[00 limited slip doesn't work?]

I know with the 2001 and above the LSD was standard and included with the cold weather package and standard on the limited and above. I belive is 00 is may have been optional. You should have gotten out of the situation you described with a LSD

 

 

 

 

I carefully selected my 00 outback wagon with the heated windshield and heated seats cuz the all-weather package also includes a rear limited slip differential. the car has 83,000 miles and I've only had it for a month. Yesterday at a bad angle on a dirt road covered with leaves, 1 front and 1 rear wheel were spinning and the car wouldn't move. I expected the lsd to put some power to the rear wheel with some weight on it and easily move me off the hump, but it didn't happen. I even got out of the car to confirm which wheels were spinning.

Anybody have issues with rear lsd going bad? What to check or how to confirm?

Thanks!

[Outback Manual Transmission, filling?]

See the picture from the posting below you. He is right. The little dipstick is the place to put in the gear oil. I changed mine on my 2001 outback a few months ago. Just note that since this may be your first time or it has been a while since you touched it, there is probably so much grease and dirt on the dipstick that it blends in. It took me 20 min to find the dipstick the day I went to change mine gear oil too..

 

We have 145,000 miles on our 99 outback, and have been hearing a hum/whine like truck gears coming from the tranny. I desparately want to see what kind of metal is stuck to the plug.

 

We don't like our dealers, so we took the car to one of those oil-change in a box places. The guy had said he could change the transmission oil, but when he got down to it, he said he couldn't identify a place to fill the case, so there was no way he would drain it. The service manual indicated a location where there should have been a dip-stick. Looking with a flashlight, we could see some sort of electronic sending unit plugged into a hole that looked suspisciously like a fill hole. Can anyone tell us what we are looking at? Is this something that just unscrews easily, or does it casue great problems if you don't have a box full of replacements nearby?

 

Thanks

 

Turgidson

[what is wrong with these cars?]

I agree with some of the other postings. What condition did you buy the car? Also the previous owner must have beat the crap out of this car but probably did almost NO maintenece. On the contrary suburu is one of the top rated cars in reliabilty. I guess there can be a lemon out there too. It even happens to Honda.. I have a 2001 OBW with 137,000 miles on it and have not made a maintenece repair yet!!!! to date. My only repair I will have to make soon in new boots up front. The right side is cracked, but i have 137K on them..

 

 

 

In 20 years of owning vehicles I have never had a single car like this one. My 96 Legacy Outback is either trying to win some award for most time spent at a shop or a game called locate the world's worst customer service reps. Since buying this car used from a dealer in mid-February it has been back for a knock sensor and major oil leaks (the day after the purchase, check engine light came on 30 miles after leaving the dealer), timing belt, water pump, tensioner, oil pump seals, camshaft seals, valve cover gaskets, plugs, idle air control, ECM, water leaks, brakes (twice to stop the rattling), rear gate handle stopped working, starter, windshield washer pump, catalytic converter, rattling heat shields, inop glove box light, burned out climate control lights...what is with these things? If the car would be even slightly reliable I would probably love it, but this is a real lesson in tough love. I have easily spent over $3000 in maintenance in the last 6 months. Every time I try to convince myself that there can't possibly be anything else that can break the car ALWAYS proves me wrong. :madder: I worked for GM for almost 10 years and never saw a car we had like this, even the damn Chevette. It almost seems like there is no single bad point but it actually seems to have problems in ALL areas. Reading the board does me even less good because now all I see are the things I still have to look forward to going wrong like head gaskets. The dealers? So far, the worst I have ever encountered. Nothing is their fault, they cleared the code so that was what was wrong with it, till it gets towed back in the next day and they don't stand behind their work, "well we fixed what was wrong with it yesterday, this is a different problem even though it's the exact same symptoms and it has the same code..." I'd like to get a newer one but it doesn't seem like they really have fixed any of the problems. How can a company continue to crank out cars that all have the same inherent problems and never feel the wrath of the customer, is it just good advertizing that keeps selling them, cause it can't be customer satisfaction. :moon: Subaru...wake up.

