chilly b

dunno. sorry!

OK. The Chilly B Carfax Office is now closed. Please, no more requests to run a free Carfax! Sorry. Busy day. Cheers!

sure. whaddayaneed?

Thanks for all the input. Took the car to a local auto parts store (Kragen). They did the load test and the alternator came up "normal". So, it looks like the trouble was, in fact, with the battery. Whew. Did I buy more battery than I need? Yeah, probably. But, at some point in the near future, I may install another amp to power a subwoofer and will be thankful for the extra juice. Plus, call me crazy, but the stereo now seems louder than before, as if the amp was being pushed with more power. Might be my imagination but if it's true, that's a sweet little bonus.

Alright, I'll go do it right now.

But that's my point. I replaced the battery and the "glowing idiot lights" are gone. Are you saying that it's possible that there remains an alternator problem that is being "masked" by now having a fully charged (but slowly draining) battery in the car? Let's assume for the moment that that's the case. How would I check out the truth of that? In any event, the battery needed to be replaced anyway so, even if there is a larger problem lurking elsewhere, as far as this afternoon goes, worst case is that I spent $70-$80 more on a battery than I needed. That's not a small amount of money, no, but I'm also not going to get completely bent out of shape about it. Because, like I said, a new battery of some kind needed to be put in there anyway. But let's say you're right and there actually is an undiagnosed alternator problem. Given that there's a new high-powered battery in the car, when and how will the problem show up? What should I be on the alert for in terms of first signs? In short, other than waiting for the idiot lights to begin blinking again, how do I tell whether my alternator is working? Thanks for the input!

Too late. While driving down the highway on the way to the audio shop to have them check the electrical connections, the car essentially died on the highway. No, it didn't completely stall but in quick succession most of the instrument panel warning lights came on, the instrument gauges stopped working, the stereo conked out, the A/C stopped, even the hazards and turn signals stopped working, and the car wouldn't go more than 5 miles an hour. Needless to say, I was alarmed. I limped along to the audio shop, they confirmed that the problem seemed to be a ************ty battery (with a Jan 04 manufactured date!) and I decided, screw it, just put in the Optima and be done with it. So they slapped it in and 20 minutes later (and $150 lighter), everything was working again and I was back in business. Could I have just gone to a local auto shop and bought a $70 battery that was just as good. Maybe. But, given that I found out yesterday that the $600 DIY job I was about to do had already been done a year ago (but forgotten by the previous owner), I don't mind potentially wasting an extra $70-$80 for piece of mind. Yes, the Optima may be overkill for my car right now but at least I know I can depend on it. And Tahoe ski season is just around the corner. And I'm not concerned about having bought the battery at an audio shop. As I said earlier, I checked the internet and $150 is actually a good price for the battery. Especially given that I needed the damned thing right now. Plus, the audio shop folks won't forget this when I come back for a subwoofer...and another amp. That's my news for the day. Thanks everyone for the input!

Checked with the dealer. Turns out the alternator had already been replaced "sometime in the past" by the previous owner. Speaking with the dealer, he suspects that all the new electrical equipment (head unit, amp, alarm system) is putting a strain on an old battery and he recommends I just buy a new battery. As I mentioned early, a mechanic recommended the same thing three weeks, when doing the pre-purchase inspection. So here's my question this afternoon. Spoke with the audio folks. They sell a battery called the Optima Yellowtop for $150. That's a pricey battery! Did an internet check and that's actually a good price for it. Anyone here know about this battery? It's supposed to be good for cars that have a lot of electrical draw on the system. But is this overkill for me? Need to know quickly, as I want to have a new battery in the car while the sun's still shining out here in California. Thanks!

I have a '97 Legacy Outback. So, how exactly to I go about getting this replaced "for free" under the protection of the recall? Does it matter that I only bought the car two weeks ago and was not the owner of the car when the recall was announced? (I have no idea what the "rules" of recalls are) Thanks!

Hi all - Hoping you can help me figure out whether I have a problem with my alternator. This morning, on my way into work, the battery charge light and brake light came on. This happened after I'd been on the road about 30 minutes. I did a quick search of the board and it seems that this is a good indication of imminent alternator failure. But... Yesterday I installed a new stereo head unit, amplifier and new car alarm system. Also had the guys replace a broken driver's side door pin switch. Any possibility that any of this electrical work has led to the warning lights coming on? I need to know asap because if it's something the audio guys did, I want them to fix it pronto but if its got nothing to do with them, obviously I don't want to be an rump roast, blaming them for something unrelated to their work. Assuming that it is the alternator, am I still eligible for the alternator recall (and, if so, what are the logistics)?: 1997 SUBARU LEGACY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR Recall Date: MAY 15, 2000 Summary: THIS IS NOT A SAFETY RECALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SAFETY ACT. HOWEVER, IT IS DEEMED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN BY THE AGENCY. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE AN ALTERNATOR PROBLEM THAT CAN RESULT IN A LOSS OF CHARGING CAPABILITY. Consequence: IF THE ALTERNATOR FAILS, THE ALTERNATOR WARNING TELLTALE WILL ALERT THE DRIVER TO THE PROBLEM, GIVING AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK REPAIR BEFORE A LOSS OF BATTERY POWER, WHICH, IF THE WARNING WERE IGNORED, COULD ULTIMATELY RESULT IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE POWER (ENGINE STALL). Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR WITH A MODIFIED ALTERNATOR. OWNERS WILL ALSO BE CAUTIONED THAT, SHOULD THE ALTERNATOR TELLTALE WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATE, THEY MUST SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIR TO AVOID THE EVENTUAL LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER, WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL. Potential Units Affected: 223520 Notes: SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. Thanks! Maybe I just need a new battery? (this was flagged by the mechanic when he did the pre-purchase inspection three weeks ago.) Also, what risks am I running by driving the car while the battery charge light is on?

