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Comments
I have been thinking about putting a heavier bar on the rear of my Forester, but what I would really like is to be able to put a stiffer bar on the front also, to reduce roll on cornering. If the rear is kept proportionally heavier, that should help to reduce understeer as well. Does anyone know of a FRONT bar for the Forester?
-Frank P.
(Please forgive me, I posted this in more than one forum, but I thought it was appropriate)
8500 Miles
I: My Clutch Vibrates.
Them: Normal.
I: Illinois? I thought Subies were made in Indiana or Japan.
Them: Consider it a feature -- free foot massage.
30k Miles
I: My clutch chatters when cold.
Them: Cannot duplicate.
I: Maybe you should buy a Xerox.
36k Miles
I: Still chattering when cold.
Them: Leave overnight.
Next Day
I: Well?
Them: We heard it. But we wouldn't do anything at this time.
I: What do you mean? With all that chattering, I think it's trying to tell us something.
Them: Our teeth do the same thing when we are cold.
48k Miles
I: The clutch is STILL chattering, Now doing it when warm. Starting to chatter between 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.
Them: We have to tear it apart to see what'ts up.
I (Clutching my wallet): Will Subaru cover that under warranty?
Them: We won't know until we get it apart. If not, you pay.
I: How much to tear it apart?
Them: Almost as much as the entire repair labor.
I: Can't you call Subaru to authorize it?
Them: Only the service manager can do that, but he's on vacation.
I (having a litle pun at THEIR expense, or will it be mine): Trying
to avoid the chattering of customers, I presume.
49k Miles.
I: Chatter, chatter, chatter.
Them: Cease that infernal chatter. We'll cover it. But you have to pay for the pad.
I: You meant the lining?
Them: Same thing. Either way we line our pockets.
I: Well, I hope you don't pad the bill.
Later
I: Done?
Them: Yes, and we covered it in full. No charge.
I (Charging out of there): Finally, thanks.
Start Car -- Drive
I: Rats! No foot massage. Anyone know of something in the aftermarket?
I'd like to retrofit my '98S with that. Seems like that might be possible.... But then, it would be more than just changing out the rear wiper motor, wouldn't it? Also would have to change the switch on the steering column...
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Jeff: my tower brace is the metal SPT unit sold by Subaru. It was $113 at wholesale cost. My rear 18mm SPT bar was $82, bushings included. The combo works well in unison.
Glad to hear they fixed your clutch. Way to put the pressure on and fix that pressure plate (pardon the pun).
Kim: I've only seen people swap out the spray nozzle to get a better spread of the washer fluid.
-juice
I did upgrade my rear sway bar to an 18mm unit. Haven't done anything up front yet.
Ed
-juice
One thing you should note when upgrading to a heavier sway bar is that it will cause your suspension to be less independent. Something to think about if you take your Forester off-road.
Also, sway bars do make turn-ins quicker, but it won't reduce body lean. For that you'll probably need to use stiffer springs. Again, the trade off will be a harsher ride.
Ken
Since day one my Forester has been prone to the occasional "burp" during above-average acceleration. To be more specific, every so often I hear (and feel) a muffled pop as I back off the gas to shift (especially if the rpms were at, or above, 3200). I have the sense that its caused by unspent fuel combusting in the catalytic converter, but I'm probably dead wrong. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet because the problem occurs so infrequently and I've yet to find a way to reproduce it at will. Have any of you folks noticed anything similar? Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Loving my Forester, burps and all!
Dave (naturally)
To go off road, you can always temporarily detach the sways and use a tie strap to let them hang loosely. I've seen plenty of Jeep owners do this.
Dave: (watch, two thousand people think I'm talking to them) An occasionaly kick-back is no big deal. It's common with aftermarket exhausts, is yours stock?
Even so, no biggie if it's not frequent.
-juice
I've compared my Forester to my friend's who has the stock bar and I perceive the difference to be in the turn-in response rather than reduced lean in turns.
Ken
Ed
MT vehicles have always given manufacturers fits, with respect to emissions, because of the very quick transition to high vacuum, very minimal airflow, when you lift suddenly on the throttle. This is especially true if you just started to "go" and have to back off, because the system had started to give the extra fuel it thought you wanted. AT cars don't have this problem because of the torque converter, and design.
The way they "solved" this was to put a dashpot on the carb to dampen the return of the linkage. This allowed the engine to get the extra air it needed to keep the balance. These were lousy for a "driver" because when you took your foot off of the gas you didn't get the "back pressure" you expected, kind of like the linkage sticking open a bit.
As we "adjusted" these we got some popping in the exhaust, very similar to what my Forester does, only much more so. With the advent of multi-port fuel injection and computer controls things have gotten a lot better all around. I think they let the small amount they can't control through, and let the much better catalytic converters of today deal with it.
If I accelerate to about 3.5K in first gear, back off, and then throw in the clutch, I get the pop. I have also had it in 2nd and maybe third occasionally.
If the dealer tells you it is "normal" I would agree in this case.
Regards,
Frank
Dave- Funny you should mention the "burping". I just recently noticed my Forester occasionally doing the same thing. I'll 2nd what others have said regarding it being nothing to worry about. As far as the body roll being more pronounced than the Outback, everything's relative. My previous vehicle was a Cherokee and in comparison the Forester corners on rails!
