By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
- Jake
Al
Steve
Fast forward to this past Friday (geeze, May already). Almost same problem except we had just driven to our new home site at a moderate speed (40mph) about 5 miles distance. The engine was idling. Suddenly the temp gage moved up to the second mark below the "H" mark. The gage hovered around the same mark for a few minutes. Finally let it cool off and put more pre-mix in the radiator.
So today decided to try a new radiator cap as the overflow coolant was not being drawn back into the radiator.
Any ideas as to this overheating problem.
Thanks.
MNSteve
This is EXACTLY how my 98 behaved when I had a blown head gasket. It would act up intermittently, particularly when slowing down to a stop after an extended freeway drive, such as on the way to work. Get off on the freeway ramp, come to a stop, and voila, overheating. I had to take mine to the dealer twice before they detected hydrocarbons in the coolant. The mechanic mentioned after the repair that the leak was barely detectable on the gasket.
I was searching for any references to this problem but found none. My 2001 LL Bean wagon has a continuing problem where when I park for a short time then restart I get a STRONG scent of gear oil through the ventilation system. You can also smell it if you are outside the car. Last summer I had the dealer check it and they said they cleaned off 'residual' gear oil off the diff. It helped for a while but it's back and has been back for several months. I've check the gear oil level and it seems fine. I also feel like there is more gear noise than there used to be. Any comments????
Thanks!
Paul in MN.
Good luck,
-wdb
Good luck,
-wdb
Depending on how long you want to keep the car, you can add stop leak to the cooling system. I drive an ancient Mitsu with a blown head gasket and have been driving it with no coolant loss for 1-1/2 years now after adding stop leak.
Asa
We are talking about a few thousand dollars worth of auto body work that needs to be done without the car even being in an accident.
Does anyone have any experience with this situation or have any ideas as to how this could occur?
Thanks for the input, zman3.
Regretfully, we're on the way out to Portland, OR for the daughters college graduation (finally) tomorrow hauling the OBW behind the motor home. Maybe I''ll try some stop leak as mentioned by another poster.
I've changed oil & filter but it looks clean - no foaming. As far as I (and the previously mentioned mechanic) can tell, the coolant looks OK.
But when we return from Portland, I will definately take it to the local dealer for more checks (this can get expensive, this diagnostic stuff
MNSteve
I'm kinda hoping Subaru sees their way clear to sell the H-6 with either a 5 or 6 speed gearbox so I could tow one behind the motor home.
MNSteve
I'm sorry but having been involved with Subarus going back to 1999, I think this is a very bad idea. Here is my advise everytime I hear these symptoms on a 96-99 2.5L DOHC subaru. I have changed the head gaskets myself on a Subaru 3 times.
Ditch the car soon. It has a blown head gasket at the least-- usually nothing worse than that as long as you repeatedly don't overheat it to the point of the engine dying. The all-alloy block and heads is not very tolerant of overheating and stuff will warp and/or crack.
I would not *give* it to any relative or friend let alone sell. It will blow headgaskets repeatedly after the first occurrence. Each time this will incur at least $1200 in repairs (some dealers, over $1600). Or if you're handy like me, blow an entire weekend for you and a friend or two.
eject.eject.eject
~Colin
Thanks in advance.
To subaru's credit, I paid $14.60 for the parts and additive. It would have been a $1200.00 job. I asked if the newer ones used the same gaskets and was told they were replaced with stronger gaskets. He also said the leak was INTERNAL
Do a "subaru mods" search for a web site that has pix of the routine maintenance items.
There are also lots of tips in the "Care & Maintenance" forum here on Edmunds. From all of us who have gone before you...
Jim
Keep in mind our cars may be slightly different, but this gives you can idea.
-juice
pic 1: pcv valve on '98 Forester
pic 2: fuel filter, old and new
pic 3: radiator drain
It greatly helps if you have the right spark plug tools. Not sure what will work best on your model.
On my '03 Forester XS, the spark plug tools that worked the best for me:
1) spark plug socket with rubber boot (other wise the plug won't come out)
2) 3/8" swivel drive
3) 4" extension
Note, you may have to put electrical tape over the socket drive connections to keep them from coming apart when pulling out (and leaving the spark plug socket inside still attached to the plug).
