Spiney

For some reason the image is upside down, just an FYI.

Thank you for your informative reply. Should I try to remove the loose rust? I'll try to attach an image.

This is a follow up to a thread from last week about replacing a front caliper and recommendations as to used, new, brand, etc. I started out with a garage that told me my front passenger brake was sticking, the cause of our 2003 base model outback 146k miles, pulling to the right. They recommended replacing the caliper, rotor, pads at about $600. I just did a $90 alignment and $550 worth of tires so wasn't in a position to spend another $600. I asked did they check the slide pins, they said yes that's not the issue. I declined and took it home and started looking for answers. I finally after having our garage snowed in, was able to pull the wheel, and examine the caliper today. One slide pin worked fine, the lower one was frozen. It took a pliers and brute force to move. Once out, the good one was lubed, the bad one was bone dry. Next once I got the pads out I found the backs of the pads against the pistons to be very rusted and the insides of the Pistons to be full of rust or dirt or both. One had rust inside, the other looked like a pipe that corroded down to 80% of its capacity. So from here, should I clean the insides with a wire brush maybe on a dremel, or just clean away the loose debri/rust, or replace the caliper. Nowhere locally can I find a rebuild kit that includes new pistons and we have all the major chains. Subaru tells me they discontinued caliper rebuild kits. I bought a new Subaru rotor, and pad set with the hardware. If not for the rust I'd be looking at a simple clean & lube I think. I'm still pretty new to this and not sure I'd be able to rebuild the caliper, if I could find a kit. I'd like to finish this up, today Tuesday the 21st here in eastern PA because I'm working in an unheated garage and it's supposed to get cold again on Wednesday. I've got a bad back & neck, so working in the cold is not good for it. Thank you in advance for any help & advice. Spiney-Dave

Thank you for your reply, info, & offer to help. Unfortunately I don't get any further West than Harrisburg. Waiting for some warmer weather and snow melt so I can get the Subaru in the garage this weekend.

Thanks, yes just got new tires so I'm sure the lug nuts are locked on. I got a nice rolling mechanics stool & creeper. Worst enemy right now is the weather. A week ago here in PA it was 60-70 degrees. Now I have a foot of frozen snow and it's going down to 12 at night. Next week it's supposed to get into the 40's, that's bearable. I have mostly ratchet sets. What size wrench does the bleeder need? Thanks

Thank you everyone for the replies. I already repaired the rear Caliper by disassembly, clean, & lube with Sylglide. What part of the slides are the bushings? The Caliper will operate fine without it? If I rebuild the pistons what brand rebuild kit do you recommend? I need to replace the passenger Front rotor because it's gouged and out of spec from this dragging brake. Where can I find the torque specs for the Caliper and mounting plate bolts? Thanks again in advanced for your help. I'm learning under fire because I'm not in a position to pay shop rates at this time. Also it takes me a bit more time because I have had 3 back surgeries with fusions plates and screws on 4 levels and a failed neck surgery with 2 levels fused with plates & screws. I was hit with a car as a kid and in my 20's crashed a hang glider. Now at 56 it's all caught up with me. I need to get me impact wrench, even if it's a Harbor Freight model.

My wife's 2003 base model Outback 2.5L Auto, AWD, U.S. model 146K miles. The front right caliper is dragging. Dealer says it needs replaced to the tune of caliper, pads, rotor( gouged ) about $600. I'm willing to tackle it myself. My question after determining it doesn't just need cleaned & lubed if I replace is there a good aftermarket caliper & rotor? Also recommendation for pads. A new Subaru caliper is $300. I can get a salvage yard caliper with 60K miles and 6 months warranty for $59. Is that a better option than the typical Autozone / Advanced caliper? I just saw that Rock Auto has remanufactured Subaru calipers by Cardone & Raybestos. Are these ok? My wife doesn't put a ton of miles on this car. She drives 90 miles to work, stays there for the week and returns home. So about 800 miles/month. Do I need to replace the left side which is operating just fine for balance? I need to get my wife back on the road soon. Also any tips for the replace & bleeding are appreciated. Thank you so much, Dave in PA

I think I found & fixed the issue. I removed the washer tank preparing to swap the injectors, when I noticed the #4 spark plug boot was not properly seated. This would explain why I was hearing a ticking sound in that area but saw no spark. I made sure it was firmly seated. Did a test fire ???? and put everything, including the fuel ⛽️ pump fuse back together. The CEL is out, car ???? sounds strong. Will take it on a shakedown cruise tomorrow. I thanked God for helping me find something simple and avoiding more expense. If all goes well it's another example of Hakim's Razer or whatever the proper name is "sometimes the simplest answer IS the Answer. Thank you all. While there are better things I'd rather be doing 4 days before Christmas ????, I am learning my car ???? and putting another punch in my Man Card, lol ????. I had a 75 Saab 99 EMS body with a transplanted 78 Saab 99 drivetrain. The 78 coupe was perfectly maintained with a books worth of service records when I was rear ended and it was totaled. So I found someone who transferred the drivetrain in a Barn Find 75 EMS Body. Anyway, I knew that car thru and thru. Knew which relay to jump when it wouldn't start, knew practically every component in it. I don't want or need to be that way with this Subaru, but it helps when your stuck, or you need to trust a mechanic. Thanks again, Spiney-Dave

