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sonnysayshi: all things equal, a turbo is working harder. But all things are not equal - in this case the block is a semi-closed deck design, the pistons are forged, and an injector cools the bottom of the pistons, even the exhaust valves are sodium-filled to resist heat better.
Subaru engineered this engine to last, and so far the 2.5l turbos have been reliable.
-juice
I wouldn't care if it had a heater or not if it was just me using it as a commuter, but I have a wife and 1.2 year old child that need to use it as well. The last thing I want to do is invest in another vehicle right now and it is not to the point that I have decided a new rig is the best route. :sick:
I'll stick out a couple more weeks and then start digging at it if no good info turns up. Maybe I shouldn't have given my car's stats at the top of that post..... sticker shock! :surprise:
Beyond that, however, I would think a turbocharged or supercharged engine might be more prone to problems. Forced induction motors generally work harder (ie. more heat and pressure) and have more moving parts than a non-turbo so it would be short-sighted to say that the risk of failure were the same.
Subaru has been manufacturing turbo engines for quite some time now and I don't think they would make the 2.5 turbo a workhorse engine if they weren't comfortable about it's reliability.
Ken
This is not a major issue; in normal driving, the car rides just fine. But on a rolling, twisty hill road, the rear does seem a bit indecisive. The problem might even be in only one rear strut, as the hop doesn't feel quite symmetric. But bouncing on one side of the rear bumper or the other doesn't give any hint of a problem; it only shows up at speed. And neither strut shows any sign of leakage, etc.
Any advice? Thanks!
Stanton
Thanks,
Venessa
I'm assuming your rear tire pressures are set to factory recommendations?
Jim
You can price the parts at: 1stsubaruparts.com
I'm trying to decide whether to repair it myself or use subie bucks to cover the labor too.
Jim
It is quite possible that the previous owner carried heavy loads in the rear on a regular basis, and the rear struts are simply wearing out.
It wasn't all that long ago that people replaced struts/shocks every 25k miles. With the advent of gas to control cavitation and better seal materials, we don't notice the loss of control quite as quickly. But I bet most of us with middle aged cars would be quite amazed at the difference a new set would make.
You cannot generate enough rapid force trying to bounce on a corner to notice much of a difference, unless they are really shot - as in almost dead. It doesn't take a lot of dampening to quell the oscillation you can generate by hand. It is things like speed bumps that exercise them sufficiently to notice.
If you are handy and have access to a spring compressor, it can be a do-it-yourself job, or farm it out to a shop. Either way, it sounds like the place to start.
Steve
My Miata needs a set. It bobs up and down a couple of times on undulations.
-juice
Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I've got spring compressors, so I'll redo struts some time this fall after it cools off a bit. My previous experience tells me that if I replace the rears only, then the fronts will suddenly feel too soft, and I'll have to do them as well. But I've got no desire to work on the car any more than necessary (esp. when the temp is over 90 degrees), so I'll order them two at a time.
Stanton
And if it settles down nicely you may not even need to do the fronts.
-juice
BTW, has anyone tried using Dynamat in a Legacy? The car is pretty quiet, but it would be nice if it were even quieter yet. I'm thinking about ordering the Extreme 36 sq foot set for about $90 (plus shipping) on eBay. It would cover all four doors plus the wagon "trunk" floor and probably the tailgate. Their website shows pretty impressive sound reduction, but the specific example they show is a Sentra, not an especially quiet car to begin with, so improvements are pretty easy. Subaru uses some dynamat-equivalent stuff around the car as it is, so I'm not sure if there is much to be gained. Do/did the upscale models use more sound stuff than my L model?
Stanton
You'll probably get subtle improvements. I'd do the firewall first.
-juice
The shop manual says to use a "clip removal tool" to remove the door upholstery clips. What is that? Other cars I worked on you just pulled/pried off the inner panel after removing the 2-3 screws that held on the armrest, etc. The clips were basically just barbed pieces of plastic or metal that pushed into holes in the inner door skin. A blunt table knife worked pretty well. Does Subie use something different? And is there a better (i.e., safer) way to remove them?
Finally (for now!) is the inner door gasket part of the upholstery panel, or separate? I would expect it to be separate, but the manual doesn't show enough detail to tell.
Lots of questions. Thanks for your patience!
Stanton
I've had to replace a couple of clips, not on the interior, but holding things like the engine covers and grille on.
-juice
Stanton
What are subie bucks? Do you think it will be easy to repair? My husband is pretty handy, but does not have a lot of time. Anyway, I was wondering if you had heard that the problem might be with a groove being worn on the quill?. I did some more research and found a company that makes a stainless steel sleeve to go over the housing to prevent anything from wearing on the housing directly - http://www.pdm-csrk.com/. Apparently they have parts on subaru.com, but I haven't been able to locate it. Any thoughts?
