds enough pressure, you could perform the test with a leaking radiator---it rather depends on how bad the radiator leak is.

Of course, your car is notorious for defective head gaskets at around the 80K--120K mark ( virtual Subaru 2.5L epidemic) so if the dealer actually saw coolant dripping from the head-to-block mating surface, there's your answer.

But sure, if you have OTHER leaks, you want to make sure that's not where you leak is.

Remember, this is not an internal head gasket leak, but an external one (in most cases), so some of the classic tests for head gaskets might not apply (water in oil, combustion gases in coolant, etc).

bbwest

Just want to say...in case someone else is looking...that this site saved me.. sprayed wd40 on latch...all over. (back gate..where you reach under and squeeze latch to open back) and waited 10 minutes and it opened. then looked at it and lo and behold it was all rusted. I'm getting the latch replaced but had I been smarter I would have cleaned it off from time to time over the years. BUT bottom line ..the problem was solved...and it was a good thing since the entire back was filled with furniture so there was NO getting at any panel inside! thanks. whoever posted the Wd 40 suggestion!

Mr_Shiftright

that would be cptplt , who gets the Gold Star. He hasn't been logged in for a while however.

billbow

Is there any hope there is a simple and affordable fix to get the cold air going again in this car? i'm willing to put a little money into fixing it, but 400 or 500 dollars is the absolute limit I'm willing to spend on a 15 year old car that I'm itching to shoot and put out of its misery, but need to hold off a year or so if possible. It was a great car for many years and I loved it deeply, but now it drives like a log wagon and I can't describe the violent shaking that freeway speed brings on, but I can live with those things a little longer, but I'm in Tennessee and it's 98 degrees by 6AM, so not having cold AC in a car is not an option. Anyone had this same problem repaired that could tell me what I'm looking at?

sghusker

My 2000 Legacy is always out of freon at the beginning of summer. All I do is add a small can of freon. It costs about $8 and you can get a fill tube for about $15. All mine takes is one can. My compressor must a small leak but I can get by for 4 to 5 months of cold air just until fall arrives. By the way, Im in Nebraska and it gets to 98 degrees by 5 am !!!

joe_milwaukee

I'm thinking of buying a used ('08, 2.5i) Outback.

On Edmund's costs to own calculator, the maintenance costs for the '08 outback are two to three times the maintenance costs for comparable wagons (Edmunds says that maintenance is $2,500 some years and $7.2k over the next five years).

Is this accurate? And if true, why are the maintenance costs for the outback so high?

Mr_Shiftright

That does seem high....hmm....the only "real" possibilities to explain this, presuming Edmunds is right in their calculations, would be that Subaru parts are very expensive (I used to own one) and also that they are all AWD, which uses more fuel and is more expensive to repair and maintain.

For instance, you can't run tires with unequal tread depth on a Subaru AWD. So if you blow one tire that has 20K on it, you have to buy at least 2 and maybe 4 new tires.

But I'm just speculating. I never found my Subaru costs to be oppressive in any way.

grahampeters

G'day

I am not sure that I would be too concerned at the maintenance costs for a Subaru being dramatically higher than other similar vehicles. Certainly, as the miles climbed in my 1999 Outback, I found that costs climbed more steeply than say my present Toyota Kluger (Highlander), but they were dramatically less than Europeans or some other Japanese vehicles.

The tyre issue has been mentioned on these pages a few times but I never found it a huge issue. You must however be scrupulous in tyre care, rotating regularly, checking tyre pressures and having wheel balance and alignment done regularly. I found my Outback the most sensitive car that I have ever owned for tyre pressures and alignment.

The real big issue is that Subarus must be regularly maintained by competent experts, whether a dealer or an experienced Subaru specialist. Miss service and you will pay for it many times over. Overfill the oil and you will also have a problem

That said, they are remarkably robust vehicles with very long lives. I cannot tell you how many Subarus with 250,000 miles or more, I have known.

Cheers

Graham

fibber2

I had to do front brakes on my OBW this weekend. It's my screwy almost 10 year old 2002 that was built with the smaller 2001 brakes. While everything wore very evenly, the inside pads were so cooked that the final millimeters of pad material literally crumbled and fell off the backing plate as I removed them. Luckily runout on the rotors was minimal, so I scuffed them with garnet paper, removed the edge rust ridge and reused them (slotted, cryo units)

Both wear sensors began buzzing on Thursday, and it was a crisis by Friday. I limped to the dealer for a pad set ($75 with courtesy discounts - $102 list!!). But at least these come with all of the shims & slider clips. The Hawk HPS set that I used 45k miles ago came basically bare.

