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Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

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Comments

  • vin_amsvin_ams Member Posts: 26
    Since you put it as statistically speaking, I do not disagree with that at all.
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    interesting profile. should've realized what "ams" in your username after your first post about synthetics.

    if you look at mine, energy = oil. ;-)

    -Colin
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    On a 2000 OB, the recommended timing belt change is at 105k not 60k. I wonder what other unnecessary service they are adding to pad the bill?

    I'm just about finished with my 60k service (spread over two months). Just need to replace the coolant and get the tires rotated.

    Jim
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    but one fear appears to be coming true: The unmistakable whiff of burning oil last night....my luck. 1500 miles out of warranty, and now the crank seal wants to go. :(
    Hard to say for sure, and in this deluge I won't be able to properly check for at least a few more days. Grrrrrrr....
  • amtphd1amtphd1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2000 OB Limited with 83000 highway miles and three years of payments left. I am reading the posts and wondering if a few of you savvy Subaru owners could offer some suggestions. Sell now or ride it out? Thanks, Annie
  • royallenroyallen Member Posts: 227
    I just noticed I'm at 38K on Bosch platinum plugs in my '95 Outback 2.2L. Is there a mileage beyond the normal 30K plug replacement recommended that one can expect to go with platinum plugs in a 2.2L? Second question, are any noncompetition drivers doing spark plug "indexing"? THX Roy
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Why not see if Subaru will give you a break since your car is only 1500 miles out of warranty, they may be willing to do this as a goodwill gesture, especially since the seals are a known problem.

     Cheers Pat.
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Annie- A 2000 with 83k... Yikes (and here I thought I had high mileage). My guess is that with three years of payments left you probably have very little equity in it so you'd only break even if you sold it and then would have to go way back into debt to purchase another vehicle. If it were me, I'd hold on to it until it was at least paid off. If you've been taking care of it, your Subaru should easily go another 83k.

    In the future, if you expect to continue putting that many miles on your car, you might want to consider a 2-3 year-old used car with low mileage for your next purchase. That way a good portion of the depreciation has already occurred but the car should still be reliable and have many good miles left in it. (Just my $.02)

    -Frank P.
  • amtphd1amtphd1 Member Posts: 2
    Frank, Your $.02 is appreciated.
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,396
    Roy, I was told by a Subaru service writer that my 2000 Legacy had platinum plugs and didn't need changing until 60k miles.

    I didn't believe him but still waited until 55k to change them myself - confirming that they were plain ol' Champions. I installed NGK copper plugs.

    I thought some phase 1 DOHC engines got platinum plugs because they were more difficult to change but went back to copper on the phase 2 SOHC.

    Jim
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    I hope so. The crank seal looks fine......

    ...but the passenger side cylinder head is nice and greasy.
    :(
    :(
    :(
  • shakey2shakey2 Member Posts: 3
    My 2001 Outback, 2.5 L 4 cyl shakes when being driven - worst at 30-45 MPH when not accelerating. This started when it was new, and two years later at 18K miles is getting worse. It feels like the car is "bucking". Five trips to two dealers: #1 said your Outback won't run on regular; #2 said all Subarus have a rough ride; #3 said they couldn't feel anything unusual and "the computer doesn't show a problem"; #4 the problem went away when district rep and Service Manager were available; #5 said there is a service directive that blames this on a locking pin in the transmission and there's nothing they can do for it. It is not wheel balance or rotors. It is not gas (I keep a log of brand and grade used) It isn't oxygenated gas (a problem I've had before), because I added a slug of drygas with no apparent effect. It feels like the timing is being changed, causing hesitation, or that the transmission is shifting when it shouldn't. If a locking pin is stuck, why would this happen every few seconds or minutes, and not while accelerating?
    An acquaintance of mine got rid of a Legacy sedan because of its "rough ride" on smooth roads that gave him back aches. My wife has the same problem - the shaking can ruin your back. Sorry for the length of this. Any suggestions?
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    could be a cam seal. they don't fail nearly as often as the crank seal, but do sometimes.

