Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
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
Good news still exists, however:
- discovered a torn boot, thus the LF drive axle & CV joints got replaced before real damage could occur. I apparently missed the boot tear when I was underneath during my last oil change. Nothing bent underneath as a vibration cause.
- the tech agrees there's an as yet unresolved issue - had trouble convincing them before that it wasn't my imagination. By a process of elimination, we've narrowed the suspect list down to two tire/wheel combos.
- took the snow tire/wheels to them last night for comparison - they were right as rain (solid, smooth, and vibration-free) when they came off, so we'll see.
I've contended all along that it's one of the wheels that's just enough out of true to cause problems at speed. If so, the tires we swapped out this spring weren't at fault. I've bet the tech a can of soda.
Cheers!
Paul (carless in Spokane Valley, but with enough honey-do's on the menu that I won't miss it today)
I wouldn't take a 1-2 mpg improvement for potential engine wear. Instead, try slightly higher tire pressures (vs. the door jamb recommendation) and most importantly, be gentle on the throttle.
Ken
Or maybe I'll just slightly retorque the bolts, then use some high mileage oil since it is thicker and should contain more additives. I'll try the easy way first. Wonder how hard those gaskets would be to remove? Nasty?
Thanks,
Dennis
Chuck
Thks
I have not done it on a Subaru, but remember that you also have O-rings on the spark plug tubes as well to contend with.
Steve
Thanks
If it's oily and like "rotten eggs", then it's possibly gear oil from the tranny or diffys.
If it's red in color, could be auto transmission fluid.
Jim
It is slow to engage into "DRIVE" (or any forward gear) from any other position - "PARK", "REVERSE", or "NEUTRAL". It doesn't matter if he car is warm or hot. The transmission fluid & filter have been changed, without changing this condition.
This does not happen when shifting into "REVERSE".
Once engaged, the transmission operates flawlessly.
While this doesn't happen 100% of the time, it happens very frequently. For instance, my wife & I drove the car for over 100 miles yesterday, & stopped for fuel. After restarting the car, it would not go into drive - at least for 10 seconds or so. My wife was driving; she actually put the car in Reverse & backed away from the pumps. Once she did that, the car went into Drive about 4 seconds or so after the selector was moved.
Later in the afternoon, I moved the car in the driveway. It was slow to go into Drive when I first moved it; while positioning in the driveway & moving from Reverse to Drive to Reverse (etc.), it felt almost normal.
I had my dealer look at it briefly while the car was in for other work about 1 month ago. I was advised to simply drive it until it really got bad or we just didn't want to deal with it any more, because they would probably just yank the tranny & install a different one (I'm assuming a rebuilt) & I'd be looking at about a $3000 repair bill. He did mention "slightly low pressure" at idle, but I'm not sure if that was an actual measurement or just an assumption.
Anyone have anything similar happen, or any ideas? The car has ~75k miles & was purchased used with ~55k miles from a good friend whom I know maintained it well. I really don't need a $3k repair bill - we just had the A/C compressor replaced & that was over $800......
I fear that the problem may be in the electrical system of the car and not the radio itself.
In 5300 miles, I have had the car in 5 times for (minor) warentee issues. Is this typical? Or am I unlucky?
if you do try retorquing it, remember two things:
#1, you should take it completely off and ensure the gasket is OK.
#2, it doesn't take hardly any torque to install. I don't have my service manual any more but I believe that it's <15ft-lb and I know that if you overtorque it you will compromise the seal.
it's very easy to change at the same time you drain the oil. a little bit messy, but not that bad if the engine has sat overnight. 1 rag job
~Colin
Either way, it was easy on the Acura.
-juice
-Dennis
Ready for that 'hail Mary' pass before committing $3k? Find an independent shop that has transmission fluid flush/exchange equipment, and tell them to go heavy on the solvents. Sounds like a gum'ed up valve body. Varnish deposits slow the action, requiring higher pump pressure to make it all work. A conventional oil drain only gets about 1/3 of the contents. You have little to loose, other than about $75 for the experiment.
Steve
Are they doing both sides or just that one?
-juice
-juice
like I said, it's very easy to do yourself during an oil change.
~c
A few weeks ago I wrote about a problem with our 04 Forester moonroof that turned into a "motor problem" our first visit to the dealer and turned into a "replace the tracks" problem on a subsequent visit. I suspected the dealer had bent the tracks while trying to install the motor.
One of you suggested that the tracks were indeed bent and the problem was only showing itself now. Another suggested that the dealer was lying and that the moonroff was simply in "learning mode."
I couldn't find any other info about this "learning mode" (and it was mentioned this appled to other Subaru models, not specifically the Forester), so I decided not to pursue that line and instead to take the car back to the dealer as they asked, to install the new tracks. I'm treating this as my final "test" of this dealer. If they screw this up, it's three strikes and I need to find someplace else for warranty work.
