Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

c_hunter

For many common automotive purposes, a 1/2" click-type torque wrench with 18" bar is just about perfect. I use a 3/4" (=19.05mm) regular depth socket for my lugs (fits Subarus and Hondas) and have a 3" extender. When you get a 1/2" socket, regular depth is actually about 1" deep. Make sure it's a hardened socket.

Here's a pic of my rig.

http://members.cox.net/craig.hunter/wrench-01.jpg

I believe it was about $60 at Sears. Goes from 20 to 150 ft-lb (I use 65 ft-lb for Subaru lugs). You'd probably want a smaller, shorter setup for engine work or work in tight spaces.

One important thing -- when you torque anything, make sure the nut/bolt is not too tight already. The wrenches are not accurate when you attempt to torque an already tight bolt. If the wrench clicks right away, either the bolt/nut was overtorqued, or it's sticking and the torque load will not be accurate. I only trust the torque wrench when I get a smooth, stick-free turn up to the click.

Craig

once_for_all

I will try to bring it in tomorrow. Maybe they will give me an XT for the weekend (yea right keep dreaming!).

John

rob999

is that buying inexpensive imported tools is rarely the least costly in the long run. You'd be better off paying a bit more up front for a Craftsman (or Snap-On) than a cheap tool sold at the discount auto store that's made in Taiwan.

My latest example:

While working on an antique truck I needed to replace all the brake lines, so I bought an inexpensive, imported double-flare flaring tool set. I tried probably 20 times to get a decent flair made, without success. At this time the tubing was starting to slip thru the clamp, as the clamp grooves had worn out. Finally the casting of the flaring arbor just plain broke!

Disgusted, I ordered a set made by RIDGID - a quality manufacturer. Yes, I spent 2x the cost of my original set, but it worked great the very first time and I finished all the other flares with one try each!

ateixeira

I have aftermarket lugs, that I got with my rims. I think they're 20 or 22mm, I forget now.

Also, the Miata's lugs are bigger than the Legacy's, which seems odd, but then it has a 4 bolt pattern, vs. 5x100mm for Subies.

Ditto on the use of quality tools. The Right Tool for the Job, that's my motto.

-juice

#noname

Wow, now I feel well educated on torque wrenches. Thank you all for your patience and explanations. The posters on this board are the best I have had the pleasure of "knowing".

I also tend to buy the best quality rather than the least expensive in most things I purchase. I would rather save time and frustration than money.

Sears is having a big sale tomorrow. I will be there.

Rebecca

earthwoman

I was allowed to post but afterwards it showed me not logged in and my username isn't attached to the post.

stever

Yep, weird glitch this morning. At least you're back :-)

Steve, Host

kens

Rebecca: Don't be afraid of getting close and personal with your car. Just start with small steps and build your confidence. At the very minimum, make yourself familiar with the fluids in the engine bay and the tire pressures. Oil changes and tire rotations can follow.

Here's a good link with pictures to get you started on some basic maintenance items:
http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/index1.html

It's under "modifications" but they're really not modifications at all.

Have fun.

Ken

once_for_all

being the computer saying a "misfire" condition was occurring, but there was no misfire condition. The shop manager shipped the computer somewhere to get it reprogrammed. Lost three hours of time getting into a rental, which will be mine until Tuesday (it wasn't an XT :-(). Interesting, I saw them take out the computer, it is in a "false" floor underneath the passenger firewall.

John

jfl

Another site with photos and descriptions of maintenance and modification information is Scoobymods.com.

None of this is rocket science. It's probably easier than cooking!

Jim

forestergump

I seem to be experiencing more piston slap as I approach 60K (currently 57K) on my '99 Forester. This seems to happen consistently at @ 1,500 rpm even in a warmed up engine, and I am getting somewhat concerned. Any thoughts?

locke2c

funny should you mention that, I'm an awful cook!

:-)

-Colin

mrk610

I started my 30 k service yesterday on my o2 obw . I rotated the tires about 3k miles ago and I thought I needed front pads ,so I ordered them from Liberty Subaru. I also ordered air and fuel filter too. So I get the calipers off ( so easy ) and i find out I still have at least half the pads left on the brakes . Which is cool because I guess I can go another 20-25k miles on them . The air filter was gross and I must of had about a 1000 bug carcasses in the filter box ,fuel filter very easy to change too. I am going to get plugs this week and change them soon (which i hear is a real b***h from others that have done it). Question I checked the front diff fluid and it looks the same as when I got the car nice and clear . How often should it be changed . I'm going to have the dealer do the antifreeze and trans fluid .Other then that the car is still running great . Not looking towards the cold weather and my piston slap coming back but on the other hand its fun to drive in the snow . Also how often should the brake and power steering fluid be changed .

thanks Mike

jwillmlady

I have been told my front struts are bad at 85,300 miles. They are making noises. I was quoted $500 to replace. Seems high.

jwillmlady

I drive a rural mail route. My Subaru is right hand drive. I replaced the back brakes about every 36,000 miles until about a year and a half ago. Now they supposedly go out at 6000 miles. The Subaru is a 1998 Legacy. I insisted my garage put on Subaru brakes the last time. Now they are out again. Are they putting them on wrong? I know other carriers DO NOT replace their back brakes until about 40,000 or so.

paisan

You should flush them at 30K.

The antifreeze is pretty easy, and why are you doing plugs at 30K???? They should go at least 60K w/o problems.

Trans fluid isn't bad either.

-mike

jfl

This might be comparing apples to oranges but on my 2000 Legacy, the rear brakes were completely worn at 70,000 miles while the front pads still had about 40% of the pad remaining. (Both were the original pads.)

I'd always thought the fronts wore much faster than the rears.

Jim

jfl

Scoobymods.com has a pretty good write up on changing spark plugs.

The service manual of my 2000 Legacy states replacing plugs at 30k. The dealer service guy said they were platinum and didn't need changing until 60k. At 60k I changed them myself and of course, they were NOT platinum. Fortunately, the Subie was running fine.

Diffy and tranny fluids aren't that hard to change. I found the hardest part was removing the diffy fill and drain plugs. (Most important!!! Do it in this order - remove fill plug before removing the drain plug!) A $5 gear oil pump is worth every penny in getting the new fluid into the diffy. Wearing gloves will reduce the stench of gear oil all over your hands.

Jim

uvdavar

I have read a few e- mails on eninge misfires and I was wondering if anyone has come up with a solution.

We have a Subaru Imprezza and over the last four to five years, it has misfired almost 10 times (mostly for 2 nd cylinder). Our delearship has done everything from plugs to a new coil and the problem keeps on coming up.

We were wondering if anyone has had this same problem and if so, did you get a fix?

lucien2

I had my local guy do my 60k. He showed my the plugs- the front 2 had normal wear, the back 2 were shot all to hell. He thinks the dealer tech was lazy at my 30k and only pulled the front 2 since the back 2 are such a PITA.

njswamplands

when i am going around 120mph i seem to get these red lights that appear behind me, but never catch up, suggestions????

ballistic

Swampy, keep a sharp eye out for roadblocks ahead...

jlemole

kens

Loosh:

Are you running non-platinum plugs on your Phase I engine?

Ken

jfl

A rock hit my windshield and left a chip. Have any of you had repairs done and was it worth it? (Did it really help or did it make things worse?)

It's not bad enough to require replacing the glass.

TIA,

Jim

stever

I had three fixed back in April on my Outback. One still bothers me, which is unusual since my other chip repairs on it and my van are hard to see. But none of them seem to be spreading, which is the real reason to get them fixed, imo.

Many insurance companies will fix them free since it's so much cheaper than replacing the windshield.

Steve, Host

lucien2

well, that's the thing. I took it to the dealer for the 30k, so they should have been, right? But yes, this go 'round he sure did but in platinums.

paisan

Supposedly they are a PITA on the WRX. I did a set for a guy friday night at our garage, wasn't too bad, you just needed to remove the battery, washer bottle, and air filter intake box.

-mike

leo2633

I concur with buying only high-quality tools, such as Craftsman. I had a bad experience with a junk wrench and hammer many years ago. The wrench broke while trying to loosen a stubborn nut. I still have the scar on my hand where it hit a protruding bolt and took a out rather large chunk of flesh. The hammer was a $1.99 K-Mart Taiwan-special rubber mallet. The head flew off and hit my then girlfriend (now wife, so she obviously got over it:>) in the face. Now I only buy quality name brands.

BTW, everyone should join the Craftsman Club. It's free, and you get advance notice and special discounts on Craftsman tools. It can save you quite a bit of cash.

Just my 2 cents.

Len

dcm61

does not save you money, it costs you money because you end up hanging out in the Sears tool department much too often. :-)

DaveM

bluesubie

Doesn't call for replacement until 60k, IIRC.

