Subaru Crew - General Maintenance & Repair

c_hunter

I mentioned this a while back, and it's worth repeating -- make sure you get the authentic Subaru hood deflector. I had an aftermarket one that blew right off (at only about 45mph). No damage, but could potentially have been bad. The Subaru deflector attaches much more securely than the aftermarket model some Subaru dealers stock. I'm still waiting for an authentic Subaru replacement deflector from Darlene, so they must be scarce.

Craig

paisan

They are probably made in australia like the Isuzu ones which are also very few and far between.

-mike

subearu

I've had the deflector on our OB (purchased from Darlene, of course) since September. No problems with it at speeds of 70+.

If you're concerned about it falling off, I would recommend periodically checking the deflector - probably when you wash it or check the oil or fill up for gas. As long as those mounting screws are secure, you shouldn't have any worries about it.

-brian/subearu

rangerron7

Thanks for the input everybody. Just to restate, I'm looking to get the hood COVER, not the "bug" deflector.
Brian, I'll check for the holes in the hood just above the headlights.
RR

paisan

Are you talking about the acrylic/plastic shield that attaches to the hood? or some kind of bra (but only on the hood)? The one I was refering to is the acrylic shield that attaches under the hood and is smoked/clear in color. The one on my Rodeo stayed put @ 129mph, and the one on the Trooper was good to 115mph.

-mike

ateixeira

gus: I haven't seen an official interval for that service, but it was part of the 30k mile service kit Darlene sent me. Each oil change sounds about tight.

craig: thanks for the warning. Boy! OE it is, then.

-juice

lharvey1

Juice ....
what is contained in a '30,000' kit from Darlene?
Haven't heard of that before....
Larry in Alabama

ateixeira

I'm not sure that there is an official kit, but the nice thing was she did all the thinking for me.

If I recall, it had an air filter, fuel filter, pcv valve, fuel system detergent, oil filter, and drain plug crush washer.

I also flushed the radiator and had to buy motor oil, but it wouldn't make sense to ship something so heavy.

I later swapped the wiper blades, but I bet she could come up with those, too.

Spark plugs are scheduled for 60k service, but some folks change those and even the plug wires at 30k. My mileage is doing so great I don't want to mess with success!

-juice

rangerron7

Paisan,
I'm looking at a "bra" type of thing that slips onto the hood, NOT a bug/wind deflector that fastens to the hood. I just need something to cut down on the paint dings from flying stones and. I had a bug deflector on my old vehicle and am not interested in mounting one on my OB.
Thanks

ateixeira

Darlene has the OE full front cover for under $98 (for the Forester, but the OB should have a similar price), with free shipping and no sales tax if you're not in Tennessee.

http://www.qsubaru.homepage.com/

-juice

paisan

Any kind of bra type item is going to make your paint wear un-even. The dirt that gets trapped underneath acts like sand paper on your paint so once you put it on you either have to clean it weekly or leave it on the car forever. Just my 2 cents worth!

-mike

rangerron7

Good point paisan. I'm basically only looking to put it on the car when I take road trips. That's why I'm only interested in just the hood cover and not the full bra. You do bring up a good point about uneven paint fade and the grit factor.
RR

crashton6

I had a nice black brasiere on a 73 bug. Looked good. Got rained on & I didn't remove it. The sun came out & cooked the paint. I guess the water spots burned into the paint. Now all my cars go braless.
Chuck

ateixeira

Ouch, thanks for sharing.

A friend put one on his VW GTI back in college, and his flapped around like crazy.

-juice

rangerron7

Geez, this stinks. Maybe Sube will start looking at their paint process a little more closely.

ateixeira

I thought it was a VW, not a Soob?

-juice

thecat

I had an 84' RX-7 which was dressed in a bra for road trips. I recall that the manuf. of the bra cautioned against letting it get wet and then drying on the car. The moisture penetrates the paint and leaves a "cloud" effect. With that caution, I didn't let that happen. I didn't experience any abrasion of the paint from the bra. The backing was a very soft spun cotton.

- hutch

ateixeira

LOL, "Outerwear".

Sandy looks fine as is, no lift needed.

-juice

armac13

don't need no stinkin bra.

Ross

bluesubie

There was an article on this a couple of years ago in Sport compact car. They showed a Neon where the bra had never been removed. Looked like it had been sandblasted. All the way to the metal.
Dennis

rangerron7

I have had bras on other cars and never left them on after a rain. I know about the paint clouding effect. I'm looking for something to handle the highway stones when I go on trips and thought the hood protector piece would go on and off easy enough to use on a periodic basis.
Ron

francophile

I had my GT in for 15k service and the recall yesterday. It turned out that my car needed it, so now I have a 'new' ECM (more on that later). It was a totally painless experience except for the amount of time it took the service agent to fill out all the silly paperwork :-)

I pressed the service manager for information on the recall; why are they replacing ECMs? Well, it turns out that some of them are "sensitive" to issues surrounding the Check Engine light, turning it on at too-slight provocations and sending owners into fits of "what's wrong with my car THIS TIME???" Nothing, it turns out, other than a hyperactive ECM. They're replacing them and sending the defective units back to Subaru, where they open them up, replace a diode or somesuch to desensitize the circuit, and send them back out. For all I know I have a "transplant" ECM from someone else's car. No big deal; I know from years of experience in the electronics industry that a solid state device either dies within the first month or else lasts forever, so I'm confident that the replacement ECU is as reliable and long-lasting as the one they took out.