Today when talking to them they explained that they needed to remove a LOT of parts to replace these tracks. The headliner, some of the interior panels, and so on. It makes me extremely nervous to have this (probably incompetent) dealership tearing apart my car which is barely 1 year old.
My question: what things should I look for when the work is done to verify that it was done correctly? Should I be worried?
My concerns range from the introduction of new noises since they couldn't fit thigns back together right to leaking water through the moonroof.
Bonus question: I'd love to definitively verify if indeed ALL of this work was for nothing and it was just the "training mode" problem all along. Has anyone else heard of this or can provide a link to more information? If I find out the dealer has torn up large parts of my car because they didn't know it was a SETTING, I need to take further action.
Thanks!
Yes the valve cover gaskets are leaking. It is not an easy repair. It takes about 3 hours.
The gaskets run about 104.52. If we were to perform – bottom line - $291.14
The gasket is leaking – more than a seep, but not a major leak – in-between.
I can provide you with part #’s if you need.
I could probably save $30-40 on the gasket ordering it on-line. I might be able to get some help from my local nabisco buddies.
-Dennis
-Dennis
Do you have Subaru Bucks? Those are great to have.
-juice
I was trying to hold off that new car itch, by putting the money I have saved up for a new one in a CD (matures in January, but I wouldn't buy a new car in January in Nebraska - it would drive me nuts to have it dirty all the time, in weather too cold to wash it often). I'm also considering joining IMBA or NGA just to get the "VIP discount" (invoice price without haggling). Have any of you used those programs? I don't really like to haggle.
Faye
Steve
You lazy bum.
-juice
Craig
Usually it is the assembly that is bad on mine rather than the blades, so I just replace the entire unit by popping it off the arm each time. Darn my luck, but Fairbanks IS hard on windshield wipers......
Speaking of luck, I am going to be tearing the engine out of the ol' Subie this next weekend (probably start on the 13th), so I hope luck is with me! I will try to remember to catalog the process with photos and post them online for anyone who's morbid enough to be interested.
-Wes-
Cheers Pat.
Cheers Pat.
The tire shop found out about a bad lot of wheels - centers were too big, or off center, either way sufficiently that hub rings wouldn't compensate. Many other customers in similar straits, although why it took this long to find that out is anyone's guess.
At the moment, I have 4 new tires of the original flavor mounted on my snow (OEM) wheels. Smooth as glass at least up to 80mph. Replacement wheels will be here next week, then we can swap everything back where they should be. In the meantime, at least I can get to Seattle & back this weekend without shredding the snows.
Cheers!
Paul
Wes: Best of luck. May the wrench gods be with you!
Steve
Craig
So let's see... the 13th is a Tuesday. Man, I wish I could start my weekends that early
Run. Do it yourself. With Garrick's help it will take you 60 minutes at the most including a standard oil change. Buy him lunch afterwards and you're still a few hundred dollars ahead!
~Colin
-juice
More detail, like year/make/model? Trans type? Mileage?
-juice
Steve
-Dennis
Enjoy your car. Water vapor is a product of clean combustion.
John
What you don't want are a lot of quick, short drives, that leave water in the muffler. That's how exhausts rust.
-juice
Craig: I am not doing all that much, really - unless I find more than I bargain for. The main goal is head gasket replacement, but I am also going to replace most of the vacuum system while I have stuff torn apart. Also, with all the heater system problems I am experiencing, I will be working on that in and around delays with the engine. I am told that technically I do not have to remove the engine from the car to replace head gaskets, but honestly it is so easy and quick to pull it that I see no reason to fight the limited space. I will have to tear it down to the block either way!
I probably should do an extensive rebuild, but with the limited time and limited budget, I am thinking that I should leave well enough alone for now. With my luck, I will "fix" something that is not broken and end up with something broken.....
192K and darn it, I'm determined to keep 'er as our primary until Aug 2008 (~250K). As long as the engine and tranny hold out......
When are you seeing the water vapor?
Ken
Craig
Cheers Pat.
As the other have already noted, it's normal. The link above will help explain why.
-Brian
Are you still having issues with the headlights? I've got a 05 outback. Although I haven't had both bulbs go out simultaneously, they seem to go out within a week or two of each other. We've had the care just over a year and were on out 2nd set.
Coupled with the cruise not working, I'm wondering if there is a voltage/fuse issue too.
If none, then the fuse for the horns/hazards/etc. is blown.
Can't remove key if that fuse is blown.
Not starting? That fuse wouldn't have anything to do with it though.
-Dave
I'd agree in general...except that a Subie has two valve covers with limited side access versus the Honda having one right on top.
Jim