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Comments
IdahoDoug
Last about 2 mins or 5 miles . I also run mobil 1 5w/30 .Next oil change I'm going nygreg's route I'll try 10w/30 to see if that helps with the noise . I have had the dealer look at it 3 times ,with District Service Rep from SOA .They have done some replacements on the phase 1 2.5l but the noise is normal on the phase 2 2.5l . Then I read on this and other forums that some dealers have no problem's changing out the short block . MY question is has any body had there phase 2 short block changed due to the knocking . I have read alot of phase 1 being done but I don't recall reading of any phase 2 having it done . Ohh well just curious.
Mike k
I agree that generally Subie parts are reasonable, much cheaper than Mazda for instance (we've owned a couple of those).
-juice
Good for you, Jim. I bet the experience was worth more than anything. I did the 30k service on my Miata, plus some extra stuff, and now I have the confidence to work on the rest of it myself. The trick is having the right tools.
-juice
Greg
Cheers Pat.
I just wasn't mentally ready to dig into my fairly new Subaru at the time. In hindsight, it was several hundred dollars poorly spent. 8~(
Jim
After I topped the oil up I ran it another 130 miles round trip the following day. Kept it in the 70 - 80 mph range but never had any sustained 5000 rpm driving up steep grades. Didn't use a drop. I'm going to put about 450 miles on it this weekend then check / change the oil.
No sign of a leak, no burning oil smell, no exhaust odor. I'm beginning to think if I high-tach this engine for a while it swills oil. Not the end of the world, but not very impressive either.
It's fun to pick on Ford but none of the 200 hp 3.0L V-6's I've had ever used a drop, and they were pushed fairly hard. Of course, being Fords there were other issues :<).
It's been too wet to get under there and drop the shield to take a good look, but it's going to the dealer's on Monday for them to look at and document while there's plenty of time on the warranty, (engine is at about 8500 miles). Of course their first comments were that I either:
1) Didn't change the washer on the drain plug, (they're right - I put the Fujimoto valve on but it's not leaking).
2) Didn't put the filter on right. (Haven't screwed up in 35 years so maybe I'm due).
3) Didn't use a genuine Subaru filter (they got me there, although I did use the Purolator).
Should be interesting.
BTW - Juice - if I can get the camera under there I'll shoot a couple shots of the oil valve.
Larry
Greg
The subaru guy said the level was low in the AM ("just touching dipstick", and recommended full trans service plus changing frt and real diff fluids.
My problem is this: I would rather have my mechanic (he is a trans specialist) do the servicing. Would this be a warranty issue, if he does it rather than the dealer? My guy does not beleive that the problem is low fluid level -- he didn't notice it, and I just checked it hot and it was over the Full line. But I feel forced to have somebody do it, because the dealer's recommendation is now on my car's record. Another possibility is to go to another dealer, since I have doubts about this one based on past experience.
Also, what is the cite for Juice's 60K service list?
Thanks, Joe
routine maintenance can be provided by anyone, including the end-user themselves.
transmission service is free under warranty, do that at the dealer. changing the fluids is routine maintenance, do that at your independent servicer.
-Colin
Fortunately I figured it out a block from home and no harm done, besides a bruised ego. My wife and some neighbors noticed. Oops!
Let us know what they find?
-juice
I now have some space with Comcast since we have cable through them, so I may consider building a new site, we'll see.
-juice
Jim
Here are the part numbers for the Legacy rear wheel bearing and seals from my invoice:
28015AA110 oil seal
28015AA100 oil seal
28015AA050 oil seal
28016AA030 bearing
I hope this is of some help to the group.
Ed
-juice
Greg
Ask for those, print the list if you must.
-juice
Ed
There is no correct "cold" tranny fluid check AFAIK on an automatic. Cold checks are used only as a reference when refilling a tranny so the tech knows he has enough fluid in there to start the engine and warm it up to precisely fill it to the correct hot level. For instance, a tranny that has been rebuilt must be filled until you can see some fluid on the dipstick before you can run it up to temperature or you'll burn out the pump for lack of lube/cooling. The hot level is the industry accepted standard way of checking tranny fluid on a tranny in routine operation and this guy's full of horsepucky if he tells you otherwise. Also, changing the rear diffy has nothing to do with it. I'll say the same for the front diff if someone can confirm my suspicion that the front diff does NOT share fluid with the tranny as is the case on my model. Yes, those fluids should be changed per the manual's schedule, but to "recommend" these be changed in response to a slow tranny shift is simply padding the bill. Maybe he'll also recommend an alignment??
If they literally went out to your cold car and opened the hood to pull the tranny dipstick without running the engine, then they saw a very low level that is normal for a non operating tranny. They may even be honest in their stupidity here, but that is NOT the way to check tranny fluid level. Make them do it correctly with you sitting there. And if I haven't mentioned it, get that record changed properly....
IdahoDoug
Further, if indeed he's right (I don't believe it), why would the diff need rebuilding. It merely lost a bit of gear oil (unless it's nearly empty and has been producing a horrible whining that you also mentioned nothing about but would certainly notice).
I don't mean to cast aspersions, but this seems like grasping at straws and smacks suspiciously of your mechanic wanting to maintain his "expert on your side" status with you by discovering amazing and incriminating evidence for you.
Also, nobody here has chimed in to tell us if the diff and tranny are combined (many mfrs do this now) or still separate on your Subaru as they are on mine. Actually, now that I think about it your owner's manual will tell you. If there's a section on checking the tranny fluid level AND a section on checking the front diff fluid level then you have your answer - separate.
