Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
he said, erroneously or not, that it was his 3rd belt in 40k miles.
that statement lead me to believe that replacement this time was frivilous. that's my last comment on it though.
-Colin
I'd still like to see an aluminum skid plate as a factory option.
-juice
Our topic for Wednesday, March 13: Stump the Technicians!
Join us with your maintenance & repair questions this Wednesday from 5-7pm PT/8-10pm ET.
kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
Our other car is a 95 Taurus with 87K miles. Nice car in great shape. Just took it in for LOF and rotate and balance. They called back to say the car needs a complete rear brake job: calipers, rotors, pads, and bleed the system. $430 + tax. Sound about right? I went through my paper work and it doesn't look as though I've done any rear brake work on the car. Is that possible??? I called a local Ford dealership and he quoted me $600 + tax, but questioned whether the car would really need calipers.
Anybody's opinion would be VERY MUCH appreciated. Look forward to catching up on the boards this afternoon.
Thank you.
Peter.
-mike
as paisan says, first I'd be curious to know if you really have rear discs or not. if not, that sounds pretty high since your drums are probably fine and just need new shoes.
if you do have rear discs, then I would advise you NOT to replace the calipers if that's what they were recommending. there should be no reason for that at 87k, cleaning and reassembling the caliper should be perfectly fine. I bet the rotors don't need replacement either, probably just turned LIGHTLY on the lathe to properly use the new pads.
in short, I wouldn't pay that $400 and the ford dealer is truly nuts asking $600.
-Colin
-Colin
Ross
Patti
My rental Taurus in Florida had rear discs. You can check - peek through the rims - are the rear breaks a shiny thin disc, or is it a painted encased drum?
-juice
PS You can delete duplicate posts by just hitting the delete button next to them
Also, do I really need to change the oil at 1000 miles ?
thanks
chris
Also, my 01 OB started knocking this weekend. Bad tank of gas maybe? Should I put in a tank of 93?
Thanks all.
Chris - I think the idea is not to set the cruise control at 65 for a cross country drive, but to let your foot fluctuate the speed. Anyhow, I don't think 35 miles is that long, but let your foot fluctuate the speed between, say, 60 and 70 for the 35 miles.
Pete: I wouldn't change the octane until I tried at least another tank or so.
-juice
Peter.
-juice
I would inspect the insides of the rubber hoses, to see if there is any sign of corrosion. This would be easy if you're also doing the flushing at the same time.
The hoses should be smooth inside. Any gritty texture, cracking, or too-soft surfaces would be a red flag.
-juice
:-)
Given the mileage and the fact that one caliper had siezed AND there were going to be two new rotors installed, adding the second caliper isn't really all that crazy sounding to me. (I do wonder though if anyone actually rebuilds them anymore, or if they just replace them.)
Cheers,
-wdb
WDB is right. I had a front caliper sieze turning a rotor blue from heat, and was faced with the same delemma. You naturally replace pads and rotors in pairs, so that just leaves the caliper. If one side died of neglect, is the other close behind? I changed both also. Parts and labor for a Toyota ran $500.
Steve
Thanks for the advice.
Anyway here are my responses.
1. I noticed a number of disbelieving comments about the number of timing belts that I have changed recently. Believe you me, I am among them. My belts were changed at 67K (paid by dealer before purchase) 90K, 110K, and now at 125K. It was frustrating and expensive. In all fairness the mechanic said that this last timing belt was still in good condition.
2. I feel that I do have a complaint about the Cam and crankshaft oil seals. They were changed at the same time as the 90K timing belt changed. I actually left the car at the mechanics over the weekend until I could get in and examine the leaks for themselves. It had been sitting on the rack over the weekend. It was evident that there were consistent leaks in at least 3 places. The mechanic pointed to 2 leaks and said this is the cam seal, and to the third and said this is the crankshaft seal. This was just about 6 weeks after replacing the valve cover seals. There was no significant loss of the oil level. I check at least 2 times a month. I was just about ready to go get an oil change with Maxlife since it says it can help seal pinhole leaks.
3. Then he showed me the water pump. It was clearly failing. Can't take a chance at that. Especially with a long trip scheduled to Arizona in a month.
At 120K, in August, There were no oil or radiator fluid leaks. Normally, I would have just changed out the seals and added a water pump at the same time, but I didn't want to incur the extra labor of the timing belt adjustment, since it had been done just a year before.
For $1100 I had the following repairs done.
replace timing belt, and re-time engine,
Replace all CAM and Crankshaft seals, including the O ring, whatever that is,
Replace leaking oil pump seals.
Replace water pump
Replace and repack outer CV boots
Replace Oxygen sensor
Do a complete fuel system clean (the big machine version).
It has had expected results. My Subbie doesn't leak, runs smoother and quieter and has more power. But Dang, it was an expensive set of repairs.
there's a cam seal on one end of the camshaft and an o-ring on the other. it is labor intensive to replace the o-ring correctly as you must remove the valve covers, rocker arms, and camshaft to install it.
the cam seal can be pressed in from the front when the head is fully assembled. much less labor.
-Colin
Best Regards,
Steve
I am concerned that the gauge is not working correctly.
The needle moves erratically and independently of acceleration or absolute RPM (between 0 and 4K, since I am in the breakin period),
Appreciate input as to how to check if the gauge is working ok and if abnormal, what is likely wrong that I can fix (I don't want to take the audio unit out unless it is a smaller job than it appears in the installation instructions)?
Thanks in advance.
Steve
-Colin
-mike
my stereo (standard Subaru cassette with AM/FM) resets after even few minutes being turned off like I would disconnect a battery cable. Battery seems pretty decent - no problems what so ever. What could that be? Is it time to buy a new radio? Pls help.
2 I would like to thank Mr. ateixeira for reffering to subaruparts.com. They offer best prices I found after calling about 10 different suppliers around the country. My mass air sensor has been ordered there - compare 77$ with 150 Subaru dealer asked me!
just last week i was stopped at a light downtown and noticed my car was smoking, from under the hood. had it checked out. turns out that i dented my oil pan at some point in time (my car is lowered 1.5 inches). i was pretty bummed about that. so i have to get a new oil pan. cost estimates?
seamus
-Frank P.
-Colin
-mike
You sure about the odo and speedo using the same sensor?
-Frank P.
-mike
-Frank P.
I didn't get too much into detail, but he said that they now do the reseal differently and haven't had any more recurring problems.
-Dennis
--jay
-mike
-Frank P.
Jim
-mike
Tom
I gave one possible solution to your radio problem over on the Legacy/OB Wagon board, but don't know if you saw it. We are currently using it as our 'past autos' history board!
It involves using a capacitor to quell a glitch in the 'keep alive' power line. It worked for me...
Steve
-mike
Steve: tough to say why there would be a noticeable change. I'd inspect the exhaust for small holes. I think Dennis had one?
-juice
-Dennis
Oh well, as you age two things happen, first you lose your memory, and the 2nd I forget...
-juice