subsince77

I know this thread is several months old, but I just discovered that my 09 OBW is going to need the spark plug seals replaced. Gary, you mentioned that the valves can be set on these engines? I always thought they were shim and bucket. Is that not correct? And, there seems to be disagreement on whether the valve covers will come off without moving the engine. How about on my 09?

Hi all, first post in several years. I have an 09 OBW, 4EAT with 84,000 miles on it. I do regular changes on the transmission fluid - I do the one drain and fill every three oil changes method. Dif oils changed at 20,000 when I got it, and again today, although I didnt really think this is a dif problem. Everything looks good. About three weeks ago I started noticing a low frequency humming or growling noise. It is almost like tire noise, but isn't. I can only hear it on really smooth, or brand new, pavement. On rough pavement the road noise drowns it out. It seems to start at around 30 or 35. It increases a little with speed, but never becomes loud - yet. Is this a wheel bearing? In many hundreds of thousands of miles with three Subarus, I've never had a wheel bearing go out. Any thoughts? Thanks.

They are telling me four hours. Can't possibly take that long, not even for me in my gravel driveway, but things always seem to take a long time at the dealership. We just turn it into a day in "The Big City," and run around town in one of their shiny new 2012 legacys.

So the one dealer had told me instantly that the seals are not covered under the 60 drivetrain warranty. I called another dealer, they researched and said they are. I called the original one back, they are the ones I usually take it too and asked if they would check again. Basically they came back and said "the service manager is going to say the seals are covered since the gaskets are." So my impression is that they either can't find the information, or don't want to do the job. Bottom line, I think I will set up an appointment and get them changed for free. Both are a long way from home, and the one I usually use has loaners, the other doesn't.

Thanks.

Thanks Gary. I called one dealer that I work with quite a bit, got a person that I have never talked to before. She immediately said those seals are not covered. I called another dealer, they are looking into it. Otherwise, it doesn't look too bad to do, I just shouldn't have to already - seems to me anyway.

I changed the plugs on my '09 Outback yesterday. First let me say what a pleasure that was in comparison to the old '97 DOHC! It took 55 minutes from breaking out the tools to having everything put away. I removed the air box, but nothing else. No cursing, no broken knuckles. Nice! Anyway, I noticed that two of the seals around spark plug hole are weeping. Nothing down in the plug hole yet, but it won't be long. #4 looks pretty wet. That was a little disappointing at only 40 K, but oh we'll. My question is, is there any point in my retorquing the valve covers to see if that would stop these leaks, or do I just need to get gaskets and seals and pull them off? If retorquing is an option, anyone know the proper torque for valve cover bolts? Hmmm, just realized, I'm still on the Subaru 60K drivetrain warranty. I wonder if they would do this for me? Thanks.

Really? It looks so much easier than the DOHC was. Those were hard, but I got used to it. It looks like I'll want to take out the air box for sure. Getting around the fuse box on the rear driver's side looks the worst. But I haven't done it yet. At least they seem to be at a little better angle, and it feels like a little more room in there over all.

That's good news. My '97 used the really expensive laser platinums and they lasted forever. This car takes a more "average" NGK, so I didn't know what kind of milage to expect from them. I thought the maintenance schedule suggested replacement at 30k, could be wrong. The car is running fine, and the one plug I pulled looked really good other than the gap. Maybe I'll leave them awhile.

My 09 Outback has just about 40k on it now. I pulled the #1 plug and it looked good, but a lot of gap. I don't want to go through the hassle of pulling them all just to gap them, so I think I will replace the plugs on the next nice day. My question is, would you replace the wires too? I usually do, but the plugs on my 97 used to go 80 to 100 thousand miles. It doesn't seem like I would need to do wires on this car every time I do plugs. Maybe every other. What does anyone think?

I will pass this along to my friend. I gather he doesn't do HG jobs on Subarus, which is good, because his shop really isn't set up well for it, but good info for him anyway. So is this what you guys are doing on gen 3's also? Turbo HG's? Just thinking ahead in case my '09 ever betrays me. My CCI engine served me very well, and is in fact still running around the Western Slope.

Thanks everyone. I talked to him today. He knows about the pressure sensor, and this oil was not coming from the front of the engine. After cleaning it off, and letting the car run, he said it didn't take long for it to create a new puddle! That's a lot of oil. He was convinced that it was coming out of the top of the head/block seam, and told the customer as much. They are deciding what they want to do now. This was a new one for me.