    -Colin
  • trek2002trek2002 Member Posts: 17
    Consider filing under your states lemon law.

    http://cartalk.cars.com/Tools/lemon-states.pl

    good luck
  • georgeinmdgeorgeinmd Member Posts: 27
    "It feels like the timing is being changed, causing hesitation...." (!) See my post #861.
    Juice, I've tried resetting the ecu - problem returns in a day or two. Thanx

    George
  • awnawn Member Posts: 5
    '02 Forester has the same burning smell problem. The dealer told me that it was due to the materials the transportation dept. was using on the roads and it was hitting the exhaust and that was causing the smell. Also, could be hitting the catalytic converter, with the same results. How come our other two vehicles (not Subes) don't have the same problem? "They don't know". I'm not buying it. 26,000 miles and this vehicle has been through two computer replacements, three computer "resets", 1 wheel bearing replacement and brake and transmission issues. Of course, most things don't exist when the dealer has it. I LOVED my '98, HATE this one. Do I DARE go for an '03?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'd keep her.

    Selling it used, it'll be hard to find a buyer looking for a 2000 model with that many miles.

    You know that they're highway miles and it's likely running well. With your type of use it'll probably last a lot longer.

    If an ECU reset helps temporarily, it's gotta be the ECU, then. Talk to your dealer about it, I've heard they can even re-program or swap it out. That might be affecting both of you.

    Subies coming from Japan have more undercoating from the factory because they know they'll make a trip across the Pacific. If your other Soobs were Foresters or Imprezas, that's not it, though.

    You may have a slow coolant leak, that would explain the smell. Ask the dealer to check for that. Look at the head gaskets.

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Might snow Thursday. Does Jake have an indoor area where you can look closer? My car port is still freezing.

    -juice
  • opusmanopusman Member Posts: 6
    Awn,
    I had a burning oil smell on my '00 Outback w/30k miles. Read on the boards here about a front CV boot leaking on the manifold. Took it to the dealer, let them know about the smell, that I had had the smell since it was new, and to check the CV boot. They did the repair under warranty. Don't know if it's the same for the Forester, but it's worth a check.
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Juice - you bring up a sore subject with me. I completely missed last week's blizzard (in France). So no Subie drive in the white and worst of all - left my poor wife to fend for herself. Future promise - any forecast with more that 10" and I cancel any travel plans!

    Greg

    P.S. I did leave her the OB, knowing it will take care of her and the kiddies.
  • quonquon Member Posts: 7
    Hi,

    I had my wheels aligned on my 99 Forester last
    month. Since then the left rear tire has begun to
    vibrate rather loudly. I didn't notice
    it at first, however, my passengers started
    to complain.

    The noise appears to be caused by uneven wear
    of the tire. The outside of the tire is
    wearing out faster than the inside. There is
    about a 1/32" difference.

    I took it back to the place where they did
    the alignment and of course they claimed that
    the alignment was good. They are now saying
    that it's the rear struts which are the cause
    of the problem.

    He did the rear push-down test and although it
    does oscillate several times on the first push,
    successive pushes oscillate less and less.
    I can then hear this gas piston sound. Is this
    normal, or is the mechanic correct in his
    diagnosis. BTW, he quoted $600(!) for replacing
    the struts. I called the Subaru dealership and
    even they were cheaper ($450), but it's still
    expensive.

    I was looking through old posts and noticed that
    bad rear wheel bearings was also common. Is
    there a way to diagnose this. I jacked up the
    car and the wheel appears to spin smoothly
    and has no play.

    Thanks!

    Ken
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    Had the car up at the alignment shop today so I took a closer look (FWIW, my camber in back was more negative than stock, but still well within spec as far as tire wear goes, so we left it. Around 1.4 degrees neg.)

    So I had a look up front with a shop light. Bottoms of both heads are clean. So the greasiness is confined to the top of the passenger side head, and the area around the plugs. There was also greasiness around the oilpan seal, but who knows if it leaks or if someone was just extra sloppy? No appreciable drop in level, so I will just have it looked at during my next service.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Just check the oil regularly. We all should anyway.

