What have you done to your Subaru this week/lately?

[pz99]

I have an Outback, it's a 2018 with a 3.6 liter engine...a friend helped me change the oil yesterday to replace with this:

https://www.searchforparts.com/oil-change/subaru-2018-outback-3.6l-ez36d

it's a relief because family really ran this vehicle into the ground and nobody maintained it. 

ok, your turn, tell us anything and everything you did, wax, wash, tires, rims, did you install a new stereo system, did you paint it? specify year and model, thanks!

[brus brother]

OK, I thought about washing and waxing but decided my 2005 Outback with 205,000 miles, CEL 5  codes P0174, 0420, 1155, wheel bearings shot, worn tires, leaking HGs, VC gaskets, power steering pump replacement leaking, brakes worn out, HVAC selector worn and not "selecting" (of issue since all the above mentioned leaking fluids that weren't trailing the car or polluting every place I parked, burnt off on the exhaust and made breathing a challenge in the car) was a car in need of a new car so I traded it in on a 2019 Outback Premium with 8K miles.

I'll do just about anything to avoid washing and waxing a car. 

Edited January 23, 2021 by brus brother

[1 Lucky Texan]

The 03 has developed an oil leak. Brief look underneath doesn't really point to the oil cooler which was recently replaced. (I also recently replaced the front w'shield washer pump, again)

This car has never had valve cover gaskets done. I dunno if I'm up to doing them myself - certainly not until better weather and my MIL moves out. I really can't risk having the car out of service if I screw something up.....

 

probably need to drive the WRX again, we have been very vigilant with the whole covid thing, plus, I got fired so, decided to go ahead and retire, and the cars just sit.

[NV Zeno]

 Oil change, Castrol GTX High Mileage 5W-30. While I was at Summit Racing in Sparks grabbing a K&N oil filter, I also picked up a new radiator cap and changed that too..  Also tire rotation (Blizzaks).

2008 Forester, just ticked 220,000 miles.  Doesn't drip one drop of any fluid. 

 

[6 Star]

Was searching for a thread with this same title, started many years ago in the Old Gen Forum.

Must have had hundreds of pages...

Search turns up nothing now.

To stay on topic... last "new" generation Subie I touched was the family's '95 Legacy L Wagon. It needed nothing but a wash before transferring to a new owner. Now we own nothing but old-gens... the Legacy was the odd one out in the Fam.

[jonathan909]

Assembled '01 Forester's EJ25.  Because that car's down, my daughter had taken the '99 OBW to work, leaving me to use the '98 Legacy wagon (that's next on the repair list because the exhaust is loud) to go fetch the package from Rock that I needed .  This extra juggling is taking place because my now-daily-driver '01 H6 OBW's brakes recently made a nasty noise and I don't want them getting worse... once it gets its turn in the garage I'll also be replacing the gas tank - when I started driving it last summer it didn't take long to discover that the PO had put a big whompin' dent in the tank, precisely under the float, so the gauge sticks at about 1/3 right up until the car stops (and while it's in there I need to pull the stereo and figure out why the CD isn't working, plus make the key fob locks work).  Thought about the other '01 H6 OBW that'll be getting HGs this summer.  Didn't think about the '95 Legacy wagon.  I think that about covers it...

Edited April 4, 2021 by jonathan909

[1 Lucky Texan]

Jonathan, any practical way to get something into the tank thru the pump's hole to knock the dent mostly back out without dropping it? I donno, a long wrecking bar or even some wood or aluminum you could hammer on the end of?

[ocei77]

Run it until the low fuel light comes on.

Use a transfer pump to get most of balance to other side.

Use something firm like  a hard rubber sanding block with the curved side down and hit it with a stick.

Should be able to get most of it out.

O.

[jonathan909]

No, it's really deep, really in a bad spot, not the only thing wrong with it, and I already got a replacement last fall that's just been waiting to be put in.

This started with the surprise! running-out-of-gas that shouldn't have happened.  I figured it was a problem with the sending unit, so I popped the seat and cover and found a very ugly hack on top of the tank involving a brass elbow and big gob of epoxy.  To cut to the chase, I think what happened is some PO (the car had a couple) really slammed the underside of the tank, hard enough not only to dent it, but also push the tank up into the cover, breaking the hose fittings and causing the ugly "repair" job, which has the fuel heading to the engine via a replacement rubber hose.  And the sending unit was screwed to the tank with the wrong bolts, so all those holes are stripped out now.  In other words, a really big Charlie Foxtrot just crying for replacement of the tank and sending unit and restoring the original plumbing.

