Chip Hedrick

hawksoob: $800.00 sounds a little high. I just had my OBW's oil "hemorrhage" cured for $540 (incl. 5% tax on parts) by an independent who specializes in Subarus. He didn't replace the water pump because he said it showed no signs of wear (some will question the wisdom of this), but he did replace/perform all of the following: Front crank seal Oil pump O-ring All 4 cam seals T-belt T-belt tensioner Lower timing cover seal Upper timing cover seal Oil and filter change BTW: Mechanic said my OBW had the worst oil leak he'd ever seen. In addition to leaking crank seal, one of the cam seals had "popped" out of place. Said he'd only seen this 3 times in 25 years of experience.

I knew this would generate some debate. I elected to trust the mechanic because he works on a ton of subarus and because he seemed to be very straight forwarded in stating his reasons to replace or not replace certain parts. I also don't think he's all about cutting corners. For instance, he replaced the tensioner and all four of the cam seals (not just the one that had popped out). He also replaced the upper and lower timing cover seals. With respect to the water pump, if I had done this job myself I would have replaced it. But that's because I don't know enough to distinguish a good one from a bad one. Plus I wouldn't want to make that call after I'd already opened up the t-belt cover and then have to run around to auto parts places trying to locate one. The guy could have made a quick buck selling me a new water pump (he had them in stock), but instead he inspected the existing one and said it was good to go. What he said about coolant also jibed with what a service writer at a major dealership in Augusta (where I bought the car and had it serviced for the first 60,000 mi) told me: it just doesn't need to be changed all that frequently because the blocks are aluminum and the radiators have a plastic core. I double checked the Subaru of America maintenance schedule for my car and it does specify checking the valve clearance when the car hits 105,000. I may well do this myself this spring/summer (I'm not doing it this winter in an unheated garage).

About two weeks ago my '98 OBW with 101,000 began leaking oil. That was just days after the car had its annual inspection and passed with flying colors. The car had never before required any signifcant mechanical work (still has original brake pads, battery, etc.!). Finally got the car into the shop today. Mechanic is an independent with 25 yrs experience working on Subarus, 15 yrs with dealerships and 10 yrs on his own. Said my OBW had the worst oil leak he'd ever seen in a Subaru. In addition to a leaking crank oil seal (which we both suspected) one of the cam seals had popped right out of place. He replaced all 4 cam seals, the crank oil seal, oil pump O ring, t-belt, t-belt tensioner, and a few miscellaneous odds and ends. He said the t-belt tensioner was toast. Here's a few interesting insights the mechanic had. I'm sure some of them are open to debate, but nonetheless I found them interesting. 1. I asked him to check the valve clearance. He claimed it was unnecessary unless the engine was unduly noisy. He said most of these engines will go 100,000s of miles w/o the need to be shimmed. 2. I asked him to replace the water pump at the same time he did the t-belt. He said he'd inspect it and only replace it if it showed signs of wear. He said only 1 in 100 water pumps go bad and they almost always show signs before doing so, such as discoloration on the sprocket. He said the pumps typically last 200,000 to 300,000 mi. When I picked the car up he said he left the pump in because it looked fine. 3. I asked him to replace the coolant. When I went to pick up the car he said he didn't bother because the coolant was still good. I told him that it hadn't been changed for at least 40,000 mi and said the fact that it still looked good suggested to me that the headgaskets are in good shape. He agreed and said he had seen no signs of headgasket failure on my car. 4. I asked him to replace the passenger side valve cover gasket because it had had a small oil leak for quite some time. He said the valve cover gaskets rarely require replacement; they may shrink over time, but usually all that needs to be done is tighten the bolts. Upon driving the car home tonight, I found the engine to be much quieter. I suspect the tensioner must have been making a lot of racket and that I had gotten used to it. I also suspect that recent extremely cold weather in this area caused the oil seals to finally fail. I thought you guys/gals might find these observations interesting.

I just found this thread after doing a search for "oil leak." Recently here in Maine we have had a spell of very cold weather (not infrequently sub-zero). Several times after driving my '98 OBW (EJ 2.5) in the cold, I have noticed a burning smell, similar to the smell of a burning clutch. Then one day during some particularly cold weather I noticed oil on the garage floor where I park the OBW, under where the engine would be. I checked the oil and noticed that it was down about 3/4 of a quart, and that was only about 500-600 mi after the last time I changed the oil. This was extremely unusual!! I thought I might have failed to fully tighten the oil filter or the drain plug, but the exterior of both turned out to be dry and oil free. I put the car up on jack stands to look for the leak. The only place I could see oil dripping was at the bottom of the seam between the plastic timing belt cover and the front of the engine. It has been about 450 miles since I found the low oil level, which I topped off. The oil level has not dropped since then, but the "burnt" smell persists after the car has reached operating temp. It is particularly noticeable when the car is stopped. I suspect oil is leaking on something hot, such as an exhaust component, thus causing the smell. Also, there continue to be small oil leaks under where I park the car (but not as big as the ones I first noticed). I guess these are symptoms of a worn seal (crankshaft oil seal, cam seal?). I do not think the engine is overpressurized as I replaced the PCV valve about 7,000 mi ago and at that time inspected all the ventilation hoses for blockages. The OBW has 101,000 mi. I might bring it in for a slightly early t-belt and water pump replacement, valve adjustment, and seal inspection/replacement (I had wanted to do those things myself in the spring, but won't do them in this weather in an unheated garage). Any other thoughts?

