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Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions
18392 messages, Last post on Dec 06, 2009 at 11:11 AM
You are in the Subaru Crew Forum. Your Host is kcram
Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.
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Replying to: robotb9 (Jun 16, 2009 11:51 am) Now for the transmission. This particular car I know little about, but in general it is not a very good idea to shift any transmission while it is under a full load. Even in an auto, I back off the load before I force a downshift on an auto. Yes, I know it has clutches inside it. But those do not work like most people think they do! They work completely opposite of a manual setup. Bottom line is you are forcing parts to change position while under a load and that can get nasty at times especially if you decide to put it in "R" for Race as the old joke goes then wondering why it blew all apart. Again, for safety sake, that person needs to be in the back seat!
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (Jun 16, 2009 2:00 pm) I am hoping for an answer to the question about the transmission itself: what sort of damage could have occurred? |
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (Jun 14, 2009 3:28 pm) I did find both A/C charging valves were bad, (an engineer friend found these with less than a 5 minute glance under the hood). One of these is located right near the air intake for the cabin. This was after the heater box was replaced and I was still having problems. Several people/mechanics have suggested that there is a coolant leak (none from Subaru, however). So, you are dead on. No one has mentioned the evap core. I'll have to look into that as well. Unfortunately, I have no way to check for heater core leak, as it is inside the heater box and relatively inaccessible. Then, there is the other "known" Subaru problem of some oil on a gasket that can last for 15 months+. So, yes, I've definitely been breathing the refrigerant, and it is not nice stuff to be breathing. I've also been breathing the oil blend that was on this gasket which also causes a window film. And then again, there could be other items that I am breathing and these in combination do who knows what to me. I'm just hoping that I don't end up with the multiple chemical sensitivity problems that you have and that once Subaru agrees to replace my Forester with another that I will be home free with no permanent damage. At this point, I can't be sure of that however. Sorry to hear of your health issues as well. I have some friends who have similar problems, some of which are very debilitating. Thanks for your comments.
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Replying to: smudgejet (Jun 12, 2009 5:27 am) That is why I don't think it is a typical problem and am surprised Subaru won't just do the right thing and swap this car out for another like vehicle. I suppose the lawyers are worried about admitting anything is wrong. |
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Replying to: sgloon (Jun 16, 2009 5:46 pm) Can't complain about ours, it's been great. New car smell has subsided and my wife is thrilled overall. Funny thing is my 1998 model has a far worse smell than the 2009, in fact I used to call it "new car stench". |
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (Jun 16, 2009 11:12 am) I am driving a 2000 (hence user name) Forester. As of this post it has 296,856 miles on it. Over the last two fill ups I am getting 25+ mpg. At time the engine runs smooth as glass. Other times it has a slight miss. I reset the codes today (P0301 & 0420). The Forester leaks a drop or two sitting overnight. When I am underneath the car, I see some sepage. I thought about steam cleaning the engine to locate it. But am waiting to hear the pros & cons. I have lost a little less that a quart after 4K miles of driving. Speaking of driving, I average 84.6 miles a day. With 64 miles of that on the highway. I am basically a highway drive (62 mph) with a heavy use of my cruise control (even at 35-40 mph).
