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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 401 of 865

#3994 of 8644 Re: Driver Wind Noise [hammerhead] by frog

Jan 04, 2005 (8:14 am)

Replying to: hammerhead (Jan 03, 2005 8:19 am)
Just watched the odometer turn over to 10 grand yesterday. Very exciting! 2004 Legacy wagon.
Have one issue still. Noise coming from one or more of wheels/tires. First noticed when rotated tires at dealer and pressure was put WAY up. Took back to 'Subaru' dealer and solution was to let off some pressure which reduced noise but did not resolve what was wrong. Noise is rhythmacal hum that sounds like a tire improperly balanced/alligned. I know it is impossible to diagnose this without seeing the car but thought I would put it down for posterity. The cars allignment was perfect and continues to be so. No vibration or pulling whatsoever. The tires after making noise for the last 3500 miles show no uneven wear YET. My diagnosis is a bent rim, or two. The tires look perfect and ran PERFECT for the first 6500 miles. All the mechanic did was rotate them and crank up the pressure. I am unfortunately guilty for running them with very little pressure for much of the first 6500 miles, and hitting at least one substantial curb that could have warped them. The low pressure could have hidden the problem till I had them rotated a couple weeks later. I dont know. The question is what to do. Do I go to the dealer and have them all balanced/checked for warpage and pony up for new rims? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am about an hours drive from my dealer BTW....

#3995 of 8644 Re: Driver Wind Noise [frog] by bkaiser1

Jan 04, 2005 (8:42 am)

Replying to: frog (Jan 04, 2005 8:14 am)
It sounds like the tires might be cupped. I had an 01 Outback that wore through it's OEM tires evenly, but when I replaced them with some new Dunlop A2's they quickly became cupped and would make a moaning/whirring sound (depending on speed). The tire shops were mystified -- everything was aligned, there was nothing obviously wrong, other than these new tires were wearing incredibly fast. I lived with the noise for about 18k miles until the tire shop finally gave up and replaced them (free) with a set of Michelin MXV4's and the sound went away.
 
By the way, the cupping wasn't totally obvious on the tires -- I could see the tell-tale feathering on the treads only in certain conditions (after pulling into the garage, but not out on the street). It sounds like this is the most likely culprit to your problem.
 
Brian

#3996 of 8644 by rob_m

Jan 04, 2005 (10:22 am)

I would agree with the cupped tires. My 99 GT did this to the original RE92's within the first 30k. They were quite loud. Replaced with MXV4's and never had a problem since. I am very good with rotating them every 7k.
 
If there was a warped rim or unbalanced tire, you would feel it, especially at highway speeds, possibly in the steering wheel, or the shift through the drivetrain. My dealer didn't balance one correctly on the last rotation. I knew right away. Rob M.

#3997 of 8644 Re: head gasket failure [sooby1] by terumi1

Jan 04, 2005 (2:26 pm)

Replying to: sooby1 (Dec 26, 2004 9:11 am)
Trying to remember what I did with my 89 Honda Accord when it was overheating...yet....the radiator level was always good.
 
Seems to me, if I remember right, the fuse for the cooling fan had blown. When I fixed that, suprisingly, the problem didn't go away. Then, one day when overheating again, after I replaced the fuse, I pulled into a gas station, not a little suprised.
 
What happened was that in the process of the radiator fluid, or the water portion of it, boiling, it had set up a vapor lock. Something about the height of radiator cap vs the fuel injection intake. Whatever...like I said, I can't remember exactly. But...in the end, the cooling system had vaporlocked. And simply by opening the radiator cap, with the cooling fan now working properly, I broke the vapor lock.
 
Never had a problem with it again.
 
So.....maybe for you in the 97 Outback (I have the same car with 72k on it), make sure the cooling fan fuse is good. And then open the radiator cap! Sounds simple...but that was what the problem was on my honda.
 
When I told a buddy about how strange it was about the coincidence of pulling off the cap, and never having a problem again, he was the one that told me about the vapor lock and the height of the radiator cap and so on. He is a hot rodder from years ago. So take it for what it is worth!

