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I mentioned that I noticed a leak or what it looks like evidence of a leak on the battery. Trail of white sediments and the beginnings of a rusty battery bracket.
Service 'advisor' in Fairfax, VA, says that it is an Ok situation and that it is common for batteries to do that. When I mentioned the rusty bracket he says " that's Ok and it is a normal wear condition, not unusual". So basically the dealer said they just 'serviced the battery' and part of the fix was to wipe the battery and to "let's move on", meaning to drop it and to continue reading the items that were just serviced on the car... Hum, interesting way to handle a customer...
Our conversation prior to the battery discussion was centered on the fact that the 02 OB (manual) is shifting rougher than my previous 1988 Subaru GL with manual transmission (original clutch and transmission, 175k miles). Advisor basically said they are two completely different cars. I agree that they are totally different but that it just seems rougher in the 02. So he tried to use the same line of 'thought' on the battery. I am guessing that he thinks that I still have the original battery from 1988 and that it wasn't fair to compare batteries from back then with present day batteries, whatever that means.
Ok what do you think or what is your experience? Is it really normal for batteries to show evidence of leak, white trail sediment, etc? Rusty battery bracket? My commons sense says no but maybe this is ok with 'present' day batteries. Remember this is an 02 outback purchased in Jan 02.
Correct me if I am wrong.
Eug
I topped mine off and what spilled was white just like you describe.
-juice
Didn't notice any rust on the battery bracket though. The minivan was crud free but took about a quart too.
Thanks for the reminders - guess one finally took :-)
Steve, Host
I do have an "otherwise" problem, that comes from participating in a few groups. There are people who despite having nothing to offer toward resolving the problem someone raises, nonetheless feel the overwhelming need to write something anyway. Sometimes it's harmless, other times, like this one, their posts actually get in the way by muddying the discussion. On a smaller board, such as a Yahoo group, it can be more easily handled than on an endless one with a clumsy interface like this one. That's why I decided to address it directly, to try to get the thread back on track. It's really easy to miss things on a computer and I regret missing your suggestion. thanks,
Gene
As for the shifting. Your '88 was an adjustable cable clutch v. hydrolic non-adjustable type in the current car, so yes they are very different.
-mike
-juice
$25,000 car
$53 tires
Crashing due to being cheap on tires.... Sad
-mike
(I considered this but passed and got a set of Conti Extreme Contacts.)
Jim
So I keep them a year and replace before next winter.
Biggest complaint is that after a year or two grip deteriorates, but they're cheap and you could replace them again. By 2 years most tires dry up and start to crack anyway.
I have them on my Miata. Initially, grip was so good I had to get used to a little tramlining, i.e. it would follow grooves in the road. My old tires were junk so I'm sure that sensation was exaggerated.
-juice
I bought a set of Falken ZE512s based upon the CR rating (wife's Malibu). The price was very good from vulcantire.com.
After about 1000 miles I can say the traction and handling are very good but they seem to be a little noisy at low speeds. It's hard to predict the life of these tires, but I have never experienced cracking in any tires I have owned. The treadwear rating suggests the Faulkens should run more than twice the distance of the Bridgestone Potenza RE92s that came on my 2003 Legacy.
-Jim
The tires I had on there before were also made by Bridgestone for Sears. The previous owners had put them on, I'm not sure what the tire model was.
-juice
Craig
I need a new top, so I may go to Performance Buyer's Club and have them install a top and the shocks.
Considering I haven't spent a penny on repairs, she deserves the TLC.
-juice
Craig
The answer may be simpler than you think. I suffered agonies when I first bought my Mercedes with recurrent trips to a Physiotherapist to sort things out as I had intense leg pains. She then insited on looking at my seat position in the car, made a few suggestions and the problem righted itself. A check by a physiotherapist or ergonomist may be much cheaper than moving the pedals,
Part of the problem stems from the range of adjustments possible on modern cars, including Subarus. A lot of positions that feel comfortable when sitting for a moment actually cause problems when you try and drive. The back connection seems improbable unless you remember that you are stretching merves around the curve of your backside, if you are not sitting coorectly. If you strecth the nerves, the point where you will feel the pain is where the nerves end. Thus a stretched nerve round your backside might translate as sore toes because that's where your brain thinks the pain is.
Broadly, hips and knees should be on the same level.
Seat should be fairly upright.
Try and sit up rather than slumping.
pedals should be easily reachable.
Rearview mirror should be set initially and left. If you can't see out of it, you have slumped. Use the lack of vision as a reminder that you are damaging yourself
Alter the seat back occassionally to change posture
Use a lumbar roll (short sausage shaped cusion) or rolled up towel to apply pressure in lower back area
Of course, you could always use my great aunt's advice; "Sit Up Dear, You're Slumping" At least she won't make you change your Subaru seat to a straight backed kitchen chair to teach you how to sit properly.
Cheers
Graham
Hope you find a fix.
-juice
Bridgestone 950's - All Season - Best for all year sport driving.