Cool. That I can do. I was worried I'd have to take everything apart just to even see the timing belt. I'll take a look at it this weekend and post pictures. Thanks!

The service manager wouldn't give me a copy of the service record (citing privacy issues of the previous owner) but he let have a quick look. There was too much there for me to remember but one odd thing was an notation for an "idler belt" for $135. The service mgr called someone about it and he told me that they claimed it was a reference to the tensioner (which seemed odd and wrong to me). Any possibility that this "idler belt" is actually the timing belt? Or is there really an idler belt separate from the timing belt?

Hello again all - Thanks to all of those who gave me valuable input as I was deciding to buy my '97 Outback. Well, I bought the car last week for $4000 (which seems like a good deal, considering that it's in reasonably good shape, has only 129,000 miles and had the head gaskets replaced last year.) One of the reasons I talked the previous owner down so low is that, according to him, the timing belt was long overdue for a change and that's a pricey job. Based on input from folks here on the Board, I was planning on ordering the parts online and doing the job myself (replacing the timing belt, plus the related jobs of replacing the water pump, thermostat, gaskets, seals, pulley, tensioner, hoses, etc.) But here's the weird thing... This morning I visited the shop that did te head gasket work last year, simply to get their help in listing all the parts I would need to order to do the work on the car. I got the parts list, then went over to the service department to see if i could look at the service record from the head gasket job last year (the previous owner had lost the receipt and had no record of exactly what had been done last year). To my astonishment, the service manager showed me that, last year, not only had the head gaskets been replaced, but the shop had also replaced the water pump, gaskets, seals, pulley, idlers, tensioner, idler belt). Who-hoo! All that work I had planned on doing myself (and had deducted from the price of the car) has already been done! Previous owner spent over $3000 fixing up the car last year and, for some reason, only remembered the head gaskets being replaced. His bad memory is my financial gain! But here's the part that makes no sense. On the repair sheet from last year, there was a long long list of replaced parts but no mention of the timing belt being replaced. That makes no sense. Even the service manager is perplexed. Why would the shop (a reputable, well-respected local Subaru shop) do a $3000 repair job, replace all that stuff, and then NOT replace a $70 timing belt. Service manager wasn't around back then and has no explanation other than that the timing belt may have seemed fine and so they decided not to bother replacing it. Does that make sense? The more imporant question is this: Assuming that for some reason the timing belt wasn't replaced last year (i.e., the shop didn't just forget to include it on the replaced part list), should I go with the service manager's recommendation and just leave it alone? Or should I buy a new one and replace it anyway? I apologize for the length of this post but I really would like some knowledgable input and thought that the full context was important. Any input from the tech mavens on the board would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Ah. Didn't know if this needed to be specified any more than this. I saw another thread on timing belt replacement (for an older Subaru) and people were indicating very specific wrenches. For example, in a thread regarding replacing the timing belt on an '87 Subaru, someone named "Moosens" indicated: "Tools: 10mm,12mm,14mm sockets and box/open end 8mm if you want to take the alternator all the way out-disconnect battery first off!! Punch or screwdriver or equiv. for stopping the flywheel and stopping the fan clutch. Good to have some large Channel locks for the cam pulleys. Breaker bar w/22mm socket,good to have a large pipe over the bar for leverage." He actually went into quite a bit of detail in the thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41833&highlight=timing+belt+tensioner Anyway, I was optimistically hoping someone had this same level of info for timing belt (and related item) replacement on a '97 Legacy Outback. Thanks!

Actually, the more I think about the broad DIY job, the more I like it. I'm no longer in the same income bracket I was in when I owned the Saab and really do need to shift out of my casual "pay the mechanic whatever he demands" mode. I'd rather "invest" the DIY savings in a good set of tools/supplies that I can use to do my own repairs and maintenance. Seems like it might be a good investment. So, as of right now, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and tackle the entire job at once. Having said that... will the Haynes manual indicate which tools I will need to use for the various parts of the job? And, no, I won't have another vehicle available while I'm in the guts of mine but there's a Kragen shop within easy biking distance!