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Comments
Steve
BTW, had my 8 year old daughter checking and adjusting tire pressure yesterday...
Plugs required removing some of the snorkus on one side, windshield washer bottle on the other to give me easy access. Siphoned the bottle, removed connectors and one of the two tubes to create enough slack to get it out of the way. My snorkus (each application of this engine seems to be different) required removal of a 10 and 12 mm bolt, plus some tugging to get a midsection and large box chamber out. I think the toughest part was removing the wires! The ones on the passenger side (not disturbed when the head gasket leak was addressed) were well attached and required some cursing along with copious arm strength.
I ran into minor problems with my 5/8" spark plug socket, in that the insert held the plug so tight, that it would not release when the new plug was in place. The 6" extension came loose instead, leaving the socket on the plug, deep in the bore. I had to lightly insert the plug into the socket, finger screw it into place, withdraw the plug socket, then put a conventional 5/8" on the plug to finish torquing it. Oh, and use anti-sieze on the threads. The plugs I took out (steel-aluminum interface) were binding pretty badly.
Plug gap is 1.0 - 1.1 mm. This was not listed in my owners manual, but I found it here doing a quick search (thanks Colin!).
Air filter is easy - three clips and a 10mm bolt. Be sure to properly insert the 4 tabs on the bottom into the slots! The filter was pretty clean (changed at 15k miles), but the box had a lot of large debris in it.
Timing belt was easier than expected. Three 10mm bolts hold the cover in place over the drivers side cam area. With the cover off, you can see about 2" of tooth area (underside), plus a good 8" of topside. Put a chalk mark to note the beginning point. With a 22mm socket on the crank bolt and a breaker bar, I was able to zip it around and inspect the whole thing in about 5 minutes.
Steve
-juice
~c
I just purchased a red '01 Forester S with 45,000 miles on it. I really like it and look forward to many years of ownership.
Q: The operation of sunroof cover doesn't seem right to me. You can't slide it back unless you start to open the sunroof. In other words , it is not possible to slide just the cover back and look up at the sky through the glass. You have to open the sunroof the whole way to be able to slide the inside cover back the whole way. Is this correct? is this how it is supposed to work?
By the way, I didn't get an owner's manual with this car.
Just this morning, I was goofing around with the sunroof trying to get the cover to slide back independently of the glass - and now it looks I've jammed up something - because now I can only get the sunroof glass to move about 2 inches and then it stops. It will close, but it only just starts to open , and then stops.
Anyone else have this problem?
TIA
-juice
Craig
Just shows you what a wonderful resource this board is. Needed gap spec, and there it was. I spent more time reading and re-reading the manual, only to find plug type, but no gap. Of course, I later realized that the -11 in the part # is the gap.... I ran upstairs, logged on, and had the answer in less than a minute.
Craig - I thought about that also, but wasn't sure that it would hold up. Gee, now if I owned a welder.....
Steve
Well, YOU probably know this, but for those readers who don't: it is a bad idea to leave your wheels turned completely in any one direction for longer than 5 seconds. A turn that extreme puts a lot of strain on the power stearing pump and should be avoided in general.
But that's not your problem. I don't know what they noise from the rear might be but if it were mine, I'd take it right to the dealer for a warranty visit, especially if it happens consistently or has been escalating.
Elissa
You definitely have a problem with the cover. Don't know how it works for sure, but perhaps it's come off its track and is stopping the glass from operating?
--Dan
-mike
Gotta tell you - I found the front diff dip stick to be much easier to get to when the air filter cover was off. With everything in place, I find it just about impossible to pull that dip stick. There is a hose and wiring harness cluster right over it on mine, and I physically cannot get my hand between the wad of stuff.
Steve
I had an I-6 3.3l in a 1981 Mustang Ghia and a small/thin person could sit *inside* the engine bay next to the engine to work on it.
-juice
-Frank
elissa
-mike
-juice
The dealer was able to fix it for free. I knew it had to be something simple.
There are some rachet-like clips on the track that were blocking the glass. These were extended when they shouldn't have been. Once they were "reset" , it worked fine.
I can now move the inside cover independently of the glass.
I used to love our 2001 Forester S+ -- until Rooby hit 50,000 miles. A rear wheel bearing went. Now we have a Check Engine & flashing AT Oil Temp light plague. The code comes up "brake pressure duty solenoid circuit malfunction", also "clutch pressure duty solenoid circuit malfunction". Yikes. SOA tells the dealer, who then tells me, "SOA says replace the automatic transmission control unit."
"How much?" I ask.
"$900."
You can't possibly imagine the sound I made next. This relationship is souring fast. I've already spent $260 to find out that I have to spend another $900.
My question here is, What are the chances that replacing this very expensive part permanently will fix this "problem"? We're not really noticing that she drives wrong or poorly, though maybe there is a slight hesitation at low speed. Otherwise she seems to be shifting just fine.
Today we started talking about trading her in. Unless this gets figured out satisfactorily, that's probably what we'll do, and it won't be on another Subaru.
Elissa
Two possible options here. If it is causing drivability problems, it may also affect emissions. That might qualify you for coverage under the fed emissions warranty for electronic engine controls.
But why don't you first try giving SOA a call (1-800-subaru3) and ask for mercy. They are amazingly accommodating, especially as it first showed up under the 60k mark. Be decent in your approach, and see if they will work with you on the price.
Note to self - again glad that I bought an extended service plan....
Steve
My guess is if you replace it it should be fine. Alternately you can find a unit from a junkyard and just swap it in yourself, the install should not be more than an afternoon.
-mike
-mike
Decided to put a strip of white tape along the side of the reservoir tank that I could mark to get a definitive measure of loss vs time. Around town uses almost none, most visible consumption is on the 400 mi round trip days.
