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John
e
-Frank
I will of course be taking this matter up with the shop (especially since I just spent $2500 there and found another issue or two) but I'm wondering what the hazards are of driving the car with one plug in this type of shape - just to drive it the 30 miles to the shop? Also, what do you think about my own culpability here in that I was the one who cracked it? Should I put the boot back on to drive it there or leave it out? Is a tow more advisable? How large is the risk of bits of porcelain getting in the engine? Is there any way that I can get the plug out and the cracked porcelain out on my own safely? Any recommendations? Liquid wrench - is that ok to spray in there?
Someone please help! Juice?
Elissa
e
Your broken plug experience is why I'm not a big believer in the "100,000-mile plus" used in modern cars. Even if the plug can last that long, I'd certainly hate being the one attempting to loosen it from an aluminum block after that much time. At a minimum plugs should be pulled every 50,000 miles, cleaned, re-lubed with anti-seize, and re-installed with a new crush washer.
Arrgh.
Larry
When I looked at the RO, I realized they had used 10W30 instead of 5W30. Technically, there should be no cold-pour difference at summertime temps (mornings around 60 degrees).
Any reason why this wouldn't apply to a new engine?
Ken
Good excuse to drive it a lot & change it back to 5W30 before fall!
Cheers!
Paul
~c
anyway, same question as always:
2004 Legacy automatic a good idea? known problems? MSN says that 02 models had CEL and charcoal cannister problems - are those squared away for 2004? are the AWD units on the automatic models hearty and fairly maintenance free?
thanks!
oh, how is the brake rotor quality? do they warp easily like my current Accord? (HATE IT)
elissa
I just changed the manual tranny fluid in my "new" '86 Civic. The owners manual calls for motor oil in the tranny, not entirely uncommon in Hondas. What I drained out of there smelled distinctly like gear oil! My guess is some bozo filled up the tranny with 75w90 gear oil instead of 10w40 motor oil. Do you know if there will be transmission damage as a result? Also, owners manual calls for SE or SF grade motor oil but... well, the standards are higher and I can't find that grade any more - it got SL or something up there. Any worries?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the non-subie posting!
Elissa
Chuck
thanks for all the info - i love this board. :-) now i'm looking for an appropriate board to help me trouble shoot the engine getting hot when going up a hill of about 2 miles, regardless of mpg (carbureted). *sigh* timing checked fine, cooling system all fixed up, auxiliary radiator fan doesn't seem to kick on, engine idle about 200 rpm too fast, only symptoms.
Thanks!,
elissa
thanks,
elissa
Thank you all!
Mike
P.S. recently moved back to NYC, any subie club events around here?
Still in the process of becoming familiar with the quirks of my Forester, one of which is rapidly becoming an everyday annoyance.
On a fairly regular basis , the engine seems to surge at around 2200-2500 rpm especially in fourth gear at around 60km per hr and emits a kind of booming sound if left in that range.It sounds like I am shifting down to 3rd even though I am riding in 4th gear and have made no gear change Since I do a lot of city driving , this means that this is a fairly persistent situation. If I accelerate to 80km or slow down to 40km per hr. the engine seems to settle down and the surge disappears.
I have driven a wide assortment of vehicles in the past 30 years but have never encountered this situation.
My question is:
Is this a normal feature of this engine?[Mine is not a turbo engine so I presume that there is no link there.]Will I damage the engine if I continue to drive the vehicle?The check engine light does not illuminate when this happens.
Is 60 km per hour too low a speed to be in 4th gear? {If so, this is not a city car since gas mileage cost would be prohibitive if I had to stay in 3rd gear all the time. I know the Forester likes the open road but since I live in the city I have to watch the speed limits!
Is there a solution to this problem or do I have no choice but to live with it?
Wish I had the Turbo but actually it's the 2.5X. My mistake, a case of wishful thinking.
Just came back from a city drive and stayed in 3rd gear at 60kph . No engine surge.The manual recommends shifting to 4th at 65kph.Pretty awkward in city driving given the speed limits where I live.
