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About 3K miles after the 60K svc. on my wife's OB, she complained her car was smoking after driving 20 miles to work. I poked around and put it up on ramps and discovered ATF all over the exhaust (everything past the trans. pan). I thought maybe it was spilled from the service and still burning off, so I just wiped it up.
A few days later my wife said the car was still smoking. I decided to check if the bolts were tighten and started to turn one with gentle pressure. It only loosened so I thought I was going the wrong way. Went the opposite way and the bolt just broke in half. I discovered a few other bolts were not tight enough either. I'm taking the car back this Saturday to have them check it out.
Anyone have an idea how long a tranny pan reseal will take? I haven't called them back with my latest discovery and just curious if it can be done within the four hours the car will be there Saturday. I'm guessing a couple of hours since the exact problem is obvious.
-Dennis
-juice
If they're not going to do this, then they'll be doing nothing you couldn't do at home in 10 minutes - merely going from bolt to bolt tightening them up and replacing one....
Also, be sure you've got enough fluid in the tranny to drive it. If you arrive there with it low, they'll note "customer drove vehicle with underfilled tranny knowing he had a leak" and any tranny issues in the future will be all yours. Be sure you tell them you checked the level or filled it or they'll simply assume it was low and note this without ever showing you the note.
IdahoDoug
Yes, it was a bolt that actually fastens the pan to the car (not the drain bolt). There are about a dozen or more that hold the pan on.
I had tranny service done at the 60K and I can see the sealant is new.
I'm not sure if was over-torqued or it was just old and rusty and snapped. I'll have a closer look at it.
Btw, I did add a couple of quarts of ATF as a precaution. Thanks for the tips!
-Dennis
As for my own gripes, I wish the cars had thicker paint, 205-50-16 tires instead of 55, and that there had been a WRX in the previous body style (yes, I own a 2000 2.5RS) since the rest of the world had one.
On the other hand, the new Impreza front end (at the Paris show today) end looks much nicer to me, and it will get to the US eventually. Who knows, by then we may even have an STI available.
http://www.swrt.com/cpimages/176465.jpg
-juice
So 2 questions:
1. Any pictures of the revised wagon?
2. When does it get to the US!?
-juice
Someone must have used an awfully big wrench to break it.
Jim
This "oil filter" as it reads on the side is not located in any of my repair manuals. What is it for? Should it be changed?
Thanks,
David
-juice
Have you had this since new? A previous owner may have added an external filter if it's not stock. Is there a brand name or part number on it? Does is screw directly into the tranny or is it attached with rubber hoses? Got my curiousity aroused.
IdahoDoug
Are you sure you're not referring to the oil pan drain plug? Hanging "above" it in plain sight is, of course, the engine oil filter. If the 2.5/Outback auto tranny is different than mine, then I'm still curious what it is on yours.
Regards,
IdahoDoug
Anyway, here is the URL containing a photo of the filter.
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/trans.html
Thanks for your input Juice and IdahoDoug
Regards,
David
It seems like they just forgot to plug something back in.
Could it be that simple? If it is, is it something I can do myself without the hassle of bringing it back?
IdahoDoug
I'd replace the fuses myself to see if the lights all go off and that everything works correctly. If the Airbag light stays on with new fuses, then they've damaged the airbag computer. This way, if they tell you after their second try "We just replaced a couple fuses and everything's fine" and you find the airbag light is not on, you would be suspicous that they'd done something else to turn off the airbag light without fessing up, since you also did that with different results. I've heard horror stories about mechanics (not Sube mechs) removing the airbag bulbs from the warning light to "fix" this issue.
IdahoDoug
I just checked once again to give a better indication of its location. From under the car, the filter is about five inches from the tranny drain plug towards the front of the car and two inches up from there. It is also veiwable if you look from above directly below the fire wall, behind and below the starter, just forward of where the tranny dipe stick exits the tranny.
Definitly not after market stuff.
Next week, when I have the time, I'll remove it and check the numbers on it and see if it has a cross reference with Fram etc. I'll let you know my findings at that time. If you are still interested.
Thanks again!!
David
Apparently metal filings would clog up the cooling lines of the AT and then would cause the AT to overheat thus rendering your AT useless.
On the SVX the filter is located under the battery box. I'm in the process of replacing it with an aftermarket filter so that I can get std. filters and have more filtration.
-mike
Went to the dealer today with my broken tranny pan bolt.
While the car was on the lift, on of the techs nearby (he wasn't working on my car) asked if I had just taken it to an independent shop. I said the last place that worked on this car was you guys 3k miles ago.
A little while later, the service advisor proceeded to ask the same question. Before he finished his sentence I said, "Absolutely not".
He told me the filter itself was damaged like someone was trying to remove it. As for the bolt, he said that when they do the tranny service, they simply drain and fill the tranny fluid. They don't drop the pan and reseal it. If there aren't any leaks, a tech wouldn't notice a bad bolt (there wasn't any rust on it either).
