wirelessenabled

Do yourself a favor, just put a hose on the Fumoto and drain the oil in to empty gallon jugs like from windshield washer fluid or something. No mess, nothing to transfer later. Just have to clean off the hose used.

Why do you think Subaru blue filters are "garbage"? I have run them and have over 200K miles on each of the 3 Subarus I do maintenance for.

I have towed my 2000 OBW with a 5 speed nearly 40,000 miles behind my RV. No problems so far.

Yeah you are probably right! I currently drive about 16K miles a year. In the 1970s and early 1980s I had a sales job and drove between 60K-80K per year. Adding it all up I probably am short of 1 million miles on a stick.

I guess I should modify my comment above. It's not like I put the car in neutral on the freeway. I go in to neutral at maybe 30-35 mph as I am nearing the stop sign/light. I got 170,000 miles on the first clutch in my 2000 Outback Wagon. Only changed the clutch then because, not knowing any better, I removed the transmission to replace the viscous coupler. Driven plate on that clutch still had plenty of material on it. Interestingly enough I replaced the original brake pads at the same time, ie 170,000 miles.

I have to laugh at this. Driving my 1961 Triumph Spitfire, a 1953 Ford 1 ton flatbed, and other early vehicles, I used to heel and toe for control. The brakes were so horrible that one had to use the engine braking. My 2014 Outback brakes are great. I shift in to neutral and use the brakes to slow down. As others have said, brake pads are way cheaper to replace than clutch discs. Of course who knows, why believe me? I only have certainly well over 1,000,000 miles driving a stick without an accident yet.

You might want to get on sourcing that OEM PCV valve. I went to my Subaru dealer and they don't even stock them. The parts guy wondered why I wanted a PCV valve.

I can't speak about the Forester but for my 2014 Outback it would take less than 10 minutes to swap out identical head units. The trim just pulls out with a hand in the storage space, 4 screws to remove the HU, disconnect the 5? cables. Reverse to install. If Subaru used the same scheme for Foresters it is a simple job.

I use a paint pen to mark the old belt at each cam and the crank. Just another way of making sure the new belt has the marks in the correct places. I also count the teeth but that is just me being anal.

I have no desire to run a Subaru shop. Having said that I do own and run a business. We buy in bulk and get better prices that way. We also do not spend hours and hours buying a piece here and there. Most Subarus use the same parts and so it does not seem out of reason that shops that do lots of these jobs could get some pretty good deals if they buy more at one time. Should be able to easily get at least as good of prices as I did by shopping around. Of course you have to have some capital to do business that way. Maybe that is the barrier.

Thanks for the ideas!

Hope the link is not stopped by this site. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MITSUBOSHI-Timing-Belt-KOYO-NSK-NTN-Tensioner-Idler-Kit-TKF007TBHTIK/122058842683?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Price was about $10 cheaper at the start of the Summer. This is a quality kit, all OEM idlers/pulleys/tensioner, belt is a Mistsuboshi. I got most of the parts off Ebay but some from online dealers and even some from local dealers.

If I were to take it to a shop there is no question that I would pay the 20% more to a decent Subaru shop. Guess I was lucky and patient in gathering up the parts from online dealers and Ebay for these 2 jobs. All these parts were Subaru branded except the pulleys and T-belt which were OEM but not labeled Subaru. I paid $12.71 for the alternator belt and $12.36 for the a/c belt. $167.30 for the T-belt, NTN tensioner, and the 3 pulleys Koyo and NSK. $44.00 for the Aisin water pump and nearly $60 for the 2 gallons of Subaru long life green coolant. I would have been nearer $300 in parts than $400 if I had not used genuine Subaru coolant.

Should add that I did not do the cam seals but there was no sign of leaking. The timing belt cover was absolutely spotless on the inside.

Why should a timing belt replacement be so expensive? I just did my daughter's 2002 Legacy sedan with 2.5 SOHC. Used all Koyo, NTN parts, Aisin water pump, Mitsuboshi belt. Replaced all coolant hoses, top, bottom and heater. New thermostat. Subaru OEM green coolant. New hose in overflow tank. All new clamps. New OEM alternator and a/c belts. I took the radiator out and flushed it out inside and outside. Took oil pump off, new seal and checked screws on the back. Reinstalled oil pump with Ultra Grey sealant. I also spent time cleaning all parts touched and the area I was working in. All of these parts were about $400 and the entire job took me about 4 hours. I have done 2 of these this year on family cars but I am not by any means a professional mechanic. So I get back to why should this job be $1200?