Went for a test drive with the mechanic last week. Of course, no engine surge.Other than this surge , the engine performs quite normally.
My suspicion is that there are bearings that don't get adequate lubrication with the 90 weight (since the tranny is splash lubricated). But, ymmv.
John
elissa
The problem with the syncros may have been due to the friction modifiers in gear oil. Redline has two 75W-90 gear oils. One with friction modifiers for the diffy and one without for the manual tranny. The syncros need a bit of friction to work.
Most GL-5 gear oils have friction modifiers.
Jim
elissa
John
Last week one of the black plastic grilles on the fog lights (drivers side) suddenly disappeared. Only place in town that can replace it is the dealer--$45. I can't afford that right now, so I just took the other one off.
Does this grille have a vital function? I know it looks cool, but if it's the kind of thing that frequently falls off or is stolen I may choose to just go grille-less until time to trade in my Subaru for a new Subaru sometime in the far far away.
I know one of you has some great advice.
That's hilarious!
My wife's Legacy also lost the same part, maybe I should do the same? I was going to use Subaru bucks from my Chase card to pay for it.
It's just cosmetic.
BTW, to clean the cladding just wash it. If you get wax on it and it discolors, peanut butter helps remove that wax. It works like a charm. Creamy Jiff is best. Why? Because you can eat what is left over and it tastes good. )
-juice
Juice, I'm trying to picture you taste-testing various ingredients to find the tastiest thing in your kitchen that would remove wax from the plastic cladding! :-)
-juice
Chuck
However, the ants...
Jim
TIA
Larry
I rented one years ago from a service station when I had a very slow coolant leak I couldn't find. (acura legend) The leak turned out to be a barely seeping waterpump...pressure test didn't show, seeped only with engine hot so nothing on the floor.
Don
Any ideas?
Sounds like normal cycling of the compressor to me. It goes off and on and makes a whoosing sound (moaning?) when that happens.
John
I have been reading a bunch about cooling problems lately because I have a civic that gets a bit hot... Have you changed your oil recently and is there coolant in the oil (keep fingers crossed that that's a "no")? Have you drained the coolant and is there oil in the coolant? Again, please say 'no'. Do you get white smoke out the tail pipe on warm days or after car has warmed up? All those symptoms could be a failure of your head gasket or busted cylinder head - HIGHLY unlikely in a car as new as yours but maybe a manufacturing defect (???) that's causing coolant to seep into the combustion chamber? Maybe you can have a repair shop "sniff" your coolant for hydrocarbons which would indicate one of these failures.
I've also read that a home mechanic can do their own "leak down test" which is better than a cooling system pressure test since it can detect problems in the engine which COULD be related?
A cooling system pressure test OR leak down test should cost you $50-100 at a repair shop. The tools to do it yourself... probably are in the same range, maybe a bit more. There is a pressure tester at autopartsamerica for $103.
Elissa
Oil smells and looks too good for evidence of antifreeze but I'll be sending out a sample for analysis after the next change. Nix on the smoke.
I was looking at a dye kit this weekend for about $70 at Autozone. The dye works with coolant, a/t fluid, etc. Looks to be a uv based substance. I'm going to shop price then try something like that I think.
It ticks me off that I'm going to have to spend more time that I don't have to do the dealer's work for him.
Larry
Typical scenario - drive home, no noise. Get to driveway, position car to back-in. Put it in reverse, start to back-up, rattles. A lot. Stops after a few feet. Anyone got any ideas? I'd appreciate them.
My love affair with this car (04 XT) is fading fast.
Larry
Could you perhaps be backing uphill to get into your driveway? It sounds like 'lugging' is making the exhaust shields rattle?
Steve
Steve
Cheers!
Paul
I once had a rack replaced ('97 Dodge GC). It took what seemed like weeks to totally purge the system of air. It had a strange feel, and made plenty of noise. The service dept just kept saying to give it time to resolve itself.
Steve