Anyway, before I did that I decided to pull the tank and clean the outside so that the tape would stick better, plus be easier to attach.
When I drained the antifreeze into the holding container I was using, I noticed a lot of black particles of different sizes, as well as some kind of "filmy" material suspended in the antifreeze.
At that point I decide to clean the inside of the reservoir with a good flush.
Just for yucks I decided to strain the antifreeze from the reservoir through some paper towels before I put it back into the clean tank. I saved the last once or two because there was so much crud in it.
All this leads up to this question - anyone know how how much crud should be in one year old antifreeze (engine has 16400 miles)? I'm not used to seeing any at all. My guess is that I'm seeing some sealant material or hose "stuff".
Any thoughts?
TIA
Larry
The bearings were a common issue until the 2003 redesign. Change them over to Legacy bearings and you'll likely never see the problem again.
-juice
Larry
You flushed already, check it again in a month. Also, make sure you "burp" the system to get those air pockets out.
-juice
By "filmy material" I think he means the white toothpaste-like substance referred to as antifreeze 'sediment'. It's not uncommon to see sediment in antifreeze when you drain it WHEN IT'S IN DIRE NEED OF BEING DRAINED. For instance, I saw considerable sediment when draining the 20 year Honda Civic I just acquired when I was sure it hadn't had service is 60K miles. Not surprising to see sediment in a 20 year old car after 60K of no coolant flushes. Not so common to see that much sediment in a 1 year old car with 10K or less miles - as is mine and Larry's cases.
I spent the weekend trying to ascertain causes for considerable sediment build up. Couldn't find much other than neglect, corrosion or excessively hard water. Well, in 7K miles, my car has not been neglected or had time for excessive corrosion - I assume maybe Subaru filled it with tap water? All I know is sediment indicates it's time for a coolant flush and if left un-removed can start blocking up the radiator. *shrug*
I also checked the protection level in my XT's filmy coolant - but that looks good - off the charts good. With boil over protection beyond what a normal 50/50 mixture would give me and freezing protection also off the charts. I'm not sure what that means! Maybe Subaru uses some different coolant mixture in their Turbo models to deal with the extra heat generated by a turbo??
Also loaded with dark particles of different shapes and sizes - definitely not rust however. This is just from the reservoir, don't want to think about how much stuff is circulating in the system.
I'm going to do the wife's OBW this week to see what her coolant looks like after 23k and about 21 months.
I'm going to love it if the dealer tells me this is normal. Not.
Larry
According to Patti, Subaru has been adding the conditioner at the factory since sometime in 2002.
As for the toothpaste, maybe it's to prevent cavities in your cooling system. ;-)
DaveM
-juice
Greg
replace fuel filter
inspect and adjust valve clearance
replace front and rear axle oil
replace manual tranny oil
replace brake fluid
drain and refill ATF
inspect a million things - no, really, a million
drain and refill coolant &pressure test
replace PCV valve
clean throttle body
I literally couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes...lol
-Frank
We've done about 20-30+ 30K Services that includes emptying that out. All of them have this sludgy/nasty crud in them, so at the least it's "normal"
-mike
Steve
PS: I noticed that I seem to have also taken a step function loss in reserve as well. Noticed it last week when changing the plugs. I need to monitor it more closely. My first reaction was to shine the light onto the back of the head and down onto the crossmember below, but everything is clean and dry.
Two observations:
1) the XT had very, very little sludge and only has 6000 miles and 8 months less time on it than the OBW. The sludge in the OBW was so heavy it would indicate to me, that there's been some stop leak or whatever they want to call that conditioner stuff thrown in. I mean this stuff was thick.
2) the XT had way more "particles" in it.
3) the Outback in 21 months and 22000 miles has yet to use a drop of anti-freeze
It also appears the particles in the XT are plastic, or at least non-magnetic.
I wonder if Subaru is using the conditioner in every 2.5L including the XT, or in the 2.5L's that are going into the "regular" Foresters and Outbacks?
Anyway, except for the coolant loss from the XT I'm not going to worry about it.
Larry
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I wouldn't have even looked for junk in there if it hadn't been for the coolant stink that just started.
I also disagree that the sediment doesn't get sucked back into the radiator. When engine is hot, pressure builds and the coolant will spill over from the engine/radiator into the overflow reservoir. Then when the engine cools, whatever is sitting closest to the water hose going into the bottom of the reservoir gets sucked back into the radiator and engine. If sediment is down there then surely sediment gets sucked back into the system. Buildup of sediment is just part of a having a cooling system. But lots of it can clog a radiator and cause a premature death of it. We have two such radiator type things in the XT - the radiator and the intercooler. I'm concerned whatever is causing the stink and the buildup will ultimately challenge our cooling systems to fail early. *shrug* I suppose it's not the worst thing that could happen to a car as long as it's well maintained and any decline in cooling capability is caught early. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes on it. I'm gonna start with the tape and ticking off fluid levels in the reservoir for now.
Thanks
Elissa
The IC is an Air-Air Intercooler, not an Air-Water IC....
For someone who's done their research it's funny to see you didn't research the IC to know it's air-air.
-mike
Elissa
-mike
The pickup hoses in most coolant recovery bottles are intentionally short of the bottom by an inch or so for exactly the purpose of not picking up the sludge! That is why I made the statement I did. Now if you have a long pickup, or the sludge level exceeds an inch or two, you may be ripe for problems....
Steve
Most from your list is done, except:
inspect and adjust valve clearance (not listed in book, and I really don't intend to do this...)
replace manual tranny oil (N.A.)
replace PCV valve (received the wrong one - have to deal with this item)
clean throttle body (inspected internally when the air filter was out - spotless - not going to mess with it).
Steve