Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

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Comments

  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Charlie,

    IIRC from an Endwrench article, '99 was the first year of the new case, which included use of the spin-on filter (looks like an oil filter). Is this where your leak originates? It might be as simple as replacing it (gasket may have dried out...).

    Something else - that filter only works for the main AT case and fluid, not the front differential which has a separate resovoir of gear oil and no filter (correct me if I am wrong guys....).

    Steve
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,399
    Steve is right. That filter is also considered a "no maintenance" part. The manuals say it never needs to be changed.

    Jim
  • mrk610mrk610 Member Posts: 378
    I had one of my head lights go out the othr day . I went to change the bulb and was i suprised . The headlight bulb is a H1 very little bulb . I want to upgrade and was wondering what other bulbs owners have used . I', looking at the sylvanie silver star but I'm not able to find them at my local parts store.

    Thanks mike
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    With an almost 1400 lumens legal output, the H1 bulb is really a very good choice for a low beam lamp. That is a stock output that exceeds most of the other tungsten bulbs. The marketplace is full of standard and 'designer' variations on this item. Personally, I am not convinced that a shift towards UV (blue) output really buys you much over the standard broad spectrum (yellow) light, other than looking 'cool'. But I would be interested to hear what you find and like.

    Steve
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It needs to be changed if the gaskets are bad. ;-)

    Careful with non-standard halogen bulbs, I had some Hella H4+30 and they didn't last a year. My stock bulbs are back on there and have lasted almost 5 years.

    Just bring an extra with you. You don't want a light to burn out while you're on a 2 week road trip.

    -juice
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    I have Silver Stars on my Lincoln Mark VIII. They make something of a difference, but not enough to justify the extra price on most cars (although worth it on the Mark VIII).

    The headlights on the '93-96 (mine's a '94) Mark VIIIs were/are terrible -- very sleek and modern looking and stylish, but too narrow to allow for much light. To partially compensate, they use 9005 bulbs for both high and low beam -- the 9005 is used usually as only a high beam bulb. The lighting of the low beams was so abysmal that even the little difference the Silver Stars make is worth it on that car. However, it would not be worth it on my Subaru.

    --K9Leader
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Wow, that is unusual. 65w / 1700 lumen bulb. Wonder if they got some special DOT rules waiver to do that.

    Steve
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    "For those who want the best possible performance from their headlamps and are more concerned with their ability to see rather than the appearance of their headlamps, the major bulb companies offer optimized bulbs WITHOUT the light-stealing blue coloration. Sylvania Xtravision (in the pink-and-black package), Osram Super and SilverStar(outside North America); Philips High Visibility (North America), Premium and Vision Plus (outside North America); Narva RangePower are the ones to look for."
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    I've never heard of any special DOT waiver for the Mark VIII headlights, so, at least in 1993, it was not necessary. This is a classic example of letting form come before function -- they wanted the really cool-looking narrow slit headlights as a design element but sacrificed the function of actually providing enough light for safe operation. Even worse, in an attempt to overcome the limited light output, they put in a higher wattage, hotter burning bulb, which causes the headlight lenses to yellow much faster and the surface of the interior reflectors to burn off, both significantly diminishing the already poor light output. The fix came in 1996, when the LSC version received HIDs - but that is an expensive fix and the parts are hard to find.

    I'm lucky in that my lenses have not yellowed nearly as badly as most others and my reflectors are still good. I also have the Outback as my daily driver so the Mark VIII usually only goes out on sunny weekend afternoons.

    Sorry about a Mark VIII post on a Subaru board, but I did get a mention of the Outback in there, and it is relevant back to the original question about SilverStars . . .

    --K9Leader
    2000 OBW Ltd. (my daily driver)
    1998 Toyota Sienna (wife's car)
    1994 Lincoln Mark VIII (sunny weekend afternoon driver)
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I put in Hypov's old HID Hella Micro DE driving projectors on the SVX. WOW they are awsome!

    -mike
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Glad you like them mike :)

    They maybe ~$700 burn to the wallet, but a very worthy light upgrade apart from having six vs four. :D

    -Dave
  • oakvillemarkoakvillemark Member Posts: 4
    All:

    A Subaru dealer here in Oakville On replaced my shuddering clutch in a day, no questions asked.
    Far better service than the dealer we purchased from.
    Conclusion, trying a different dealer can work for this kind of thing.
    Thanks to all for the suggestions.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Simple but great idea. We're lucky to have 7 dealers within close distance to us.

