srs_49

BTW. The front diff drain on my 2002 H6 was a 22mm (7/8"). I though I was going to need a T70 Torx, so was surprised (and happy) that I didn't.

Thanks for all the feedback. porcupine73- 1. On the coolant, I put in Prestone Extended Life; used distilled water, not tap. No other additives or sealants. 2. Yes, forgot about the power steering - thank for the reminder. Have some ATF left over from the tranny change-out, so will do that soon. 3. The sepentine belt was replaced by the dealer around 60,000 miles. Don't remember if the tensioner was also replaced - it would be on the service ticket. Do you think it needs to replaced after only 45,000 miles? 4. I was going to replace the ATF filter the next time I do a 4 quart fluid swap. grossgary- 5. I have kept the battery & terminals clean. Usually use a baking soda/water mixture once in a while which neutralizes any leaked battery acid. I'll probably wait on the battery until it won't start one day . Usually if that happens, it'll be in the morning after an all night soak in 10 deg temperature, and I have a extra vehicle to use. 6. Had not thought about the PCV and the thermostat. PCV is a no brainer, but I usually let thermostats go until the engine doesn't get hot enough, which, in my experience, is how they fail (stuck open). Has your experience been different? 7. Yes, I don't really expect the water pump to go 200K. But, since I don't have to do a belt replacement (the H6 has a timing chain), I'm going to wait until some symptoms of a bad pump show up. I've had bad pumps on other cars, and they usually start leaking (seals or bearings shot) and give you some forwarning of failure. 8. I checked the radiator hoses & clamps when I did the coolant flush. They all looked solid but again, I don't expect them to go 200K miles.

First of all, I have found this forum to be goldmine for info regading Subies, and am grateful to all of those who have posted tips, solutionsr, etc that have helped people like me out. Thanks a lot! I have a 2002 OBW H6 with 105,000 miles on it. Over the last couple of months I have: - changed spark plugs - replaced the air and fuel filters - replaced the coolant - Changed the ATF, using the 3-changes-in-rapid-succession process - Changed the front and rear diff fluids - Front and rear pads have been replaced as needed, as have the front rotors - as part of the pad replacement, flushed the brake fluid - Rotate the tires regularly Is there anything else I should be doing or concerned with at this point in time, from a maintenance standpoint? I'm planning on keeping this vehicle another 100,000 miles, and don't want to find out later that there is something I should have done but didn't. Thanks

I think a good set of all seasons will do you just fine if your roads are plowed shortly after a snowfall. I have Goodyear TripleTreds on our 2002 OBW and they have been fine for the last two years. We even go up to our mountain place where we have to drive through 6"-8" of snow sometimes before the local roads have been cleared, and have never had a problem. I also had no problems with the original Bridgestone RE-92's (?) that were OEM tires on the car, despite a lot of the bad press I read about them. Good snowtires are well worth the investment if you have to spend a lot of time driving on snow covered roads. But, if that's not the case, spend your money for a good set of all seasons that will perform better on dry or wet pavement.

I have a similar problem on my '87 Bimmer. No remote, but electronic locks all around. Anyway the driver's side door will unlock and lock if I use the key in the trunk or the passenger door lock, but not when I try it in the driver's side lock. There's a cam on the back of the lock that engages a rod that actually works the lock mechanism in addition to driving the electronics to open the other door. That cam is broken off on the driver's side door lock in my case. Pretty much the same symptom as if the rod had come off, but need a new lock (or piece of one) to fix.

Never owned or drove a Forester, but have had a 2002 OBW H6 for 102,000 miles now. Wife drives it most of the time. We looked at the Forester too, but wife thought it was too boxy/utilitarian. Brakes have been a minor issue with rotor "warping" (I know it's not really warping, but that's what everyone calls it) - on my 3rd set of rotors. But, I can live with that given that I can do the work myself and rotors aren't that expensive. Have been somewhat disappointed in the gas mileage. Average 23-25 mpg on mid-grade. I don't think I ever got above 26 with it, even on the highway. It's a comfortable car for 4 people, though the cargo area is a little small, IMO. We have 3 of us plus 2 dogs that regularly use it to go to our mountain house, and we always have to use the roof-top carrier as the dogs take up a lot of the room in the cargo area. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

That's interesting. I've had the windshield on wife's '02 OBW replaced 2 times now; both were done by Safelite. The first was done maybe 3 years ago, and the second just last month. I did not have any problems with either one. No leaks, windnoise, or anything else to complain about on the first replacement. It's raining today for the first time in about a month, so will see how the second replacement holds up. I used Safelite because they were preferred by my insurance company. All I had to pay was the $50.00 deductible each time. Also, when I submitted my claim on-line, the insurance co. linked me directly up with Safelite. So, I was able to handle everything on-line and I had the windshield replaced in my driveway the next day. I'm sure the skills of the techs vary a lot from shop to shop, regardless of the name over the door.

