danz75

This applies somewhat to this question. I have had the opportunity to drive 2 different 04 OBW 2.5 in the last month. One had a ticking sound on cold start but went away after about a minute. The other, the ticking was so faint that you couldn't tell unless you listened carefully. My 03 OBW on the other hand....lets' you know very well and clearly that it ticks...and it does it for awhile longer even after the engine has warmed up. Were there any changes in the engines of the 04 models?

I have an 03 OBW and I recently switched from regular oil to Mobil 1 5W-30. I was under the impression that the piston slap would either go away or that it will be a lot less. Well, after about 4 weeks, I still don't think it is any less and if anything, I think it seems to have a 'brighter' sound. Since I had the car new, I'm starting to wonder if the piston slap thing is getting worse. It's usually worse when it's cold but I've also noticed that it usually only goes away about 5-8 minutes after the car has warmed up. I had the dealer check that out but was told that it's SOA policy that as long as it goes away, it's within specs and so SOA will not do anything. Back to syn, I'm not sure if I've noticed any difference in performance but as long as it will prolong the life of my engine, I'm willing to use it. my $0.02

Thanks for the advice. I took the car in and the service writer did not really know how to describe the problem as he had never seen one like that before. Anyway, the service manager took a look the next day and he said that the window and/installation components were defective so a new window is ordered. It will be replaced next week. Good thing I asked about this otherwise, I might have just let this slip thinking that it was normal and who knows what would have happened? Thanks!!!!

Well, I spoke to the dealer and made an appointment to drop it in Monday. It started about anywhere from 6 mths to a yr ago and initially was just a small bubble. It is slowly spreading across and now has become larger. Has anyone else has ever had this problem???

Thanks for the advice. I notied the bubbles in the frit area on the top left corner and I had just assumed that it was a laminate of somekind that they wanted to hide the back of the plastic molding. I will make an appointment with the dealer tomorrow and get the car in. Are there any key words that I should know of before hand just in case I get brushed off with a ...."it's common and not a problem" answer? Sure glad I asked this question Thanks again!!!

What do you mean when you say the glass is separating a bit? Does this mean that the seal is separating from the glass and therefore through time, it'll be a leaky seal? water getting in etc? What is the black border around the window made of anyway? I just thought it was a film that covered the inside of the plastic molding that is in the cargo area.

I have a 03 OBW and I recently noticed that the window on the rear right(that window that has the black border around with the AWD label on)....the black border at the top left corner of the window is starting to 'develop' some bubbles. I tried to find the cause from the inside but there is molding in the area where the black frame is. My question is....what might be cauing something like that and should I be worried. Initially, I thought it might be a leaky seal but I do not find any evidence(at least where I can see) of water. Is this enough reason to have the dealer inspect it since my warranty is still not up? There are no cracks in the seal or anything on the outside of the window and I just thought that for a car this new(usually garaged too) should not have the black border 'peeling' or bubbling already. Danz

Someone recommended Axxis pads which is also known as PBR. They're about $50/set. I tried them out and was amazed to find that the braking distance is a lot shorter. The pads seem to 'bite' better. I've only put them on for about 2 months and so far, they seem to perform really well. They dust but it comes off pretty easily. As for brake fluid, I used Castrol LMA which was recommended by most on this board. It is really easy to do if you have another person or otherwise, get the vacuum pump( I got mine at Harbour Freight for ~$15) Hope this helps. dan

Is the filter sitting above the sump? I always thought that removing the filter without draining the oil would result in the oil draining through the filter connection point too.

So the question that remains is should I still run 5W30 as recommended by the manufacturer? Thanks for all the tips..... it's been a really great help!

I intend to use Mobile 1 syn since I've heard good things about that and it's widely available. It'll probably take about 2 or more oil changes to purge out the regular oil and should I change the oil at an earlier interval for the first 2? I know that not all the oil will be drained out in a change. What's the interval for regular changes? 5kmi?

Hi, I have a 03 OBW 4cyl AT at 19500mi. I have decided to try using syn oil since it appears that it helps with the ticking and also overall engine reliability... plus not having to change oil so frequently. My question is is it safe to do so at this mileage since I've heard that using syn oil at a high mileage may cause the oil to slip through the seals? Also, I'm currently using Castrol 5w-30 and am thinking if I'm using Mobile 1 but am unsure what rating would be ideal. Suggestions? Thank you

Any advice/recommendations on this? Anyone?

It's time for me to do a transmission fluid/filter change and differential fluid change on my 03 OBW. Almost everyone will say stick to manufacturers transmission fluid and differential fluid. I'm just wondering if there's anything better out there. Just like many on this board recommended Castrol LMA for replacing brake fluid. Other that the local dealer, where's a good place to get a Subaru transmission filter? Thanks a bunch!

