One Year Repairs ' 95 Subaru

[mikec03]

After 3 years of almost no repairs on my '95 sub, the following is the repairs of the last 12 months. Current milage is 183,000.

 

Exhaust pipe repair $70

Fuel fill pipe leak $50 [DIY]

Valve gasket oil leak $30 [DIY]

Front brake lock up $380

Rear differential oil leak $140

Rear brake pad replacement $140

Timing belt $730

Fuel pump replacement $50 [DIY]

Misc. $150

 

The timing belt replacement was very expensive because the screws were frozen in the back covers. I had to pay not only for replacement covers, but also to reassemble the front end belts and wait a week for the replacement covers to be delivered.

 

I hope this is the end of the problems for a while.

[tcspeer]

What was causing the front brake to lock up? Someone I know was having this problem a few months back.

[Bigbusa]

Don't be afraid to tackle the brakes yourself. It takes almost no mechanical ability to put new pads in either the front or the rear of a subaru. It's so easy!

 

Did they replace the timing belt tensioner & rollers, water pump, cam shaft seals or crankshaft seals when they did the timing belt? Other than the small investment in parts, there's no reason not to do those things when doing a timing belt.

 

How did you spend $50 on repairing a DIY fuel filler leak? $50 would buy a lot of JB weld.

 

My front brakes weren't releasing fully causing premature pad wear. It was as simple as replacing the calipers. Ask for "loaded calipers" so the pads are already installed in the calipers. 2 bolts and the brake line. That's it. Another very easy job.

Edited October 11, 2009 by Bigbusa

[mikec03]

Yes, someone did tell me later that I should have done the breaks myself, but when I took the car to the dealership, I thought it was a front bearing. It sounded just like a bearing failing and it was very hot.

 

Using JB weld on such a critical area as the gas filler pipe seems penny wise. Parts of the pipe were paper thin. The used pipe was in almost new condition so I can forget about a future problem in this area for $50.

 

I did not have the dealership replace the idlers, seals, or water pump. It is after all a non interference engine [last year] so there's not much danger of losing the engine. It was probably pound foolish but time will tell.

 

Also, I want to point out that even though I spent $1800, it could have been a lot worse. I could have easily spent another $2000 on these repairs if I wasn't so stingy.