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    loosh, I'd try a valvecover gasket then. they're cheap and you could easily replace it yourself. although you probably do want to wait until your next oil change and do it at that time.

    if it still leaks after that, things can get expensive.

    -Colin
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Loosh,

    Did you check out the rack bushings while you were under there?

    Ken
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    Not sure if your engine is the same, but on my '97 OB 2.5l DOHC on the passenger side there is a small leak on the top of the engine above the spark plugs:

    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/pside_1.jpg
    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/close_p2.jpg
    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/close_p3.jpg

    It's not a problem on the drivers side, just the passenger, and it's pretty much limited to this area. Is this similar to your engine's leak? And, does anyone know exactly what this part is?

    utahsteve
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    utahsteve-- that part definitely was not on my '99 2.5L SOHC. can you maybe remove the airbox and take a good shot of it front the side and as far back towards the firewall as possible?

    so far what I'd guess doesn't leak oil...

    -Colin
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    It's too dark out right now, but that looks a hell of a lot like the stain pattern on my car. We might have a winner. I love the internet!! Did you fix it?
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    Colin:

    Sorry, I "borrowed" the camera from work to take the photos this afternoon, so I can't get better ones right now as I don't own a digital camera. Here's some bigger photos that may help with more detail and context (these are about 80K and larger than previously posted):

    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/psidebig.jpg
    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/psidebg2.jpg
    http://www.zztrailer.com/outback/engine/closupbg.jpg

    After staring at this and my Haynes manual for '90 thru '98 Legacy, I still have no idea what this thing is. There's an identical part on the drivers side of the block (not leaking). They connect somewhere to the aft of the throttle body, I think.

    Lucien:
    My car looks like this right now, so no, unfortunately I haven't done anything to fix it yet. I just noticed it the other day, after cleaning off the engine. It seemed like an odd place for an oil stain, but that's what it seems like it is. I'm still hoping that we can figure out what that part is or does. I looked at the 2.5l SOHC in our new TS and there isn't anything like it on that engine.

    Any suggestions?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I does look oil-stained, but I don't see a trail of oil leaking down. So must be either a slow leak or a previous spill.

    Maybe clean the area and then keep an eye on it?

    -juice
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    I guess that's all I need to do, clean and watch. Like I'm watching my temp guage and coolant for head gasket problems :( It's obviously not leaking much. I'm not 100% sure it's oil (could it be old coolant residue?), although that's what it looks like. Interesting that Lucien has a similar pattern on his. Lucien, is yours the 2.5 DOHC? Your profile says 99 Legacy, but I'm not sure which engine that has. For what it's worth, I had the (very common for this engine) oil pump seal leak, coming from the bottom of the timing belt cover, and a small valve cover gasket leak from the drivers side of the engine.

    A service guy I spoke to recently made it sound like the head gasket problem is almost inevitable, or at least very common, so I have my eye on that lately. With the exception of this worry, I love this car and it has treated me well.

    utahsteve
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The '99 still had the same DOHC engine. On Imprezas and Foresters, they had started using the SOHC Phase II, but not on Legacys.

    I'm seeing more and more discussion about the head gasket issue. I gave a heads-up to Patti, but she's not back to work yet. Call 800-SUBARU3 because if they find a pattern they'll issue a TSB, something they have not done yet.

    -juice
  • lharvey1lharvey1 Member Posts: 12
    Subaru should be establishing a pattern using
    warranty repair data ....
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    Juice - thanks for clarifying the engine type. I definitely would notify Subaru if the gasket goes on my engine. I'm hoping that it doesn't happen, but if it does hopefully I'll notice before any more serious and costly damage happens.

    lharvey1: I'm not sure if it was a big problem during the warranty period, just a common problem with these engines that may appear after warranty is up. I have heard about it through Subaru service people, sales people, and of course online here and at other Subaru sites. My 97 has 93000 miles on it, well past the warranty period, but I will still let SOA hear about it if the head gasket blows.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Exactly, even if they don't cover it, it might help someone else here.