Then I remembered prior tranny filter problems and told him. At 30k, my wife had to get towed to our previous dealer because of a tranny leak (car now has 63K). They accused ME of trying to remove the filter and I said no way (they knew I did the 3K oil changes). The only time a non Subaru shop did anything to the car (other than tires) was Wal-Mart at 9,470 miles (possible place of damage ??).
The advisor said, "And nothing was done elsewhere after the 30K service at the other dealer"? I said no.
The advisor will speak to the service manager Monday to figure out if I should be charged for the filter. I thought that was pretty nice, instead of just charging me straight away. Now I'm wondering if the previous dealer actually changed the filter. I still have the receipt for that one. The service manager and advisor were replaced at that dealership.
Back to the bolt. He said it wasn't leaking and to repair it would require another day. They would have to drop the pan and tap out the bolt.
Oh and just before this, the advisor was talking to a tech and I heard "bad head gasket". They told me it wasn't mine. I asked if it was a 99 or 98 Legacy and it was a 98 (gee, I must be psychic ). It told the tech I'm nervous about it happening to my wife's car and he didn't say anything. I wanted to tell the lady to open a case and check Edmunds, but I forgot. :-(
Sorry for the length and thanks to everyone for your input. Anymore comments or theories are welcome. :-)
-Dennis
I haven't driven a car in recent memory without an electronic rev limiter, so I'd say you have one on it. Personally, I'd drive it for 10 minutes or more to warm it up, then put it in 1st and see if the engine cuts out at the RPM limit, but I'm not recommending you do this.
It does not hurt the engine to hit red line once in a while, but this will increase wear obviously and shorten component life. I don't know if this is true about Subaru, but many vehicles store things like # times the rev limiter cuts in, max RPM, and other variables to alert them to customer abuse.
I once drove a new Porsche 944 Turbo to the vehicle crusher when I worked for GM and assuaged my curiousity about red line operation as I drove this magnificent car to her death. It was about a 15 minute trip on the freeway, and I put it in 1st gear (manual) and simply drove it bouncing off the rev limiter the entire way - something like 60mph as I recall. The temp gauge went up a bit, the oil pressure dropped a bit and that was the extent of it for the entire abuse session. Your mileage may vary.
IdahoDoug
mike k
So, don't put it off. A brake bleed is cheap (fluid cost me $7) but replacing a corroded ABS controller (brake fluid absorbs water over time) or caliper costs hundreds. Took me 20 minutes with my wife pushing the brake pedal as I needed it.
IdahoDoug
I'm kinda late on this but, I thought the tranny filters for the MY99s were in the tranny pan like my '98 OB. It was only MY00 on the filters are external.
-Dave
Thank you
Steve
-mike
-mike
Dennis
Ask them to re-torque your wheels to 70 ft-lbs. Even the new rotors will just warp again if the wheels are over-tightened.
-juice
Thanks,
IdahoDoug
I just got off the phone with the dealer. The crimp in the filter was in the one o'clock position. It's still a mystery to me since the filter hasn't been touched since a new one was installed at 30,000 miles.
I also noticed my previous dealer charged for plugs and labor on the 30K even though it's not required until 60K. I wish I would've known then what I know now. :-( My wife did the 30K at the time on impulse since she went in with the tranny leak.
-Dennis
Thanks!
Patti
-mike
V-rod? There's a Harley I'd own. Don't know that I could justify buying one... but if given to me you betcha. For near $20k I'm thinking Italian.
On topic, that's pretty respectable fuel mileage Don especially if you like to tip into the throttle and enjoy the VDC!
-Colin
(600cc sportbike rider)
The H6s seem to really work well from 40->120+mph, it's just the initial 0-40 that is sluggish, probably due to the weight.
-mike
I know of the NGK V plugs (I think that is the original plug form the factory, at least its number is the same as what is in the owners manual) and the NGK platinum plugs. I have heard about the NGK copper plugs and I am not sure it that person was referring to the V plug or that is a third option I have. I know platinum last longer but copper conducts better and I don't mind changing them every 35K or so.
NGK web site was not much help, anyone knows about this?
Thank you
Steve
bit
BTW the last two digits of the NGK plug # -11 is the gap in decimal cm. That is: -11 = 0.11 cm gap. Therefore, it's already pre-gapped for most Subies. 8~)
Jim
I've never seen a single one, whether built in Japan or Indiana, that didn't have copper NGK or Champion plugs from the factory.
NGK = good
Champion = not fit for your lawnmower
You will want to change copper plugs every 20,000 - 30,000 miles for optimal results. They're cheap and easy on the flat four though, so it's no hassle.
-Colin
Because not all models went to the new engine in the same model year, there is some confusion as to which model uses what kind of plug.
No ?
I'll be changing to NGK BKR6E-11 copper plugs. If I find this first change to be a total PITA, then I'll consider platinum next time.
Jim