The Dude

The first oil/filter change is at 3,000 mile, instead of the usual 7,500 miles.

I have a new 2006 Forester, and the fact that the car has only door lock, kind of makes me feel uneasy. Three door locks on my 99 Forester, only the one lock on the driver's door on my 06. Hey, do door lock ever freeze or break? They sure as hell do. Now you've only got one, and the remote as the "back up". It's cutting it a little fine, if you ask me. What's next, only one sunvisor that you switch from the driver's side to the passenger's side as needed?

It's not happenning with the DRLs on my 2006 Forester. They are wasting gas, and I want them out. Other than using a brick, does anyone know how to put them out? The procedure seems to vary by Subaru model and year.

The spark plug gaskets in my 99 Forester leaked oil for over 120,000 miles without ever causing a problem. So, maybe there's no need to be in a big rush fixing it.

Subaru seems to have more wheel bearing failures than some other manufacturers. Is the problem with a rusty outer CV cup unique to Subaru axles? Subaru likes to pitch their cars as being suited for heavy service. How do other manufacturers deal with the rusty CV cup problem? Great post on the rusty CV cup, BTW!!

As long as your engine does not "knock", you should be OK. The ECU should be able to handle moderate knocking by retarding the ignition timing. If you experience severe engine knocking, which is unlikely, stop the car. Severe knocking can cause serious damage to the engine. It happens rarely, but knocking has been known to shatter a piston!!

I don't know, Oscar. I see where July, the warmest month in Iceland, has an average daily high of 56F/13C. Not so warm by South Carolina, USA standards. I also see Iceland has a lot of rain and cloud cover. I'm guessing that convertibles aren't real popular in Iceland. On the other hand, free geo-thermal power is a nice thing to have.

You are legally entilted to have your car restored to it's precrash condition. That means a new fender, not bondo. The aggrieved party has a legal right to be "made whole".

As much as I love my Subaru, screw the car. Did you nail the perp? Hit and run is right, air-head chickie needs to spend some time in front of a judge. Preferrably one in a really bad mood.

If I remember correctly, seized cams from oil starvation were/are a known issue with the 2.5L DOHC engine. Apparently the some of the oil passages are very narrow in this engine. I'm not saying it happens a lot, just more often then you might expect.

Without question, new speakers are the most cost effective way to upgrade the stock Subaru sound system. The head unit isn't great, but it really isn't that bad either. The stock speakers, however, are very, very bad. They are truly horrible. About $100-$150 will buy you a very nice pair of replacement speakers. Trust me, it will be the best $100 you ever spent on the car. I speak from experience.

Yes, a belated thank you, Ferret. Your information was spot on.

I would highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Small Claims Court procedures in your state. Assume that you are going to have sue this guy, and hope that you don't. This guy made a pile of money off you, chances are he's going to try to hold on to it.

You're close, one thing you can do with a MT that you should NEVER do with an AT is rock the car back and forth to break loose from a rut in the snow or ice. However, one very cool thing that an AT can do that a MT can't is increase torque to the wheels without the wheels having to move. That's why many people, myself included, feel that, overall, an AT is better on snow and for towing. BTW, rocking back and forth is not recommended even with an MT. If you're not carefull you could break a gear tooth.

Have you checked the ball joints? A possible cheap and easy repair for your handling problems.

If the replacement radiator cap was genuine Subaru, it sure sounds like a classic blown head gasket to me. You could have the coolant "sniffed" for combustion gases if you wish to confirm the diagnosis. Phase I head gasket replacement has been successfully done by a number of owners on this board. Most of the owners were "shade tree" amateur mechanics. Therefore, a compentent and experienced professional mechanic SHOULD be able to handle the job. But you know your mechanic personally. Will he stand tall if something goes wrong with the head gasket repair?

No, the clutch usually wears out well before the tranny. Clutch life is highly variable. It depends on the where the car is driven (city or highway), and the skill of the driver. Some people manage 120,000 miles before the clutch goes, but I would say around 80,000 miles may be around average. It is not cheap to replace the clutch. The MT tranny will eventually wear out. At some point a MT will need a major rebuild or replacement, it is highly variable, but I'll guess at around 200,000 miles may be about average. On many MT trannies the synchros are the first to wear out. With worn synchros the tranny will shift very poorly. I've owned both AT and MT cars. I like MTs, but I'll have to say that ATs have improved almost every year. They keep on getting more reliable, and there is virtually no gas mileage penalty left for buying an AT. AT's are better for towing and on snow. The financial incentive for chosing a MT has narrowed or just about disappeared. Now it's largely a question of do you want the greater control of MT, or the greater convience of a AT?

