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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

8644 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 4:04 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon

Messages Page 338 of 865

#3368 of 8644 Part of my hood was repainted prior to delivery! by jnr1675

Jul 27, 2004 (3:07 pm)

I have a 2001 Legacy Wagon that I bought brand new. It has clearcoat damage and cracked paint on the hood, which appeared after I had the car for a year and a half. I was told that it wasn't covered under warranty, and I couldn't afford to repair it privately, so I didn't pursue repair then.
 
I recently visited 2 body shops and was told by both that the area had obviously been re-painted and poorly spot-repaired, and the whole hood would require re-finishing ($635). The dealer who sold me the car claims to have no record of transport delivery and re-painting by them. I have e-mailed a complaint and request for proper repair to Subaru, but have not yet received a response. Has anyone else heard of this happening before?
 
Thanks in advance for your input!

#3369 of 8644 Etched Bird Stain by vetmats

Jul 27, 2004 (8:25 pm)

I have a bird stain that has etched into the clear coat on the hood of my Outback. I have tried to use some Bug&Tar remover, as well as some Scratch-out to remove it, but it's still there.
 
Anybody have an idea if a professional detailer would be able to remove it? And how much it should cost?
 
Thanks,

#3370 of 8644 Re: Etched Bird Stain [vetmats] by tyguy

Jul 28, 2004 (6:34 am)

Replying to: vetmats (Jul 27, 2004 8:25 pm)
Acid etching is a tough one to remove. The only way to remove it is the same method as a scratch: buff down the surrounding clearcoat with a mild grit until the surface is even with the etched portion. A pro detailer will definitely be able to do it for less than $75, and he/she will be more skilled at not taking the clearcoat down too thin. Unless you have the experience, tools, and products, I don't recommend buffing out the car yourself.
 
Be warned though, that buffing down your clearcoat does make it thinner, and you don't want to do that unless you have to. If the clearcoat is ever buffed completely away, you'll need a re-paint to restore the luster.
 
Another option is to fill in the etched area with wax. It won't be perfect and will require regular re-waxing, but it will help with the appearance a bit and keep your clearcoat as thick as possible.
 
The best way to prevent future etching is to keep your wax thick and fresh, and quickly clean up any droppings. Storing a bottle of instant detailer and a terry cloth rag in the car makes the clean up simple.
 
Good luck!
 
-Ty

#3371 of 8644 Air Intake Noise??? by litespeed4

Jul 28, 2004 (1:28 pm)

I recently had maintenance done on a 2000 Outback Wagon. The water pump was leaking so I had it replaced, did the timing belt at the same time. I also had them change plugs/air filter/fuel filter/etc and do an engine tuneup.
 
When I got the car back, it ran great, but has loud noise, which sounds similar to an exhaust leak but comes from under the hood. Under normal driving it is not bad, but get it up around 4000 rpm and it is very load. I took it back to the shop, they said it was something with the air intake diaphragm. The mechanic pointed to a black plastic box up top near the dash with what looked like air ducts going into it, and said it was in there. He said the noise wasn't unusual, but then 3 days later the check engine light came on. The code was for something related to the catalytic converter. They tried adjusting air flow rates with the computer but it is still loud. Any idea what the problem might be?
 
I think the mechanic was a bit baffled by it.

#3373 of 8644 Could it be.. by ozman62

Jul 28, 2004 (2:30 pm)

an improperly installed air filter? Or maybe they didn't get the air filter box closed properly. I've heard (no pun intended) that that could cause a weird sound, and a CEL.
HTH, Owen

#3374 of 8644 Pwer steering problem on 2001 Outback by joesyd

Jul 28, 2004 (3:30 pm)

My 2001 Outback with 25,000 miles purchased new in July 2001 has been into Subaru dealership 4 times with a still unsolved problem: wheel vibrates (especially so when started in morning) when pulling out of garage and turning wheel sharply to left or right. Initially dealer replaced hoses with "narrower" ones which helped for six months. Problem reoccurred and dealer then replaced power steering unit and hoses again as well as checking front end for alignment and tires as well. This helped for two years but this past April I noticed reoccurrence of vibrarion in the wheel when turning. Service manager (who has been very helpful throughout--all repairs were under warranty) acknowledged vibration but said Subaru can do no more. Just last week vibrations became more pronounced and a noise now accompanies the vibration. Car just came off warranty. Any ideas?

#3375 of 8644 Re: Air Intake Noise??? [litespeed4] by tyguy

Jul 28, 2004 (4:30 pm)

Replying to: litespeed4 (Jul 28, 2004 1:28 pm)
I believe ozman62 nailed it on the head. That type of noise at those RPMs is a classic indicator of a misaligned airfilter cover. The Subaru air filter cover is a little funky, with two tabs that have to align with two holes on the bottom of the cover. If you don't stick the tabs into the holes, then the cover doesn't close all the way. You won't notice it until around 3,000 RPM, when you get a loud intake noise and some vibration.
 
Pull the air filter cover off and reattach it, making sure the tabs are inserted fully into the holes before latching it down.

#3376 of 8644 Re: high pitched squeaky noise [firstov] by c_hunter

Jul 28, 2004 (5:15 pm)

Replying to: firstov (Jul 27, 2004 5:13 am)
It was probably the belt. My Bean ocassionally made belt noises in damp weather. I replaced the belt at the 30,000 mile service and the new belt was much quieter.
 
CRaig

#3377 of 8644 Re: Etched Bird Stain [vetmats] by c_hunter

Jul 28, 2004 (5:23 pm)

Replying to: vetmats (Jul 27, 2004 8:25 pm)
This happened on both of my previous Outbacks (nickel-sized spots on the hood) and my WRX (much smaller spot on the rear spoiler). You have to be super vigilant and wipe bird droppings off right away. Modern lead-free paint/clear is not very robust. Each time it happened to me, I was away from the car for a few days and was unable to clean the droppings off in time.
 
As previously posted, you can use some 2000 grit wet-sand paper to make it look better, but that's a 50/50 proposition in my experience. Best thing is to wax it good and leave it alone. In the future, if the paint starts flaking, take it to a body shop and see if they can do a spot repair (may not look good, but I would do a full hood repaint as a last resort).
 
Craig

Messages Page 338 of 865

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