Alias--I overreacted. No offense taken and none intended. The car seems to be back to normal. It only exhibited the bogging a couple of times, and one was on the coldest night of the fall after about 12 hours in a parking lot. Maybe the ECU needed to adjust to the temp? Also, I wonder if the bogging had something to do with the fact that late this summer I removed what I call the "intake silencer"--the bulbous thing in the passenger side fender. Other than that and the K&N filter, the rest of the intake is stock. I wonder if in cold weather, with really oxygen dense air, more air is getting to the engine than the injectors, etc., can handle. But would that cause bogging? I would think that too much oxygen would cause a lean condition--plenty of power, but too much heat. One other thing: earlier this fall (i.e., September) I installed a Pro-ECM chip. It worked fine at normal speeds, but I had to remove it after a couple of weeks because it was causing the car to stall out at virtually every stop light. I wonder if there could be some contamination of the MAF that only shows itself under certain conditions--very cold weather or with the input from an aftermarket chip.

It's very hard to be polite responding to your reply to my post. Your condescending tone is annoying. First, if you had read my post with any care you would see that I cleaned the K&N air filter at 90,000 mi. My car now has 99,000 mi. I don't see how that could constitute "just" (your term) having cleaned the filter. I did the cleaning and oiling 6 months ago and the hesitation is just now showing up. Second, what do you mean by "you probably used too much" oil on the filter? Word has been out for quite some time to not over oil reusable panel filters. I heeded those warnings, used a conservative amount of oil, and allowed the filter to dry before reinstalling it. There are a lot of people on this message board who offer valuable information, but it's condescending people like you who make me question whether it is worth the bother to post messages.

Up here in Maine we're finally begining to get the first truly cold weather of the season. Now that it's cold, I've noticed that my '98 OBW is hesitating or bogging (I don't know which is the correct term to describe it) when I try to start off with gusto from a stoplight. I'm not putting the pedal to the floor when this happens. Only 1/2 to 2/3. I have to back off the pedal to get the car moving forward. I've had this car for nearly six years, and I don't recall cold weather having this effect. The car has just under 99,000 miles. I cleaned the K&N air filter and replaced the fuel filter at 90,000 miles. I replaced the spark plug wires at 75,400. The platinum plugs were replaced at the recommended interval back at 60,000. I am using 5W-30 motor oil (which, by the way, the engine seems to like in cold weather--less racket when the engine is cold than with 10W-30). Any idea about what I could do to remedy this bogging/hesitation?

I'm checking in from New Gloucester, Maine. In December '99, I bought Nokia Hakkapeliitta "Q" snow tires (the studless, soft rubber compound type) for my '98 OBW . The tires are now on their 5th season and, amazingly, look almost new. There's something to be said for keeping them properly inflated and promptly taking them off each spring. I recently purchased from the Tire Rack four Dunlap Graspic DS-1 snow tires and steel wheels for my wife's '03 H6 Sedan. The Graspic's appeared to be the best combination of price and quality offered by the Tire Rack. Tires, wheels, lug nuts, and shipping came to a grand total of only $540.00. The Graspic's appear to be good tires, but they're not as aggressive looking as my Nokia's. They may be quietier, though.

My wife's birthday is coming up, and I'm thinking of buying her a remote starter for her '03 H6 before the cold weather sets in (and believe me it gets COLD up here in Maine). The car has a factory remote keyless entry/alarm system. Yes, it has an auto tranny. Has anyone installed a remote starter on a recent vintage Legacy or Forester? If so, do you have any tips or are there any problems to be aware of? Can anyone recommend any particular brand or features to look for? Should I attempt the installation myself (I'm a novice at car wiring, but I am educable)? Or should I (dare I?) trust a car audio-type place to do the installation? Thanks in advance for your help!

Hocrest: I plan on replacing the struts with KYB GR-2s, but I'd be happy to measure the stock struts I take off and the untensioned OEM springs.

Thanks for the replies. You've convinced me that I should replace the strut mount as soon as possible, but I'm not convinced that the broken bolt creates such a safety hazard that the car shouldn't be driven. (As one of the posts mentions, the greatest force is upwards against the strut tower, and the bolts likely don't play much role in controlling that). I'll just make certain not to engage in any high performance driving in the interim. I figure if I go through the effort (or the expense of having someone else do it) of replacing the strut mount, I should replace the strut. And if I replace the RH front strut, I might as well replace all four (and their mounts and dust boots).

This weekend I performed the so-called "grounding mod." Everything went great until I tightened the nuts on the two strut tower bolts on which I had attached grounding wires. I snapped off one of the three bolts on the passenger side strut tower. Is it safe to drive around for a few thousand miles with one of the bolts broken off? I don't think there is any way to repair it short of removing the strut and replacing the strut mount. By the way, to what torque should the nuts on the strut tower be tightened? The Haynes manual is unclear on this point.