#3998 of 8644 Re: Cam seals. [sugardog] by terumi1

Jan 04, 2005 (2:36 pm)

Replying to: sugardog (Dec 27, 2004 11:05 am)
I just had the front cam shaft seals replaced on my 97 outback. There are six of them. Had them replace the timing belt while they were in there, even though the belt is a 105k belt.
 
I had been having oil spots on my garage floor for about 4 years. I finally got tired of it and had them replaced. They did a bunch of work on it (flushing the autothrottle body, injectors, so on and so on....coming up to 1200 bucks in fees), and the car runs as if brand new. And getting 4mpg more than I was before taking it into the shop. The shop manager told me that would be the case....that I would see a big increase in my mpg. Things get pretty fouled up over the years (car has 72k on it)
 
They did a great job.
 
I think it is a pretty extensive job replacing those seals. You are into the guts of the engine. But don't have to take out the engine. So no crane at least!
 
So to date, no leaks and engine really running tops. It has been about 2 months now. Brought it in based on an alternator failure which was under recall. I posted this problem here previously.
 
Good luck!

#3999 of 8644 gas mileage troubles by pauly

Jan 04, 2005 (3:13 pm)

I am curious if anyone else has had this trouble. 99 Outback Ltd.. Fuel economy on the Highway is only about 21 mpg.. the dealership has checked everything over (ie. there are no CELs) and states there are no issues. Not speeding (within reason) and not sitting at idle for extended periods, etc. Really disappointed at the mpg.. any HELP?? thanks.

#4000 of 8644 Re: Cam seals. [terumi1] by xwesx

Jan 04, 2005 (3:14 pm)

Replying to: terumi1 (Jan 04, 2005 2:36 pm)
Glad to hear your rig is still running so well after the spendy maintenance!
 
After a record-long run of just over 3 months with no lighting of the dreaded and annoying CEL, it is back in action. I'm a little torn about it this time. It will light (seeminly) randomly, then turn off about 3-4 days later in the same manner. The car doesn't seem to operate any differently in any respect other than my gas mileage is worse than it has ever been before. Every winter the mileage drops off more than it did the previous year, but last time I filled up I put in 12.5 gallons after 192 miles. Ouch. Sure, it was -30F or so here most of that time, but even during cold spells I've never had to fill up more frequent than 250 miles (average about 13.5 gallons/fill up). I've been lazy about replacing the spark plugs; I should have done it a couple months ago along with timing belt, fuel filter, etc., but other than mpg, the car's performance has never been better. The usual $85 or so flat fee for hooking this puppy up to a diagnostic is more than my meager budget can muster right now.
 
Any general suggestions?

#4001 of 8644 Frozen doors and windows by btettemer

Jan 04, 2005 (8:32 pm)

This is our first winter with our 2004 OBW. After the most recent blast of snow we recieved, the OB's doors were frozen shut. It seems moisture seeps between the windows and the rubber stripping. Froze the windows shut too. Is this a common occurance with OBs? Any solutions. I read about silicone, and will apply it for sure.

#4002 of 8644 Re: Cam seals. [xwesx] by terumi1

Jan 04, 2005 (10:09 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Jan 04, 2005 3:14 pm)
Well, I can only relate what the dealer did. Which is what improved the gas mileage. I think it was on a previous post, the laundry list.
 
But to try and re-create it here:
 
-new spark plugs (platinum)
-new spark plug wires
-flush throttle body valve
-flush fuel injectors
-flushed the engine of accumulated goo (Dont know how they did this...whether it was a machine doing something under pressure, or whether it was a solvent of some sort)
-new air filter
 
The other stuff (camshaft seals, etc...), I dont think the dealer was representing as a big mpg changer. I think it was mostly the stuff listed above. With an emphasis on the flushing of the systems listed above. I think they were the big ticket items.
 
ANC is beautiful...but it does come with its harsh winters! Summers, however, are tremendously fun.

#4003 of 8644 Re: gas mileage troubles [pauly] by rob_m

Jan 05, 2005 (6:02 am)

Replying to: pauly (Jan 04, 2005 3:13 pm)
How many miles on the car? How many mpg has it dropped?
 
FWIW, I never got more than 24 highway with my 96 Outback, 26 with the 99 GT Sedan, and range 22-24 with the 03 Outback. Rob M.

Messages Page 401 of 865

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