-Dennis

leo2633

You're right, but don't tell my wife;-)

Len

kens

Loosh,

So, the dealer changed your plugs at 30K even on a Phase I? I'm confused. The plugs that were worn out -- were they copper or platinum?

O/T but do you think the grape harvest in France will be as good as they say? I heard cabs were a slam-dunk, the other varietals were a wait-and-see.

Ken

ateixeira

Yeah, the pedal on the right is the throttle, keep on it until you hit 129mph, the real top speed. )

-juice

ateixeira

Len: and she didn't dump you? True love...

We're making her an honorary OCD Club Member, just for putting up with that. ;-)

-juice

lucien2

I'm confused now too. I'll have to check.
What oil filter do you all recommend? Time to change the oil....

Kens- grapes in Cafe

kens

Purolator, since they are the OE manufacturer for Subaru filters. The only difference is that the Subaru filters don't have an anti-drain back valve (not needed since our filters hang upside down).

You can also splurge and get a Purolator Pure One. It's supposed to have better filtering properties and costs a bit more.

What oil are you using?

Ken

leo2633

juice,

Yup, true love indeed. It was about 1979 or so. I was installing a dual exhaust on my Ford F100 pickup. I had one of those pipe expander things you use to open up a pipe a bit so it will slip over another pipe. She was holding a piece for me, as I was beating on the cone with the el-cheapo mallet, when WHAM! - the head flew off and hit her in the face. Good thing it was a rubber mallet and not a sledge hammer. Anyhow, October will be 21 years of marital bliss with this wonderful, now Honorary OCD Club woman. She'll be so happy!

Len

Len

scarletc

I have a Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 2000 2 door.

I recently developed a major leak in the gas tank.
I took it in for it to be checked.

They asked me if anyone had been working on
the fuel tank. I told them no and that I just had the car in there about 3 weeks ago for the 30K mile service. (to the Dealer here in Ithaca, NY).

The service tech said it looked as if someone had been working on the fuel tank and that parts were missing or something to do with the fuel tube. They said it looked like the o rings were split or cut??

They said they never saw anything like this.

In early July I got an extended warranty (or what I thought was extended warranty) from the Dealer although they call it a "service contract" and I have a $50 deductible.

They said that this is not covered under the new service contract which is called Gold or Gold plus or something like that.

I asked them if it could be vandalism, they said possibly but not sure.

However, they are now closed and NOW I remember that about 1.5 -2 years ago I had many problems with my Suburu and had it in to the Subaru dealer in Rockville , Maryland several times. This was because the fuel level indicator was malfunctioning and the "service indicator" light also kept coming on. After several times in there they finally replaced the "fuel level indicator" or something like that.

Is it possible that the repairs or manitenence they did on the fuel tank back 1.5-2years ago could be have caused these splits or fuel tank problem now??

I have to call the Ithaca dealer back in the morning to tell him that the Rockville Dealer had done work on the fuel tank but not since 1.5 years or more ago.

Anyone every heard of anything like this?

If it isn't caused by faulty repair job or faulty parts, is this something that could be vandalism?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

lucien2

Mobil 1 5/30

subaru_team

call 1-800-SUBARU3? Please have your vehicle identification number for the Rep. Let the customer service rep. know that I'd like to see your case. While I cannot work on it myself, I can help the Rep. get some answers for you.

Thanks!

Patti

ateixeira

I hope you have receipts? If so, you ought to be covered.

Subaru probably has records, do call 800-SUBARU3 and have them sort this out.

Who would tinker with their gas tank?! )

-juice

njswamplands

do run flats keep you going after hitting them at 120mph?

oregonboy

swamplands - better stay out of Oregon. The flashing lights WILL catch up. The OSP has Camaro Z-28 pursuit cruisers(!)

-james

njswamplands

otis123

New York State Police, too. The Z looks really cool in midnight blue - some with lights, some w/out, some marked, some unmarked...

Ralph

forestergump

Illinois State Troopers and Chicago police typically have Crown Vics w/v-8s, and also, to quote Elmore Blues "cop motors, cop suspensions, cop transmissions and cop tires."

jlemole

I'm in the process of doing some of my 30k mile service myself. I bought a set of OEM copper NGK plugs. Does anyone know if these are pre-gapped, or do I need to gap them. If so, anyone know the required gap? Thanks.

Jon

stoner420

fryingbologna

RCMP, British Columbia, Canada: