entidine Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'm going to bring my 2004 Outback into the local independent mechanic for it's 60k-mile service. I'm planning on replacing the spark plugs, oil (synthetic) and oil filter, air filter, automatic trans. fluid., and the brakes. Is there anything else I should have done? Should I replace the differential oil (or is it fluid???), power steering fluid, coolant, have the brakes bled, etc.? Also, this is the second brake job for this car. Will I need to replace the rotors also? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Replace the timing belt if it hasn't been done yet. These are interference engines IIRC, so it's pretty important to not run over about 60k miles on a belt. Brake rotors shouldn't need replacing yet unless they've gotten warped, or you've let the pads get low and ground the rivets in. Automatics do go through brakes faster, so it's possible I guess -- depends on what they measure them to be, and what the minimum thickness is. Most brake places will tell you you need to replace them whether or not they need it -- more money for them. Zeke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Actually the manual says 100K on the timing belt for a 2.5. I dont know if this applies across the board, but it seems the computer compares the cam and crank postion sensors and if they get out of synch wil make the check engine llight blink. Never ignore a blinking CEL. Thats what i was told on my 98 wuth the 2.2L . I thought that was a great idea. It may still be there in the newer ones, but now 60K is early for a Timing belt unless they have other business down there. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html#2000Maintenance nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Actually the manual says 100K on the timing belt for a 2.5. I dont know if this applies across the board, but it seems the computer compares the cam and crank postion sensors and if they get out of synch wil make the check engine llight blink. Never ignore a blinking CEL. Thats what i was told on my 98 wuth the 2.2L . I thought that was a great idea. It may still be there in the newer ones, but now 60K is early for a Timing belt unless they have other business down there. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html#2000Maintenance nipper Good to know. I've only owned 1.8s and 2.2's so I didn't realize this. How'd they increase the interval from 60k to 100k? Stronger belt, or somehow affecting how much wear/heat/stress is'ts subjected to per mile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richierich Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 As an independent shop owner can I ask a few questions? 1) when was the 30k service done? 2) Was the 30k done as per owners manual? 3) What kind of driving conditions is this vehicle under? The reason I ask is that you may be over maintaining your vehicle. If you do a lot of highway miles you might be able to extend the time between major services to 40k or every 2 years (which ever comes first) . Most fluids last out that long ( 2 years) under normal driving conditions. Severe driving conditions would be as a courier service, which might be the case considering that you have already replaced your brake pads twice. Another question is quality of pad. You might want to go to a ceramic brake pad that disperses heat better if you do a lot of stop and go driving. I recommend going into your mechanic for an oil change and ask him what he believes the servicing your vehicle needs. In that case I usually pull "A" spark plug, check all the fluids and make a recommendation for the vehicle. The timing belts are lasting long because of the rubber they are using and the mesh that is inside them. Most T-belts are 100k belts because California requires all vehicles to have T-belt or chains last out that long since 1995. But if Oil or Antifreeze gets on the belts than that might effect the overall life of the belt. So with the 96-99 2.5 DOHC, I recommend replacing the t-belt if we do the front crank seal (oil pump seal) even if it is at 50-60k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swc7916 Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Why are you asking here? Follow the recommendations in the owner's manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 i have an owners manual, but not the maintanece manul, so hes like me, thats why hes asking, and whats the harm? nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swc7916 Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 i have an owners manual, but not the maintanece manul, so hes like me, thats why hes asking, and whats the harm? nipper Go to the dealer, ask them what they do for the 30k service, go to an independent servcie shop, have them do the service, save $50 over the dealer's price, take it home and find that they screwed it up, next time take it to the dealer and have it done right. This has happened twice to me with two different independent garages. If you don't have a maintainence manual, ask the dealer or look it up on mysubuaru.com. Follow the factory recommendations and don't skimp. It's going to cost you $600 - get used to it, that's what it costs to drive a nice new car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Go to the dealer, ask them what they do for the 30k service, go to an independent servcie shop, have them do the service, save $50 over the dealer's price, take it home and find that they screwed it up, next time take it to the dealer and have it done right. This has happened twice to me with two different independent garages. If you don't have a maintainence manual, ask the dealer or look it up on mysubuaru.com. Follow the factory recommendations and don't skimp. It's going to cost you $600 - get used to it, that's what it costs to drive a nice new car. my.subaru.com is great. i highly recommend signing up for the site if you haven't already. it's got all the maintenance stuff there for you to look at, as well as some other stuff... and i think you can view your owner's manual right on the site in PDF format... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entidine Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 Subaru owner's manual is a joke. Why are you asking here? Follow the recommendations in the owner's manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entidine Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 What a load of B.S.!!! last time the car was in at the dealer (for a transmission light) they replaced the trasnmission fluid but forgot to tighten the bolt. After a puddle of ATF formed on the driveway we took it in and they discoverd their error. Maybe some Subaru dealer's are okay, but mine sucks. There is absolutely no reason a trusted independent mechanic can't do these simple maintenance items. If your independent screwed it up, you took the car to the wrong shop. But don't paint all indies with the same brush. Go to the dealer, ask them what they do for the 30k service, go to an independent servcie shop, have them do the service, save $50 over the dealer's price, take it home and find that they screwed it up, next time take it to the dealer and have it done right. This has happened twice to me with two different independent garages. If you don't have a maintainence manual, ask the dealer or look it up on mysubuaru.com. Follow the factory recommendations and don't skimp. It's going to cost you $600 - get used to it, that's what it costs to drive a nice new car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entidine Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 Nothing was done at 30k miles. That's why I'm having the maintenahnce done now. As an independent shop owner can I ask a few questions? 1) when was the 30k service done? 2) Was the 30k done as per owners manual? 3) What kind of driving conditions is this vehicle under? The reason I ask is that you may be over maintaining your vehicle. If you do a lot of highway miles you might be able to extend the time between major services to 40k or every 2 years (which ever comes first) . Most fluids last out that long ( 2 years) under normal driving conditions. Severe driving conditions would be as a courier service, which might be the case considering that you have already replaced your brake pads twice. Another question is quality of pad. You might want to go to a ceramic brake pad that disperses heat better if you do a lot of stop and go driving. I recommend going into your mechanic for an oil change and ask him what he believes the servicing your vehicle needs. In that case I usually pull "A" spark plug, check all the fluids and make a recommendation for the vehicle. The timing belts are lasting long because of the rubber they are using and the mesh that is inside them. Most T-belts are 100k belts because California requires all vehicles to have T-belt or chains last out that long since 1995. But if Oil or Antifreeze gets on the belts than that might effect the overall life of the belt. So with the 96-99 2.5 DOHC, I recommend replacing the t-belt if we do the front crank seal (oil pump seal) even if it is at 50-60k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swc7916 Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 There is absolutely no reason a trusted independent mechanic can't do these simple maintenance items. If your independent screwed it up, you took the car to the wrong shop. But don't paint all indies with the same brush. I have had problems with two different independent shops. I have fairly new, low mileage, cars and will not trust them any more to a mechanic who does not specialize in Subarus. Also, because of the 3-year warrantee period, the independents don't see the new models until they are older, so they don't have experience with them. With at least 3 Subaru dealers in my area to choose from there is no reason for me to go to an independent except to save a few dollars, and IMHO it's not worth it. I want a mechanic who works on Subarus all day, has access to all of the factory bulletins, and uses OEM parts. And as long as my cars are under warrantee, they will go the dealer for service. Maybe I'll take them to an independent when they're older and I'm just trying keep them running cheaply. And THAT'S no B.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 explain how the manual is a joke... it's actually a pretty good resource as for the maintenance schedule, it's generally the same on any new car you purchase. granted, you can get away with no following it word for word, but it's worth it if you want to keep the car in perfect condition. there's a reason it's called preventative maintenance. and to your other comments... if you know so much about what should be done, where it should be done, and all that, why bother asking if you're just gonna rip on everyone's suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 i would listen more to those that have worked on these motors than someone who drops the car off at any shop, regardless of dealer or independent. the information is then at the whims of experiences and emotions. you need information specific to that motor to