That's the way I remembered it from replacing one on my 97, but that was years ago. Thanks.

He says it's oil. He doesn't know Subarus very well, but he does know oil .

Hi everybody, I have a mechanic friend that called me today to ask if Subarus leak oil from the top of the head gasket. He is working on a 2001 Outback, that came in with oil polled on the top of the engine, and running down the back of the engine. He was expecting it to be the oil pressure sending unit when the customer said they had oil on top, but he says this is more toward the rear. He wondered if they ever leak from the knock sensor. I said I had never heard of an HG leak on top. He is sure it is not the valve cover gaskets. So I told him I would post a question and see what you all come up with. Any ideas?

I have read before that the gas transport and storage regulations these days are extremely strict, to the point of putting a number of Mom and Pop gas stations out of business. Could be true judging by the flood of regulations on all walks of life these days. So, I guess we don't spend $20, or whatever it was, on a fuel filter once a year, but we spend two to three times as much for gas. What a deal. Now to find that PCV valve.

I appreciate the info everyone. I'm just still curious as to why fuel filters used to Ned to be replaced, but now apparently do not. I learned to replace them years ago when our Nissan pickup nearly stopped running in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico one night. It was so plugged that it would slow down to a crawl up every hill. Changed the filter, and off we went. You would think that if fuel needs to be filtered, then a filter would eventually plug up and need to be replaced. Again, no problems now, this just seems like one of those things that should have remained easily user serviceable, and in an obvious location.

I assume since it is in the tank it is non-replaceable? Or is this still a maintenance item under the back seat or something? There are no manuals, for regular folks for this car yet. At least not that I can find. Does the fuel filter not get plugged up any more? How could that be if it is doing its job? Danged new-fangled machinery! As to the PCV, I know it has to be there, it just isn't where my old one was. I was just looking around while trying to find the fuel filter. I didn't look very long.

In tank - that doesn't sound good. I'm not having any problems, but normally I would replace one about now - 36k. There sure isn't anything under the hood that resembles a fuel filter though. Can't see a PCV valve either, but it must be there.

So, where in the heck is the fuel filter on my '09 OBW? The left rear quadrant of the engine compartment is noticeably bare.

It's not my car, but they have probably had it four years or so. The engine seemed to run fine, I didn't notice any issues. Oh, they did recently have an 0400, EGR code. Got it cleared and it has not come back yet. But nothing was done to address the source of that problem. Next time I get a chance I'll experiment with shifting in manually.

That's right, I was going to ask about this. I have a good friend who owns the local Car Quest, and he was just telling me that there is now a thermostat that should work on Subarus. I figured that until some other brave soul tries one I'm sticking with original, having gone down that road in the past, but I am anxious to hear if these actually work.

Just a quick update. We did the 3X D&F with regular Dextron III. The whole transmission feels MUCH smoother, but she is still getting a little bump starting out from a stop. The car moves forward right away, but when it upshifts to 2nd, it is a little rough. It's not terrible, but it isn't right. The husband thinks the car has done that since they owned it, the wife thinks it's new. In this case, neither is car savvy at all, but the wife wants to learn. Actually she did the last two drain and fills while I watched and poured the old fluid into containers. She wants to learn to change the oil now. I haven't had a chance to drive it again to see how much improvement there is. I'm not an additive guy, but maybe they should try something. And there was no external filter. Must be just 99's. Thanks for all the help. If something more comes up, I'll let you know.

that's an interesting idea. I like to use synthetic because of our extreme winter cold, and I figure it just protects better. But I wonder if running good quality non-synth would have any effect on the longevity of the HG's. No way to prove it one way or the other at this point.

I noticed that about the dipstick graduation on my 09. I like to keep things anally right at the full line. Sometimes I drive myself nuts. It only takes a little once you get above the hot low mark, and new fluid is hard to see. Couple that with some lining the tube, and it gets interesting. On my car, I always check the level before I start and make sure it is full, always has been because it is pretty new. Then I carefully measure what I take out in a 1 quart measuring cup, and put exactly the same amount back in. Tedious, but you end up with a full tranny that isn't overfilled again.