Bridgestone 730's - Summer
Michellin Pilots - All Season
Summitomo - HTR II
Bigger Ticket
Bridgestone So3's So2's - Summer
Craig
I've been reading messages, and it seems that it probably is a head gasket problem, but my question is, is $2,200 a reasonable price? I have no idea, but it's a lot of money for an 97 which is probably worth $8,000. Do I have any other choices but to pay?
Thanks for any suggestions ! Joenote
About 4 months ago, she mentioned that she was experiencing a shudder that she also characterized as a binding feeling while turning sharp such as parking. I noted the vehicle needed new tires as they were not evenly worn, so she got new Michelins. Some help, but still could feel it less often.
When I was home over the holidays, I noted from my log it needed two items which were fresh brake fluid and a transmission drain/refill. She had only put 3500 miles on it. Before doing these changes, I drove it around and indeed it was exhibiting these symptoms both hot and cold, though more when hot. It would catch and release about 5 times during a 90 degree turn into a parking space.
After changing the fluid, I drove it around to see if my working theory was possible - that the system was working fine, but the old fluid (looked original - shame on me) no longer had the proper frictional properties for the electrohydraulic clutch to work smoothly. After about 10 minutes of determinedly turning circles back and forth in a parking lot, the symptom dramatically reduced in intensity. With a few days left in my visit, I returned the car.
A few days later, I again drove the car, and the symptom had completely disappeared. I literally could not make it bind even the slightest.
So, for those of you experiencing this symptom, don't get sucked into an expensive rebuild. Merely change the fluid by draining the 3-4 qts out of the pan and refilling via the tranny dipstick tube. Then spend 10 minutes turning tight circles back and forth to encourage the fresh fluid's detergents to start working what might have been minor deposits off/out of the clutch assembly. I'll have to find a source to more fully explain this to myself, as if it is not a 'wet' clutch in the auto tranny fluid as I suspect, then some other force was at work.
Anyone know this offhand?
This only applies to automatics, as manuals split their torque differently, BTW. Good luck and don't let your tranny oil go longer than specified.
IdahoDoug
Doug: some places will flush the ATF completely for $80 or so. Seems like cheap insurance.
-juice
Yep, but it will take several hours of your day to accomplish. I spent $7.50 on 4 quarts and the drain plug can be removed with no jacking. Took me about 15 minutes.
In addition, I have concerns about flushes on cars that might have accumulations from going beyond the service intervals. Changing a few quarts at a time as called for is a milder way to clean things out. Of course, at some point the pan should be dropped and the filter cleaned/replaced
-juice
Mike k
I just purchased a 2004 Outback. I like it very much. One thing I've noticed is that the car vibrates a lot when it's idle (e.g., at stop lights). It doesn't make any noise, but I can feel the vibration and it seems fairly strong to me. Is this a known characteristic of the car?
Thanks!
Zil: there is some vibration, but it does not seem excessive to me. Do you have an auto transmission car? If so, is the vibration different in D and N (or P)?
Craig
Jim
Yes, it is a 4 cylinder. The vibration occurs while in drive but stopped and in park. I will have to check neutral.
I'll try putting the AC on to see whether that smooths it out.
I appreciate everyone's feedback. Thanks!
Jon
Jon
Thanks mike k
Steve
thx,
Jim
3 -- 4
1 -- 2
Grill
DaveM
Thanks Dave. I didn't even think of RHD vs LHD.
Jim
Any way back to my heads . The mechanic put the car on the lift and I showed him were i saw the leak . ON my car you can see better from the top of the engine .Mine were leaking from the back and bottom of the block around the # 4 cylinder. When I showed him it said ohh well whats another one when I do about 2 a week .He said that I caught mine early because the gasket didn't fail around the coolant jacket . Mine was only leaking oil. He is going to call SOA and see if he can autherize to have both of my heads done , since he has to pull the engine anyway.He said that there seems to be a problem with the late 01 model builds and the early 02 model builds . Mine 02 outback was built in 6/01.I'm dropping the car off next Monday and he said it will only take 1 day which seems kinda short to me .
How long did it take to have your head gaskets done . For the people on here that have had this problem .
Thanks
Mike k
My Mom's '02 OBW was also built in 6/01. :-(
I just changed the oil on 12/31. Looked under the right head (totally clean), checked the front CV boots & steering boots but forgot to look under the left head. Better venture over to Mom's and crawl under the left side and take a peek. She currently has only 15.4k miles on the car.
DaveM
Greg
On the last leg of the 48hrs Sunday a CEL came on my 2000 OBW 5MT. Mike was able to scan it and told me that cylinders 1 & 2 had misfired. After cleaning the plugs everything went back to normal for a short period of time, before having the CEL come back on. I used the car for about 15 minutes last night, during which time the CEL blinked for about 5 seconds before going to a steady light again.
I called the dealer yesterday, who told me to bring the car in where the first thing they will check is the coil. My question is: The dealer is about 45 minutes to an hour away. Should I try to get AAA to tow me out there, or should I go to the closest dealer (who I am not too confident in)? Or, should I try to drive it out there?
Thanks,
Mark