The real issue is the rust. I spent hours descaling everything, and could not get the bleeders open. I figure that without replacing the calipers the system isn't long for the world. Living in the rust belt is tough on iron!

ateixeira

I'd say they're about average, really. It cost me more to maintain my '98 Forester than my '93 Miata, which was a very simple car to work on, but less than our '95 626.

The AWD is maintenance-free, but you do have an extra differential to change gear oil for. Still, that's one quart of oil, and easier than an oil change.

ateixeira

Must be all the salt they treat the roads with.

The runoff ruins my lawn. I think the first foot or so, next to the road, gets burned.

hammerhead

Finally got the LGT in for the clunk removal. (Warm tranny, full-lock turns and a full-time whine). Indeed the viscous coupler was toast, as was a bearing somewhere aft of that. Spendy fix, but wow - worked wonders! Shimmed the heat shields up too. Quiet car!

mtnsun

It is Mtnsun

Back again.

2001 Outback Wagon 5sp manual tranny 121K miles, I live in Los Angeles, my air conditioner just went out, was told by a very reputable shop, it is $900 for a rebuilt compressor, receiver dryer and recharge, plus my left rack and pinion boot is torn and leaking power steering fluid, which requires an alignment, another $300 for the new boot, etc. I also have oil burning or leaking from the head gasket. I also have a dent from backing into a basketball pole, that is $1200 to fix. All that being said, it is well maintained and runs like a charm. The air conditioning just went out last week.

For the gasket, I am trying heavyweight oil with a quart of hyper lube oil, to see if it works.

That being said, I test drove a new Outback 6sp manual, and liked it, but the dealer in LA barely offered me anything on trade in value for my existing Outback, literally half of what blue book and NADA and Edmunds gives for trade in value--so I was disappointed. I am getting a appraisal on the car from another company and am going to take it from there.

My gut tells me to sell and get a new one, but my heart....

Any thoughts? Mtnsun.

hammerhead

Aside from the cosmetic damage...
The HG issue is a common one in Subarus of that vintage (my 99 had it - was fixed before I bought it). IIRC - $2000. I don't know if the oil tactic will work short term or not.
The replacement of a torn boot usually requires a re-alignment. That's not unusual.

So.... my math says you've got about $4500 worth of issues there. 2001 OB MT with 121K can't be worth much more than that, even without the list. At this point, I'd be inclined to take whatever they're offering in trade - it's better than nothing. Work hard for the best possible deal on the new one.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh so you have the dreaded Subaru 2.5L head gasket problem? Well, given all the other issues with the car, I think it's probably time to bail. Your leaking power steering is not because of the boot. The boot is just a weather/grease seal. The head gasket is an engine-out affair and of course you'd be crazy not to replace the clutch, since it is right there in the open at that point. I suspect, if your AC compressor has seized, you're in for a lot of labor beyond the $900.

I think by the time you are done you could go out and buy a very nice clean 2001 for the same money.

I never encourage people to go into debt but it's my opinion that your car is ready to be an organ donor or could be rebuilt by a repair shop on their own time, with used parts, and resold.

Visiting Host

mtnsun

Thanks for all the comments. Ireally appreciate it I really wish my 2001 didn't need new air, a new cv boot, etc. I really liked that car. I will miss her.

I sold my 2001 Subaru Outback for 3k plus to Trade In Solutions in So. Cal., which was over 1000 more than the dealer offered. I recommend Trade In Solutions, as I had a very good experience, they explain everything, the customer service is good, and the price was very fair. They have several locations in So Cal.

I then bought a new 2011 Subaru Outback Premium Manual 6sp, Charcoal Grey with black interior, with all weather package. I paid approximately invoice. I looked all over the So. Cal. dealerships and hardly anyone had manual tranny Outback, and only one dealer had an Outback Premium with a manual tranny. So far so good, the hill holder feature and electric parking brake take a little getting used to. I panicked on my first hill when I instinctively grabbed for the pull parking brake. and it wasn't there. I like the black cloth interior, not leather, but my last cloth Subaru interior wore well. The manual tranny doesn't come in leather also. With kids, I don't like light interiors. I would of liked to have a rear view camera, but I don't like sun roofs because you lose headroom, and they often leak, and my wife has one on her car and no one uses it.

Since I live in So. Cal., I get a lot of crap from people about having a manual tranny, but it is an absolute must for my mountain trips, and I like the control and feel of power, and frankly, the four cylinder cars without one are pretty gutless. I have never had a car that didn't have a manual tranny and I am 50 years old, but then all of my cars have been small four cylinders, except the Outback Wagon is not really that small. Query, am I witnessing the death of the manual tranny?

