Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

ateixeira

I think so, too, rebuild the caliper at least, and use the appropriate type of grease.

-juice

xwesx

Oh, good call... I had not thought of that type of a short! That certainly would be the easiest place to start.

xwesx

More details would be helpful, but this almost reminds me of the fuel pump "problem" that seems common in the '06. Some of them have noisy fuel pumps and the fix is simply pump replacement. A friend of mine purchased an '06 Bean last Fall and had to get the pump replaced due to a high-pitched squeal.

kens

The timing belt really doesn't have many indicators of failure. You could inspect it for any cracks, but it may or may not tell you much about how much time is left. You should be fine until 105K -- I believe the manual calls for a replacement at 120K, IIRC?

Regarding the upshifting, I wonder if manually downshifting causes the TCU to not learn that behavior. The TCU, like the ECU, continually tries to learn your driving style. In theory, if you drive agressively, it should shift more agressively. I'm just wondering if shifting it manually vs. letting it downshift on it's own circumvents it's learning process.

Try getting the TCU to shift with just your right foot. If that doesn't seem to work, then you could always unplug the negative battery cable, allow the TCU to lose it's learning and start from scratch again.

Ken

fibber2

While I am not encouraged to hear that others have had this happen, it is in some strange way good to know that I am not the only one! I am still not quite sure how I was able to drive with it that way. When I am back next week, I will break it down and tell you what I find.

One thing that bothers me about aftermarket pads (the Hawks) is that they expect you to use all of the old hardware (anti-rattle springs, backing pads, etc.). I am not keen on reusing 4.5 yr old stuff. Short of buying a pad set from Subaru just for the hardware, is there any other solution? Does Subaru sell the stuff separately?

Steve

ateixeira

4.5 years is nothing. The brakes on my Miata are 13 years old plus.

-juice

fibber2

And you keep reusing the same anti-rattle clips, pad wear sensors and backing plates? I don't think that is terribly wise, especially in a high salt area. The spring clips loose their temper with time, and corrode.

Steve

subie

i need a new seatbelt for my 99 outback sus and apparently the seatbelts have a lifetime warranty. well lucky for me my local dealer bob stones in the dalles oregon has ordered me a new seatbelt 3 WEEKS AGO :mad: ! they keep making up excuses like they are on had to order them from somewhere on the east coast, and keep stalling out time. but it has been 3 weeks! why i need a new seatbelt is because my old one is torn. and apparently safety is not really a issue. if anyone from subaru checks this board call bob stone and ask what is up.

ryan

xwesx

While, admittedly, seatbelt replacements are probably not too commonplace, one SHOULD expect better than 3 weeks service time. Perhaps you could take the initiative on this one and contact Subaru of America yourself by calling 800.SUBARU3.

b10609

Even though we've had the piston replacement done on our 2003 Forester I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one. The latest engines are revised and the current 2.5L is better and more powerful to boot. My daughter drives an 2005 2.5L Impreza and the motor is very quiet and smooth.The Forester AWD with automatic is excellent and if you drive on wet or/snowy roads there are few AWD's better at any price. Quote from my wife: when comparing Toyota and Honda, both use dumb side opening hatch doors and hang spare wheels out back which make them very impractical loading groceries, etc. Parking damage to those models is frequent and the balanced lift gate on the Forester is a breeze.This can be important as the others are truck like and unless only males use the car, it's a good Subaru feature worth considering. We'd say go for it and enjoy a practical, fun and safe car ! - Waterloo

once_for_all

Hey waterloo,

I would suggest that males enjoy well designed lift gates too!

John

leo2633

If you can't get the brake hardware from Subaru, you can buy hardware kits for disc and drum brakes from a NAPA dealer. It's not a bad idea to change the hardware as well as the pads/shoes.

