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Comments
Catch is, I'm searching now, and they don't seem to have the illustrations they used to have, so I'm not sure I'm getting the right parts. Weird.
-juice
-juice
I'm in no rush to replace the antenna as the radio still appears to have good reception. We'll see when we go down to the Twin Cities this Wednesday.
I spent over $500 on the Subi (hitch kit, front deflector, security system upgrade), and better than $1200 (hitch kit, front deflector, cross bars, radio upgrade, cargo tray, etc.) on the Honda this way. Never be afraid to ask! You did it on the car, why not at the parts counter?
Steve
I may do that since I can't see pictures of the stuff I wanted on the on-line stores.
-juice
1) A slower start is typical of Subarus, 2) they are aware of a problem Subaru's have at high altitudes starting, and hope that Subaru of America will issue a fix but so far they have not, 3) if it happens again, try starting the car with the gas halfway down, and if that doesn't work, all the way down (just don't pump). The dealer said they think it has to do with programming in the car's computer chip.
Has anyone ever heard of this? I realize that since we live in Colorado we might be in the minority of owners to face this apparent problem. I wish I had heard of it earlier. Thanks.
The highest I have had my Subarus was 4850ft elevation, not nearly as high as the ski areas in CO. But at that elevation I never noticed any issues. Maybe some folks with higher elevation experience can chime in.
Steve
Thanks!
I have not heard of that problem in a Subaru before, so very strange that it happened on both sides of the car (though the passenger side does still open!).
If it is disconnected, you should be able to get to it by taking off the cladding on the inside of the door. Of course, if you cannot open the door then that might be tricky in itself!
My 98 OBW Ltd antenna finally stopped retracting also. It started just getting stuck mid-way in cold/icy weather but a little lock deicer did the trick temporarily.
I took it out and disassembled it and I saw that the inner plastic rod has snapped and therefore not get pulled down. However, it can be manually pushed down.
Still, I'd like to get a replacement but none of the online sites that I've found carry it. Let me know if you have any luck finding it.
Thanks,
Alan
98 OBW Ltd (~130,000 miles)
After another sit in the airport parking lot, I was driving home and the battery light came on followed by a few others like the ABS and airbag lights followed by the wipers going crazy eventhough the switch was off. The entire electrical system failed and I coasted to a stop on the freeway shoulder.
I gave up on the shop and replaced the 50amp fusible link myself and seven fuses that were blown as well as the alternator which seemed to be the cause of the shutdown. I replaced the ignition coil because it was only firing the back two cylinders. That didn't help. Before I assume that the computer was fried, is there something simpler that is causing the front two cylinders not to get a spark? It's not the plugs or the wires because they checked OK. Any suggestions?
Whenever you replace the alternator and you have run your battery down dead you need to charge your battery with a charger rather than the alternator. I had this problem on my 94 legacy. I blew the alternator and ran on the battery til it died. Then replaced the alternator, jumped the car and thought all was good. A day or 2 later, the alternator died. Apparently it cooked itself from trying to charge the completely dead battery.
So I bought a new battery and alternator and all has been good for 30k miles more.
-mike
I did not. I'll charge it but the two front cylinders are getting no electrics at all. The battery seemed to weather the electric failure well. There's got to be a burned out relay, link or fuse or the computer itself is stopping any electric current from getting to the ignition coil for the front cylinders.
Rondo
So, after the long-winded plea, any/all advice is welcome (other than "take it to a shop").
Thanks in advance.....
-Wes-
Done 100s of them over the years on subies and it's pretty easy. You can use channel locks or even a screw driver jammed in it
-mike
I assume you can not get an oil filter remover that fits on a socket on the filter?
Oil filter remover - possibly, I would have to see one. Quite honestly I have never seen one like what you describe. My dad had a couple handle-loop deals that would crush the filter while removing it, but something like that would just not fit in here as there is no way to get one at it from the side. There might be a 3/4" gap between the engine and exhaust along the front side. Beyond, though, there is only 2" or so between there and the radiator to the front! So, other than straight down, there is no good way to get at it short of dropping the exhaust.... which seems just a tad extreme.
I don't think the screw driver would work - just no angle or clearance to get one in there... let alone having the room to "jam" it! Still considering the channel locks, but again, it would require removal of the oxygen sensor and even then there would be only about 1", maybe a little more, of handle movement.
I think I will look for that removal tool as a first effort. If it is spendy, I will get it, have it on-hand as a backup, then try the channel locks. If it works, back goes the tool. If not, I am not stuck at home with a car that has a destroyed oil filter. :surprise: :mad:
I cannot even remember how many times I changed the one on my other Subaru. Maybe 40 times? No problems removing by hand, even after I did have a shop do an oil change. But, there was a lot more clearance - and no serpentine exhaust system straddling it like a boa constrictor. Even my van's filter is a cake-walk compared to this '07. And believe me, that one is no jewel of simplicity.