I use an Accutron (not sure of the model) on our 2002 OBW without any problems. The key does have to be turned to the "run" position, as someone else pointed out. The Accutron reads and resets the codes fine. No need for any jumpers.

I have the 3.0L H6 in our '02 OBW. With about 102K miles on it, has not given me any trouble at all. Mileage has been around 23 mpg on mid-grade, overall. I don't think we would have been happy with the 4 banger. I also like the fact that it's got a timing chain as opposed to a belt. Spark plugs are a pain in the a-- to change, though.

I've been happy with my wife's '02 OBW, H6 engine. It's got around 96,000 miles on it. On it's 3rd set of front rotors; had to replace the master cylinder; and I think I killed the cat when I crossed wires after changing plugs, but that was my fault, not the car's. Other than that, no tranny or other drivetrain problem; no head gasket leaks, and exhaust is still solid (except for the cat, maybe). On the topic of used cars, I bought a couple for my kids to drive and have had good luck with them. Bought a '94 Merc Tracer with 125,000 miles and both my sons drove it 'til a rock through the back window totaled the car. This was when it had over 180,000 miles on it. It needed a clutch inside of a year, lost a timing belt (non-interferring design, so no engine damage), but, considering I only paid $2500 for it, it was still a good deal overall. Same with an '87 BMW. Bought it back in 1999 (I think) for $2500, and it too had around 125,000 miles on it. Am still driving it today, with over 184,000 miles on it. I've put maybe $3000 in repairs in it over the course of 8 years, but that's still peanuts compared to a new car purchase. On a per mile basis, the most expensive car I've owned so far has been the '02 OBW, mainly because it was purchased new ($30K or ther 'bouts) and the depreciation on a new car really hurts the TCO (total cost of ownership) number. I expect the TCO number to come down as I get more miles on the car. In general, I feel that you can put a lot of money into repairs and still come out ahead verses buying a new vehicle.

I had a similar problem on my '92 Sentra SE-R. The right side radiator fan was not turning on, just the left side fan. I took the fan motor aprt and found out that one of the brushes was hanging up. cleaned that up and it's been fine for, oh, about 5 years now.

I put the Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads on our 2002 OBW at 65,000 miles. Have 31,000 miles on the tires, and they have been a good, all round tire. Have driven in all kinds of weather, even in up to 8" of snow in the mountains of West Virginia with no issues. Good in the rain also. My only caution is a bit of mushiness in the steering response which I attribute to the soft sidewalls.

Bserk- Thanks for your comments. And no need to apologize for your Nissan references. I still have a '92 SE-R that's still a lot a fun to drive. That's interesting about the rear O2 sensor simulator. Seems like it would be relatively easy to cook something up like that, circuit-wise. I may try that, just as a troubleshooting aide, of course.

As promised, here's the latest on my P0420 woes. Replaced the left front O2 sensor this past Saturday morning with a Subie OEM part and reset the OBD codes. CEL turned off. ( If you remember, my theory is that the left front sensor was damaged when I crossed two spark plus wires on the left side of the engine and dumped raw fuel into the exhaust). All day Saturday and Sunday things looked good - CEL stayed off. Then Sunday evening when driving down on the interstate, about 8 miles into the trip, the CEL comes on. Damn! Now what? Same ol' P0420 code. I'll probably buy another front O2 sensor and replace the right front one, but I really don't have much hope that it will cure the problem. I think I damaged the cat with the unburned fuel, even though I only drove car maybe 2 miles under that condition. I will hold off with the cat, though, until it's time for the 2 year emissions test.

I am having the same problem with my wife's 2002 OBW H6. (see the thread in this forum). CEL would come on after 10 miles of driving and stay on. Scanner read P0420. Clear the code, and could come back the next day, or maybe stay off for several if the distances driven were less than ~5 miles. Just replaced one of the front O2 sensors this past weekend, but it did not fix the problem. Will probably do the other one, but don't expect that to really fix anything.

I have had the Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads on our 2002 OBW for about 2 years now. Have around 30,000 miles on them. They are a good, all round tire. Decent in the rain, and good in the snow, though have never had to drive in anything over ~6 inches. Ony real complaint is a lack-of-responsiveness or mushiness, which I attribute to the soft, flexible sidewalls. vin_ams, the G009s were on my short list also, before I opted for the goodyears.

Just ordered one, before I got OB99W's comment 3 posts earlier about there being 2 front O2 sensors on the H6. Will probably order a 2nd. Will use the first one to replace the one on the side that had the 2 reversed plug wires. Figure if either sensor was bad, it's that one. Will keep this thread updated.

