mountainwalker

heartless, do you mean check the center of the outside tire tread (which will be warm anyway) or the center of tire around the hub? Thanks all for the good advice. Much appreciated.

The wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr sound my wife and I heard when driving on curves over 25-30 mph when curving right and left, uphill or downhill, powered or unpowered, which seemed to be coming from the front of the car, was caused by a bad wheel bearing, apparently the Left Front. It could be entirely unrelated, but it happened not long after replacing the axle after the R Front CV boot blew open after it was hit hard by some road debris on the highway + wheels aligned. This is for a 2003 3.0 L H6 VDC Outback 2003 in excellent condition, at 106K miles. Our very good independent garage mechanic recommended about a month or two ago to drive on it a little longer, so that we could be 100% sure which wheel the noise is coming from. Seems clear right now it's the Left Front. He said it wouldn't cause any further harm driving on it longer. It is getting progressively louder to the point where we can hear extra noise in the background even when driving straight. Two questions: 1) A service rep at our local Subaru dealer claimed driving on the bad bearing longer could cause damage to the hub and housing, resulting in a more costly repair. True or not? Who is right - the dealer or the good reliable indie garage mechanic? Note that however many parts need to be replaced or whatever the labor, the dealer costs 2x as much as our very capable independent garage. 2) Does a $585 estimate by the independent garage for parts and labor for replacing the front hub and wheel bearings sound right to you? The dealer quoted $550 parts and labor for just the bearing replacement; an additional $176 for the hub parts if those are necessary, and an additional $294 labor plus more $$$ in parts for the housing if that's necessary.

So the wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr sound my wife and I heard when driving on curves over 25-30 mph when curving right and left, uphill or downhill, powered or unpowered, which seemed to be coming from the front of the car, was caused by a bad wheel bearing, apparently the Left Front. It could be entirely unrelated, but it happened not long after replacing the axle after the R Front CV boot blew open after it was hit hard by some road debris on the highway + wheels aligned. This is for a 2003 3.0 L H6 VDC Outback 2003 in excellent condition, at 106K miles. Our very good independent garage mechanic recommended about a month or two ago to drive on it a little longer, so that we could be 100% sure which wheel the noise is coming from. Seems clear right now it's the Left Front. He said it wouldn't cause any further harm driving on it longer. It is getting progressively louder to the point where we can hear extra noise in the background even when driving straight. Two questions: 1) A service rep at our local Subaru dealer claimed driving on the bad bearing longer could cause damage to the hub and housing, resulting in a more costly repair. True or not? Note that however many parts need to be replaced or whatever the labor, the dealer costs 2x as much as our very capable independent garage. 2) Does a $585 estimate by the independent garage for parts and labor for replacing the front hub and wheel bearings sound right to you? The dealer quoted $550 parts and labor for just the bearing replacement; an additional $176 for the hub parts if those are necessary, and an additional $294 labor plus more $$$ in parts for the housing if that's necessary.

Is the load index noted on the tire or on manufacturers specs online? What does the load index translate to? 89 = ? 93 = ?

Thanks Nipper, in our case we're talking about just heading to snow country in the Sierra Nevada mountains once in a few weeks. Only the last 1/3 or 1/4 of such drives can have snow and we carry chains. We hardly get a flake of snow where we live, so we only use quality all weather tires.

For 3.0 Liter engines, the Subaru manual recommends 8.4 US qt (7.9L or 7.0 Imp qt) and recommends using either Subaru genuine (of course) or an equivalent: a mixture of 50% soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant. Which non-OEM ethylene-glycol basis coolant do you recommend? Likely much cheaper at Walmart or other store than buying OEM from dealer, and in this case OEM likely makes no difference. I'll use R/O water as we have an R/O filter. Just realized - I have no idea if the Subaru dealer who did our 90K servicing (we're at 105K now) already added Subaru OEM coolant conditioner to the coolant, which they likely replaced at that service. If I don't replace the coolant now, I would be adding a second helping - anyone know if that's safe?

How much would you bump down tire pressure for driving on snow? For driving on snow at 8-9,000 ft altitude? And for driving on snow fully loaded with driver, 3 adult passengers and cargo (say 175 lbs driver plus 650 lbs passengers and cargo)? Love to hear from people who live or often drive in mountain and snow country. With this I'm more than squared away on Subie Outback tire pressure LOL.