Len

cptplt

I had to get new one for my 98 last year, it took my dealer a day to get it!

snoogs51

Noise started at 11,000 miles. Dealer said they all do that. Motor rebuilt at 29,000 miles, 2 new pistons and oversized rings. Noise back 1200 miles later. Subaru just put a motor in it (short block? is what my husband says) The car now has 32,000 miles on it. Any thoughts?

judithl

About one month after getting the front brake pads replaced and the rotors machined (at the Sub. dealer), I started hearing a creaking/grinding noise intermittently when applying the brakes. It appeared to be coming from the front. As time went on, the noise became louder and more constant each time the brakes were applied. I brought it back to the dealer. They inspected the pads, cleaned out some dust, machined front and rear rotors, but admitted they never heard the noises during their test drive. Of course, since getting my car back a few days ago, the noise has reappeared, although now softer and less frequent. It is only present as I start to depress the brake pedal and stops when the car has come to a complete stop. It seems to be coming from the front wheels. Any ideas? I'm bringing the car back to the dealer in a few days. The car has only 75,000 miles and is up to date with maintenance. Judy

quigll

Yes. I replaced three windshields in my 2001 Forrester . I have had my 2006 Forrester for 14 days. You guessed it. Huge crack low on the windshield all along the width of the hood. There MUST be a design flaw

ateixeira

It's not a winter car, in fact I've never driven it in the snow (that's why I have the Subie). So no salt.

The previous owner also garaged it, plus it has only 60k miles right now.

-juice

mrk610

Wish I could get my dealer to replace my short block for my slap.

Mike .k

psfod3

I want to replace the timing belt in my 03 Forester. If anyone knows any good service shops who are good with subarus in central N.J. around Middlesex county please let me know. For some reason the dealers all want what I consider alot of money for this work. Thanks

fibber2

I have the front brakes partially apart on my Outback. One side is in pieces, the other side everything is now loose. Took me two nights to get it disassembled due to extensive corrosion. I even had to use a hypodermic to inject a bit of Kroil (an industrial penetrating oil) in around the lug nuts to break the binding between the hub and rotor. Using the 8mm bolts and hammering just wasn't getting the job done.

Looks like the calipers are OK, as the piston pressed back into the bore with light application of a C-clamp. And the carrier pins move in and out freely. The problem was that the carrier rust displaced the stainless steel clips, binding up the pads so tight that it took a drift and hammer to free them up. I may have to replace them if I cannot smooth them out.

Now to the really disappointing part. The Hawk pads that I ordered from TireRack are wrong! I downloaded drawing to compare with what was on the car, and from a Subaru TSB. No way could these be right. Finally I called Wellman Products (Hawk), and their product specialist immediately knew what was up.

We all know that Subaru made a bunch of upgrades for the '02MY to the Legacy/Outback line. One highly touted item was improved brakes. Redesigned carrier/calipers/pads. Yet I have never been happy with them. Overheating, fading, etc. Turns out that my early production '02 got leftover factory parts bin specials! So now I am down for a few extra days waiting for ('00-'01) replacement parts.

Steve

snowbelter

Subaru is really putting you to the test with all the brake problems you have had. I hope your car has doesn't have 00 year front brakes as those came with a smaller diameter rotor from the 01 and later OB. It may not make you feel any better, but the brakes on my 02 and my wife's 04 have had a number of problems.

xwesx

Bummer, Steve.... but you are doing a fine job, sir. A fine job! Now, on the bright side, if you ever have more problems with your head gaskets you can use this "leftover '01 brake stuff" predicament to lend additional creedence to the argument that your car definitely should be covered in the extended warranty campaign!

It is crazy, all these brake problems I hear about, as my older machine's brakes are flawless in their performance and reliability. *crosses fingers for the drive home tonight*

locke2c

I'm a little surprised, but not greatly.

I remember about 5 years ago Trey Cobb was finding a bunch of 1999 SOHC 2.5L engines had various parts leftover from the pre-99 DOHC 2.5L engine-- pistons, rods, that kind of thing. But over the life of the vehicle a typical end-user would never notice the difference or have any problems, whereas a different caliper and brake pad is definitely something you would run into and find very annoying.

Bummer.
~Colin

ateixeira

How long for a new set of Hawk pads?

-juice

fibber2

Fortunately, the rotors were right sized (around 11.3" or so), but the pads will have to be returned. Yesterday I paid TireRack an additional $22 in shipping to get me the right set by the weekend. Having had the car down for a week has been a hardship.

