GN1220

That's what I'm hoping to do by finding a reliable local mech. to look at it. I really hate to go to the dealer or a transmission shop but I just might have to.

Ok guys, any reputable techs in the Kansas City area that could take a look at my car? Any leads on a good front diff?

If I end up having to repair the diff, is it easier to rebuild or replace it and how hard is it to get out? Any ballpark price figures? Looks like the engine needs to come out too! My buddy at work said it could also be the transmission. He suggested the same as smiffy6four and getting it on jackstands and trying to find the cause. I would rather put it on his lift but it is occupied by a '69 Camaro getting a 550hp LS swap:headbang:

It is a high pitched sort of whine that gets louder as the car speed increases. That is what leads me to think expensive, I mean, diff.

Didn't even think about wheel bearings. How difficult is that? In most situations regarding wheel bearings I've dealt with they seem to make more of a grinding sound, deeper pitched and seemed to change tone when you would swerve from side to side, loading and unloading the bearing. We got snow last night and my wife started work today so it might be tomorrow before I can do the lock to lock test. Keep the suggestions coming. Any good Subaru techs in the Kansas City area?

I'll try changing the gear oil. The car has 80,000 miles on it and, hangs head low, I've never serviced the front or rear diff. Not even the transfer case. This thing does have a tranfer case, right? I do change the oil on a regular basis and try to keep her clean and polished, though.

Tires are new, rotors were turned when I put pads on the front last summer. Clearly a gear whine of some sort, sort of like an M-22 rockcrusher, only not as cool. I really thought it was the axle but that was not the case and the fact that it seems to be getting louder has me troubled. Two years ago I had it at the dealer getting the headgaskets replaced (what a nightmare that was but Subaru finally paid for half of the repair) and I really can't afford to go that route or replace the front diff. Not sure how to even go about pin-pointing the problem. I'm not sure what to think of the fluid level. Should I go by the cold reading or the hot? What about the "foam"? I did add about half a quart but I can't see being half a quart low causing the gears to run dry and start making noise as it did register on the stick.

About 18 months ago the inside boot on the right front axle of my wife's '02 Forester cracked and started to lose the grease. I tried one of the crappy split boot repair kits (it didn't work) and figured I'd just replace the axle when I got a chance. Roughly 8 or 9 months ago I started to hear a faint whining noise when we were driving the car, it wasn't rpm related but speed related, so I figured the axle was getting dry. 6 months ago my wife had a seizure and was not able to drive for 6 months (Missouri law) so the Forester went to her aunt to be a driver for my wife and kids. Since I never saw the car the noise was all but forgotten. So we get the car back a few days ago, I get in it and the noise is much louder now. I go buy a new axle from O'Reilly and put it in. After learning the hard way that the hole for the roll pin may look like it is aligned but is actually 180* off I got it put back together and go for a drive. The damn noise is still there! I had already checked all of the fluids and the air pressure in the tires when we got it back but didn't realize until today that the front diff had a dip stick. Upon checking the gear oil level when the car was cold it was on the "L" so back to O'Reilly for some 90weight. When I got back home from the test drive the level was now full but slightly foamy. So my questions would be:What the hell is the noise? I hate to think the front diff is going to crap, the car only had 80,000 miles on it. Is the slightly foamy gear lube normal or does this indicate it should be changed? Do I need to go by the cold reading of low and add some oil?

Well after talking to the dealer and SOA, the dealer and SOA, etc. we finally found a happy medium. The dealer is going to replace both head gaskets, timing belt and water pump for $1,500, SOA will cover $750 and I will cover the other $750. I wish they would've covered all of the expense but they just as easily could've told me to take a hike. I dropped it off tonight and they said it should take two to three days so I will report back when I get the car. Thanks for all of your help as without you guys I'd be in the garage working on this thing in the cold, cussing the whole time.

No but I plan to call the service manager tomorrow. He is the one who dealt with SOA but the odd thing is that I never spoke to him and he never looked at my car. I just don't understand how they can contradict themselves and first say my car was a later build and the earlier ones were covered but fail to recognize that my car is an early build and fix it.

No, they will cover $750 but I have to cover the other $1050:mad: If I do it myself it would cost a little less than $500 but take 3+ days to do it

According to Subaru the gaskets were corrected midyear '02. To me that is admission to a problem. Correct? They told me my car was a later build car that should have the revised gaskets so I thought I was sol. But I go and check the build date..........8-'01. That seems pretty damn early in the build to me. Correct? So I call Subaru, set up an appointment and let them confirm the the gasket is leaking. The dealer tells me they are both leaking. So the dealer calls Subaru and Subaru calls me. They agree to cover $750 of the dealer estimate of $1,800:mad: Again, they admit there is a problem, mine is not the late build like they told me and yet they still won't fix this thing. I plan to call the service manager monday but of course subaru is closed. This really pisses me off as I have no choice but to fix it myself, wasting 3 days of vacation, $500 etc. Am I wrong to be upset and think they should repair this car?

Talked to the dealer today and my '02 isn't covered by the warranty/recall because of the late build date. They said they were so sorry but mine should have the updated gaskets in it and they would gladly replace them both for $2,400. So I plan to do it myself next weekend. As of now I'm at: $200 for a gasket set $90 for a belt $100 to have the valves checked and the heads milled. $50 for other misc. crap: coolant, parts cleaner, etc. I might put plugs in it but other than that is there anything else I should be concerned with? Also, are the head bolts TTY or not? I've seen both mentioned so I'm not sure but a call to the stealership should answer that. Thanks for the info, you guys have been very helpful.

Thank you. I plan to call the dealer tomorrow. I've never flushed the cooling system until a week or two ago when the anti-freeze started to vanish and I just topped it off. I figure if there is any kind of loop hole the dealer will quickly jump right through leaving me with a big repair bill. After reading through many posts here I know I can do the repair at home but the cost of all of the items that "should" be replaced seems to be increasing rapidly. I want to poke around and get more info on the 2.2 swap. If it really is a "direct swap",no hidden parts or brackets to locate or wiring to splice, I think that is a very viable alternative.

Discovered today that the driver's side headgasket is leaking on my wife's '02 Forester. I've been going over the forum and the average price for a repair seems to be $2-3,000. Is this correct? Now, have any of you replaced them yourself? If so, what is a ballpark figure for that? Has the dealer been able/willing to help with any kind of warrenty/recall work on these things? Btw, her car only has 68,000 miles on it:mad: