mountainwalker

Hope you all had a nice holiday season. Best wishes for a healthy, happy, peaceful, fun, successful and smooth-driving 2012. About several weeks ago my wife and I started to hear a low but noticeable wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr-wrr sound when driving on curves over 25-30 mph when curving right and left, uphill or downhill, powered or unpowered, and it seemed to be coming from the front of the car (wheels/axles/steering). Could this be related to the replacement of the axle after the CV boot blew? We've got a 2003 3.0 L H6 VDC Outback 2003 in excellent condition, at 105,466 miles, and about to perform the 105K inspection and servicing, which is a minor servicing. Brake pads were replaced only a few months ago, the axle was replaced a few months ago when the CV boot was blown open, and the wheels were aligned a little before we started hearing the whirring noise on curves. Tried looking it up and found references to a noise like this possibly being caused by: - Wheel bearings CV joint / axle -Grinding on front wheel caused by either a bad or loose wheel bearing or worn out brakes -Tire rubbing against the inner fender -Backer plate on the brakes rubbing the rotor (brake pad clearance is close and sometimes turning will result in a light scraping of the brakes against the rotor) -Check the level of fluid in the power steering -Steering column Any ideas?

Hope you can help with advice on an optimal inflation level for our driving conditions given that the recommended Subaru numbers seem way low and deliver lower mpg. The recommended tire pressure for our 2003 Outback VDC 3L H6 is 30 PSI front, 29 PSI rear on the sticker in the driver's side door well. That seemed way low and delivered lower mpg and poorer/softer handling. However, a nearby Subaru dealer recommends adding 1 PSI for each additional 40 lbs., whether passengers or cargo. My wife is usually with me for 50% of driving during weekdays and nearly 90% on weekends, and that adds another 130 lbs, not to mention we’re either hauling groceries on weekends or taking two friends on hiking/backpacking/cycling trips (add another 300-350 lbs in the rear seat) and either a bicycle hitch (add 35 lbs) and two bikes (add 50 lbs) OR hiking/backpacking gear (add 40-100 lbs depending on trip and number of people). In addition, 95% of our driving is in the mild close to sea level San Francisco Bay Area, dry for 6 months out of the year with sunny daytime temps of 75-85F and nighttime of 55-60F, and winter daytime temps of 50-65F with alternating sun and cloudy rainy windy days and winter nighttime temps of 35-45F. We take winter trips into higher snowy elevations in Tahoe, Yosemite and other locations, up to altitudes of about 8000 feet. Our high performance tires can be inflated up to 44 PSI. We typically inflate with Costco blend of 90% nitrogen and 10% oxygen so that the tires are less prone to expansion and contraction due to changes in weather. The Subaru recommended number seems way low, and the car gets lower mpg at this inflation and softer/poorer handling. On the advice of one local Subaru dealer service guy, we inflated all the tires to 34 PSI. Found this even a bit low, and inflated to 36 PSI in all tires, which of course gives us better mpg. Questions: 1) What would be the optimal tire inflation level for us for late spring, summer and early fall in our area given our weekday and weekend use and not having to constantly adjust tire pressure up for weekends and down for weekdays? 2) What would be the optimal tire inflation level for us for late fall, winter and early spring? 3) Should we be inflating 1 PSI lower in the rear following the original Subaru recommendation in on the sticker in the driver’s side door well? 4) Based on the recommended typical inflation for our regular conditions, should we inflate the tires more for venturing into the snowy mountains, and if so, how much more? 5) Will the Costco 90% nitrogen and 10% oxygen mix contract much in cold weather in the mountains? 6) Why would Subaru have originally recommended such a ridiculously low inflation of 30 front and 29 rear?

About two weeks ago I noticed that our Subaru Outback 2003 pulled the steering wheel slightly to the left when stopping at higher speeds (when stopping from 30-40 mph to a stop at a light, as opposed to a slow speed stop going into a driveway, where the pull isn’t noticed). I also noticed upon stopping moving in reverse a little suspension metal creaking noise from the left front wheel. I also perceive very slight higher rolling resistance, and I’m usually quite accurate about picking up subtle changes in performance. I’m having the car inspected and aligned as I post this. The following things happened before I noticed this: 1) Brake pads replaced about two months before 2) Right before I noticed the change, went from 36 PSI 90% nitrogen 10% oxygen Costco tire fill in all wheels to 38 in all wheels. Oddly thought the car rolled with a little more resistance rather than less as the case should be 3) Had to make a very sharp 160 degree turn coming down a mountain and I’ve read that a very sharp turn can throw off alignment or loosen a tie rod end I’ve thought of the following causes – which do you think most likely or can you think of another? 1) Loose left/driver’s side tie rod end which connects steering wheel to left front wheel 2) Left front brake caliper slightly touching when in motion and grabbing too tightly when stopping 3) Suspension issue left front Sincerely appreciate any advice you can offer. You guys were awesome in helping ID and fix a trailer hitch issue and identify the source of a grease leak.