When it is all over with, I may talk to them about refunding the expedited shipping charges, and paying the return freight for the first set. Knowing that I needed brakes (even before throwing the pad), I ordered these several weeks in advanced. You would think that someone at Hawk should know about the production changeover? In the fine print on the Subaru TSB about morning squeal, they state that on August 8, 2001, a new carrier, caliper and pad set went into production. There were '02 vehicles (including mine) in the pipeline at that time. Would it be unreasonable to expect them to pay the freight charges?

BTW, the stainless inserts in the carrier cleaned up quite nicely. I descaled the carrier, applied a little grease underneath the inserts to reduce future corrosion (as per the 'stuck pads' TSB), and they are ready to go.

One oddity, and probably from when the pad broke up (I hope). Some scrape marks on the inside of the carrier as though the rotor was rubbing. I took some pics in case this becomes a wheel bearing issue down the road.

Steve

kens

Steve,

Sorry to hear about the problems. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for the freight charges. After all, when you buy a product from a retailer, you're paying for both the goods and service. That service should be finding the right part for your vehicle.

Ken

fibber2

The 'old style' pads came in Friday evening, and I found time to put it all together on Sunday. There is quite a difference in the actual contact area between the 'new' and 'old style'. While the basic shape & footprint is similar, the new style has only got a very minor tapered edge at the very ends. The old style has a long slope, yielding maybe a 70% contact patch when new. You don't get to a full contact patch until the pad is about 70% worn out.

I have Imagestation hosting, so not sure if they are visible to all.


(Edit - two tries - cannot seem to get it to go. How do you host pictures directly onto the post????)

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4290744195&idx=4

How about this link?

I bedded them last night, and ran them today. Powerslot Frozen Rotors, and the Hawk HPS pads. As per the instructions, I am going easy for the first 500 miles or so. But my initial impression is that the first stop when cold requires more effort. But once they are warmed up, they are far more effective than stock. The pedal feels firmer, and less travel is required. I'll let you know more as they wear in.

Steve

hypov

Took the car to the dealer and everything checked out OK.
Filled the coolant and the slushing noise is no more as well as the greyish white smoke.

I think my car got a case of indegestion as it make adjustments to the transition from MTBE to ethanol blend in our gas here. However, so far I've only heard of one other driver with the same symptom(s).

-Dave

aviboy97

My girlfriend has a 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS with 49,000 miles on it. I just took it to the Subaru dealer(#2 in the country) in which my dealership (Mazda) is affiliated with for service. When I picked it up, the service manager told me the head gasket needed to be replaced because of a slight leak, as well as some other minor things, heat shield clamps that came off. We had an extended warranty on the vehicle, thank God, but, I am wondering if anyone here has had a head gasket problem with this vehicle as well?

I know how reliable Subaru is, and I was a bit shocked, and my service manager has said he has done a few head gaskets on this model, but, not too many.

She loves the car, and it's much better then my Mazda6 in the snow, which is obvious, AWD vs. FWD.

Thought's anyone?

fibber2

Unfortunately, if you do a search on this forum using headgaskets, HG, overheating, etc., as your key words, you will probably get a thousand hits. 1996 thru 2002 were very prone to this.

Let them do the job, and insist on having them add the coolant system conditioner that is supposed to reduce the re-occurance. Make sure your service order reflects this, and add it whenever you change coolant in the future. There is a TSB with an extended warranty against failure, but unfortunately, most 2002's are not covered (mainly 2000-2001), but have them check your VIN to be sure.

Steve

ateixeira

Very strange, Steve. Maybe that's why they changed them.

Head gasket issues were not uncommon, though it did not affect most '02s, but it was a running change that model year so your girl friend probably got an early one.

-juice

locke2c

either that or the problem still exists but we aren't hearing much about it yet due to insufficient numbers of high mileage 2002 and newer models.

..like I've been saying for a while. I guess we'll find out in the next year or two!

~Colin

fibber2

Colin, do you remember if your pads had the large taper that I am seeing?

Anyone else who has changed pads on a 2001 or prior?

Steve

jfl

Steve,

1stsubaruparts.com shows the same front brake pad from 2000 thru 2002 for the Legacy. They do not list Outback as a separate model.