Like you suggested, though, this is probably just an issue for the first filter.
If you have open access to that end I think the tool I mention would work great.
Here are somewhat helpful links showing the tool that I found on the web.
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/kdt3298.html
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=BK&Part- Number=7759006&Description=Oil+Filter+Wrench+-+End+Cap
-mike
It should not be complicated... I know. I felt like a "newb" when I finally decided it could be fruitful to post here. Alas, swallowing my pride is something to which I am growing quite accustomed these days.....
Clearing the code is beyond my expertise, now that the simple stuff of replacing the alternator and ignition coil are done, I may have to haul it to the shop. If it is the code, it's certainly cheaper than a computer. Thanks.
Rondo
Craig
The plug was horridly tight. I broke it loose with just the 3/8" ratchet, but when it popped the socket jumped off the ratchet and landed in the oil pan, splashing yet more oil to yonder realms. I also found out that the filter for my '96 2.5L works fine on this engine.... just has about a 1/2" larger diameter to the exterior of the seal and therefore reduces the clearance from the exhaust even further. Just FYI in case the are any masochists out there! :P
I have to keep reminding myself that it is mid-March. Temp this morning was -35F and it warmed up to about 0F by day's end. With the northeast wind this evening, it was probably about -15F to the skin. Not real comfortable driveway maintenance weather, but at least the engine was warm! And, depending on how close my fingers were to the exhaust... sometimes VERY warm!
-mike
Moving away from complaints (easy to get sucked in!), I had planned to change my gear oil to 75W-90 amsoil when I did the oil change last night. But, as I should have come to expect, the drain plug for the transmission was not something as simple as a socket or 1/2" drive casting (like the rear differential), but instead was a Torx drive... and a huge one at that! So, I made yet another trip to Napa on my way to work this morning. I ended up taking back the two remaining Napa Gold filters from my '96 and seat-of-my-pants decided on a Torx socket size... went with a "T60," as that was the largest one they had. Amazingly, I walked away with nearly $6 added to my pocket! Now that is a rare event!
Too bad they did not have a T1000 - a liquid metal version could have come in real handy for all sorts of applications! :P Hahaha... okay, sorry for the obscure reference. Anyway, I squeezed myself under the car when I arrived at work and..... the T60 fit! It felt a *little* sloppy, but it seemed to grab the wings solidly enough, so I hope it will work. If anyone knows for sure that this is the wrong size (Napa carried them in increments of "5"... T50, T55, T60) and, perhaps, a T65 or similar is the correct one, let me know!
I hope to get the gear oil changed out tonight. The factory stuff is like Jell-O in this cold weather.
From many of the other sites I read today, it looks like the plug is actually a T70 Torx. Figures. Availability on that size looks somewhat limited. T60 is the largest of the "normal" sizes.
Craig
Anyway, I also searched high and low for the T70 locally - to no avail. There are more Subaru enthusiasts here than one can shake a stick at, but alas, none of them had spoken up to volunteer a T70 by the time I was headed home. So, I decided to go with my gut instinct this morning when I squeezed under the car to test fit that T60 - it was a little small, but large enough that it worked just fine for the job. Had the plug been in there at, say, 90 ft#, it would have likely chattered. But, it was actually easier to pop that plug loose than it was the oil pan! Maybe the 1/2" drive breaker bar had something to do with that.....
I drove the back of the car up onto ramps, set the brake, lifted each side of the front up and set it on stands, then drained the MT followed by the rear diff. I was surprised at how much 'gunk' was built up on the magnetic plug caps at both locales already - with "only" 4300 miles on the car! Hopefully that was just initial wear-in and was not indicative of excess gear wear.
Anyway, it went smoothly. My 2.75 y.o. son was quite the little helper - standing by to ask many a question and keep me "honest." :P
I took the car for a short spin after dropping back to the ground. It actually seems to shift much smoother now and with less effort, so I hope that holds good tidings.
-mike
Sorry.. behind in my reading again. I have two multi-fit filter end cap socket wrenches that are just terrific for tight vertical access. One has two wide tabs, one has three small tabs. There is a geared thingy that opens and closes the tabs so that they fit a wide variety of filters. Attach the wrench and the twisting action closes the tabs, grips the filter, and rotates it off.
Steve
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/autospecialty/oilwrench_if104.gif
http://www.toolweb.com/pics/LIS63250.jpg
-mike
The landed cost was just under $320 for 4 gallons of 2000 series 0W-30, two gallons of 75W-90 gear oil, a bottle pump, 12 bottles of fuel system cleaner, a bottle of engine flush, and 4 oil filters for the Subaru. Actually worked out to a significantly cheaper cost than a comparable time frame of basic 5W-30 "dino" oil and filters.