Some people who have this Thule Ridgeline 4 bike carrier mentioned that sometimes the cable that locks the bikes to the hitch rack, which is stored in the hitch arms, can come out and drag along the road and get ruined - though I couldn't pull that cable long enough to come anywhere near the ground. Anyone experience this with a Thule Ridgeline 4 Bike Carrier or similar unit, and if so, what's the best way to prevent it?

After 2 days of dissolving crud and brushing and scraping it, should be fine by tomorrow. Hopefully. Then I'll probably use bearing grease to keep things sliding nicely. My only limitation has been that I couldn't find a straight brush longer than 7-8 in. that would fit in the 1 1/4 in. hitch receiver.

I'm betting it's not a notch and just some crud that needs to be cleaned off inside walls. TiBug at SubaruOutback.org recommended: "I work at a bike shop; last year I was helping a customer install a hitch rack on her vehicle. The hitch had been unused for years, so it was rusted and it was impossible to get the rack in. I just used a metal file to get rid of the rust (took a good five minutes of constant filing) and removed all the debris with a brush, then the rack slid in nicely. I would also recommend using PB blaster instead of WD40...PB Blaster absolutely eats through rust and I think you'll have better results with it. Regardless, you should get as much of the debris out as possible...I'm thinking that a long handled straight brush would be great help to you, so the answer to your first question, in my opinion, is YES. I don't know of any long term rust-prevention coating that would stand up to repeated installation and removal of the rack. I wouldn't bother with trying to coat it; just get as much of the rust and crap out as possible, then just clean it out every once in a while. As far as ease of bike rack installation/removal goes, I would recommend regular chassis/wheel bearing grease that you can get at your local auto parts store (and that you already thought of). Teflon lube will be too light to have sufficient longevity or be of any real benefit. I would buy a tub of the wheel bearing/chassis grease (it's like 4 or 5 bucks at Napa) and apply it every month or so (or more frequently depending on how much the rack is removed/installed) to the hitch walls. Good luck! Tim"

Wish I knew that beforehand. Though the difference was fairly high - well over $100 more for repair. Whole axle replacement including labor cost only $190 (and would have been double to triple at dealer).

Another Rack N Road guy from a different store said that some 1 1/4 in. hitch receivers have a notch stamped, usually in the right inside wall, that has to be chisled out to get the hitch all the way into the receiver. Anyone ever see this or hear of this?

Thank you for the great advice. It was the CV boot - it had been slashed open by road debris spraying grease on the exhaust. It was actually cheaper to put a new axle on the car rather than a new boot as a new axle assembly with labor was cheaper than a new boot assembly + the higher labor to replace it.

So I was installing a Thule Ridgeline 4-Bike Hitch Carrier on our 2003 VDC Outback H6 3L 1 1/4 in. hitch receiver ("Draw-Tite" brand that came with the car rated to 300 lbs) and couldn't slide the Thule Ridgeline Hitch fully into the Subaru Draw-Tite Hitch Receiver (needed to get the hitch another 1-2 in. in to lock the hitch with the hitch pin). Felt around with my fingers inside and it was feeling a little rough (no big bumps, just not fully smooth surfaces), and I was sure there was a bit of rust inside. Worked around a rag and got out some dirt debris. Then gave it a good spray with WD40 and worked around a rag - sure enough it came out very rust colored. Did this several times. Now I'm letting the inside walls of the hitch soak in a good spray of WD40 for a few hours. I want to get it to the point where I can not only get the hitch fully into the pin-lock position, but so that I'm confident I can remove it when I want to! The way it is now, if I pounded it in it might be extremely difficult to remove it. Questions: 1) After soaking in the WD40, should I also clean the inside walls of the hitch receiver with a stiff metal brush? 2) Should I apply any coating to the inside walls of the hitch receiver once clean in order to prevent rust? If I coat it and there's any rust at all left under the coating, will it continue to rust? Will the rust coat interfere with inserting and removing the bike carrier hitch? 3) What should I lube the inside of the hitch receiver with? Teflon bike spray, WD40, auto grease? I want to be able to regularly put the hitch on at the beginning of a weekend and remove it Sunday evening. The local guys at our local Rack N Road store who are supposed to be experts only murmured WD40 and they seemed like they didn't have a clue.

