not a car guy

[tangki]

Hello all, I just bought a 2007 subaru outback 2.5i limited And i have some questions! I know nothing about cars and I've had 3 cars in my 19 years of life, 2 of them made the same sound when driving:one did not.ive had a 98 Nissan pathfinder and an 02 Chevy prism and both had the same sound but my new subaru is entirely different sounding. when I start it it seems to have a similar sound to an electric golf cart until I hit about 40 mph then it goes completely silent. the sound is what worries me and it being in such good condition ( 73,000 miles) I am stressing over it's future performance. I've been told that cvt transmissions sound like this. I have no clue if it has this transmission. that worried me for about a day or two and now it's making a sound when idling thats a clicking sound and it seems to be coming from the driver side on the inside. sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not.i also have questions on general maintainance.

#1 how do I take care of the differentials and how often do I do that.

2 how often should I change the tranny fluids and does flushing do anything?

3 same for two but with the coolant

4 do they require any special fluids that are different than normal fluids we have in America(coolant,tranny fluid, differential fluids)

5 what tires are best and in what arrangement do I rotate them?

6 spark plugs and how tf do I do them if they are on the sides!!!!

7 any other maintenance that I'm missing that may need to be done?

[Numbchux]

First off, your 2007 is not a CVT. the 2.5i Limited was only available with either a 5- or 4-speed automatic. The 4-speed is VERY similar internals to what was in your pathfinder. I can't speak to what the noise might be, sounds like it could be anything from a gear or bearing problem, to interference in the radio, or something vibrating somewhere.

 

I'd recommend buying a Haynes manual. They're about $40, and will have a lot of information on how to do these things. And I'm sure with a little searching you can find how-tos on fluid changes on Subarus, most of them are the same.

 

Subaru maintenance schedule (this is in your owner's manual, too): http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html

 

Factory service manual and owners manual online: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/2007/

 

Maintenance schedule says to inspect the transmission and differential fluids every 30k miles. At the dealership where I work, we drain and fill (draining doesn't get everything out of the transmission, so it's not a fluid change) it every time. That would be excellent maintenance. Personally I do it more like 60k.

 

Flushing fluid is generally overkill, and disconnecting cooler lines and such can open another can of worms.

 

Conventional green coolant is fine, any 75w90 GL-5 gear oil (very common). Transmission calls for Subaru HP fluid, which is a full synthetic. I don't know if there's any aftermarket fluid that meets this standard.

 

Tires are extremely specific to personal preference, usage, and climate. Might be a good idea to check with your local Subaru dealership and see what they recommend.

 

Spark plugs, NGK or OE. Probably a FR5AP-1 or 22401AA65A. The cylinder heads are off to the sides, but the plugs are on the top side of them. You have to remove a couple things to get access (air filter box and washer fluid tank, IIRC), but it's not bad.

[tangki]

thank you numbchux! I had no idea that the pathfinder and subaru were so closely related(not that I know how transmissions work) thanks for the awesome introductory info!

[Numbchux]

Yep, while Nissan and Subaru are pretty distinctly separate companies, the stuff that they didn't design and build in house frequently saw some overlap. Some automatic transmission internals are probably the only thing so closely related between the Pathfinder and Outback...but still. At the very least, when functioning correctly, neither transmission should make a different sound than the other. Still leaves a lot of possibilities what you might be hearing.

 

 

I have Nissan rear brake calipers on my XT6, zero modification required.

Edited December 7, 2017 by Numbchux

[idosubaru]

aftermarket axles can vibrate when idling.

 

heat shields vibrate all the time on nearly any vehicle, particularly common in rust prone areas.

 

checking both front axles - if they don't have green inner cups or look "new" then they're aftermarket and that's probably the cause. you can post a picture and we'll be able to tell.

 

if you need axle boots - make sure you reboot Subaru OEM axles (green inner cups) rather than replace the axle. Shops like to just swap the axle because it's faster and same profit but the original axles will last the life of the vehicle if you just reboot/regrease and they're better quality.

Edited December 7, 2017 by idosubaru