I hope this new Outback last 10 years or even more than my previous one.

Mtnsun.

ateixeira

am I witnessing the death of the manual tranny?

The best selling car in the USA just dropped a manual trans option (2012 Camry).

I hope not, though.

pathtomax

The "I" icon in my display panel is now lit up. I have navigation and figured there was an explanation found there (maintenance required etc) but could not find an explanation. It is not the CEL...this is found right below my sport mode indicator and beside my mileage.

Any ideas?

I have an oil change scheduled in 2 weeks so I would just like to wait until then. Do they need the computer to tell the code?

Thanks!

xwesx

There should be a map of the instrument cluster included in the owner's manual that will tell you what that particular icon means.

summerlover97

I have the exact same problem with the 1997 Legacy. The terminals are not corroded, but the bar that holds the battery down gets horrible looking and very thick with corrosion if it isn't constantly cleaned. This hasn't just happened with the original battery; each battery I have had in there over the years has done the same thing; some worse than others.

summerlover97

After reading the forums on here, my 1997 2.5L GT Legacy has had overheating issues the last 1.5 years with 200,000 miles on the car. I never had an over heating issue before this time. I towed it six times to two different shops to have it repaired. We had just moved across country from the PNW to Georgia the year previous to all of this. Before moving, I had the car done over so there would be no break downs along the way. New timing belt, hoses, tune-up, water pump, etc.; I went so far as to have new catalytic converters put on it due to the fact that there was a rattle in one that was getting serious sounding (maybe it didn't need to be done). Anyway, no problems driving across country, but after a year of living down here, it suddenly started overheating. It's been a great car with regular and preventative maintenance done on it; the only thing I had to have replaced on it was the clutch, etc. at about 160,000 miles. One night it started overheating on the interstate, thankgoodness we are very close to home; but a long way back to anywhere to get it fixed. Having it towed, I was told that the thermostat needed to be replaced; but they couldn't find an issue with the overheating, also the engine had misfired and they replaced the spark plug wires (with generic ones; I hate being a woman), and they put a new radiator cap on the car. I got it home and it overheated again spewing coolant on the ground, so had it towed to a different shop. They said they couldn't find anything really wrong with it, except the generic spark plug wires (they said it was misfiring due to the ill fitting wires), had ruined one of the new catalytic converters I had put on there and it was gasoline soaked. I told them about the problems I had read with this model subaru possibly having a bad head gasket, but they swore that couldn't be the problem. Needless to say the overheating happened again after I had the car back and had to take it in again; they said they couldn't find the source and didn't want to charge me to fix something that wasn't wrong. They said they could change out the headgasket for me but with the age of the car I would probably have to have the main engine bearing done also due to the miles and age of the car, which would mean a whole new engine and possibly transmission. I got tired of either being overcharged or being told that if the computer didn't say anything was wrong with the car then nothing was wrong with the car; so I went home and did some research on my own and decided to work my way back. I changed out the thermostat again due to the overheatings, the radiator, the radiator cap; I also put in a new knock sensor because the computer code said I needed one, and I had to have it in order to pass emissions. Here's the part that I am having problems with. The car when it overheated all those times would get hot when it idled or sat in traffic, but not on the interstate, it would cool down. I didn't see any oil in the coolant, had no bubbling, but did see a black lining on the overflow tank. I was told by a friend of mine up in Washington when I went to change the radiator that I shouldn't have to do it, but wanted to start with the least expensive solution possible, especially if I needed a new engine. He was right, the new radiator (will never put in a non-subaru part again) didn't last very long before it sprung a leak; even my friend in Washington swears that it isn't a headgasket problem.. no one except for all of you on here thinks it is. Thankgoodness I hung on to the old radiator, I put that back in and the car seemed to work fine again; the overheatings went away for a while. When it happened again, I changed the thermostat; and tried some of that head gasket fix stuff from the auto store, changed the coolant and ran that throught he system. The overheating went away for about six months, but then came back again. (Important to note here, that the overheating happened when idling, driving on side streets but not on the interstate). The last dose of head gasket fix must have given up, because out of the blue, it started overheating yesterday. The strange thing about this is that almost all of the coolant was gone from the radiator; which shocked me because I had just checked it not too long ago; and it had just been lubed and they said there appeared to be no problem with the cooling system. The difference this time is that the car overheated on the insterstate but when it idles it cools down which is a 180 degree turn around from the last time it overheated. Also this time in nothing flat it overheats, and where is the radiator fluid going so quickly? I have no leaks, I am not seeing white exhaust, and the overflow tank is empty. i would refill it, drive the car about a couple of miles, and then it would overheat as soon as getting up to operating temperature. This is what we did last night; we drained all of the coolant; flushed the cooling system on the car; put it back together, put some of the leak fix stuff back in like we did with antifreeze as these directions state to do. Here's what's perplexing me, could this be the water pump that is malfunctioning, or the A/C compressor? My reason for asking is that where the water pump is located there is no water leaking; however, I have water, not coolant mix or oil mix leaking from behind the engine from the passenger side; there is also a couple of drops of water, I didn't see it drop closer to the middle driver's side, again back behind the engine, again it's pure water with nothing mixed in with it. We took the subaru out for a sixty mile drive after we put the stuff in the radiator late last night. We stopped about half way just to let it cool down so we could see if we were losing coolant; we weren't. However, I noticed water dripping from the opening of the compressor, but we weren't using the A/C or heater. We drove another 35 miles and again, more water coming from the compressor opening (assuming that is just in front of the passenger side below the windshield). It was at this time when we got home that I noticed the smaller, much smaller) spot of water closer to the driver's side behind the engine. I have no doubt that I probably need a new head gasket, and if I didn't I sure do now; but why suddenly the difference in the way the car overheats? Any help would be appreciated, I want to know what's going on so I don't get the run around when taking it in to be fixed. Sorry for the long post, thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