Thanks for the info, porcupine73.

I have a general question about the injectors. Someone said that one side of the injector is energized at some voltage (5V?), and the ECU grounds the other side to open (turn on) the injector, right? I assume that the frequency that the injector is energized is directly proportional to the speed of the engine. Is the duration that the injector is energized fixed, or does it vary? I would think that a simple low pass filter (an RC network) might be able to be used to filter (average) the pulses on the ECU side of the injector and create a DC signal that was proportional to the engine speed and anything else that affects injector "On" time or frequency thereof. An anlog voltmeter, as Nipper was alluding to, essentially does this just due to the mechanical inertia of the meter movement. Digital voltmeters, because of their sampling nature, can give very strange readings when monitoring a fast time varying signal (such as the injector signal).

Quick update on the P0420 issue. It's Friday evening now. I've had the OBW for the past 2 days and there have been no CEL indications. I ordered a new front O2 sensor from Genuinesubaruparts.com - should be here in a couple of days. Another question - if something is marginal or on the edge (such as an O2 sensor or the cat itself), would outside temperature make a difference? Reason I ask is that it was close to 100 degrees the days earlier this week when the CEL would turn on and the car would throw the P0420 code. The last two days, the temperature has only been in the mid 80's.

Thanks for the two articles, OB99W and ron917. Pulled the codes last evening when I got home and was still P0420, 1 history (I assume), and 1 pending (the engine was running). I may try and borrow a 'scope from work and look at the outputs from the front and rear sensors. Lacking that will use my DVM, though I understand that it will provide a average of the readings and will be difficult if not impossible to see the switching on the front sensor. I am probably going to replace the front O2 sensor first anyway, since there's over 96,000 miles on the OBW. Question - Is there 1 or 2 front sensors? Looks to me like there's 2 front sensors (this is an H6 3.0L), but all of the posts always seem to talk about the front sensor in the singular. Thanks

Status update- Monday evening - cleared out all of the OBD codes. Took car for short test drive, all seemed OK. Car ran fine and no CEL. Tuesday - I took car to work (wife usually uses it). 7 miles one way distance, part local roads, part 60 mph highway. Again, car ran fine and CEL stayed off both ways. Wednesday - Wife stayed home to run some local errands. CEL came on while on the local beltway, 65 mph, after 5 miles or so of driving. On return trip, CEL came on approx. 3 miles into trip (maybe because engine was already partly warmed up?). Since car is in driveway right now and I'm at work, have not been able to pull the OBD codes. Will do that this evening and see if it's the same P0420 code that started this thread or something else.

Yes, I cleared out all the codes (the P0420 was the only one). My concern about damage to the cat was trying to get a feel as to whether the initial 2 mile test drive with the crossed plug wires was enough to damage the cat.

I just bought an Actron OBD-II Pocket Scanner, model CP9125, for $78.00. Needed something in a hurry, and that was what the local parts store had. It did what it was supposed to do - read out the code(s) and let me reset them. I really wanted something a little more sophisticated but, like I said, needed something in a hurry. Was afraid to drive the car to an Auto Zone or someplace that would have read the codes out for free 'cause I am afraid the problem might be something that could damage the cat with prolonged driving.

2002 OBW, H6, 3.0L, 96,000 miles. Over the weekend I replaced the spark plugs (what a bear that was, but a story for another time). In putting the coil assemblies back on, I reversed 2 of them on the driver's side of the engine. A short test drive (2 miles) showed a problem, with the CEL blinking at me. Brought it back into the garage and flipped the coil assemblies back, and the problem seemed to clear up. Another test drive for a couple of miles was OK, as was my wife's 35 mile drive to work in the morning - car ran fine and no CEL. On the way home however, maybe 5-10 miles into into the trip, the CEL comes on. I get the panic phone call at work. She says car is still running OK, and what should she do. I said drive it home if it's running OK, which is what she did. When I got home, she mentioned a smell from the car. I put an OBD-II scanner on it, and it came back with P0420 (Bank 1 Catalytic Converter System Efficiency Below Threshold). In reading some of the threads here, it sounds like it could be the cat, but also maybe one of the O2 sensors. I did have to remove the connector to the O2 sensor on the driver's side when doing the plugs, but it's back on now. My main question is whether driving the car for approx. 2 miles with 2 plug wires reversed could have damaged the cat. I have heard that a misfiring cylinder could cause damage by dumping unburned fuel into the exhaust, so I guess the reversed plus connections was effectively doing that to 2 cylinders. Again, the car seems to run fine - no CEL at the moment. I will drive it tomorrow and see what happens. Please, please, please, let it not be the cat!