So. I've now experienced my first-ever recall (this is my first-ever new car) and it was pretty painless. The funny part to me is that my Check Engine light never came on in the first place. Much ado and all that.

Cheers,
-wdb

miksmi

Thanks, WDB. I also had the ECM replaced but I wasn't able to get any info from my dealer (Tischer.. or is that "Tis her" Subaru?).

..Mike

paisan

My Trooper recall was handled painlessly during an oilchange as well.

Speaking of recalls, how long does one have to capitalize on a recall? I want to see about getting my XT6 steering recall done but the recall was in 1992 for a 1988 vehicle...

-mike

c_hunter

My paperwork said the faulty ECM would sometimes illuminate the MI1 (or some other code) lamp in error, which sounds like it must be the check engine light. Mine had never come on either. In fact, the whole recall was a pain in the butt since it required 2 trips to the dealer (each only lasting about 45 min). I swear the engine feels different since the swap too, perhaps due to the fact that my old ECM had adjusted to my driving sytle, and the new one is still learning. I dunno. I would have ignored the recall if I knew why they were doing it!!

Craig

sdq

Hi. I've been lurking around here off and on for almost a year. I bought a 2000 OB w AT in January and have been very happy with it, especially with 28 mpg on trips. I am now at about 8K and have my first real question.

Occasionally, and only on first startup in the morning, the engine makes a pretty loud clattering sound, almost like an old diesel engine. (At least I assume it's the engine.) After a few minutes of driving, it quiets back down to normal and it doesn't happen again that day, nor for several more days. I haven't asked the dealer's service department about it yet because I figure they won't be able to duplicate it without my leaving the car with them for several days.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is it something to worry about and deal with? It doesn't seem to effect performance, but I don't want to be doing any harm to the car.

Thanks.
Stan

bluesubie

It's probably just the solid lifters that Subaru switched to some years ago. Gives the 2.5 another 10 hp. It's pretty common and the dealer should know about it. Switching brands or weights of oil might help.
Disclaimer - not a techie. Just read a lot about Subes
Dennis

tincup47

Did you also sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

bluesubie

LOL!

miksmi

LOL! Chuck, good one. Love those commercials. Here's a Holiday Inn ad called Class Reunion. Also check out this spoof on adcritic.com (old news for you i Clubbers): '88 Dodge Aries. Over 85% of Aires owners have a fixed address!

..Mike

locke2c

Dennis/BlueSubie re: solid lifters

The complete info:

96 2.5L DOHC = hydraulic lifter
97-99 2.5L DOHC = solid lifter
99- 2.5L SOHC = no lifters at all, cam rocker arm rides directly on valve retainer

And of course, the 99 Forester and Impreza 2.5RS are SOHC since they're built in Gunma while the Indiana models didn't get SOHC until 2000.

Anyway, the SOHC can be quite noisy but it's not actually lifter noise.

-Colin

amishra

Rockers in my OB: 2nd amp mounted in rear cargo bay w subwoofer & dueal 120 W RMS 6x9 speakers in the rear.

What noise?

-- ash

francophile

Could be piston slap. There have been some stories about it here and elsewhere. Bug your dealer.

Regards,
-wdb
(whose '00 GT does it too - sometimes!)

ykishimoto

I acquired 00 OB w AT in July this year and it has done 2230 kms. now. Since new, this engine has knocking noise when the engine is cold and under load, pulling.It disappears when it gets to normal operational temp. The Subaru Canada maintains it is normal and not precursor to future damage to the engine.They did not say the cause.

Is there anyone who has 00 OB experiencing this?

kens

Could you describe the sound a little more? Is it metallic? Muffled? Does it increase/decrease with RPMs?

I had piston slap on my 98 Forester and it could be heard even after the engine warmed up. I had it repaired under warranty.

Ken

bluesubie

Thanks for the clarification, Colin.
Dennis

p0926

Mike S- Love those ads!

-Frank P.

P.S. Nice to see you're back showing off your html prowess.

miksmi

Hehe, thanks Frank. I was beginning to think I shouldn't have posted.. glad at least one person enjoyed them.

