740gle Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Today, the first time since I got it new in November 2001, it refused to start. Was catching, while cranking, but choked and stalled immediatly. Popped up the hood while my son was cranking, Geez - sparks dancing around all-over the hi-voltage cables. WD-40 spray made it start again, apparently it needs new wires, so here are my questions: 1) Any preferred brand/vendor for the wires, except the dealer? 2) How does one get to them? I did manage to pull the ones from the two cylinders clossest to the front on both sides, but how do I get to the other two? Do I have to pull out the washer fluid reservoir, and whatever else is there in my way? 3) When I pulled the wire out from the cylinder on the driver side - it was all covered with the motor oil. The other one was clean. WTF? DO I need a new head or valve gasket? 4) What else should I replace/clean/grease as a PM under the hood on this car, and how do I get there?. Distributor is obviously not an issue here. Grounds? Sorry, if my questions sound trivial to the enlightened, This is the first time I am going to do anything beyond topping off the fluids and changing the oil on this car. Any advice, suggestions, real life experiences would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Liberty Subaru in your NJ has an online parts department. Call them up and ask for Discount Parts and buy genuine Subaru parts for cheap. The oil on the plug wires is a result of leaking grommets where the plugs go through the valve cover. Might as well replace them and the valve cover gaskets at the same time. Check with your dealer and see if this is considered part of the 5 year 60K drive train warranty. If it is, buy the wires and let the tech replace them when he does the grommets/gaskets:banana:. Yes you need to remove a few items to get to the plugs (washer unit may be able to be pushed aside but then again, if you change the plugs, you'll want clear and easy access so as to NOT cross thread those babies. You'll need a deep socket and extension to reach down in there and oh by the way grab the wires close to the plug. I know you're replacing them but it's good practice to see how to do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
740gle Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 Liberty Subaru in your NJ has an online parts department. Call them up and ask for Discount Parts and buy genuine Subaru parts for cheap. Never heard of them, thanks for the tip, I'll give them a call. Their web site doesn't seem to behave. The oil on the plug wires is a result of leaking grommets where the plugs go through the valve cover. Might as well replace them and the valve cover gaskets at the same time. Check with your dealer and see if this is considered part of the 5 year 60K drive train warranty. I have 88Kmiles on it, no warranty any more. :-( Can I just replace these grommets, without touching the valve covers/gaskets? If it is, buy the wires and let the tech replace them when he does the grommets/gaskets:banana:. What's Banana ? Do I have to replace valve gaskets to replace plugs? Is there any good reference, or manual, paper, or on-line? Thanks again for the advice, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 The grommets were done on my 2000 under warranty at the time and they replaced the valve cover gaskets I guess because SOA allowed this as a billing procedure. You may get away with reusing the old valve cover gaskets if they aren't damaged in removing the valve covers. You have to replace the grommets from the inside of the valve cover. Get a price breakdown from Discount Parts (remember when you call Liberty Subaru, ask for Parts and when Parts answers, ask, is this Discount Parts, then ask again if the price they quote is the Discount Parts price). You basically get the same price a local mechanic/shop would get. You don't have to replace valve cover gaskets to replace spark plugs but you need to remove the valve covers to access the grommets. It seems like you may have limited grease experience so I don't want to encourage a sink or swim attitude. If you aren't comfortable removing the valve covers then let someone else do the grommet work. Once in there, after they do the grommets, they can install the new components of plugs and wires instead of putting the old ones back on as they put things back together. The work isn't that difficult and might be a good father/son experience... every son needs to learn how to curse sometime! As far as Subaru repair info, use the SEARCH function on this site. Other basic auto repair stuff is available all over the net. The members here are very helpful so don't get hurt and ask questions if you get stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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