Member of another car forum also suggested that it could be the CV boot (Constant Velocity Boot): "If it splits it slings grease onto the exhaust. Which smells awesome. And the passenger side is the more common side to fail."

Any detail you can provide? Really appreciate it.

Thanks MilesFox and Fairtax4me, really appreciate it. Fairtax4me, looked it up, sounds like it could definitely be causing the problem. Is it expensive to fix? If the part has to be replaced, is it an expensive part?

Hi All, sincerely appreciate your help narrowing down the cause of this. The USMB community has been a fantastic help, even in choosing the Subie we bought. Friday after a 45 minute highway ride in our 2003 Subaru Outback 3L H6 VDC I noticed a burnt smell which smelled much stronger than the typical hot tires. When I checked around and under the car, I traced the smell to the front right tire/tire well. I could not find any evidence the tire was chafing against anything, or any evidence of any fluid leaking in the tire well or in the engine block on that side of the tire. The smell is stronger and more pungent than the typical hot tire smell. Would could the source be? Car is in great shape, we have a great mechanic - honest, sharp and a good value, but before doing the rounds of mechanic, tire rotation place and alignment place (all 3 different locations), would be nice to be able to narrow it down. Some things I've thought of: 1) Tire alignment issue (though I had the tires aligned about a year ago - probably a good idea to do again now - manufacture says it's unnecessary to do frequently but on an AWD vehicle I think it should be done once every 6 mo. to 1 year). 2) Tire rotation - I'm a little past due but not much, but don't understand why the R tire alone would act up 3) Leaking fluid that I'm not able to see which is falling on a hot part in the right side of the engine block close to that tire 4) Problem with brake fluid and brake pads causing the brake bads to close up much harder on the right front wheel 5) brake fluid leaking near the brake pads in the right front tire well

Well aren't looks more important than function ; )

I momentarily thought the same, however, I can see the plastic horizontal bars absorbing the force of road debris to protect the lamp. I think they are designed to break and absorb the force.

Thanks NV Zeno, really appreciate it. Only wish it was possible to know if they had the parts in stock, but I guess that's not going to be possible at a pick-n-pull place - though their prices are rock bottom. I'll try calling them. If I can buy the part for a reasonable price from an online store, I'll save the time for this one, but the salvage yards would be a great value for more expensive parts.

Thank Olnick, just left him a message. It's outrageous how badly designed and cheaply made this part is - 4 small thin plastic teeth holding a part in place which encounters road debris, snow, ice, rain, dust and sand up to 70-75 mph.

Anyone know any Subaru auto parts salvage yards in the SF Bay Area / Silicon Valley? Looking for a plastic fog light cover for an Outback 2003 VDC 3L H6 among other things, and not planning on paying the dealership $49.99 for one.

What are the best online Subaru parts stores?

Hi Suzam, I'd gladly pick up the postage and a few bucks for their trouble. Think it weighs less than 2 oz. Is there any searchable listing of used auto parts yards? Love to find one nearby. Are they just junk yards of old cars which you pick through for parts?

This is hilarious - checked with dealer and found out: 1) They charge $49.99 for the plastic part, which isn't worth more than $1-2. 2) Because the part is so badly made - there are 4 small thin easily breakable teeth on the back which hold the part onto the frame of the fog light - the dealer's part was broken in exactly the same way as mine - it had one broken tooth. Anyone have a good source for this and other parts?

One of the 4 teeth on the back of the fog light protectors on the driver's side of our Subaru Outback 2003 VDC 3L H6 broke and loosened the protector so that it started to rotate off horizontal and probably would have eventually fallen off if I hadn't discovered the broken tooth. The part surprisingly is made of hard plastic and not metal. Any idea where I can purchase this part at a reasonable price? I can't imagine the dealers charging a fair price for this simple plastic part, which at most is only worth a few dollars.

Or does it even matter? Wondering if one should be done before the other, and how often you align and balance. If balancing includes rotating the tires, I think you'd want to do alignment afterwards. How often do you align your wheels? How often do you rotate and balance, especially for an AWD vehicle? Please excuse the inexperience, I'm getting back into maintaining a car and enjoying it after not having to own one for years (before that kept a Volvo 244DL in great shape through college and beyond), and focusing on doing more and more on my own or with a trusted mechanic instead of the dealer. Just replaced the engine air filter and cleaned the air intake, and I'm about to polish and restore the headlight covers and replace the cabin air filter with a DIY cut-to-size from an even better and cheaper 3M filter pad. This site has been a great inspiration and info source.

Just curious how often all of you change your brake pads and what's your annual mileage.