I suspect this mess is implicated not only in my not being able to trust the gauge, but also in the extremely inconsistent fail-to-start behaviour we saw on and off over the winter.  I thought it had to do with low ambient temperature, but it's not that consistent.  What it does feel like is a lack of fuel, so I'm hoping cleaning up this mess will solve that problem too.

[jonathan909]

(Um, didn't mean to hijack the thread with my gas tank problem...)

[heartless]

spent nearly 2 weeks trying to get air out of the other half's 06 Outback after changing the ps pump on it.

apparently he managed to mangle the o-ring on the suction line without realizing it (until he took it apart again) so it was sucking in air as fast as it was purging it. 

[jonathan909]

On 4/5/2021 at 10:36 AM, heartless said:

spent nearly 2 weeks trying to get air out of the other half's 06 Outback after changing the ps pump on it.

Sorry, but I'm a little confused, because I've never tried this.  If you suck all the air out of it, does it squish down so you can store it in a closet or something?

[heartless]

20 hours ago, jonathan909 said:

Sorry, but I'm a little confused, because I've never tried this.  If you suck all the air out of it, does it squish down so you can store it in a closet or something?

laugh all you like, but i hope you never have to try to deal with it - it is a pain in the backside.

apparently he let a bad ps pump go for too long and got a lot of air in the power steering system... to the point that it was bubbling up and pushing fluid out of the reservoir when the car was turned off. yes, it does happen. I don't drive this car, so I had no idea things were that bad with it, and he never says anything until whatever is really bad.... so...

when you change the pump, obviously, you also introduce air that has to be purged out - before actually running the car - it can be a process to get it all out.. (air needs to be purged before running to avoid damaging the new pump - ie: running it in a "dry" condition) - and even more so when an o-ring is compromised letting air in.

and for the record, this is on a remote reservoir ps system, not one with the reservoir on top of the pump

[idosubaru]

On 1/23/2021 at 2:41 AM, 1 Lucky Texan said:

The 03 has developed an oil leak. Brief look underneath doesn't really point to the oil cooler which was recently replaced. (I also recently replaced the front w'shield washer pump, again)

This car has never had valve cover gaskets done. I dunno if I'm up to doing them myself - certainly not until better weather and my MIL moves out. I really can't risk having the car out of service if I screw something up.....

An 03 with original valve cover gaskets - impressive! 

They're really easy to do.  Get a quality 10mm ratcheting wrench for the lower (particularly the lower rear corners) bolts and it's easy.  Doing it with sockets or a regular wrench can be mind numbing, particularly if you haven't done a few. They're easy - the lower rear corner bolt is the only tricky part at all.  Have the gaskets, spark plug tube gaskets on hand, FSM, and don't over torque them.  You're welcome to call or message me if you have any questions, I'll mail my torque wrench if that helps. 

On 1/23/2021 at 2:41 AM, 1 Lucky Texan said:

 

 plus, I got fired so, decided to go ahead and retire, and the cars just sit.

WHAAAT?!?!?  Dude that doesn't sound like it went how you had hoped.  I'm sorry to hear that. 

[jonathan909]

2 hours ago, heartless said:

laugh all you like, but i hope you never have to try to deal with it - it is a pain in the backside.

I understand the issue, but please tell me you got the joke.

[1 Lucky Texan]

1 hour ago, jonathan909 said:

I understand the issue, but please tell me you got the joke.

 

TDIL - humor is serious business!

[Lightning Racer]

Squeezed tight the seals on the door/window gussets of my 2003 Legacy using my fingers, a 3 minute fix. Driver's side's gaps were much larger than the passenger side's. Gaps and excessive wind noise are now gone. I heard this fix doesn't last vs. replacing with the updated version, but I don't close the door using the window, and it's probably the first time it's been adjusted, so probably not that much metal fatigue of the supporting structure behind the seals yet.