    -juice
  • lovermontlovermont Member Posts: 13
    After visits to the aftermarket stores in search of door/window rain guards, at the suggestion of folks here and the local dealer, I have concluded there is NO way to have these made/installed for my 03 Outback.

    What baffles me is the non-consideration of this one very important design. If these types of rigs really are meant as winter/foul weather cars, and for the people who live in these environments and are always out and about in whatever's being dished out, then rain guards should be a top priority. Only people who live in NYC drive with all the windows up all the time.

    Moving on....a few more questions:
    1. I wonder about getting replacement fog lights that are yellow tint for this car. (03 ltd wagon, 5spd). Are these available anywhere?

    2. Tires: The Hakka's are great for VT winters, but I wondered if anone else had different suggestions as far as beefing up for the snows. Are wider treads than the suggested ones okay to use?

    3. Suspenion: I would love to feel that my car is not close to over-turning on sharp turns on inclines...which is something I've begun to notice is happening. What suggestions do you have for tighening up the suspenion (if that's even the right move)? And, other than tires with thicker treads, is there anyway to jack up the clearance on this car?

    Thanks everyone!!!

    it's snowing now, by the way....
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    On the last gen models, they thought the accessory was too loud for american tastes, so they didn't import it. Now maybe the don't make them at all, I guess?

    -juice
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    lovermont-

    1. Check with -> http://www.lamin-x.com/default.asp
    I'm pretty sure the Impreza Foglights are the same as the OBs.

    2. Narrower snow tires the better.

    3. If you're worried 'bout tipping over, then you shouldn't even entertain the thought of jacking up the car's clearance. Rest assured that Outbacks don't roll, except when tripped.

    -Dave
  • chilmarkchilmark Member Posts: 5
    thanks to FIBBER, JFL, & ATEIXEIRA for the feedback on my post about the leak at the auto trans filter. The subie mechanic said the filter was corroded at the top near the gasket. Probably a result of excessive road salt. we have a big problem here in the northeast with road salt.
  • mn_patmn_pat Member Posts: 67
    which models have xmission filers? Does my 96L wagon have one?
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Pat, your older Subi has a conventional internal screen filter. The external filter was new for '99. So Charlie has become our test case for external filter longevity, having had a failure on a '99 in the salty Northeast. I guess that is our future.... Glad we could help!

    Steve
  • mrk610mrk610 Member Posts: 378
    I have been doing alot of research into new bulbs for my 02 outback . I have come down to 2 choices . 1st is the silver star made by sylvania, and the vision plus made by philips .Now I have to see were I can ge them . I did find a site called www.suvlights.com. They say that sylvania makes the h1 in the silver star bulb now so I think thats what I'm going to try . The philips is only avail over seas . I'll keep all posted.

    Mike k
  • jlemolejlemole Member Posts: 345
    Despite what Subaru says, I can't imagine an external filter to be a "no maintenance" item, unless they're referring to a time span equal to the warranty period. Probably best to change it around 50-60k miles -- at least it can't hurt to do so.

    Jon
  • mn_patmn_pat Member Posts: 67
    alright, with the internal screen type filter is there any required maintainance? Does the screen filter need to be cleaned or replaced when you change xmission fluid? My old Legacy is due for a fluid change.

    I'm a little nervous about xmission fluid changes, on my old Civic I lost its xmission 7k miles after a fluid change.
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    Lovermont said:

    "After visits to the aftermarket stores in search of door/window rain guards, at the suggestion of folks here and the local dealer, I have concluded there is NO way to have these made/installed for my 03 Outback.
    What baffles me is the non-consideration of this one very important design. If these types of rigs really are meant as winter/foul weather cars, and for the people who live in these environments and are always out and about in whatever's being dished out, then rain guards should be a top priority. Only people who live in NYC drive with all the windows up all the time."

    The rain guard type of thing you are talking about requires a window frame on which to mount. As the Subarus are frameless, this is a feature/option that is just not possible. I am not sure of the factors (design? cost? weight? other?) that resulted in Subaru going with frameless, but it did. I don't think this was a "non-consideration." I think it was considered but the tradeoff -- inability to mount rain guards, which in reality only a few people would have any interest in, versus whatever benefit would be derived from frameless windows -- was deemed worthwhile. They certainly do look sleeker.