make the best decision possible and you can get that here on this group, just need to pay attention to whose writing it and why....some info is good, some not as good....just like shops or dealers...some are good, some are not as good. check into it, you should have a 105,000 mile timing belt installed on your car. in that case, changing it at 60,000 is not necessary but not a terrible idea either. that being said - i'd hold off on the timing belt until 90,000 miles unless you don't mind spending the money then just do it now. at 90,000 miles have the timing belt, water pump, oil pump seals, crank seal, cam seals and timing pulleys all replaced. another option is to ask them to inspect it, the covers can easily be removed in a matter of seconds to do a visual check for anything significant if you trust the mechanic. or just do that all now and be done with it. pay the dealer $1,500 or pay me half that to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 i agree about the hostility. i have several good private garages around here, and a good dealer thats just a bit too far away for regular sevice. The maintence scheduals are set up to keep warrenty repiars down, they arent just thrown together at some engineers whim. You also do get what you pay for when it comes to parts. If its a part buried in the engine and has lasted over 100K, i'll bute the bullit and go to OE and get it. In maintance you get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 i agree, request OEM Subaru parts for timing belts, water pump and pulleys. that's what i always use on newer subaru motors i work on. if the OEM pulley lasts long, no point in trying an aftermarket one to see if it lasts equally as long. that's fine if he had bad experiences with independents, and he should mention it and be specific about details of the experience if he thinks it constructive for this guys' question or wants to start his own thread. but on the other hand there's no value added by equating 2 bad experiences (or was it bad choices?) with "the other 36,000 independents across the country can't work on newer subaru's". i'm an aerospace engineer, not a statistician but i'm pretty sure 2 isn't a large enough sample to start making assumptions like that. the thread is going from helping this guy get his soob tuned up to an emotional disagreement over independents vs. dealers, that topic has been covered enough in previous threads - do a search if you wish to persue/comment on that topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Your reasoning makes sense for new cars, but I have had more trouble with dealerships with older cars than independent shops -- knowing which independent shop has the required experience with my car, of course. I know which independent shop here that see's old subaru's every day (which the dealer doesn't), and won't just try to sell me a new one (yes, the subaru dealer wouldn't even work on my car because it "wasn't worth fixing". They suggested looking in the lot for a newer one). I also had a friend take his older Nissan truck to the dealer for a 120 point inspection, and somehow they missed the fact that the rear break shoes were completely worn out. After replacing the master cylinder (which they told him to do), to no avail, he finally had a local gas station look at it, and they told him why his brakes were so mushy. Quite aside from price, I wasn't impressed with their knowledge a vehical they sold. I have had problems with two different independent shops. I have fairly new, low mileage, cars and will not trust them any more to a mechanic who does not specialize in Subarus. Also, because of the 3-year warrantee period, the independents don't see the new models until they are older, so they don't have experience with them. With at least 3 Subaru dealers in my area to choose from there is no reason for me to go to an independent except to save a few dollars, and IMHO it's not worth it. I want a mechanic who works on Subarus all day, has access to all of the factory bulletins, and uses OEM parts. And as long as my cars are under warrantee, they will go the dealer for service. Maybe I'll take them to an independent when they're older and I'm just trying keep them running cheaply. And THAT'S no B.S. EDIT: Okay. I just saw that Gary says this topic has been beaten to death already,so I won't post any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entidine Posted November 1, 2005 Author Share Posted November 1, 2005 All I'll say is don't do business with Salerno-Duane Subaru in Newton, NJ. People in the service dept. are rude, the sales manager is out to screw you, and the mechanics, based on my experiences there, are inept. I have had problems with two different independent shops. I have fairly new, low mileage, cars and will not trust them any more to a mechanic who does not specialize in Subarus. Also, because of the 3-year warrantee period, the independents don't see the new models until they are older, so they don't have experience with them. With at least 3 Subaru dealers in my area to choose from there is no reason for me to go to an independent except to save a few dollars, and IMHO it's not worth it. I want a mechanic who works on Subarus all day, has access to all of the factory bulletins, and uses OEM parts. And as long as my cars are under warrantee, they will go the dealer for service. Maybe I'll take them to an independent when they're older and I'm just trying keep them running cheaply. And THAT'S no B.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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