Venessa
Anyway, while researching the problem I found some Subaru tech info that suggested measuring the tire circumference -- a difference of 1/4" could cause the problem I'm having. I measured them tonight (all at 32 psi) and found that the left rear was 83 1/8", while the other three were 82 7/8" (!). So, maybe I'm onto something. The tires are Michelin XW4s with about 46,000 miles. Tread wear looks even on all four. I tried dropping the pressure in the left rear to 20 psi and drove it around the neighborhood a bit. It seemed to help, though I couldn't be sure.
So if you're still reading this, does the above make sense? I could buy a new set of inexpensive tires (the Michelins probably need replacing within the next 15,000 miles anyway) and see if the problem goes away. Or I could take it to my Subaru dealer, tell them the whole tale, and see what they can find. My concern is that diagnosing the problem could involve quite a bit of labor taking the tranny apart. What do you think?
I haven't looked into what's involved in doing the repair mentioned on endwrench.com.
I'd look at the quill for grooving before considering that repair. It would be nice to understand the specific cause of the sticking clutch pedal.
Jim
Sounds like a Clutch Slave Cylinder failure. The clutch on subarus is hydraulic and the bit near the transmission evetually wears out. This manifests itself as the clutch pedal randomly sticking as you take your foot off it.
Cots here in Australia is about USD200 for a repair. It's worth getting a Subaru Specialist to work on this as its one of those jobs, easy for an expert but a pain for someone without the proper toos etc.
Cheers
Graham
My 99 Outback Legacy Wagon started doing the exact same thing very early this year (overheating randomly, coolant backing up into reservoir). After 3 mechanics, a change in radiator, plugs, thermostat, etc, they opened her up looking for a head gasket and found a tiny hairline crack in a cylinder.
After speaking with a parts guy at a Subaru dealership, the 1996-1999 dual overhead cam motors all have problems with overheating. In fact, he told me I wouldn't have much luck looking for a used engine because everyone in the world has sort of used them up replacing engines just like mine. He stressed that the 2000 (onward) engines were changed by the manufacturer because Subaru had no idea what was causing the overheating and probably didn't want to take the risk of a major recall.
A mechanic I used to date has advised us to find an attorney and to contact Subaru HQ directly (they deny everything of course). Thus, I pass that information on to you.
Good luck!
PS: If anyone else has had this problem, I would like hearing from you. It's taken us almost 5 months to figure this all out!
I wrote Subaru a letter after replacing the head gaskets on my 1997 at 140K miles (before there was a major failure) telling them I didn't like the fact that they officially were denying any problem with the 96-99 engines while all the mechanics and service managers are well aware of it. Toyota fessed up to their head gasket problems, and even Ford replaced a ton of 3.8l engines at little or no charge for overheating problems. Subaru offered me a $1,000 discount on a new Subaru within six months, but I didn't take them up after driving the 05's. My '97 has 161K miles now and I think the new gaskets will hold up through next winter, which is what I'm looking for.
If you go to Subaru enthusiast sites like UltimateSubaru, you will find many threads reporting head gasket problems. At one point a guy had a registry of cars with head gasket problems, but ut's gone off-line and my suspicion is he settled with someone and shut it down.
By contrast, reports of problems with headgaskets here seem under-reported. Some owner forums here are rant-fests, while others are feel-good.
In fact I got a rebuild kit for under $11, and some brake fluid, and bled the system myself.
It's about as hard as doing a brake job.
-juice
Just a thought. After 190k miles, there could be all sorts of stuff in there, and the effect might be intermittent. A leaf wouldn't stop the fan motor, but a twig certainly could. If you pull the glove box, can you get a hand in to spin the blower and see if it is free?
My point is that an intermittent problem can be hard to find, and I would not go into it assuming the problem is electrical.
Stanton
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We were told by a Subaru dealer, and a tire distributor that does inspections, that we would have to drive the car 70 to 100 miles for the ECU to reset the Check engine light, after repairs are made of course, which makes sense to me, since the OBD II ecu needs to take averages that fall within a pre-determined specifacation for emissions. Problem is, it won't turn off, after 100 miles of long drives. Any ideas anybody? Before I changed the sensors, or knock sensor, I disconnected the battery for about 20 minutes, which reset the computer, for about 5 to 7 miles. That was before we had the codes pulled.
Now, disconnecting the battery doesn't do anything for the light. It comes right on upon starting, and stays on steady, as always. Very frustated! Doug Brown
Most OBDII scanners can clear the codes, my OBD-2.com one does.
-Brian
Is there a way to reset them with the diagnostics connectors under the dash below the steering wheel? I read something about that a couple of weeks ago,somewhere.
Also, I found an OBD II analyser for $200, that interfaces with a laptop. As soon as I get the cash, I buying one! I don't like going to dealers, and have done my own machanical work for years, succesfully.
In addition to my wife's Subaru, I own a 1999 Saab 9-3, and, that scanner will work on that also, since it comes with an ISO interface, if I choose, amongst others available. Doug
At one point Patti told us it took something like 9 cycles for a code to reset itself once it was fixed, but I would have expected the ECU reset to fix that right away. :confuse:
-juice
Also, I wondered about aftermarket O2 sensors (which is what I purchased), and she said that they use them all of the time at there dealership, without any problems.