John
Over all the car has been "good"
The service guy made noises about machine shop work on the head(s) to make sure any warping is taken care of. Hopefully I caught the overheating of the engine quickly enough to prevent too much damage.
I'll let ya'all the outcome.
MNSteve
-juice
they say it will cost $600+.
that does not sound reasonable to me. but i'm in the NY metro area, where prices are high. still, i think it's *way* high. does anyone have a feel for this? i'm willing to pay a premium for the dealer to do the same work as a good mechanic, but there are limits to this policy...
-juice
Anach
Mike
I'd really like to have subaru involved in the upkeep of my car, but it's just too much: I think i'll risk the (possibly) less-effective non-subaru mechanic for the "easy stuff", though i'm not sure where the dividing line is.
Anyone have a good rule of thumb for what to do where?
Frustrated! -- Michael
What I can't do, I'll service at the Subaru dealer as long as the car is under warranty.
After the warranty, I'd go to a good indy mechanic after checking references.
That's just me, though.
-juice
But onto the list of repairs:
- Both head gaskets leaking
- Both heads were warped - needed machining
- Replaced the water pump since the mechanic at the Baton Rogue Subaru place screwed up thermostat repair ( wrong bolt, threads stripped, etc.)
- Replaced failed pilot bearing (found when separating the gearbox/clutch assembly from engine.
- Replace timing belt tensioner and belt.
- Then there is a long list of gaskets, seals, etc.
Labor was $81.00 per hour. The final bill was $2429.57
Well, at least the timing belt is good for a while.
MNSteve
You will almost always get screwed on the flat rate method of charging.
Cheers Pat.
Happy motoring!
Asa
With any front suspension travel I get a clunking metal to metal sound coming from the front left side.
When I took a look underneath, and a layer of moly or some kind of thick grease is piled up on where the CV shaft meets the front diffy. I checked all the other places where they meet and they're clean.
The previous owner had problems with the front diffy (loose) and I broke the lower bracket (bolt) of the front stabilizer bar and replaced it with a bolt I got at the hardware store.
Also, the steering wheel vibrates if under good acceleration in a turn. the steering also feels loose and it easily moves back and forth if I go over a bump. Don't know if that has anything to do with it.
I'd appreciate any direction you could give me.
Thanks,
Eric
Don't ignore it - ours short-circuited the oxygen sensor and broke that too, we had two things to fix!
-juice
Hopefully your luck will turn around. We have 5 subies in the family and all 10 head gaskets are fine, knock on wood.
-juice
Wiped it off (when engine cooled) then drove around about 5 mi. Came back - droplets of that stuff was all over again. Can it be that my breaking liquid is getting out somehow? Oil level and transmission liquid level seemed to be ok. :confuse:
My main concern - is it safe to drive it, say, 70-90 mi? I always serviced my Forester at the best dealership in the area which is unfortunately not close by.
I wonder what that "stuff" can be too. Where exactly on the exhaust pipe is it happening? Wasn't sure what you meant by the swollen part of it.
Have you checked your other fluid levels? How about the oil filter -- is it on tight? Is there evidence of the liquid under where you park?
It could also be that you drove over a pool of something on the road and it splashed up onto your exhaust. Some of it may have been caught in the plastic undergaurd and continues to drip down onto the exhaust. Did you look around the wheel wells for similar stuff?
If it were me, I'd make an appointment at Santa Cruz at my earliest convenience and keep an eye on the smoke/smell to see if it's something that just splashed on.
Let me know if you ever need a ride to/from SC.
Ken
Brownish-blackish? Gear oil would have to be pretty dirty to look like that.
Could it be grease from one of the boots (CV or axle boot)? Inspect those visually. Luckily I have a pick of a torn boot, so you can see what that might look like. Grease from it leaked all over the under side of our 626.