I think you should follow my advice above and establish that the tranny fluid level is NOT LOW on record with the dealership. Once that is done, everything is covered by warranty if you indeed have a problem. Clean and simple. Don't do this, and everything remains shades of gray with you partly or totally responsible by the dealer having erroneously documented evidence you let the tranny fluid get low.
After you establish the tranny fluid level is OK, you can then take a sample of each fluid to the nearest Caterpillar dealer (or other heavy equipment dealer) and explain what you want tested for, if you want to sleep well. Give them a check for about $50 and then YOU will have documented evidence that there's been a leak between the two components (doubtful) or that your mechanic has been shining you on (likely). This same test will be extremely valuablel in that it will tell if there is excessive metal or other debris in the tranny fluid indicating an internal failure of some type. They will even tell you what the metal is (bearing material, pump rotor material, etc) so you'll have very specific information for the dealer and his helpful documentation process (!). Be nice to the dealer and don't be accusatory and all will be handled properly (Miss Manners advice)
IdahoDoug
Post #7120: When was the last time you had the "freon" recharged? After seven years, enough may have leaked to require a recharge. I used to have a Ford that lost freon every year. The dealer finally found the leak (or finally did the work to find it) after two or three years!
Jim
-mike
-Dennis
MAGNACORE UPDATE:
I have sent the faulty wires back well over a month ago for a refund and so far "they are looking into it". In other words I have no wires and no money. If I know what I know now I would seriously think about dealing with these people.
This is what I know :
1) When I changed the oil I put in exactly four quarts into the crankcase.
2) I primed the filter with enough oil so the filter was about 2/3 full when I attached it.
3)I added one full pint about 500 miles ago
4)When I was done emptying the recovery kit I had about 3.5 quarts in the bottle.
5)Where Oh Where Has My Missing Quart Gone?
BTW I filled it the same way Saturday and ran it for 400+ miles on Sunday. Did not burn one drop.
I've only seen that happen once in my life and that was on an engine that had a cracked ring. Oh well its documented and I'm not going to spend any more time (or bandwidth) worrying about it.
To all, thanks for your forbearance.
Juice - Congrats on the write up, you deserve to have good things said about you.
Larry
If you're in DC, bring it by and I can go over it with a 2nd set of eyes while the car is on a ramp.
-juice
Steve: thanks for the heads up about Magnacore. I'll aboid them until they take care of your situation for sure.
-juice
Try an ECU reset, 'cause that's the simplest. Disconnnect the negative battery terminal, then press the brake pedal until the light goes out. That kills residual power. Then reconnect the battery. Be ready with the keyless remote fob.
The ECU will have her running rich until she leans out, so the first tank will be lousy. But see how she runs at those rpms.
Also, we used to own a 626 that had a fuel system problem, and it had similar symptoms. Turns out a good throttle body cleaning did the trick, she ran like new after that.
-juice
-Brian
-juice
I have scheduled the "Gold" service (drain/fill) for this Thursday. Ironically, I was reading my Costco Connection yesterday shortly before scheduling my service, and learned about an extra bonus. As it turns out, I receive a 15% service/parts discounts with this particular dealer since I'm a Costco Executive member. Not bad!
-Ty
I did not do the $429 dealer 30K servicing, just had the oil changed and coolant flushed and filled. It has been almost two weeks and I have not noticed the odor since. I will, however, keep my eyes and nose open.
It goes in tomorrow to my preferred independent mechanic for a brake check -- when I pulled the left rear last week to get flat plugged, I didn't like the look of the pads -- appeared not to be much left.
--K9Leader
--K9Leader
-juice
-juice
The dealer informs me that Subaru doesn't offer a tranny cooler as an assessory. Thinking of getting an after market cooler put in. Any thoughts about this...do I even need one?
Cheers!!
Dave.
Oh yeah and have your diffy fluid changed at the beginning of the season as well.
-mike
Bob
My '99 has 29,000 miles and its first set of new brakes. I guess you could say the first owner was a city driver. Sorry, I haven't owned this Subie too long so I'm not too familiar with it, but it feels a lot different than my wife's 2001 L wagon.
The power loss and engine vibration is not constant, some days are worse than others. But the fuel milage has been consistent from tank to tank, no matter the grade. I ran 93 octane for the first four months to see if it would help, but it made no difference.
Do you think the previous owner's driving habits would have something to do with the poor performance at mid-range rpms? Is that what resetting the ECR would erase? And what would cleaning the throttle body take, difficulty-wise.
2) Subi ATF dip sticks (at least '99 and newer??) are extra long and do have cold as well as the conventional hot fill markings. From what I can gather from the service procedures, the level should register on the cold fill marks on the stick even down to freezing conditions. So Joe's service writers notations may be very damaging to his case.
Steve
Mine's a 5 speed, so I can't comment on the auto.
Bum news: my dad's Winestone Metallic Outback was vandalized. They spray paintd a red stripe that got two panels, the rear quarter and the rear door on the passenger side.
You guys think I can use rubbing compound to get it off? Or is a repaint the only way? The Subie is otherwise immaculate.
The case is under investigation, is was definitely some local punks and they might bust them.
-juice
-mike
Bob
I recommend taking the Subie into a body/detail shop and having it buffed out with professional tools and professional buffing compounds. The shop will need to take off some of the clear coat in the process, but a skilled tech should be able to do the job without hitting the base coat. They'll have a number of different grits available and will work towards finer and finer compounds, so when they return it to your dad, the paint will be glossy and look like new.
Just keep in mind that the clear coat will be thinner. Wax it regularly and avoid harsh polishing compounds, and your dad's finish should be just fine.
-Ty