Frank P.
Greg
Ed
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Ken
Ed
On, man, what did I miss? Can you e-mail me Ed?
-juice
-juice
My 2001 Forester S with automatic has a bit over 14,000 miles. Recently I've heard an occasional "humming" or "moaning" sound from up front. It only happens when I'm stopped or moving slowly at idle speed. It lasts for a few seconds, then stops. This happens randomly whether I'm braking, sitting at a complete stop, or moving slowly without brakes -- but only at idle speeds. I'll ask about it at my 15,000 service, but was wondering if anyone else had experienced this or had any ideas.
There are no other symptoms when this happens; no loss in power, change in RPMs, or any other change I can notice.
Scott
bit
We discussed this a few days ago, so I wanted to give you all an update. Hutch had been having problems after mounting some Goodyear Aquatred 3 tires. I had a set mounted on my wife's Odyssey van. Although there wasn't any of the pulling that Hutch described, I did noticed a "thumping" noise that got louder as the speed increased. There wasn't any vibration or other indication of mechanical problems. I took it to another shop, and had the wheel balance checked. All 4 were exact. However, the mechanic showed me that three of the tires were visibly "wobbly" as they ran on the balancing machine. By this I mean that you could actually see that the tire had a portion that was higher than the rest of the tread. (I've only had them on a week, and about 400 miles, so it most certainly was not any kind of normal wear.) I contacted Tire Rack, where I purchased them from, and they graciously offered to send me three replacements and then pick up the defective ones. My concern is that I may get one or more with the same problem again. I have asked them to replace all 4 with another tire, for which I will pay the difference, and they are supposed to get back to me on that. I'll keep everyone posted as to how this shakes out (no pun intended). Anyway, I just thought that this might shed some light on a possible problem with Hutch's Aquatred 3's.
Len
Greg
- hutch
Ross
Davo
There was no arguement, or even discussion for that matter, about corrective action. They just replaced it .. gave me a receipt with $0.00 on it and I was off. I took that as a good omen. Stuff goes wrong in any industry. What matters is, if you'll excuse the pun, where the rubber meets the road. There was a problem and they fixed it.
I've been impressed with the tires otherwise. They grip both wet and dry roads tenaciously and are supposed to be capable in the snow. Plus, they have an 80k wear warranty. If the unknowns, snow handling and tread wear, turn out to be "as stated" then this is a great tire.
- hutch
Glad to hear all went well. So is the problem gone as far as you can tell?
Ken
Chuck
Ross
Two in front of the vents and two in the rear. Where is the 5th one?
~~~Pat
Ross
WOW!!! ... what a car!!!
After several Nissans - Maximas and 200SX's..THIS is an upgrade!
No disappointments..save one.. the literature shows a lot more gold on the wheels..I have to look close to see any gold. The stock S+'s on the lot were the same.
Any comments??
Also, is the Igloo cooler/warmer worth the price?
And... why did SOA remove the sports grille from the literature when it is still available?
So many questions, so little time .. gotta go look for dirt roads and puddles today!!
Ross
By the way, I paid $23,800 (including everything except for sales tax. I bought it in Kentucky but am a resident of Ohio so I'll pay sales tax in Ohio) 2002 Forester S auto with premium leather package, tweeter kit, interior upgrade group, upgraded security system, custom tailpipe cover.
The delaer was Oldham Subaru in Kentucky, among the better car buying experiences.
I spoke to Tire Rack and they agreed to take back all 4 Aquatred 3's and replace them with a set of Michelins. All I have to pay is the difference ($14 per tire). The salesman at TR told me that he intends to stop recommending this tire, as he has gotten complaints from several customers about them. Hopefully you'll have better luck with yours, Hutch.
Len
I fall into the "data is data" camp when it comes to CD sound reproduction, so I'm not planning to do anything to the OEM CD player unless this speaker upgrade leaves me disappointed.
The question is: have others who have upgraded gone for upgrades of all four in-door speakers as well as new tweeters? Or just ignore the tweeters? This might even suggest that a good upgrade of the in-door units should be accompanied by a disconnection of the OEM tweets. Or just go all the way with six new speakers?
Also, the extra: I cut a hole in the main splashguard, and now have greatly simplified access to the oil filter. Who let this model go out with the need to remove the splashguard every time you change the filter?
Thanks (and go Mariners!)
Ken
I'm not much on that sport grill but my salesman mentioned in passing that the reason that they didn't list the sport grill in the 2002 brochure (it does show it in the 2001 brochure) is that because of the impending Sport model being introduced in Canada, that Subaru thought that they might be caught short of inventory. I don't know how true that is but I notice that it is listed on their web-site currently and is still available for order at most dealers.
Did you end up buying it through the VIP Partners Program? Were you able to negotiate some of the holdback?
Hope you have continued enthusiasm with your Forester. I hope I'll be able to develop some excitement over mine for right now I still not sure if I'm making the right decision.
--'rocco
OT: You're in the Seattle area too? Swept the Twins again! yay! ...Garcia with a complete game, Ichiro on another hitting streak... man, it just keeps on going!
--'rocco
Rgds,
Jack
I'm beginning to question my decission to buy these tires.
- hutch