-juice
It was a torn CV Boot. Shame on me - I should have guessed it too. My trouble-free Forester completely spoiled me... unlike with my Ford Escort, there was no need to look under the hood over past 5 years :-)
Ken, thanks for good suggestions! I did check for the same things you suggested. Nothing dripped when car was standing in the garage (tried with running motor too). Checked oil and AT liquid fluids. Checked brake and PS fluids too, although I was not sure exactly what am I looking for in the last 2 cases
Checked undercarriage and wheel wells, to see if something nasty splashed from beneath.
I was a bit afraid to take a long (>70 miles) drive to the Santa Cruz dealership, so I drove 16 miles to the dealership in Livermore instead.
Just got a call from the service advisor. They can change the boot but for $50 more they offered to change to the brand new axle with both right and left boots. I went with a new axle, as I plan to keep this car for a long while.
Good thing I've got SubaruBucks on me today! :shades:
You have grease spilled everywhere, so I would wash the undercarriage when all is said and done. At least spray on some Simple Green, let it soak in, then hose it off.
-juice
Good call on spending an extra $50. If one boot was going, the other would be suspect as well.
How was the Livermore dealer?
Ken
It's pretty much a given to keep the car now and see how things go, I don't disagree with that in the least. But what I would say is that at the slightest hint of additional trouble I'd bail immediately while you have some driveability and a prayer of unloading it.
Juice and is family are lucky-- actually I'm sure some of them own newer Subarus that aren't even affected by this-- but all it takes is a few minutes googling and you'll see that the 96-99 2.5L DOHC headgasket problems aren't exactly rare...
~c
And here I recall at one point you were looking seriously at getting a new XT!
Jim
-juice
Livermore dealer was not too bad - but we'll see how the repair will hold up. Otherwise, I cannot complaint - they were prompt and polite; when I was picking the car, mechanic who worked on my car came out to tell me again what they've done and why it was needed.
Livermore dealer used to be multuline, with emphasis on Honda, but also carrying Subaru and Audi. Today, thet still had a few Hondas on the parking lot, but Subarus outnumbered blue "H's" 10:1, I think. I could not spot Audi anywhere on the lot. There were no Hondas or Audis in the showroom, and the big sign over dealership now says only "Subaru"... did they convert to Subaru-only (while probably still honoring Honda service commitments and such)?
Jim, yes, I'm still in love with the idea of getting a new Forester. But finances at this point are such that holding on to Silvius makes sense. Plus, I expect my daughter will start driving this fall - and then I will get a great excuse to get myself a brand new one, and she will inherit Silvius.
Question #1 - are there two spereate bulbs, one for the low beam and an other for the high beam or is it just one bulb with multiple filliments?
Question #2 - Recomendations for the best bulb for a 01 Outback wagon?
Question #3 - how do I replace it? I don't imaginge its too hard. I know the part of not touching the glass. I'm just wondering if special tools are needed or any thing needs to be removed to access the bulb.
And #4 - can the aim of the headlights be adjusted? All my previous cars and trucks where fairly simple or at minimum I could figure it out. For the subie I think I see the adjustment, but it appears to require a special tool.
Just as a note, I'm one of the guys that leaves the headlight switch in the ON position all the time. It took over 4 years for the first bulb to burn out. (low beam)
I imagine I'll replace both low beam bulbs while I'm at it.
--Jay
The type of bulb should be listed in your owner's manual. I think the 01 OB uses separate bulbs for high and low beams, but you should check to find out the exact type (ie. H4, H7, 9007).
If a standard bulb worked fine for you, I'd stick with one. You can get slightly higher output bulbs (not overwattage or "blue" bulbs) that produce slightly more light than a standard one. Some auto stores sell them, others you will need to look online. While I've never had a problem with them, some people have experienced shorter bulb life from these models.
Replacing the bulb is very simple on Subarus. I don't have experience with the 01 OB, but you should not need any tools.
Headlight aim is adjustable. Usually there is an adjustment knob directly in the headlight assembly that's adjustable with a philips screwdriver. Be careful with your adjustments, however. Small changes to this knob can make the difference between annoying oncoming traffic and having good light coverage. A Subaru repair manual should show you what the proper specs are for headlight aim. Typically, you need to be parked on a level surface with the headlights shining on a wall 10 ft in front of the car. You mark the hot spot of the headlight pattern on the wall and measure the height from the ground.
Ken