mtbe

Okay: I do not give it enough time to settle. I will give it some time on my next test, but it will have to wait until I return from China. When I say 2x, the level was up to the point on the stick where it curves (or bent?), not including the curve...just up to the point where the curve begins.

Okay: First, thank you all for your replies. I took it to the dealer for its 120K checkup. I drove it for about 3000 miles. I decided to check because I did smell oil, that may have been coming from my car, or it may have been someone elses. When I checked it with the engine warm, it indicated about 2x the full level. I checked it in several places and all were the same with the engine warm. I took it to the dealer with a nasty gram. They called later in the day and said that the level was not over FULL and in fact was below FULL. WTF???? So, after work I went in and he showed me the stick. It in deed was below the full mark. It was showing slightly above the 3/4 mark. WTF was going on here??? He said I had to be careful how I read the stick because some of the oil can 'cling' to the side of the stick. YES, I know how to read a stick! So, I pushed it off on Murphy's Law, not wanting to suggest they changed/drained the oil. I get home and check it again. It was 2x the level again!!! I'm an idiot! While at the dealer, the engine was cold. So, do we check it while warm or cold?

Checked it 3 times now in 3 different places. I'm taking it in tomorrow.

'99 Forester, 124K miles, Manual. About 3 months ago, I took it in for the 120K service. It came out and the tires were still low. I walked back in to explain and they agreed. When the maintenance supervisor drove it back out and handed me the keys, he joked, "It makes you wonder what else they missed". So, over the next several thousand miles I smell oil off and on. Not very frequently so I speculated it was coming from autos in front of me. At about 123.5K miles, I smell it closer to home. So, once there, I check the oil. It was about 2 times over the Full limit!!! This was 2 days ago. I will be taking it back to them tonight or first thing in the morning to at least show them and get an oil change, but what else will this do to the engine? Should I have them take it apart and inspect the valves or anything???? I'm no mechanic, so any help is appreciated.

The condensate drain for my A/C is plugged, and in the summer, every time I make a sharp turn, the water overflows and spills into the passenger or driver's footwell. Where is the drain tube and what is the best way to access it/clean it?

In summer when using the A/C, sometimes the condensate drain becomes plugged and water will spill into the driver or passenger side feet area..... but not the back.

I just put TOYO Open Country on my '99 Forrester with 120k miles. Have about 5k miles on them and they seem pretty good so far. Haven't seen snow or ice in Ohio yet.... Had Michelin X-ones prior and they were great but can't find them anymore.

It very well could have been. They are not that way now, but this past summer and winter one tire I've contantly had to fill. Just had it checked and fixed with rim sealer. I didn't realize that it had that much of an affect.....

Being non mechanical: Yes, I'm the one that had the VCU failure. The car has an unalignment problem now. It has been that way for maybe 1000-1500 miles. I thought maybe that could have caused the viscous coupling to fail and wanted to kick myself if that was the case. Plus, I probably had the alignment done, at the dealer, 5000 miles ago. And now, it is worse than what it was before. I did take it to a respected tire dealer and asked him about the wear (I wanted to change the tires) and he said that they were fine and I probably could get another 10,000 miles out of these. I do rotate them at 7500 miles, sometimes less.

Two Questions: Is there any mechanical damage to an un-aligned car? I know there will be damage to the tires and difficult steering/handling, but can this lead to mechanical damage in the differentials, or something else, also? Once aligned, how long should it last? Is it pretty much once you drive off the mechanic's lot after alignment, it's in your own hands. 100... 1000... 2500 miles down the road and you're paying for a new alignment?

It ends up that it was the center differential viscous coupling unit. I just had it replaced and it is not making that noise again. Thank you everyone for your help and ideas!!! I hope to return the favor some day.

Great pics. Those helped alot. Well. Just came back from the dealer with a new Viscous Coupling Unit and it seems that that was it. No more noise!!!

Can the center differential on a manual bind? I've read elsewhere that this is a viscous coupling, and if it fails, it fails open (back wheels do not spin - no AWD)....

Are you suggesting I change the front axles also at this time? Or are you saying that they may try to snooker me into that as well? I'm no mechanic, so I've no idea.....

Well, the tires are all the same manufactuer, size and wear....now. But for a little while (maybe 1-2000 miles, off and on), I was running low on one or two tires. Not sure if this is long enough to cause damage. Finally sealed the rims and that took care of that problem.