This sounds perfectly logical. However, the Subaru recommended inflation numbers in the door of the vehicle - 30F and 29 rear cold, are way too low for a good balance of fuel economy, tire wear, handling under different weights (one driver no cargo versus one driver 3 passengers plus cargo), etc. Also the Subaru door sticker says the rear tires are at 32 PSI when in towing mode (I'm assuming this means you should be at 32 PSI cold rear when towing, which I think is too low, especially with passengers in the back). Without passengers in the back 30F and 29R are low, but with passengers and cargo, you are going to ride too low in the back and handling is going to suffer. Subaru also recommends adding to the above number 1 PSI for every 40 lbs increase in weight. That bumps you up ridiculously high if you follow it to the letter. So whether its the engineers or the business folk or the lawyers at Subaru, someone is fudging the math. Thus the best rated Subaru dealer in our area fills all Subaru Outback tires, front and rear, to 34 PSI cold. They do this as a best practice to account for the fact that most drivers will drive under a variety of weights - again single driver, versus driver plus occupants plus cargo. The service manager there said he's recommend 34F 34R cold, or 34F and 33R cold. He said having all 4 wheels at the same PSI would not harm the drive train because of the central differential. I'm just repeating his words, not saying he's right. He added that for trip driving under heavier load (say 3 adult passengers plus 150lbs or so in cargo) he would add 1 PSI to the 34F and 34R cold recommendation, but reduce that after the trip. Keep in mind that our area sees fairly moderate winter temperatures. Winter lowland 32F minimum at night and 65 max daytime, and winter mountain ski area 15-20F at night and 40F typical daytime. Based on my experimentation and the above conflicting Subaru door sticker and Subaru dealer guidelines, I'm thinking that 34F and 33R is best for most daily driving, when driving by yourself or with just one passenger upfront, to account for engine weight. And that for a weekend trip with one passenger and light cargo you could stay the same, or with a bit more cargo or a rear hitch bike carrier bump to 34F 34R, and for a fully loaded trip with 3 passengers and cargo, you're best at 34 or 35 all around.

Before I found out that the best local Subaru dealer parts department had the black OEM H6 filters, I picked up a Purolator PureOne. Would you use the Black OEM H6 filters first? I'll be running Mobile 1 0W30 synthetic and changing oil every 5,000K.

Said they were still being produced for the H6 engines. Not sure if true, just sharing what he said.

The sound we have is so subtle that it would not be noticed except by someone who drove our car before the 90K service and who has a good ear. It's not serious. I'm sure it's a tight belt or pulleys related to the fan.

Based on what the dealer service manager had to say, Subaru should issue an announcement that everyone with an H6 should be adding the coolant Subaru requires for the 4 cylinder vehicles. It may be minimal protection, but for $2, I'm glad to have it. Thanks again for all the good advice.

Thanks Dave. With all the nightmares I read about head gasket failures (mostly in 4 cylinder vehicles), I wanted to do anything to avoid that.

Is coolant sold in one size that will suffice for what I'll need? Sorry for the question but I've never had to buy it myself before. Vacuum draining machines are ok though? When I asked the Subaru parts dealer which coolant they had, they described it as the "blue green stuff." Very helpful LOL. Which do you mean by the old green? And if I buy from Walmart or an auto parts store, which coolant to get? Our tap water comes from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite and is 8.4-8.6 pH and 0 ppm dissolved solids - don't think you can get softer than that. We have an R/O filter as well, though with water this soft out of the tap, is R/O necessary?

For 3.0 Liter engines, the Subaru manual recommends 8.4 US qt (7.9L or 7.0 Imp qt) and recommends using either Subaru genuine (of course) or an equivalent: a mixture of 50% soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant.

Thanks Porcupine73. What type of coolant is recommended and would you know how much (I'll check my manual as well)? Does it come in a standard volume? If I'm going to replace the coolant it will probably be cheaper for me to pick it up from Walmart or another discount store before I take it in to the indie garage. The coolant should have been replaced at the 90K servicing, which was done by a Subaru dealer (we had a good deal and the car was still under a Gold Plus coverage program at the time). A Subaru owner I met at the Subaru dealer parts department where I picked up Black OEM oil filters and coolant conditioner warned against using a power flushing system which could push bits of metal and gunk into the engine. Is this vacuum device anything like that?