    I am a fan of the rain guard things when they are feasible on the vehicle and are available -- I have them on my wife's Toyota minivan and I had them on an Acura Integra. They are less necessary on a vehicle with a well-designed tilt-up moonroof (well designed = no rain coming in when tilted).

    I think the bigger complaint about the frameless design is the increased wind noise from the looser fit.

    --K9Leader
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    I wasn't happy with the output (or pattern) on my OB, so I got a set of the Xtravisions. They were noticeably brighter... but they lasted only nine months :( They were installed correctly, btw. Mine burned out literally a few moments apart, leaving me with no low beams at all. I drove home w/ the fogs.

    I put the OEM ones back in (I had kept them). They're over five years old and still work fine, although they are weak, as they always have been.

    utahsteve
  • originalbitmanoriginalbitman Member Posts: 920
    The sell them in the UK as an accessory through the dealer: http://www.subaru.co.uk/index2.htm go to Accessories/Exterior.They seem to attach to the roof and A pillar.

    I also posted a pic here: http://www.bitman.com/visors.jpg

    bit
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Today I took my Subaru in for an oil change at the dealer. I had a "first appointment" of the day and I was a few minutes early. An hour AFTER my appointment the service manager asked to talk to me and said they were through with the oil change and that I also needed new brake pads - at a cost of $340.00. First I was surprised because checking the pads was a part of the routine 45,000 mile service I had done 3 months ago. At that time, not a word was said about wear on the brake pads, and now he's telling me that it's down to less than 5% and has to be done immediately. (I do remember at some earlier maintenance services that some mention was made of the "amount" of brake pad left.) I declined having it done today. He then said they would put the car in to wash it and have it ready for me. (This dealer has a service bay outfitted with a car wash similar to a 'no frills' drive through. It takes about 3 minutes per car.) TWENTY minutes later I was trying to find where the car was so I could leave. Took another 10 minutes to locate it and bring it around - clean.

    OK ..MY QUESTION.. isn't that amount a bit HIGH for brake pad replacement? Is it advisable to look around for another shop to do this? If I take it elsewhere it will NOT be a Subie dealer because this is the only one around ...

    (I've been happy in the past with this dealer but just read recently that it's been sold to one of the mega-dealer groups here in town.)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yes, that seems extremely expensive. But...it depends on what else they did. Did they resurface the rotors?

    I'm assuming that is for both axles, front and rear?

    Some brake shops run specials for less than $100 per axle, for new pads/shoes installed, plus new fluid and to bleed the system. You could DIY for less than half that much.

    My dealer was running a $19.95 oil change special, then charged my wife $2 for an "Environmental Fee". Well, then, it's not a $19.95 oil change, then, is it? False advertising.

    I paid it but that's the very last time we take it there. Dealers have *got* to get prices back in touch with reality!

    -juice
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Got my wife's Forester inspected today at the dealer. I had them change the oil while they had the car, and it only cost $16.50. I generally spend about $11 on materials and take 20-30 minutes when I do it, so $16.50 seems like a good deal to me (plus my clothes stayed clean!). They also check the fluids, tires, etc... just like I do. Not bad, I will have to do this more often.

    Craig
  • sebberrysebberry Member Posts: 148
    After many recent nights of heavy fog, i have concluded that my '03 H6's fog lights are more of a fashion statement than actual fog lights.

    My understanding is that fog lights should pierce the fog much the same way as high beams do, but aimed low enough for the light not to bounce back and obscure vision.

    Does anybody have any recommendations for new lights?

    Oh, my 2 cents on HID lights: Can't stand them, will never want them, think it is a shame the 05 models will use them. What really bugs me about them is having a car behind me with them. Whenever the car behind goes over dips or bumps, and the focus of the headlamp goes from off-center to dead center in my mirrors, the light constantly changes from blue to brigh light then back to blue and so on and on...
  • firstovfirstov Member Posts: 31
    Will changing ATF to let's say synthetic Mobil 1 invalidate the car warranty?
    What are the drawbacks? My AT shifts too rough
    please help!
    what type of fluid do you usually put in your AT.
  • K9LeaderK9Leader Member Posts: 112
    These are interesting in that you have one long piece that covers both the front and rear. However, they have to be flared out at a minimal angle so that they clear the top of the windows when the doors are opened, so are probably less effective than ones that can be at more of an angle. Still, better than what is available here.

