Hello to all you fellow Subaru owners. My wife and I love our '02 Outback wagon. Its been a sweet little vehicle. At right around 30,000, its time to start thinking about some extra service other than 3,000 mile oil changes and tire rotations every 6,000 miles.
I have been talking to another fellow board member for advice on transmission oil changes and wanted to share some information I found out the other day with both him and the rest of you. I have always been a big WIX filter fan and run them on all my vehicles (cars, truck, tractors, etc). I balked at paying the local Subaru dealer $38 for the 38325AA032 transmission filter that I wanted to change out. I checked the WIX internet site and crossed the Subaru filter number to a 51365 WIX oil filter that I can get for $4 or so. I called the WIX filter dealer that I deal with www.filter1.com and had them call the WIX tech line for me to double check this out. They informed me that the cross was correct and the transmission filter Subaru uses is really just an ordinary oil filter with a different number. Now this is just what I found out the other day. I'm not completely sold yet since I know alot of techs out there really don't know heads from tails. It wouldn't surprise me though that a car manufacturer would make a different part number up for an oil filter, call it a transmission filter and gouge the heck out of the unsuspecting public. I would ask if anyone else has looked into this and what have you found?
I appreciate all advice, experiences and will share everything I learn with the members here on this board. Looks like I found a good one.
Another big crock that my dealer told me was about replacing the little crush washer on the oil pan bolt. In ten different oil changes I have never replaced the crush washer (I still have the original one on it) - properly tightened it never has leaked a single drop of oil. I know because you can eat off my garage floor and I check all my vehicles for leaking constantly. What really irritated me was that my dealer wanted something like $1.50 each for the little crush washer in the first place and $8 for a Subaru oil filter. I have been running O.E. Subaru oil filters on this Outback since new - but I got them cheaper through www.subaruparts.com . Don't get me wrong, I'm cheap and realize that everybody has to make a buck - but I'm not stupid either and its burns when someone tries to take advance of me.
I'm not ranting here but the other good one was when I asked them about changing the brake fluid due to moisture. They told me that all they do is suck out the reservoir with a turkey baster and refill it.
