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Comments
Toyota and Honda in-line engines require balance shafts (licensed by Mitsubishi by the way) to stop the shimmys. Boxers have a natural second order balance, i.e. no balance shafts to add unnecessary reciprocating mass.
Ever seen a large in-line 4 at idle that didn't have balance shafts? Shaky-shaky-shaky...
The boxers have character, a nice growl, not unlike some Porsches. They drive by and you recognize the sounds.
Drive by in an NSX and you might as well be in a V6 Kia or Chrysler. You can barely tell the difference.
But a boxer is totally unique. Though you might be mistaken for a Porsche...
-juice
is the 2002 Impreza with the 2.5 boxer going to be reliable? a boxer engine even looks funny to me. can anyone work on them, or is it strictly a dealer mechanic? what about oil changes?
also looked at a new Focus wagon. smoother, lighter on its feet, but the reliability is an issue (maybe) and it doesn't have AWD. it is roomier inside though...
on the BASE 2002 with wheel covers, are those 14 inchers or 15 inchers?
thanks again everyone!
friend used to have a Shadow Shelby Turbo - it was ROUGH, but that was a Chrysler Turbo from the 80's.....how could it NOT be rough, haha.
is the boxer engine opposite of most Japanese engines then? meaning, most of them like to be revved to get their peak HP. does the boxer prefer to be lugged around like a diesel or an old Volvo 240 engine?
Can't wave a flag at a boxer engine and call them this or that.
John
-mike
I find changing the oil on all three of my Subies to be a piece of cake. Changing the spark plugs on all but the Turbo to be mildly inconvenient but doable for the home mechanic. The Turbo plugs are way deep inside and blocked by the intercooler - I can't even find them. But your Impreza 2.5L should be easy enough to move other parts around (battery? wiper fluid reservoir?) to get at the plugs. You can do your own differential fluid replacement, air filter, brakes, etc. No problem. What else do you want to do?
PS - If you take a Subaru to some horrible place (like a Jiffy Lube) to have the oil changed, be sure that they know to drain the oil from the ENGINE and not the TRANSMISSION. For some reason that defies logic and common sense, Jiffy Lubes have been know to drain transmission oil from the vehicle and fill up the engine oil, resulting in no transmission fluid and 8 Qts of engine oil. Uh, that would be a very very bad thing for your car overall. Akin to blowing up your engine and setting fire to your tranny. There is more than one instance of this happening to Subarus at those quicky lube places. But the engine oil drain plug is SOOOO easy to find - it's on the engine oil pan. Duh. Not on the tranny. Two totally different looking components. Any trained mechanic wouldn't even need a second thought about which to drain. I never even needed a second thought about which to drain. But that is why you DON'T go to the Jiffy Lubes and Quick Lubes of the world - they don't have trained mechanics.
I drove a Focus rental last fall and was appalled by its lack of performance, poor ergonomics and shoddy build quality. Throw in Ford's long track record of mediocre or worse reliability scores and in my humble opinion, anyone who buys a Ford does so at his or her own risk.
Base Impreza wheels are 15 inchers.
-Frank
the Impreza only has 15k miles (2002) but it was registered as a corporate fleet car. CARFAX checks out fine. worries me though. was it maintained? no way to tell....
only has one year left of warranty according to Subaru N.A. they said the one recall it had has already been taken care of...
we will see.
thanks again!
My worry is that the 31 days is certainly enough in my home state to qualify for a 'lemon' - don't really want to do this though. But I'm moving states in a few weeks. Will I have to 'start the clock' again? I wish I'd tried another dealer earlier but only one is very convenient.
I'm frustrated that this problem is causing me such headaches. Advice? Comments?
If that doesn't work, my plan is to change tires. Problem is, with only 2K on the car, changing tires feels expensive, since the ones I have are barely used. Is there a way to get some $$ back for them, or do I have to just leave 'em sitting in the garage until it's time to trade the car?
Was that Shadow really a Shelby? The Shelby models were just called "CSX". Funny thing is my roommate had a Shadow ES turbo, the 2.2l model, it was fast but not smooth at all, and the clutch was stiff and nails.
I agree with mike on the boxers, any competent mechanic can work on them. If I managed to change the spark plugs, anyone can. I didn't even have the right sized socket extensions and I managed.
garrett: they seem to be working with you, try to talk them into a favorable exchange. The 2005s get better gas mileage, 23/30.
yogi: you won't get much for used RE92s. People don't like them new.
-juice
Your proposed situation sounds like just the right argument for purchasing a Subaru Gold extended warranty. You can do it as long as the car is still covered by the 3yr/36k, and the prices in cyberland are quite reasonable for what you get.
