hbadorties

Thank you brus brother and OB99W. Being limited in both the technical skills and harware I will attempt to, wait, what were you saying... And doesn't it figure that Subaru owners would know my reputation? And to bb, I don't know what it's like in Kichener-Waterloo area, not living there. Here's a link to the KW weather for you. But hey, Thanks for the advice. I gotta go, now, I'm being called and, wait, what's that I see in that pile of what some poor soul thinks is garbage over there - a wiper motor. Gotta get it. Bye.

Dear experts, The rear wiper on my 2001 Forester has become VERY slow. Indeed it stopped 1/3 of the way up once, requiring a manual push to get it to finish its inital swing, but it returned on its own. No grinding or other abnormal sounds. The temperature is hovering around freezing but I don't think this is temperature related as until now it has been fine in sub-freezing temperatures. Would lubrication help or does it sound like a replacement motor is required? Thanks in advance for any pointers...

Dear folks, I thought I should post a summary. I've now had two dealers inspect the 2001 Forester and both declare that the tapping sound from the engine when it is cold is piston-slap. It's not valves or timing belt tensioner, or anything else, so they tell me. They base this on the sound going away once the engine is up to temperature. That takes me roughly 10 minutes and perhaps 15km of driving, but it is not cold here, yet. I'm told to expect that warm up period to increase, obviously, in winter, and so the noise will last longer. Perhaps people might be interested in the letter Subaru Canada sent after I spoke to their warranty people: I hope this is indeed the case an that there's nothing for me to worry about. Doesn't it seem a bit weird that Subaru engineers (and apparently Honda and Toyota as well) would accept an engine design that made such a noise when cold? Perhaps they should have made these engines run on deisel, then we'd all accept the noise and be worried only if it dissappeared!

Well... I'm now told bythe dealer that they were in error saying the inspection would be covered under warranty but will not charge me anything, having indicated such earlier (that's honourable). They tell me the sound meets all the criteria Subaru have for "normal". The sound essentially goes away when the engine is up to temperature. I I am not satisfied with this, the next step would be to have the dealer call in the Subaru regional rep for his action (apparently he is empowered to make a decision as to whether there is a need to affect a repair or not and if Subaru will cover the costs). I'm told there are two types of possible repairs for "piston slap" - put in a "short-block" engine or replace the pistons on the left side with, I guess, ones designed for this purpose.

Hello, I have 3 questions regarding the fuel economy of the 2001 Forester S Automatic: What are the factory specs for fuel consumption? Under what conditions can factory specified fuel consumption be acheived? What fuel consumption can be expected in real-life? (Please note in your reply if you're referring to US or IMP gallons or use L/100km - I'm in Canada, eh?) Partial answers: I haven't found the factory specs but the fuel cunsumption specs I found at 123.com state 10.8 L/100km city and 7.4 L/100km highway. nothing yet Over at www.fueleconomy.gov users have reported 10.7/8.7 and 11.2/8.4 city/highway (L/100km). But who know how accurate that is. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply, I've had a chance to listen to a neighbour's '99 Outback with piston-slap. That noise is unquestionably like a diesel which is quite different than the sound I hear. I do hear this loud ticking that is present at idle - when cold. It is also louder under load (accelerating or going up a hill). However, it generally goes away after the engine temp passes the 1/3 mark on the gauge. In other words, by the time I drive 7-10 minutes to the dealer's, the engine is up to temp and the mechanic can't hear anything. I have been told by the Subaru mechanic that piston slap has a range of sounds and that they need to diagnose it when the car's cold - fair enough. Here's some potentially good news... the dealership has said that even though the car is slightly over 100,000km but is less than 5 years "roaded" Subaru will cover the costs of the inspection and any repairs that might be required. I did flag the issue with the dealer from whom I purchased the Forester (different city) about 2 weeks after I bought it (approx 102,500km). If indeed Subaru handles this whole thing under warranty (which I think they should), then I am pleased that they stand behind their products and don't hide behind the product being marginally out of warranty.

The 2001 Forester is an automatic (first automatic I've ever owned). I'm rather light on the throttle normally - so avoiding high revs is easy. But the taping noise is annoying, especially given that I didn't notice it when I checked out the car. I've had the car for less than 1,200KM so it may be that I'm reacting too strongly to every little thing. So, is this really normal and I have to live with it? Is there a definitive test/check to confirm piston slap? Thanks.

Dear experts, When I start up my 2001 Forester (104,000KM - but just purchased by me) there is a tapping sound from the engine that goes away once it is sufficiently warmed up. It sounds like a sewing machine and is louder under load. This morning it was 16 degrees C and the noise was most noticable, but again, once the engine is sufficiently warmed up the noise ceases. I'm told that these 2.5L boxer engines just do this. Some say it takes a little while for the oil to fully distribute others say it's got something to do with the exhaust system. Though I've not had it fully inspected by a Subaru mechanic, the one I spoke with didn't think anything was unusual - but of course the engine was warm at that time. Any advice would be most welcome.... Thanks!