30K Mi. 2007 Legacy Advice Sought

[Hester]

My little brother put 30,000 miles on the 2007 legacy that he took delivery of in the autumn of 2006 and now its time to do some maintenance. The car is in New York with him and I am in California. I'm looking for tips and recommendations for maintenance items to supplement those listed by Subaru.

 

So far we have:

 

Spark Plugs, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, Coolant, Transmission Oil, Differential Oil, Brake Fluid and Power Steering Fluid.

 

For the transmission and differential, I am not very familiar with Subaru's but am guessing that one differential is between the rear wheels like most front engine/rear drive set-ups and the front differential is part of the transmission, sharing the same reservoir of lubricant (my brother's Legacy is a manual shift). Can anyone help me with the location of the drain and fill points and the type/grade of lubricant required?

 

I also am looking for a recommendation for a coolant mix. I was thinking 50/50 for the summer. Does anyone have a spec on the capacity of the cooling system?

 

Is there anything that I'm missing?

[idosubaru]

i personally wouldn't do much of that until the 60k mark. power steering, brake fluid, gear oil and coolant is way overkill at this point unless he's racing or doing towing/heavy weights or hard driving of some sort.

[four-fleet-feet]

I will admit I do more maintenance on my vehicles than the average person; then again, I can't afford to break down in the middle of nowhere. What I've said might be overkill, but if it's peace of mind you're after, here's my 2 cents' worth.

 

Considering it's in New York, I'd do the fuel filter, air filter, and a check of all the other fluids. If you want to do the coolant, why go 50/50 only for the summer? You won't be doing it again this year; if you usually run 60/40 or 70/30 for winter snow, do your winter concentration now. I usually run 60/40 year round, whether on the East Coast, West Coast, or the summer Southwest.

 

30k miles is steep mileage for just over one year; still, I think you can go without the brake fluid flush unless the car is used in steep terrain or used to pull a trailer/haul heavy loads. Same for the power steering; unless you've been hearing noises, or feeling problems in the wheel, I think that's good for at least 10k more miles. Same for the transmission, unless you've noticed a color change or smell change on the stick. *****If the trans fluid seems dicey, change it. It's cheaper than a new trans. Considering the price of fluid, if you don't want to do 3 drain-n-fills, a flush at a Subaru dealer seems to run $139 nationwide.***** Oops, just noticed it's a manual. Forget changing it. 30k on a manual is nothing. Wait a little bit.

 

Differentials are another matter. I used to do mine every 15k when I knew I'd be in the mountains a lot (twisting & turning in dicey weather) or knew I'd be hauling heavy loads. If the car is doing a lot of mountain driving, go ahead and do them. If not, check them and check again in 10k. If you know the sound of a well-lubed diff, you can HEAR when it's getting dirty. (If you don't know the sound, by the time you DO hear a noise, it's too late...)

 

Plugs - here, I'm going to go against what most people on this board will say and tell you to change them. They're less than $10 for four NGK plugs (the only ones I recommend, look at the manual, the specific NGK plugs are listed) and pulling your old ones will give you an idea how the engine's doing. Considering the price of gas, even a mile of MPG would be worth it if the new plugs gave an increase.

 

Four simple things which will do quite a bit:

-One: change your radiator cap. Cheap and easy, after 30k it's done its duty. Check all the hoses, clamps, and connections.

-Two: change all three wiper blades, then get a bottle of Rain-X and use it on every window, mirror, and head/tail light on the car.

-Three: go to a good car wash with the underpanel sprays and get all that winter crud off of the underside, then do the engine while you're at it. A clean engine is easier to keep tabs on.

-Four: get a Chilton or Haynes manual for the car and keep it in it. Better yet, sit down and read it a few times. Even if you're not a car geek, it will aid you immensely in case of problems.

 

I know others will be along to pooh-pooh what I've said; I know aircraft-engineer will be one of them. I don't care. All I do know is that I put anywhere from 25k to nearly 100k (miles, people!) on my vehicles a year and I've never broken down in the middle of nowhere or had a catastrophic failure on the road (knock on wood, and one flat does not count). What I've said is what I'd do.

 

Your choice; hope I've been of help.

(Make that FIVE things: check those tires! Wearing funny? Get the suspension checked, and the alignment. If there isn't a tire gauge in the car, GET ONE. At the price of four tires, it's a cheap investment.)

[Hester]

Well, I've always overdone the maintenance on my cars on the theory that, maintenance items like fluids and filters are cheaper than parts and components and an over-maintained car inspires more confidence on a dark and stormy night than a car maintained to even the manufacturer's minimum recommendations.

 

Also, I like getting all of the maintenance taken care of once in the Spring and once in the Autumn. That leaves the hot summer and holiday rush of winter free of car maintenance concerns.

 

My little brother is 28 and he has a badge. I suspect that, although he isn't towing anything or doing much mountain or off-road driving, his car gets a good workout regularly.

 

30,000 miles in a year is pretty crazy and I don't expect that the rate will be slowing anythime soon (although he is getting married this year and that tends to slow down the best of us).

 

I pegged the differentials as something that should get attention. It snows a fair amount in New York and I am sure that he gets a fair amount of wheel spin. Do those cars have limited slip or open differentials? Does he need an additive for the limited slip? Is the lubricant reservoir for the front differential separate from the one for the transmission?

 

I may be old school but, I believe two coolant changes a year is good practice. Change it once in the spring with a summer mix and once in the autumn for the winter.

 

At the rate he's going, by the time he gets to September, he will have another 15,000 miles so I am going to recommend that he does all of this stuff now. As for the transmission, its up to him but a few dollars worth of gear oil is cheaper than a transmission and it will inspire confidence.

 

He already bought the Chiltons.

[mattgold]

For the 5MT, seems (Redline) 75W90NS for the gearbox and 75W90 for the rear diff is the recommended way to go, IIRC 4 litres for the front and 0.8 litres for the rear, not sure if this has changed for the 2007. Fill and drain plugs for the rear diff are at the rear of the diff, easy to see but probably a pain to fill. Front drain should be easy to locate once you locate (and don't confuse it with) the engine oil drain. Fill through the (transmission) dipstick (probably requires a small funnel or two and some hose).

I'm about to do this for the first time to my 5MT so I'm keen to hear any other tips.

 

M.

 

(coolant capacity should be at the back of the service manual)

[gbhrps]

The one item missed here is the brakes. At this mileage they need to be inspected, taken apart, cleaned, relubed and reinstalled. It'll prevent uneven pad wear, extend their life, and give you a good indication as to when you need to replace them.

[Hester]

I told him to buy a vacuum brake bleeder and change out the brake fluid.

 

I am big on preventative maintenance and, yes, taking the calipers off and lubricating the friction points so that the brake pads float in the caliper mount bracket and the caliper slide freely on the pins might inrease the life of the brake pads (if there were a problem in either of those areas) but that might be a little overkill (not that I don't appreciate your input).

 

At this point in the car's service, the most important maintenance is probably changing fluids and filters.

 

Speaking of fluids, I think I should add the clutch master and slave cylinders, assuming that the 07 Legacy has those. Does anybody know?

[mattgold]

...

 

Speaking of fluids, I think I should add the clutch master and slave cylinders, assuming that the 07 Legacy has those. Does anybody know?

 

Don't know, but here is a handy link I found - http://www.northursalia.com/modifications/drivetrain/cbleed/cbleed.html - athough the article seems to assume the system has already lost prime??? Anyway it shows how to flush the cylinders I guess.

 

M.