    -juice
  • stevekstevek Member Posts: 362
    On my 99 Forester with the Phase II engine, one of the head gaskets blew at 30K, under warranty repair. At 60K smell some oil burning and the antifreeze overflow bottle was empty, so I am keeping a close eye on it.
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    OK, so how many gasket failures do we have? My left gasket failed at 33K miles. External antifreeze leak (loss of coolant, smell).

    Please list miles, engine side (left or right or both).

    Greg
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Actually, a little more info might be helpful.

    List the miles, engine side, year and model. See if we can track a pattern or find where it's more common.

    -juice
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    Is it bad form to post a link on this thread to a thread on nasioc? Cuz... if not there is a several page long thread about the gasket issue already archived, which maybe everyone here knows about already, but maybe not. I'm pretty new here so I'm just wondering. Also, the issue has been discussed in Subaru Problems here on Edmunds.

    I also noticed that on nasioc's Legacy board Lucien posted about the "mystery" leaky part... Thanks Lucien :) Maybe someone over there knows what it is.

    utahsteve
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    I saw your post over on nasioc, I do not know what that specific part is but it is obvious there is a gasket under it, and if there is a gasket it is to keep something from leaking out be it oil, antifreeze.

       Cheers Pat.
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    Okay, I'm game.

    31733 mi.
    left side
    2000 Forester (EJ25 Phase II)

    Leaky, not blown completely. Repaired under warranty. Free loaner. No problems since.

    At the moment I still plan on a repeat Subaru purchase.

    Ed
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    01 OB
    33K miles
    Left gasket (leaky, not blown)
    EJ25 Phase II
    Wonderful repair job.
    I too still plan another Subaru.

    Greg
  • bluesubiebluesubie Member Posts: 3,497
    http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=184026&am- p;referrerid=767

    -Dennis
  • outback_97outback_97 Member Posts: 130
    Lucien (and anyone else who cares): The part from post 6771 is part of the PCV system... an emissions thing. It brings fresh air from the air intake through the crankcase to scavenge vapors (unburnt hydrocarbons?) and route them back to the intake to get burned up. Evidently the residue is from the small amount of oil that is in the air circulating through the system, and so it's not really an oil leak, just looks like it. One can clean it off, or just leave it dirty... doesn't seem to matter.

    Dennis: Thanks for posting the nasioc link, I guess that answers my question.

    utahsteve
  • lharvey1lharvey1 Member Posts: 12
    99 Forester sohc
    external drivers side head gasket leak
    miles - 47000 warranty repair
  • amsbearamsbear Member Posts: 147
    Once the weather warms up a bit, I will be using my new gadget (Motive Power Bleeder) to flush and fill my brake fluid. This "gadget" is similar to a pump type garden sprayer with a pressure gauge on it and the end mounts onto the Master Cylinder. I was wondering if anyone out here has any experience with this or something like it and would know what the recommended pressure would be for our Subies? I looked in both my Owners Manual (admittedly a long shot) and my Haynes Manual but neither specify "power flushing pressure" guidelines. The only thing the instructions say to do is to test for leaks at 10 psi and not to exceed 20 psi during actual use.

    I may just go with 15 psi just to play it safe. My brake fluid choice is probably ATE SuperBlue. What do you suppose the capacity of the brake system is?

    Thanks,

    Alan
    98 Outback Ltd
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Thanks for figuring that out Steve.

    No idea about the brake fluid but hopefully Colin or Pat will chime in shortly...

    -juice
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    I don't have a good feel for this in terms of cars, but when hydraulic systems are tested for leaks in general, the test pressure is usually a little higher than the typical operating pressure. So, I would check to see what normal operating pressure is for the brake system and not go too far above that.

    If they say to test for leaks at 10psi, that would already be pretty high in my opinion (again, lacking any real info about the brake system).

    Craig
  • amsbearamsbear Member Posts: 147
    Just to clarify a little bit. The test for leaks was meant to be between the "gadget" and the Master Cylinder. Not to test for leaks in the break system and/or lines.

    More info at http://www.motiveproducts.com/
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Well that sounds a bit more reasonable. I would definitely double check on the brake system's operating pressure, to be safe. Who knows, maybe it is something like 50 psi, in which case you'd be fine.

    Colin? Pat?

    Craig
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