hammerhead

The battery issue: clean it really well, then apply several thin coats of battery terminal protector to the entire top of the battery, including the clamping apparatus.

Clear liquid dripping is in all likelihood condensation - liquid humidity, if you will, that the a/c system has removed from the passenger compartment. That is normal.

Your overheating scenario sure sounds like head gaskets. Disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic. My '99 LGT had its HG's done before I bought it, but from the facts as you relate them, it sure sounds like your overheating is similar to the experience of others.

The wry good news is that if you get them fixed, given all the other parts that have gone in to your car, it'll be like new for awhile!

Good luck, from your old stomping grounds in the PNW.

Mr_Shiftright

Why doesn't anyone seem to have TESTED the car for bad head gaskets? You pressurize the cooling system, hold the pressure, look for leaks at the head gasket area...if none, then pull out each spark plug (while still under pressure) and check for coolant on the plug, or use a boroscope to peer inside the cylinder to look for coolant.

Also you can test the coolant chemically to check for combustion gases.

Overheating at idle but not at speed is usually an air circulation problem (fans) and in rare cases corroded impellers on the water pump.

Overheating at speed is usually a coolant circulation problem (clogged radiator, stuck thermostat).

Rapid overheating from cold engine to boiling is usually a head gasket or a completely stuck thermostat.

Overheating problems are very complex and have to be approached systematically.

As for the loss of coolant, there are only two possibilities according to the laws governing the known universe--you are either leaking it or burning it---and you can test for both by the methods suggested.

hammerhead

THERE'S the mechanic's response!

Mr_Shiftright

Been there, done that with the 2.5L engine.

windgrace

My mom and I were looking at reviews on tirerack and we cannot believe that Bridgestone even wastes rubber making the Turanza EL400-02 that comes standard on the Legacy. Terrible traction...Drove in 2" of snow and the car just slipped everywhere! The tires have 18k on them but she is planning on replacing the tires sometimes in the next 3-4 months. I'm trying to help her out with some research. After looking at reviews on tirerack I'm stumped. The Michelin MXV4 and General Altimax HP get relatively good reviews from tirerack.

Michelins seem to pretty much get good reviews all-around. However, they're VERY expensive. The General Altimax HP though certainly are intriguing...for like $150 less than the Michelins we could get those, which get great reviews on tirerack (although some don't seem to get the expected tread life...?) So any suggestions/recommendations would be great! Any other all-season tires we should look at would be helpful!

ic_designer

I use OEM HONDA wiper insert for my 02 OUTBACK.

For front driver side wiper insert (Length:550mm; Width:8mm) for Outback: Equivalent is 2006 Honda Odyssey passenger side (Part# 76632-SHJ-A01).

For front passenger side wiper insert (Length:500mm; Width:6mm) for Outback: Equivalent is 2004 Honda CRV passenger side (part# 76632-S6M-003).

I went this route because my local Subaru dealer would not sell me insert only. With coupon, I got the insert for $5.00 each at Honda dealer.

Previously, I cut my 2000 Honda Odyssey inserts to fit them on my Outback.