Trying to fix now: My right fog light is aimed too low, bright part topping out just out of view below bumper level from driver's perspective. I popped the surround off, and saw an adjustment screw. Turned it both CCW and CW many turns, and the screw went in noticeably deeper, a clue that someone tried messing with it before without success. It doesn't seem like it's moving the light at all. I'll need to access the back of the fog light to see what's going on. Have been away from home for a long time, so I don't have tools or a jack/stands with me, so might give up for now. Or maybe I can get that small under panel off and have a look-see.

[idosubaru]

2 hours ago, Lightning Racer said:

Squeezed tight the seals on the door/window gussets of my 2003 Legacy using my fingers, a 3 minute fix. Driver's side's gaps were much larger than the passenger side's. Gaps and excessive wind noise are now gone. I heard this fix doesn't last vs. replacing with the updated version, but I don't close the door using the window, and it's probably the first time it's been adjusted, so probably not that much metal fatigue of the supporting structure behind the seals yet.

yeah usually temporary.  Make sure all users close the door with the door and not the window on those frameless doors.  You can also buy weather stripping (like the rubber inserts for screw on metal doors) and insert that into the gussett area to beef it up.  Yeah the updated gussets were stupid expensive for what is a small annoying mistake. 

[idosubaru]

The 220,000 mile Tribeca towed 1,500 pound 72" mower on a sizable trailer over the mountains and lots of 6%+ grades.  I waited until a cold snap to help keep things cool....which also meant spending the night on the interstate.  I was stopped on the interstate for 1.5 hours due to a wreck - during which time, it started snowing hard. Due to the accident the snow trucks couldn't get through and no one was moving so once we started moving again it was an untreated slick disaster of ice and treachery.  Trucks spinning out, tractor trailers jack knifed, cars sliding....After an hour of feeling like i was in a FROGGER game of ice, there were 4 accidents in 5 miles responded to by police/DOT which shut down the interstate.  It was the perfect storm of awesome.  Anyway - eventually made it home after a chilly night time nap in the trusty Tribeca.  I really want to get rid of that thing but it's been phenomenally useful and reliable...even if it is a gas hog. 

[CNY_Dave]

Recently bought a 2010 forester manual trans with 28k miles and stuck a hitch on it.

[nipper]

2019 subaru outback ltd, put in front and rear dash cam. Replaced the missing coin tray. May see about the TSB for the rear tail gate module

[jonathan909]

6 hours ago, CNY_Dave said:

Recently bought a 2010 forester manual trans with 28k miles and stuck a hitch on it.

Now this is a man who has his priorities straight.  I have no idea why someone would want a car without a hitch, and it's the first thing I do with a new ride too.

There are, ladies and gentlemen, sailboats to be towed.

[CNY_Dave]

11 hours ago, jonathan909 said:

Now this is a man who has his priorities straight.  I have no idea why someone would want a car without a hitch, and it's the first thing I do with a new ride too.

There are, ladies and gentlemen, sailboats to be towed.

Old motorcycles to be fixed up in my case, late 70's yamaha XS750 triples, plus there's my XR650L to haul to further riding places.

 

[brus brother]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:11 AM, nipper said:

2019 subaru outback ltd, put in front and rear dash cam. Replaced the missing coin tray. May see about the TSB for the rear tail gate module

TSB 07-179-20

This bulletin announces a design change made to the PRG control module.  This change is in response to a limited number of customer concerns regarding the vehicle’s battery becoming discharged after the rear gate is left open for an extended period of time.  The discharge occurs because current PRG control module logic keeps CAN communication active.  Logic changes have been incorporated into the new module to allow the CAN system to “go to sleep” after a period of time to prevent current draw and optimize operation of the PRG system.

Edited April 10, 2021 by brus brother

[1 Lucky Texan]

Today I prepped the Outback to gift it to a relative. Wife just got a 2021 Honda CR-V and doesn't want to keep 3 cars. At least I found a relative who wants it (actually, during las t night's storm, BOTH his other cars have broken glass and other major hail damage so, kinda works out) .

I really wanted to keep it, and it makes the most sense to keep really, but I think I would miss my WRX more. Couldn't bear to trade it in and have it go to an auction house. If I couldn't find a friend/relative who wanted it, I would have listed it on the Forums next.

Who knows, it could possibly come back to me someday....