Bottom line...Keep driving it to see if it will reset, says she. I may stop at autozone to see what codes come up, just for laughs. Autozone said that they will not reset the ECU because of liability, but they can read it and give you the codes. Doug Brown
Our '01 Outback had it's CEL on two weeks ago, the code was regarding the knock sensor. I replaced it after verifying there was power on the circuit. Since I had the battery disconnected while I did the work, the CEL was off when I got the car going again with the new sensor installed.
Since the car's state inspection was also expired last week, I took it to the shop a bit too soon, and it failed because of two ECU test monitors being in a not ready state. Apparently the shop could tell that I had the knock sensor problem (so I assume the code must have still been in there somewhere), but the monitors which were in the not ready state were completely unrelated and caused by not driving it enough after the ECU reset.
When I got the car back, the shop informed me that some vehicles can be driven through a predetermined drive cycle which can get all the ECU test monitors in a ready state more quickly, but they didn't have information on how to do that with an Outback. So, I got a 10 day extension on my inspection, and they sent me home with instructions to just drive the car normally for a week before coming back, then it should be able to pass. It went in this afternoon for re-inspection, so I'm not sure what the verdict is yet.
What I still don't know, and should have asked, is if the knock sensor failure event is still going to be stored in the ECU going forward, or if the shop has cleared it manually somehow.
Good luck with your problem.
No, the system is working correctly. The quickest defogging mode is a mix of heated, dried air.The air conditioner cools the air and moiture precipitates out to drain away. It then passes the heater and is warmed. Try it and be surprised at how quickly the windscreen clears.
The Climate control function is very good in the Outback and its not really necessary to second guess it. In general, I just left the whole system on Auto with the Air Conditioning on and only ever altered the temperature a little. It always did the setting better than I could manually.
Cheers
Graham
I would like 'em replaced. Dealer told me 1 hour to hour and a half repair but I couldn't get a price, parts was closed.
Anyone have an idea what it would cost to get front and rear rotors and pads replaced?
Thanks.
Thanks
L-E
I don't believe disconnecting the battery will erase "hard-set" error codes. OTOH, settings for normal adjustment, like adapting to a new sensor, or resetting idle specs after a battery is replaced, occur in a few miles of normal driving.
That was what I got from the manual, anyway.
Stanton
I had not considered the possibility of it being gunked up. My '69 C20 is really bad about getting leaves and debris in the fan; it just chucks the stuff out at me without any complications.... the first drive of the spring is always interesting and I even keep the darned thing covered all winter! Anyway, will take a look at that first then see whether there is a fault in the fan wiring.... I'll save the gremlin search for the end.
Much appreciated,
-Wes-
Jim
My check engine light came on the other day and now the car idle's rough (but never stalls) and has a clicking sound coming from the engine bay. It also makes a funny sound when I'm starting it: when it's turning with the starter it makes a noise that sounds like it turned too fast at one point. The car seems to have all it's power when running though.
Has anyone had this problem before ? I live in a pretty remote area and I'm just wondering if it was safe to drive it around to the next sensible mechanic which is about 40 miles away.
Thanks,
Perhaps they will replace it as well.
I think I found what you are looking for under Brakes, Brake Components, Front(or Rear) Brakes, Rotors.
Or call them.
You may have seen my earlier post about my recent knock sensor replacement, and we drove the car for a week like that without worry. I've driven cars with bad 02 sensors for short periods of time (2-3 wks) without much trouble, too. Over a long period of time the engine may suffer, but your car shouldn't do anything extreme like quit in the middle of the road before you decide what to do with it.
The knock sensor and O2 sensor issues may be common, it's hard to tell. If you search this forum you'll see some posts about other folks having to replace either one or both. Curiously, MSN autos mentions both sensors as "moderate problems" for the '01 Outback in their reliability ratings.
The $385 tune-up is hard to comment on much without knowing what work is being offered. For that much money, I hope you would be getting a lot. I know my '01 Outback certainly doesn't need $385 of tune-up work, and it has nearly 60K miles on it. Both the dealers where I purchased my current vehicles offer rather expensive 30/60/90K service visits that might be similar to what you're being offered, but they include work that seems to be unnecessary in my opinion, like replacing expensive spark plugs before they are really worn out. I don't want to steer you away from a tune-up, but you should find out exactly what's provided before spending nearly 400 bucks.
I had a similar problem last summer (rough on start up, pinged/ticked excessively, wanted to flood while cranking, etc) and it turned out to be several bad sensors: knock sensor was bad and the crank sensor + upper O2 sensor were working intermittently. After they were replaced, the car ran great again. I think the sensors were about $100 ea for the parts; they are all relatively easy to access (~ 1 hour to dig in to them all, but just accessory removal). Get an OBDII readout - preferably from someone/place that will not charge you for it, and go from there.
The car will probably keep running for you, but I'd get it fixed sooner rather than later. If it up and floods on you (does the "fast" cranking prolonged rather than just intermittently), push the gas pedal to the floor, crank a few times, let off the pedal - it should start up. Good luck!
-Wes-