dhewitt

Tirerack is the best. They'll ship to you or your favorite mechanic if you like. Great prices and the survey results are the best consumer info out there. I got Kumho Solus for our 03 Outback and they're great.

I guess I paid more for my peace of mind with regard to the rack. Just sold my old, reliable Toyota pickup (22RE) and now I want that Soob to last through anything for me. And I'm pretty sure the rack is bad, not just a hose. Both boots were full of fluid and soft. It's pretty substantial. Could a hose do that? Two dealers I called for prices said that they had seen a "fair" number of bad racks come through on 2002-2004 models. They were independent dealers and both said the same thing, so unless they're running a game, maybe it's not too uncommon?? Or else I have real bad luck... maybe my time was up. As for the PCV, they sent an old one - PN 11810AA000. New one on the way. That old one has way bigger ends.

Thank you very much for the offer, but we went ahead and ordered a new one from a dealer. Frankly, I have no idea if the 97 gear would fit the 03.

Folks here (incl. nipper, gary) helped me diagnose and locate the problem with our 2003 Outback. We had a leak somewhere around the inner tie rod on the driver's side. Turns out it is the rack leaking, as nipper originally suggested. The power steering level wasn't dropping because the boots were holding all the fluid and leaking very slightly. But, gonna need a new one it seems. Any suggestions on where to look for a reman'ed OE Subaru rack? Also, ordered a PCV valve for this rig (2.5 4 cyl.) from subarupartsforyou online, but it is definitely not the right one. I'll check with them, but has anyone had this problem? The one they sent is threaded and way bigger than what's in there. What would I do without USMB?

Alrighty then... went with the NGK G-Power single-tipped platinums. Thanks all.

Last time I changed the plugs on our Outback, I used some platinum plugs (I forget what brand). The MPG dropped a good bit and two Soob dealers in the area recommended avoiding platinum plugs and going back to regular ones. So we picked up regular NGKs and MPG picked back up. It's time for another change and I wanted to see what brands and types people have had good success with on the ej25 in our outback. I looked at online dealer for parts and they listed the OEM as platinum (no brand specified), which seemed odd given the dealer recommendations. People out there have preferences? The choices seem endless - copper, iridium, platinum. Thanks.

You didn't say what brand axle you used, but NAPA seems to cause problems a lot. I can add our '04 Outback to the list of rigs that hate NAPA axles. Went through three before we finally put in an MWE and the problem went away.

enough to notice, but really not that much. not dripping off and making puddles, but a couple places looked like there was enough to make drips.

Sort of a continuation of an old thread (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85699), but the thread topic no longer matches the material... so here goes. I had discovered some oil/grease leaking from somewhere near the driver's side tie rod boot, just below and behind the axle entry point. Suggestions were to clean the area and better diagnose the leak point, as it might have been the rack leaking PS fluid. Not the PS fluid, so I'm wondering if there's an escape point from the engine that this could be engine oil. Engine oil level is down a good bit. Is there a seal or something in this area that could be the culprit?

the second link that came up in Google got me... i should have known better (obviously) http://www.geocities.com/changeyourblinkerfluid/blinkerfluid1.html Looks like an oil dipstick to me now that I think of it. Awesome

Seriously, I had no idea there was such a thing. I'm guessing I don't have this on my old 95 Toyota pickup... I thought y'all were joking.

I haven't gotten a P0400 CEL code yet, and other than that I don't know anything about an EGR.

huh?

Hope its not too much trouble to revisit this old-ish thread... I think the rack's gonna need work... it was the tie rod boot leaking. Glad we found that now before we leave on a 4,000 mile road trip. On the idle surges, it seems to have turned into a little something else. No more big surges, but now when it starts up it tends to jump around subtly. Jump up to 2000 or so, down to 1500, then kicks up a few hundred, drops back, etc. If I tap the accelerator to break the routine, it drops down to 1000 or so, but still ticks up and down at intervals of 5-10 seconds. Seems not to find its comfortable "place". Any ideas?

Thanks y'all (gonna have to drop that in Oregon I think)... Here's the list. Let me know if anything's missing. I think I summed it up. MECHANIC-- Oil and filter change Coolant flush/cooling system/hose inspection (Subaru only hoses if needed; check if coolent replaced with water pump change?) PCV valve Spark plugs Thermostat Transmission/diff. gear oil/ATF check/replacement Axle/wheel bearing lubrication checks Brake check ME-- Windshield wipers Gas cap Air filter check Tire pressure Fluid checks I presume I should get the gas cap, thermostat, PCV valve, hoses (if needed), and plugs from an online Subaru dealer? I'm actually looking forward to this trip, except for the pain in my ace that's sure to develop from the rock hard Soob seats.