Thanks for the replies. The Code is P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire. I drove straight to AutoZone for a read while it was lit. I'm going to check out videos on how to replace fuel injectors and then try a 2-4 swap. I'll let you know ???? what happens. To reset the CEL I need to disconnect the battery, correct? For how long? TIA, Spiney-Dave

Hi, I'm trying to fix an issue with our 2003 Outback 2.5L Automatic 143K miles. Started with a regular CEL, then elevated to a Flashing CEL. Car would idle rough when it was damp outside and or cold. This is what I've done so far. When car was running well and it was dry outside I spritzed water, very lightly around the engine to re-create the problem. The very first place I hit caused the problem. I spritzed some water on the Coil Pack module, immediately a spark started jumping from Terminal 4 to the mounting bolt nearest the terminal. It was a very big spark and from my point of view it appeared like there was a crack in the terminal. I purchased a replacement and replaced the original with a brand new piece. The #4 terminal was blackened on the original coil pack. I did notice the connection from the spark plug wire on this terminal was looser than the others. I crimped it slightly with a terminal crimper and re-installed all of the wires. At first I thought I had it fixed, but not very long as the car sat idling the rough idle and the same spark happened from the same terminal to the mounting bolt. My first thought was to coat the mounting bolt and the end of the spark plug wire at Terminal 4 with Silicon RTV. This held up for a few days, but again, as soon as we had some rain, I had the same issue. I also ran the tank down to near empty and put in a bottle of quality, can't remember the name, Fuel System Cleaner, then filled the tank with 87 Octane Sunoco So went to Advanced Auto and per recommendations on the web I replaced the wires with a set of NGK, and a set of NGK replacement plugs. I went for NGK plugs that were for my car. The Autozone system came up with NGK G, which I found are Platinum tip. I've since read that I should have gone with copper. Is this a real issue? I used dielectric grease on all connections. I used Permatex Anti-Seize on the plugs. The number 4 plug looked like it had un-burnt fuel on it. The original plugs felt like they had been torqued too tight, but had no signs of stripping. It was just hard to break loose and I had to wrench them a long time until they were finger loose. Not having a torque wrench I put them in finger tight, then wrenched them 1/2-3/4 turn snug. I took the car on a quick local shakedown drive and it felt great, had more power than it had since we bought it. 2 days later we drove it much further, about 50 miles each way on the PA turnpike at speeds up to 75 MPH. No CEL's car felt great until... On the way home we were stopped by an accident. It was in the 20's outside. We sat idling for almost 30-45 minutes. As we were pulling away from there, the car started running a bit rough when de-celerating. Then about 10 minutes later as we sat in line to enter the turnpike the idle started getting rough and the CEL came on. My wife was afraid to drive it the remaining 35 miles home, but I said it's not flashing, and when we stopped it was OK if we put the car in neutral. When we got home I ran the car at idle in front of our home, about 30 degrees now. It was dark and I was looking for evidence of sparking again, but saw none. I've read through several threads on this issue on another Forum, before I found this one. They suggested after a tune up was performed that it's the Fuel injector if I'm lucky, or burnt valves if I'm not. Or possibly the small chance that the same plug or wire is bad again. I'm hoping that since it ran so strong for over 60 miles at speed and at idle that it's not the valves or head. I really pray that is true, because I don't have the money, or skills to repair that. So if you were me, where would you go from here? If the next step is the injector is a re-manufactured one OK? Which Brand? While i'm in there is it foolish to not replace both injectors on the drivers side of the block? I really would rather not buy 2. Everything seems to point to Cylinder #4. BTW, While I spent the last 20 years as a photographer, I went to school for electronics and feel comfortable around a DVM. Thank you in advance for any replies, I really appreciate any helpful feedback. Spiney-Dave

New Member from Reading, PA here. Way back in the early 80's my I helped my fiance replace here horrible running 77 Chevy Monza with the dreaded Chevy Iron Duke Vega engine. We found a Cherry 77 Yellow Subaru GL FWD. My only disappointment was it was an automatic. Her Dad was a all American Chevy man and not very happy when she brought it home. Especially when he saw the spare tire under the hood on top of the engine, LOL. It served her very well and she ended up with a string of Subaru's. My late Father who was also a big Buy American guy bought a new early or mid 80's GL, loved it and bought a few more after that. After our 98 Volvo Wagon's 5 cylinder ate some valves when the timing belt broke, even though we had replaced it on time, we searched for an affordable replacement. We found our current 2003 Subaru Outback Wagon. 2.5L 4 cyl, Auto ( we couldn't find a 5 speed) and in pretty good shape with 134K miles. The previous owner was the proverbial little old lady who maintained it well with the paperwork to prove it. It had many new parts including (2) new 1/2 shafts, new brakes, re-manufactured A/C compressor, etc. We've had it about 2 years and it's only now giving us some issues. Financially I do my own work because my wife was laid off and I know it was done right. I'm here to find help in troubleshooting it correctly and performing the repair correctly, or knowing what's up in case I need to go to my mechanic. I'm a photographer with forced early retirement due to 3 back operations and a failed neck surgery. This limits what I can do. No heavy lifting, and prolonged bending over the engine bay is not a good thing. Thanks for having me. I'll share what I learn. Spiney-Dave