I had a 99 Forester with 200,000 miles on it. I must have had my mojo going because the TOTAL for non-normal maintenance repairs was $175.00 (I installed two ball joints and a rebuilt axle) So, I bought a new 06 Forester last month. So far, I like it. 2,000 miles down, 198,0000 to go. Basically its the same car as the 99, but with much appreciated refinements. The stupid cup holder over the stereo is gone. The car now has a built in arm rest for the driver's right arm. Remote open, cruise control, and alarm are now standard. A locking gas cap flap has been added. Hey, there's an outdoor temperature gauge. If a stranded blue whale ever needs to have a rectal temperature taken, this car can do the job. A little more horsepower. And yes, I am getting a mile or two better mpg with the 06. Downs Temporary spare-big down, no more leg room in the back, just a crappy, cheesy spare Same horrible standard speakers, the worst in the car biz. Nasty mesh map holder compartments DRLs, do I suddenly live in Canada? All in all, the 06 is nicely improved over the 99.

You only replaced the head unit? The stock Subaru speakers are absolute garbage, the absolute pitts of the cut rate car audio universe. An upgraded head unit will only further demonstate the infinite crappiness of the stock speakers. If you won't do it for yourself, for heaven's sake do it for your passengers, replace those speakers NOW.

I had a Chrysler product that blew a main bearing at 100,000 miles. I asked around and found a shop that specialized in engine replacement. They only installed engines from a regional rebuilder. I did some due dilligence, checked the BBBs, and state attorney's office for any problems with both companies. They both came back sqeaky clean. I picked up my car with the newly installed rebuillt engine. The very next day the low oil light came on, I immediately pulled over, checked the dipstick and saw that all the oil was gone. The engine was ruined. It burnt a quart of oil every 500 miles, and eventually blew the head gasket. The installer kept jerking me around. He claimed that the installation was done right, but the rebuilder gave him a bad engine. The rebuilder claimed that they had given installer a good engine, but he had botched the installation. I got the impression that these guys may have "played" a customer like this before, more than once. What saved me was that I bought the rebuilt engine THROUGH the installer. Anyway you sliced it, the installer was on the hook. After two months of fun and games with this " professional installer" I had him served with a Magistrate's Court (small claims court) summons. Even then the guy didn't make good, he set his collections attorney up against me. He even got the court date postponed. Two days before the final court date he agreed to put in a replacement engine. Bad, bad, bad experience. If a rebuilt engine fails and even if the rebuilder makes good, you're still out addtional remove and install costs and shipping. It is not a risk free deal.

On the other hand Honda, Toyota, and Nissian have done the right thing in the past by having voluntary recalls for their customers. Last time I checked they were still Japanese companies. No, when the 2.5L DOHC engine problem hit Subaru was pretty much no where to be seen. Anyway, if Subaru ever forces the engineering team that designed the 2.5L DOHC engine to commit sepa ku, and I think they should, I have a suggestion. They should do the whole thing on pay-for-view. Worldwide there's gotta be thousands of 2.5L DOHC engine owners who would just love the chance to see those goobers slit their bellies. And another thing. If you have ever seen sepa ku on TV there's always a guy with a sword standing over the poor sap commiting sepa ku. He's there to cut the head off the guy commiting sep ku before he dishonors himself by crapping his kimono. Anyway, you could have a lottery for 2.5L DOHC owners who have replaced their head gaskets three or more times to be the guy with the sword. That would probably smooth a few ruffled feathers.

And another thing with super long spark plug replacement intervals. If you have a brain your head you loosen and tighten all the plugs at least one or twice during the replacement interval. Otherwise, they "become one" with cylinder head. It's almost as much work to loosen and tighten as it is to replace. Super long intervals don't impress me. Does GM still have 100,000 mile spark plug replacement intervals on some of their models?

Yeah, I remember the whole thing. I had a 99 Forester, the first year for the 2.5L SOHC. The Owner's Manual specified a 60K mile spark plug interval. That was later revised to 30K miles by SOA. The 2.5L DOHC had platinum plugs installed. But the 2.5L SOHC had plain old Champions installed. By the time SOA made the revision I already had 60K miles on the Champions. They were a little worn, but they looked pretty good.

The 60,000 mile replacement may tell you something. On the 2.5L DOHC Phase I engine Subaru specified 60K miles for spark plug replacement beause the plugs were so hard to get to. When the 2.5L SOHC Phase II came out the spark plug replacement interval was reduced to 30K miles. I bet the 3.0L is a real bear to work on.

If you have an AT, there is an easy way lock the center diff.