So I shouldn't replace the coolant with fresh coolant? Going to indie garage so important I let them know what should be done. Do I have to go to the dealer for a lot more $ just to replace the coolant? Going to pick up the Subaru OEM coolant additive ($2) which Subaru doesn't require but recommends for the H6 engines.

Spoke with Marashall, was very helpful, thinks whirring sound is from a bearing issue, recommended I go someplace where I can bank right and bank left to full extent of wheel turn range and see if sound louder on one side (so far during driving have heard same sound turning right and left, but haven't come close to edge of steering range). Anyway if anyone interested, his axles for my model year run $95, with $35 shipping (I believe $95 for all model years 2000 and up).

Dave, whine increases at same rate as acceleration. This isn't a very loud whine, it's subtle - many casual drivers would miss it, but I always pick up on the slightest change in a machine. Used to sound fully smooth before, and now it just has this subtle higher pitch whine - I'm fairly sure it's related to the fan.

Where can you get MWE rebuilt Subaru axles? Can our indie garage order them directly? Can't help but laugh or cry thinking that we could be buying back our own rebuilt original axle LOL.

LOL no they don't charge for air, and we only go there when we have to shop for regular things. By 35 PSI do you mean 35 cold or 35 hot? If 35 cold (which is roughly 37 hot), we found the ride gets hard/jarring above 34 cold (36 hot). Also you can lose a bit of traction. I'm finding 34 cold (36 hot) is about optimal balance of fuel efficiency/ride/traction when not carrying heavier loads. What did you mean by "you wont really have any additional weight in the car to cause any pros/or cons with extra weight for shirtish trips." For a camping or backpacking trip with 3 adult passengers in addition to me, that's over 600 lbs extra that I don't lug around every day. And a biking trip with one passenger can be an extra 250 lbs I don't lug around every day. Outside of trips my typical load when it's not just me is one adult passenger 135-180 lbs and groceries/supplies of about 80-100 lbs.

At Subaruoutback.org forums, 1 Lucky Texan said: "I have had no problem with the EMPI axle I put on my Outback. So far, I'd have no problem getting another one. (they are new and properly heatreated - purchase from Rockauto or Amazon, probably other places) Knowing what I know now, I would also consider getting an MWE (they are well-rebuilt original Subaru axles, purchase through CCRengines.com w'ever) If I was a major DIY-er, I'd rebuild my own axle. You can find instructions for that on-line. I would avoid any other rebuilt axles I think. hard to speak to the money side of your question. Axles can vary in price but should be $90 +/-20-30 $ I think. Sometimes free shipping. I might not be able to sleep at night if I charged someone more than an hour - 90 minutes of labor. having done this once, I bet I could change one in 45 minutes. A GOOD indie mech should have no problem with this." Anyone have any experience with the

It was an aftermarket axle. Unfortunately I didn't see the warning about aftermarket axles until AFTER I came back from the garage. Our independent garage is excellent, and while the mechanic works on Subies, they are not Subaru specialists. They are however a much better value than the Subaru dealers, do good work and provide good advice. The mechanic explained that replacing the whole axle would be cheaper by over $100 than replacing just the CV boot, and not knowing anything more about it I went for the seemingly better value. The service manager at the best Subaru dealer near me quoted the cost of a new Subaru axle at $410 and a remanufactured one at $200 (and I bet that's without labor). 1) Would you replace the aftermarket axle with a remanunfactured or new axle? Will a reman be just as good? It will probably be no worse than the original axles on my other 3 wheels. 2) Will a remanufactured Subaru axle be any cheaper through our independent garage, and what do you think would be a fair price for the labor on the axle?

bheinen74, if you mean 34/32 or 35/33 cold, do you think maintaining the 2 PSI difference between front and rear is important? According to the good dealer service manager (he was really sharp and responsible), you are going to carry an extra passenger and/or some cargo in the back enough that you'll want 34/34 cold in there for every day use - no less than 34/33 at least. He also said the PSI difference between the front wheels under the heavy engine and the rear wheels didn't matter because the drive train wouldn't be hurt, because it has a center differential (his words not mine). Make sense?

Yep, $9.49 at a good local dealer, and they say they have a bunch