..Mike

ykishimoto

Ken,
Thanks for your reply. The knock is metallic and low tone single tappet tap. Subaru said that they have short skirt pistons on this eng. I am not sure what kind of knock/slap noise the short skirt piston makes. The knock noise increases with rpm. but I can hear it up till approx. 2000 rpm. The sound is coming from low left, under the dashbourd

ateixeira

paisan: I think there is no time limit if it's a safety recall, which most are.

stan: just another idea - could it be a heat shield that's a little loose? Once temps come up, the expansion could make it stop the rattle.

-juice

friendly_jacek

I bought my 00 Legacy Wagon in Feb and put 12,000 m. with no major problems (thanks God). My job hunt took me to deep South where there is no Subaru dealer nearby. It sounds like many of you do required maintenance by yourself (I mean 15k or 30k, not just oil change). I guess receipts for parts are enough to document proper maintenance? How about delegating that to third party shops? Would that affect warranty?
I also wonder if local shops can do warranty repairs (I hope I will not need those, but...). I guess I could call SOA about it but it is weekend and this group seems extremely knowledgeable.

One more comment. Recently there was a discussion on hood deflectors on this forum . I had one of these (without Subaru logo though) shipped from Qsubaru back in March. That thing "took of" while I was driving 90-95 mph. Not only scary moment, but also scratched paint. I complained to Darline that there was no disclaimer about fast driving not compatible with hood deflector. She was not aware of any reported problems and sent me replacement but I am too scared to install it. Is anyone experienced with hood deflector and highway driving?

Thanks,
Jacek

paisan

I can't talk for the subaru ones (although I think they come from the same factory in Australia) but my OEM Isuzu ones have been fine:

'97 Rodeo @ 129mph no problems
'00 Trooper @ 115mph no problems

These are ones that are screwed/snapped onto the underside of the hood, not put on with adhesive.

-mike

subearu

The deflector I have for our OB is the Subaru one. As mentioned before, it fastens to the hood with plastic screws. I have driven with it at speeds of 75+ and never second guessed it. I feel it is very secure.

One thing to mention if you have one though: you should periodically check it's secureness. Like when you change the oil, or fill up the tank. Never hurts to have a little piece of mind.

-brian/subearu

c_hunter

I also got the "no-name" deflector from QSubaru (in August), and mine came loose at only about 50mph. Luckily it wasn't too dramatic, and no harm was done. It's not an issue of speed -- the basic design of that deflector is flawed. While the mounting brackets are securely screwed to the hood, the only connection between the deflector and brackets is a small plastic "nub". When mine came loose, the brackets stayed on the hood while the deflector sailed off. Not too bright of a design!

On the "authentic" Subaru product, the deflector itself screws to the hood, which is much more secure. You're not relying on a silly little bracket to take the bulk of the load. If you have the real Subaru deflector, you should have no worries about installing it. I'm anxiously awaiting mine!

Craig

ateixeira

Jacek: keep receipts. Any shop or individual can do the maintenance without voiding the warranty.

I'd check with Subaru.com to find the closest dealer for warranty work. If it's too far, I imagine they would reimburse you for any work needed.

-juice

kens

Yuki,

The sound you describe might be piston slap. Basically, the H4 uses very short piston skirts to help reduce friction and increase power. The downside is that shorter piston skirts result in less stable travel and can cause the piston to hit the cylinder wall as it moves back and forth.

In my case, the noise came from the same general location you mentioned. Mine was most noticeable when the engine was relatively cold at around 3,000RPM.

Did you have the dealer take a look at it? It might just be solid lifter noise, but you described it as being a "low" sound. Lifter noise is usually pretty light. Piston slap sounds kind of like a muffled metallic sound (imagine hitting a bell with a towel on it).

In my case, it took two dealers to properly diagnose the problem. Be patient and keep insisting they check. If you're not satisfied, ask that a district technical manager take a look at it.

Good luck,

Ken

kens

One more thing on the piston slap: I had mine repaired by replacing my pistons. The manager made it sound like it might not do much, but it completely got rid of the problem. That was 30K miles ago. My engine has been doing great -- in fact, I just went driving through some twisties this afternoon with the revs hovering around 4-5,000RPM the whole time.

Ken

stevek

i know the owners manual say 87 octane. Did anyone used higher octane (like 93) with any noticable difference in milage/performance?
I have a 2001 Legacy Gt Sedan.
Steve

sdq

The best I can do to describe the sound is that it sounds like a metallic clattering noise that old diesel engines make. The clattering speeds up, but doesn't seem to get louder, with RPM. It goes away after a few minutes driving. I will call the dealer today. Thanks.

c_hunter

Steve,

I have found that my 2000 OB runs better with 89 octane. On 87, I could hear spark knock when the engine was loaded at low rpm (say 2200 rpm) while easing over a speed bump at work in 2nd gear (it was never an issue with any other cars I have driven). Anyway, the problem goes away with 89 octane, and I get about 23mpg around town, and 27-28 highway which is about right for the OB.

Craig