You guys have been awesome helping me out in the past, and I come calling again. Hope it's not too much trouble. I'm pretty religious with the "by-the-book" maintenance on our 2003 Outback (4 cyl., auto trans), but our impending trip from Virginia to Oregon -- a family move -- has me wondering what else needs to be done. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. I have a great mechanic here that I know and trust and would like to have him get things in order before we take off. We're moving to a place that actually has snow (our Soob will be right at home), so preparatory work may be needed as well. * What's been done -- current mileage ~96,000 Oil and filter changes every ~4,000-5,000 miles Tire rotations every ~7,500-10,000 (new tires at 69,000) New brake pads and air filters as needed (the book interval) New fuel filter at 40,000 Coolant flush at 40,000 New spark plugs at 63,000 Brake fluid flush at 77,000 New front rotors at 80,000 New fuel filter at 89,000 Timing belt, both drive belts, thermostat, water pump at 91,500 Front pass. side axle half-shaft replaced at 92,000 * Looks like it ought to be done by the book before we leave: ? Coolant flush and cooling system inspection ? Fuel filter ? Air filter (need to check) ? Transmission/gear oil checks ? Axle shaft checks ? Wheel bearing lubrication check (huh?) (Also currently looking to assess/fix a possible rack leak of power steering fluid.)

It's a touch under the full mark, but nothing dramatic. I'm not sure if it's lower than usual, as I don't tend to add milliliters of fluid to keep everything right at full. For the amount of "wetness" around the area near the tie rod end, it seems like there would be more of a leak. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

Thanks for the clarification on the air intake tube... makes sense now. Mine looks like what you describe. And YES, that's the tie rod end boot that's the culprit. Does it make sense for that to be leaking? Is it serious? The grease/oil is coming from the "cupped" end closest the engine.

Gary, thanks for the help and for bearing with me. Now I'm starting to wonder if I DID check the right things. I am assuming that the air intake tube is the the big black plastic tube that starts at the front attached to the frame and sits over the radiator top. It's flattened top-bottom at that point and goes back along the passenger side toward the air filter box. I followed that tube back and didn't find any little hoses. In fact, until you get to the box for the air filter there are no "hoses" that aren't hard plastic. In front of the strut tower is a couple black plastic boxes that connect up to the main tube, but they're big. What I am I missing here? I did notice that there is a small round hole (looks original) on the backside of the main tube about a foot back from the entrance point near the fender, which seemed odd. For what it's worth, the big tubes all seemed well connected. I didn't find the "beeline" hose you referred to. I searched around for photos on here but wasn't able to clarify for myself. While I was in there, I checked on the passenger side axle that we had replaced (with MWE). I can still smell the grease that had leaked out of the bad one burning off (which is normal I understand), but was curious to see that all was well. I found a boot on the driver's side on a connection from the wheel to the engine that was leaking. It's not the driver's side axle, but a straight bolt type connection that's below and forward of the axle connection -- tie rod?? The boot (different looking than the boot on the axle) is leaking a thin grease/oil and it's slung out on the exhaust pipe and other parts. I'm thinking this is a source of the smell. Does a tie rod have a boot? Is this serious?

I did answer about the history of the thing, but the result was that my wife says it's been doing it "for a while" and wasn't sure if it was before or after the timing belt change. My guess is no; she's tending to forget the old Soob now that she has a new vehicle. And... At the timing belt change we had the IACV cleaned because the mechanic was trying to sort out that vibration-at-idle axle problem. I just spoke with him and he said it was cleaned thoroughly, so I doubt cleaning it again will fix it. I'm leaning towards just ordering a new IACV and trying that first. And I checked the right air tubes... I'm not THAT bad. The plugs are pretty new... changed at the indicated intervals (initially with platinum, which underperformed and were then replaced with good 'ol regulars). New IACV make sense as a starting point?

No CELs The infrequent nature of the thing is what's odd to me.

I would have answered No, that it has just started this, until my wife last night indicated that it did this to her occasionally when it was "her" car. I can't be sure we're describing the same thing, but she was convinced. So I'll say that it has done it occasionally for "a while". Can you explain a little more what you mean by the loose connection? I checked the plastic tube running from the grill back to the engine and all connections seem fine. What about an IACV? I've read on here about people needing new ones to solve idling issues (go figure). Maybe time to try that, since it's relatively cheap?

95,000 Has had the timing belt and some other associated work done (water pump, thermostat).

Our '03 Subaru Outback seems to have developed a bit of an issue in regulating the engine RPMs on start-up. A few times now it has revved the RPMs up normally just after starting, but then the RPMs drop pretty fast and go too low. The computer catches the mistake and revs the RPMs way back up to like 2000 or more. The engine shudders a bit, but then the RPMs seem to return to normal idle and everything is cool. I've noticed no other issues related to normal operation. Any ideas?

Sorry, I forgot to post the car specs. It's an '03 Outback, standard 4 cyl. auto trans. with 95000 miles on it. I'll post back if the Soob one fixes the problem.