new to the board. have a 2001 outback and a few questions

[2001outback]

Hey guys,

Im new to the board. Been searching and reading all day. I recently bought a 2001 Outback Limited. 4cyl Auto transmission (b/c of the wife). 72,000miles

 

i have a few questions:

 

1. what kind of gas mileage should i be getting. hwy or city?

 

2. i am not expecting the car to be fast, but I thought it would be a little more "peppy" then it is.

 

3. does anyone make any mods for the outback? cold air intake...anything? i cant find anything for the outback, just impreza.

 

4. Anything else i need to know or keep an eye on?

 

i just replaced spark plugs, rear pads, tranny flush and refill. replacing plugs was weird, i have never owned a car where they are down inside the block. is there supposed to be a little oil on the top side of the plugs in the block?

 

thanks

[2001outback]

oh yea,

last questions. 1. where can i get a repair manual? it seems haynes, which i am used to using, does not make one for this model.

2. when should the timing belt be changed?

 

thanks

[cookie]

Let's see what I can remember of your questions. A lot of folks get in the 25 mpg range overall as I do in my Forester. Up or down a bit for conditions, fuel, and equipment.

There should not be oil on your plugs, you probably have leaking sealing gaskets and it may help a bit to replace them. Your plugs are in the head, just down there a bit.

I believe your timing belt replacement should be 105,000 miles if I recall correctly.

For manuals the beat is found a Endwrench on the web and can be downloaded.

[nipper]

1- depending upon driving habits etc 19-29 seems the range, a few get higher, get lower then 19 ans it needs to be investigated.

 

2- Its actually a heavy car with 4wheel drive, large tires, and a 4 cylinder engine.

 

3- SUbaru is a free breathing engine. There are cold air induction units, but you cant go cheap on them. Buy the wrong one and it makes more headaches then its worth

 

4- Make sure all the tires are inflkated equally. Alltires must match. If you drive on the spare you need to install the FWD fuse under the hood. Change tranny fluid and antifreeze regularly. Driving on mismatched or a flat tire can harm the AWD unit. Change the timing belt at the recomended intervals, since its an interference engine. do NOT EVER over heat the car.

 

1- There isnt one for the 2001 yet, but a haynes manual will be about 80% correct from the previuos years.

 

2- 105,000 miles and you do the waterpuump, thermostat, cam and main seals, and reseal the oil pump, replace the tensioner and inspect idlers, then your good for another 105,000 miles.

 

PS car is bullit proof if you take care of it. It can be abused but those are the points to know of.

 

welcome

 

nipper

[porcupine73]

Good buy 2001outback! Yep if you take care of it that car will give you lots of good service.

 

Per your numbered questions/comments:

 

1. I get between 24 and 30 mpg in '00OBW using 10% ethanol gasoline.

 

2. If you're having issues with 'pep', then maybe try premium gas for a few tanks just to see what happens, and run a good fuel injector cleaner like RedLine SR-1 or maybe seafoam with it. Mine seems sluggish if I don't that regularly.

 

3. Don't know of any mods; maybe make sure the air filter is clean. Make sure all the intake parts are there; not sure but maybe it's a 'tuned' intake? (I mean there are parts there that don't seem to have any logical purpose.)

 

4. What nipper said.

 

I had some oil down in my spark plug holes too. It's a result of the spark plug hole seals. I just replaced them and the valve cover gaskets. The spark plug hole seals compress with time and then leak little bit. Here's a picture of my leaky ones and the new ones: (new is on left; used is on right)

[porcupine73]

Oh yes I forgot to mention, Haynes did recently publish a 'Repair Manual' (or at least that's what they call it). I just picked one up at Pepboys yesterday, it's for Subaru Legacy & Forester, 2000 thru 2006. I don't really like Haynes a whole lot and have OE manuals, but like to check Haynes procedure sometimes to see how the suggest doing a job without the special Subaru tools.

[2001outback]

thanks everyone for welcoming me and answering all my questions.

so do i have to take off the valve covers to get to and replace the spark plug seals?

 

now i am confused on the repair manuals...

porcupine: said that the haynes legacy and forester is the same as the Outback?

 

and cookie: said to search for endwrench?

 

I guess my gas milage is about right, i thought it would be a little higher, but i guess being heavy and awd it is right.

 

Nipper: where is a good place to find the right intake? any other mods besides intake and exhaust?

 

is the engine and engine compartment the same as a legacy? so any preformance parts i find for a legacy will fit my outback? assuming same year

thnaks to all

[porcupine73]

Hi 2001Outback!

 

so do i have to take off the valve covers to get to and replace the spark plug seals?

Yes, the valve covers have to come off to replace those spark plug seals. Then you might as well install new valve cover gaskets and maybe those little sealing washers that are around the bolts 6-8 bolts that hold the valve cover on. You might be due for checking the valve clearance anyway, but not sure how important that is.

 

porcupine: said that the haynes legacy and forester is the same as the Outback?

Well, for those model years (2000-2006) it is anyway, and I have the previous years edition too, it can be a bit generic in some areas and sometimes wrong in other areas. I would go with the OE manuals if possible, but that can be a lot more price than a haynes manual. The haynes for 2000-2006 just came out a few months ago so not every store might have it. Another option might be AllDataDiy; I have that too and use it a lot and it seems pretty good and it basically must have been taken right from the OE manuals at least for Subaru's.

EndWrench.com is Subaru's Web site for auto repair shops and stuff and has nice articles and information and things about common jobs; it's very cool esp. since it's free.