Stock factory pads, front and rear, are not tapered at all. I've replaced the pads on my 2000 Legacy only once in 133k miles (at 65k). I bought pads in preparation for the second change but there's still sufficient lining on the current pads so it's going to be a while yet.

Jim

locke2c

I changed the pads a number of times on my '99 Impreza RS and also on friends'. I don't recall any pads being tapered like that, but it was quite a while ago so I could be mistaken.

~Colin

amsbear

I replaced both front and rear on my 98 OBW with Hawk HPS pads and they did not have that tapering. I do remember that the rears took a little effort to get them to fit in the carrier and I was initially thinking that the wrong ones were delivered.

Alan
98 OBW Ltd

xwesx

The front pads on the '96 look very similar to this, Steve. They do have a fairly significant taper.

Oh, well Alan says his '98 does not.... maybe I will have to go and look at them again. I have a new set in a box in the basement I was going to install this summer.

fibber2

Well I guess the good part about the taper is that they will continue to improve with age! Every mm worn off will mean a few square mm more contact patch.

Steve

ateixeira

I was thinking the same thing - they'll peak right before they expire! :sick:

-juice

aviboy97

thank's for the input.

They were changed, covered under extended warranty.

kidchellin

I just had the front and rear pads replaced and rotors machined on my 00 Outback. Should I drive or brake any differently when new?

fibber2

Vicki,

There is a procedure called 'bedding' that SHOULD have been done by the shop before they gave the car back to you. It involves heating up the system to transfer a small amount of pad friction material into the tiny pores in the iron rotors. Assuming they did this right, for the next few hundred miles they suggest that you not sit with your foot firmly on the pedal at a stop, and avoid hard panic stops.

Steve

frateshaker

I replaced gas lines from tank,had yo chisel hole in floor to lines on top,,now wont start,,,is there sum kind of fuel shutoff switch i might have triggered?

xwesx

If you tell the rest of us a little more about the vehicle to which you are referring, perhaps we can help! In other words, year, make, model, blah blah.

frateshaker

its a 93 Impreza hatchback

ateixeira

Check all the vacuum hoses. Some times a small thing like that and the ECU will keep the engine from starting.

That may be pre-OBDII, but still, worth a look.

-juice

xwesx

Did you replace the hoses all the way back to the tank? Perhaps you will have to prime/bleed the lines first. I have not done any fuel line work on an injected vehicle before, so this is just a shot in the dark. But, barring a vacuum or pump problem, might as well start with what you were working on! Did the car run before the work?

tammang

94 subaru legacy is overheating and leaking buckets full of coolant and water, My question is Do you have to take the timing belt off to get to the water pump? If not, how do you get to the darn thing. when underneath the car I can't see up far enough to see where the leak is coming from. Plus when I pour water into the radiator it comes out instantly from below. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP.

xwesx

Sounds to me like a split lower radiator hose, but that is just my thoughts upon initial read...

Not sure on a '94, but it should be on the driver side bottom. Does it pour out with or without the car running? The term "instant" makes me think it is the hose... If so, a simple fix. Get a flathead screwdriver and a new hose; 5 minutes under the car should have the new one installed and ready for filling.

stantont

If it seems your older car's headlights have dimmed with age, that is probably correct. Bulbs dim as tungsten from the filament deposits on the glass. But there is another mechanism at work, which I discovered by accident. I noticed the plastic lenses on my '02 Legacy were a bit scratched, so I polished them with Novus #2 plastic polish from a plastic shop. This stuff is a very fine abrasive, not just a cleaner, so it actually grinds out the scratches and pits, with some effort. The resulting improvement in headlight brightness was amazing. Apparently it takes very little in the way of surface scratching and pitting with road grit to scatter a large percentage of light out of the beam and send it off in spurious directions. I then used the same stuff on the hazy, yellowed lenses of my '95 Aerstar and got an even bigger improvement.

The change in the Aerostar was not surprising; it had begun to feel like I was driving it with two yellow candles for headlights. But the lenses on the Legacy were barely scratched; you had to look closely to see it, yet the effect on beam brightness was quite dramatic. Given that the eye operates on a log scale of intensity (like decibels in sound), the beam intensity must have nearly doubled to be that easily noticed.

The polish cost about $7; I consider it a major bargain.

Stanton