Found out this week that the source of the grinding noise came from the rear bearings. Dealer replaced both of them under warranty. I am told that water had gotten into the bearings and there was a lot of rust around the area. I am puzzled by water getting into the bearings and since there is only 19K on the car, it seems a little premature for the bearings to fail. I am not sure if anyone else has experienced this problem. My last subie had 150K on the orignal set of bearings. I am wondering if I should have the fronts checked out too and how would I go about getting the dealer to do it if there is no noise? The car has not been in any accident or bumped a curb or any serious off roading. With daily driving and the occasional long trips, I certainly wouldn't expect bearings to fail this early. danz

Found out this week that the source of the grinding noise came from the rear bearings. Dealer replaced both of them under warranty. I am told that water had gotten into the bearings and there was a lot of rust around the area. I am puzzled by water getting into the bearings and since there is only 19K on the car, it seems a little premature for the bearings to fail. I am not sure if anyone else has experienced this problem. My last subie had 150K on the orignal set of bearings. I am wondering if I should have the fronts checked out too and how would I go about getting the dealer to do it if there is no noise? danz

That was precisely my thought. When I heard that noise, my first thought was maybe the AWD was damaged. Wheel bearings did come to mind but with only 19k mi, I didn't think that was possible...plus that was about 1-2 mi difference in mileage when the car was delivered. I know that the cars probably changed hands at min 3 times..local carrier to national carrier to local carrier again. I am not going to try to claim that with the transport company but rather with the powertrain warranty cause since there has been no accidents, there is no possible way that the bearings could have been subject to un-natural stresses that would cause it to fail. Well, I take the car in Monday and we'll see what happens.

Took my car into Smart Service to get it checked out. Turns out that the sound that I'm hearing is from both rear wheel bearings..with the right one being louder. Now, the car is an 03 and it's got 19000 mi on it. Why would wheel bearings fail on it? Could it have been caused by the transport company and what would have to be done to cause the problem? AWD works fine. No leaks of anysort. I'm hoping that the dealer will accept this under the powertrain warranty. Any thoughts.

Sounds like smart service is an independent dealer. I had my 03 OBW shipped over and there is a faint sound that seems to come from the rear at speeds above 40mph. I tried driving in dirt roads and snow and the AWD does seem to kick in. I can't think of anything else and thought about having the car checked out since it is still under warranty. It's a sound that I've not heard before. Kinda like a turbo-prop sound. Don't think it's the brakes either...tried the e-brake and seems to work fine. Should I try smart service or carter? which will be able to help me better?

Just moved to the area and am looking for a good dealer as the car is still under warranty. Would also appreciate any tips for good subie workshops around here. Thanks!!

Well, I'm going drive into the mountains today just to test and see if the AWD is working. I have to findout because if there's anything wrong, I can still lodge my complain with the shippers (hopefully)...but I'm really hoping that nothing's wrong cause there's always going to be problems when you have to tear something up and replace parts. THanks for the advice...

I just switched jobs and relocated to Washington State. Had my autos shipped which included an 03 OBW. Prior to the shipping, I made sure that the shipper knew that it was an AWD and that the car cannot under any circumstances be towed with 2 wheels off the ground. Since the cars were shipped from Ohio, the shipper informed me that it would be loaded onto a auto carrier and all 4 wheels would be off the ground. Got the cars today and the exterior looked good. Drove it around and didn't really feel anything different. However after a while, I became aware of a low hum sound that seems to be coming from the rear. It is not very obvious but having owned the car for a long time, it stood out to me. I tried doing the turning the car thing to see if the AWD will bind up but it did not do that. Other than drive to a snowy area, is there anyway to test and see if the AWD is fine and that the rear differential has not been damaged? Knowing that the car has been transferred a local flat bed truck that transported the car to Columbus to load it up the auto carrier and then offloaded in Tacoma and transported by another flat bed to Everett, something could have happened in between that I don't know about. Maybe the car hasn't been driven for awhile and the car just needs warmed up?... but like they say, every car owner knows the sound that their own car makes and can tell the differences. Am I on the right track here? Any suggestions?

The sensor is in a hole boh on the front and back of the mirror body. The green light is just an indicator to let you know the auto dimming function status.

Try cleaning the sensors with a little bit of alcohol on a swab. Make sure you get both sensors. I thought mine went out too but turned out that they just needed cleaning. Hope that works.

What would be the right torque on the bleeder screws? I figured if I just put it the way like obw99 described and bleed them right away, any contamination would be removed. My history with callipers that have the bleeder screws stuck is that it will break in the hole and I would have a calliper that I would have to try and drill out the remnants or replace. I just want to do preventive maintenance.