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Replying to: phil2000 (Jun 17, 2009 11:40 am) I wouldn't even think twice/worry about that unless it increases noticeably. Your driving style & habits are made for getting the kind of high mileage/long life you have IMO. |
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Replying to: phil2000 (Jun 17, 2009 11:40 am) 4k miles/quart doesn't even validate the cost of steam cleaning!  Potential wet wires, coils, etc. may come with the cleaning. |
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Replying to: robotb9 (Jun 16, 2009 2:43 pm)
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Replying to: phil2000 (Jun 17, 2009 11:40 am) You, like my older brother, drive the heck out of these things. He brings his all the way from St.Louis area to Baton Rouge area for me to pull service on a pm basis. He is currently dropping 5K a month on an 03. It is overdue for for second timing belt change and a lot of major pm. Sounds simple.....not. Class one coming. I have been watching for years since the first timing belt units came out trying to beat the auto industry at their game in making older cars self destruct if you forget to maintain something. I think you have already learned that ordeal. One past time is shopping for parts at a junk yard or deciding more recently what new car to buy, Lots of forensic info out there. I look at odometers of so many knowing the average person only does gas and maybe oil. 100K is nothing. 150k is still a piece of junk off the showroom floor. Subaru's though have always caught my attention. 170K to 200K and in the yard they go. They can be very hard to determine why they are even in the yard. I think most people just say, "its time for a new one." Wrong. There is a lot of life left in these things, if you do not mind paying the penalty at the pump. So the battle continues with OEM looking for ways to junk them out quicker while I look for ways to keep them longer. Class lesson two: This was a hard learned one!!!! Experience has taught me the best way to handle a timing belt unit is crank, cam and belt at first belt change. 2nd belt change is fun. Everything that has to do with that belt hits the trash. Belt, seals, idlers, tensioners and water pump. Any one of these as I think you have noticed fails, and you have bought at least a valve job for a headache. No leaks aloud in that area! Use a good quality belt. In fact it never pays to use cheap parts At that point, you might as well service the rest of the cooling system with new hoses and thermostat. You are in there spend a little more time for reliabilty. Oh, you may have already noticed, wheel bearings are pretty dry at this point. If you burn one of them up, you also have to replace the housing assembly. Working on a way right now not to have to pull those bearings out after 200K. Will be testing it out next half shaft change. Use only synthetic grease in those bearings. You definitely have discovered one of the best kept secrets in auto repair. Use that cruise control and limit jack rabbit starts. Keep top speed down. 60-65 makes that engine last even longer especially with a 5 speed manual. I am starting to see a few 6 speeds coming out on the market now. The lower you keep that engine rpm, the longer it lasts. Run it like a diesel keeping under 2000 rpms and 300K miles is easy to achieve! Exactly why auto makers do not want to put in six speeds. I have found 1.5 to 1.6 liter with a 5 speed tranny or better to give the best overall mpg using as much coasting I can get away with. That puts quit a punch into mpg towards the thought of a hybrid. Another good secrete is a dealer who will work with you on inside info. Since my units are higher mileage than the dealer I deal with, deals with, I pass service info back to him for his customers. One bit of such info is most likely part of your oil leak. When I bought a new crank gallery cover, which is a failure item on the original plastic ones. I wanted a new "O" ring for the other oil gallery cover. he told me, never had one fail. I told him that "O" is not worth my time to go back after if it does. He told me it is $5. I told him no problem, I want one. A week later, while waiting for parts to come in, I told him it was a good call. After cleaning the back of the engine, both that "O" ring and that gallery cover had small leaks. The rear main seal was dry as a bone. Always change that seal when you are back there! reason is, with a mineral based oil, seals dry out then they begin to cut a ridge in the shaft making a worse leakage problem when you do repair a leak. Yup, they make those redi-sleeves, but they do not last long. Take your vin to a dealer and check the rear of the engine to see if you have those covers back there. If so, I will lay big odds those are your leaks! Every one I have seen so far has done it! Oh, I had to find and use a hand held impact driver to remove the screws. As for cleaning, I use a warm engine with a bit of engine cleaner, brush and hose off with a garden hose. Try to avoid electronics. This has worked okay with the 94, 97 and a little bit has been done to the 03. proceed with caution on your 00 since I have not done much cleaning on the 03 here. I hesitate on steam cleaning for two reasons. Steam rises, sometimes into electrical parts you wish you never saw the price tag on. Hence why I say a warm, but not hot engine. Second, most steam cleaners operate at too high of a pressure causing impact damage to sensitive parts. The 97 is a Brighton wagon weighing at a truck scale at 3000lbs. It has been pulling according to my brother about 28 mpg usual to a rare best 32 mpg. I suspect the Forester to pushing better than 3500lbs. So you are doing well given the mileage and weight, but if you are like me, you are looking for a way to draw out another mpg out of it. One thought about the miss. Looking at a few junk car units in the past, I found a high voltage crack on the back side of the coil facing towards the intake manifold on a couple of 100+K units. Might pay to pull off the coil and look for flash markings and any small cracks in the case. Be nice to nail that misfire problem with that thought. Those parts are pricey, so try to get one from O'Reilly's with a lifetime warranty. Keep the receipt in a file. Class over....chuckle. Nice to have a student. Am curious if you have had any trouble with half shaft play on the inboard CV joints fitting on the output shaft coming out of the transaxle. If so, what was the remedy? We are slowly testing the current solution to see how it holds up.
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