Steve
Consumer reports says of the Focus: "Reliability has finally improved, allowing us to recommend it... All versions we tested handled nimbly and felt forgiving at their limits. The wagon is a cleverly packaged and very practical choice, with good rear-seat and cargo space." Although owner satisfaction is below average. You should also know there is a $3K consumer rebate on the Focus Wagon. Invoice is about $1000 below MSRP and the dealers get a $500 "dealer holdback" from the factory, which means they pay about $1500 below MSRP for the car. So... you should be able to get $4000 - 4500 below MSRP if you're tough. :-) (alternatively, a new 2004 Impreza base model costs the dealer $16,600 so hard to get as a good a deal)
The base Focus models are pretty watered down, get at least the new 2.3l ST models, which are also PZEV. Torque is pretty good and fuel efficiency is better than the Zetec engine.
-juice
-elissa
Anyway, is it a high-pitched rattle that sounds like metal shaking around? It could be your heat shield. A heat shield is a thin metal cover around your catalytic converter and exhaust to contain the heat that that part gives off. I had similar noises on my old Civic that took three trips to the dealer to identify. Then had the same problem with my Forester that two mechanics thought was the catalytic converter all broken. Heat shield was lose in both cases. Free of charge to re-tighten or re-clamp to contain the rattle. With the winters you get in NY, it's likely that the heat sheild and screws are rusty and causing some rattling. I could be way wrong, but it's the easiest and cheapest thing to check.
BTW - The heat sheild is just a cover, and is not part of any mechanical operation, it could fall off and your car would run just fine. Although you might start a fire if you were to park over dry leaves. Or you might melt your brake lines or catch fire to some dripping oil or something. It's unsafe to be without the heatshield, but mechanically if it's rattling, your car can be running fine.
Anyway, I've been reading and it sounds like in 96 and earlier models there were three heat sheilds associated with Subaru exhausts, the one toward the front tends to get splashed by lots of cold puddle water which causes problems - cold water on hot metal degrade the metal I guess. Anyway, if you (or your boyfriend) can jack the car up and look at the length of the exhaust pipe and surrounding aluminum (I think) heat sheild it might be obvious where the problem is and/or wether replacing or simply tightening the heat sheild will do the trick. You can read more about heat sheilds and their purpose under the "test the pipes" section here : http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf90072.htm
Good luck!
Elissa
That sounds so frustrating! Have you tried calling SOA? The number is 1-800-SUB-ARU3 (800-782-2783) What state are you in? I hear that CA (where I live) has one of the more liberal Lemon Laws out there and it's really not in favor of the consumer. It basically allows you to sell your car back to the manufacturer, with an allowance taken out for mileage. When I looked into what I'd get if my car were a lemon, it was actually less than the Blue Book private party sale price of the car! To me, that's a law in favor of Auto Maker Lobbyists. A real disappointment. Maybe your state is actually more liberal? You could also try the BBB and various consumer protection agencies if you don't get any releif. Or, you could stuff muffling in your dash and sell it.
You sure you can afford to fix the other one? LOL
For the windows you could use silicone from a tube, because it's clear. Or some RV grade latex sealer, that comes in black.
My guess is the tire shop was wrong, it usually is the wheel bearings. Get a 2nd opinion.
-juice
Thanks - and again - I'm sorry -
Patti
IIRC, someone mentioned brake fluid that was colored blue, yellow, red etc. What was the name of it and where can I get it? I've looked at the auto part stores and nobody has it.
Thanks
Eric
-Frank
-mike
~c
Motul is cool, we like the ATE Superblue cause it's readily available from one of our sponsors
-mike
~c
-mike
DaveM
It's in the shop again today for 'one last time' when the entire dash pad is going to be replaced. Here's hoping!
-juice
;-)
Greg
I baster out as much as possible, then put in the ATE Blue. Good stuff.
-mike
This has been an off and on problem since the car was a few weeks old. They also cleaned the idle valve as was done the last time. Just thought I'd post the "solution" (hopefully) to this problem.
Steve
Dropped the bottom shield a week or so ago, can't find any sign of a leak and there's no coolant on the shield. The coolant tank is plumbed in such a way that there's no overflow hose that I can find, and I've been over every inch of every coolant line that I can find. The XT is a plumber's dream (or nightmare?)
So far lost about a cup of coolant.
Plan on taking it to the dealer in the next week or so. I'm sorry to say I'm stumped.
Any other ideas? I must have missed something.
TIA
Larry
Larry: even a tiny bit can make a stench.
Did you ever "burp" the system? Mine has a plastic phillips screw on the passenger side of the radiator. I watched the air bubbles flow out, it's cool.
If it doesn't stop consider getting your oil analyzed by Bob is the oil guy.
-juice
When I start up my 04 OB, it idles high until I start driving. Was your idle high as well? Thanks.
Greg
P.S. I believe the recommendation is to raise the front of the car when filling your coolant after a drain to help remove air.
John