    --K9Leader
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    Fog lights are specifically not meant to be fog piercing. They are intended to give an unfocused, diffused light low down to illumiate without blinding. This aids depth perception and increases the chance of you finding the white posts before you hit them.

    If you want driving lights, they should be narrow and closely focussed. A very different proposition

    Cheers

    Graham
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'm not a fan of HIDs, either. BMW's in particular really bother me. In my Miata, top down, when one pulls up behind me, it positively blinds me. The X5 is the worst offender.

    I say if you need HIDs, you need not to be driving. Seriously, if your eye sight is that poor consider hanging up your driving shoes!

    A well aimed set of halogens should be fine for someone that meets local vision screening requirements.

    -juice
  • zman3zman3 Member Posts: 857
    Juice, your quote:

    "I say if you need HIDs, you need not to be driving. Seriously, if your eye sight is that poor consider hanging up your driving shoes!"

    This is one of the few points where I will disagree with you. I have never owned a car with HID so I don't know how much they help. However, here in Minnesota the winters take a heavy toll on the roads, including the lines painted on the road. There has been many times that I felt like I was driving blind at night on wet roads. I am 38, my vision is 20/20 and I consider my night time vision normal. I typically don't have any problems. However, I find the light output from the Outbacks headlights to be nearly worthless at times.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My Forester has great lighting. With plain old H4 55/60 watt bulbs, too.

    My Miata had sealed beams, 55 watt. Those were awful, it was like driving blind. I got E-codes with 55 watt H4 bulbs and now they are excellent.

    So my point it aim them well and design a good reflector so the pattern hits the road properly.

    Our 2002 Legacy does not have a good pattern, it's too scattered IMO. It's a single reflector, so it's different than the one on your Outback.

    But I don't think HIDs are the solution, well designed reflectors are. You don't want to take a poor pattern and add more light - that'll blind everyone and help noone.

    Consumer Reports found that some halogens were substantially better than some HIDs. I think the Audi TT's HIDs were among the very worst lights they tested.

    -juice
  • zman3zman3 Member Posts: 857
    I do understand your points. HID's personally don't bother me. I guess I don't care if they are HID's or properly designed non HID systems, I just want better lights than I have on my Outback. However Subaru fixes it is fine with me.

    I think the non HID lights on our 03 Expedition are outstanding and far superior to my 98 Outback. Others complain about them. Go figure.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I think if you borrowed my Miata for a week, and were followed around by a couple of tail-gating X5s, you'd see what I meant. Those HIDs glare directly at eye level.

    -juice
  • mikenkmikenk Member Posts: 281
    On my 2001 VDC, my Subie dealer recommended to go to Synthetics (redline) for the ATF as quickly as possible, which I did at 1000 miles. I am sure it will not void the warranty.

    Mine has always shifted as smooth as butter.

    Mike
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Did they recommend redline or that was your input? Just curious as I am about to change my Toyota's to mobil 1.

    Greg
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Don't understand your statement "Only people who live in NYC drive with all the windows up all the time."

    Greg
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    I suppose either you all agree with juice about the questions I posed about the brake pads, or it's just more fun to discuss headlights ...
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    That's a lot of money IMHO. Pads cost about $30-$40 per axle. Cost to cut a rotor is about $5-$10 (if you need it only). I don't cut unless I have to. Labor ~1/2 hour per wheel. I tend to do the brakes myself, but I do know people that have paid what you were quoted. I think a good independent mechanic will do just as good a job for less $$$. DIY is even better. As a comparison, I plan on replacing my rotors with new ones and new pads and expect to pay ~$250-$275 for parts.

    Greg
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    when I brought my car in for the recall I asked the dealer to check my brakes as they were starting to pulsate. They said they were very slightly warped and SOA would not pay for new rotors (4th time). They said they would cut the front and replace the back rotors and do another brake job. I just needed to pay for part of the bill....$250. I passed.

    Greg
  • snowbeltersnowbelter Member Posts: 288
    My dealer has a posted price of $210 for new pads and resurfacing the rotors. Doing the rear adds another $210. New pads and rotors are $380, and another $380 for rear. A private garage with a good reputation quoted me $160 and $325 for the same service. If you've gotten 45k from your brakes I think you are doing well. My dealer tells me 25k is good these days. I went through a fun time in early summer with the brakes on my wife's car which needed replacing at 33k after they were supposed to have been checked at the 30k service and found to be fine. The brakes had sliders which froze and wore out the pads prematurely. I complained to SOA and they told me brakes don't usually go from good to "worn out" in 3k miles, unless someone wasn't checking things and they helped me with a partial payment. My point is that if your brakes were almost worn at your 45k servicing, they should have told you. And although SOA helped me out, they prorated their "help" based on the car's mileage, and if 45k with the original pads, they may tell you that is the useful life for brakes. Two weeks ago I brought both our cars in for servicing and asked for a report on the condition of the brakes. They never bothered to tell me about the brakes on my car, but told me the brakes on my wife's car were almost new on the front and 50% left on the rears at 37k.
  • jlemolejlemole Member Posts: 345
    Nothing wrong with using a reputable local mechanic if it is cheaper.

    Jon
  • ttamatrudattamatruda Member Posts: 10
    Hello,
    I need your opinion and help. This will seem like Deja vu all over again.
    My Subaru Outback LTD 2000 has 50,000 miles, and it is generally fun to drive and comfortable, except when the clutch is self-destructing. Subaru replaced the clutch at 7500 miles, finding a manufacturer's defect, concave fingers which prevented normal clutch disengagement. Just after the new clutch was inserted, I noticed a burning foul smell, esp when backing up, esp. in cold weather. Many writers have noticed this mysterious smell from their clutches. I thought it was the new clutch burning up, and visited with Subaru DSOM, and decided to stick with clutch, and see if things got better. Smell disappeared, clutch worked, car drove, until 50,000 miles, when it again slipped, and was worn out, including flywheel. Now, just had it replaced.
    Does this sound like premature failure? I think that the clutch lost half its life in the first few weeks, when it was burning up.
    Does anyone think that Subaru clutches fail more often in cold climates? Many writers note a particular problem in the cold?
    Any suggestions how to get some help from Subaru? I am running into a brick wall, which is disappointing, as this is my second Subaru, the clutch failed early, and I had some assurances from DSOM that he would help in 2001.
    Is there any technical info on premature failure of clutches from 2000-2001?
    Why should such a good car have such a junk clutch? There are hundreds of postings related to this problem.
    I will let you know how this works out.
  • hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    ateixeira Oct 24, 2003 1:38pm

    juice-
    I can relate to your Miata HIDs encounter. I got this guy, in a Miata too, pulling over immediately [uttering "Jesus Christ!!!"] to let me by. Hee hee I deliberately turned mine on to annoy because he was doing 20 on a 40 one lane and holding everybody up.
    I do agree, design a good halogen headlight reflector and it'll serve well. HIDs should be available but not as the primary lights where its purpose can be called upon when needed. Like in zman3's case, he'll outrun his headlights on the '98 before you do on the '02.

    -Dave
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    "My Subaru Outback LTD 2000 has 50,000 miles, and it is generally fun to drive and comfortable, except when the clutch is self-destructing."

    That describes, near perfectly, the situation with my Parent's 2000 Outback before they had the clutch replaced recently. There is a TSB on this, here's a copy:

         http://members.cox.net/craig.hunter/03-51-02R.pdf

    The revised parts weren't available before the summer of 02, if I remember right, so any clutch work done before that used the old parts and is liable for the same problem to re-occur.

    My parent's dealer would not cover the repair, but my Dad called the Subaru 1-800 number and started a case, and that led to eventual success. The car drives great now.

    Craig
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Hmm, 2 hours labor at $92 per is $184, then dealer OE parts prices for 4 pads, it adds up quick. I'm sure they were honest.

    50k for a clutch is a little early, but I wouldn't consider it out of the ordinary. I've had friends that needed clutches even before a 36k warranty expired, and they had to pay for new ones.

    You're not complaining about clutch chatter, so I'm not sure if the TSB applies in your case. Just my opinion.

    -juice
  • mikenkmikenk Member Posts: 281
    The service manager recommended the Redline for the ATF; he thought it was the best; that was 2.5 years ago; I have no idea as to his current thinking or his logic, but I have been very pleased with the results.

    He was fine with Mobil 1 for the engine which I also did at the first oil change.

    Mike
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