[tranny whine]

I have had the rumble slightly on my OBW since around 105K. I now have 137K on the car. None of that has changed and it is not louder as of yet. However abou 2K miles ago my tranny is poping out of 4th ONLY on its own. It is anoying but I can live with it for now to extend the repair. I still have the ORIGINAL clutch. Only when it is cold until about 10 min of driving on ocasions there is some slippage but it is minor and it only happens if you floor the gas and then it catches. Any suggestions or ideas will be helpful. I figure when I have to replace the clutch I would have the syncro's replaced etc. Could it be the syncros or bearings? Every other gear is fine

[tranny whine]

I have had the rumble slightly on my OBW since around 105K. I now have 137K on the car. None of that has changed and it is not louder as of yet. However abou 2K miles ago my tranny is poping out of 4th ONLY on its own. It is anoying but I can live with it for now to extend the repair. I still have the ORIGINAL clutch. Only when it is cold until about 10 min of driving on ocasions there is some slippage but it is minor and it only happens if you floor the gas and then it catches. Any suggestions or ideas will be helpful. I figure when I have to replace the clutch I would have the syncro's replaced etc. Could it be the syncros or bearings? Every other gear is fine

 

 

 

Well, Subaru's biggest weakness is the transmission, no question. The manual boxes are noisy from new, but main bearings will get louder and sometimes fail around 120k miles. An irregular rumbling/rattling noise at idle, in neutral, all pedals untouched is a sign of trouble. Some added whinning is to be expected with age.

Oh, jumping out of gear is also an indication of worn bearings. And this is the warning that means business.

[CEL on]

Hi I have a 2001 Outback just turning 120K miles. It has been a great car with ZERO problems. This is the first. My CEL came on while driving and has not gone out. The gas cap is fine, so my guess was to think the O2 sensor ( s) My understaning they need to be replaced eventually anyway. How many do I have? I belive I see the sensor on the cat under the car, but is their another one on the manifold? Second part to the question is that I have a minor exaust leak at the gasket which conects the Cat to the pipe. Could this being throwing the emissions control off? I tried using the HIGH heat metal copper silicone that pep boys sells to seal up the leak. It worked for about 2 weeks and then started to come off? Any ides?

[My 2003 Outback Wagon is Junk!, revisited.]

Take the new short block. The car is under warranty and let Subaru do the job now. It also gets your car in the record books so that Subaru is aware of the replacement of the engine. You should be good after that. The lemon laws would apply to the same problem 3 times. But since Subaru is willing to put a new or rebult engine in that will fix it. The reliability of Subaru is excellent, so this must have just been crap luck. I have a 2001 Outback with 113K on it now and have done routine maintenece ONLY. Not a dime was put in to any repairs. Eveything original...

 

Hi All. Well they replaced numbers 2&3 pistons 3,000 miles ago due to excessive clearance and they said all was good. Mind you the car now only has 36,000 miles on it. The car has been carefully driven and oil changes and maintenance have been religiously performed. Subaru, as a good will gesture gave us back the money we spent on the 30,000 mile service which was approximately $400.00, which I thought was VERY nice. I took the car back for an oil change at 36,000 miles and guess what??!! Number four piston is now making that wonderful tap, tap , tap noise! Our dealer called today and said Subaru OK'd a new short block to be insalled. Just wondering what you all think and comments. Should this thing last awhile or should I trade it off??

[2004 Outback - Cycling of Cooling Fans]

This is totally normal. The fans cycle on automatically with the AC and Defrost ( which uses the AC compressor). It is done as a precaution to make sure that the engine NEVER gets to hot and that cooling with occurr regardless of temperature outside. Then any other time the cooling fans with only usually run one at a time when the engine is idling a long time or if after you come off the freeway for example then come to a stop, ocasionally the fan or fans will cylce on for additional cooling because of the sudden drop in air flow from the freeway...

[Misfiring at beginning of accelerating]

I have a 2001 OBW and it was the plugs and wires. I bought the third time around bosch platnium 2 plugs and after about only 25K my car started to hesitate a bit and then a little thump here and there. With in another week or so it began to misfire. I even had the CEL come on detecting the misfire, but it went out while driving. Ran right to Autozone and picked up the Bosch platinum +4 plugs and a new set of wires. The plugs are $5 a piece and the wires were $25. They do wonders.. I have about 25K on them and they are still perfect. They are even pre gapped and no gapping is required. Just take off your air intake, and the windshield washer tank and you are good to go. I did the plugs and wires in about a half hour. Usually I end up cleaning a few things, checking all the fluids etc. SO an hour should do the trick...

[driver's window wind noise fix]

I never even thought of that. I have a 2001 OBW and bot passenger and drivers have windnoise only if I open the windo a little bit and then shut it while I am driving on the highway. For the passenger side, if I open the window ALL the way and shut it the wind noise goes away. The drivers side does not always work by doing that. SO I took you recommendation and lowered the windows and pinched the seal. PERFECT. Not a bit of noise. I have a 110K on the car and have not put a dime in to the car other then maintence. If this is one of the MINOR details, I can deal with it. NExt time it happens I will just pinch them again...

 

 

 

 

The apparent "fix" is to pinch the top of the triangle of the gusset while the window is down.

The apparent cause of the problem is that since the window is without a frame on the door, when opening or closing the door, grabbing or pushing the glass is the culprit. It is a rather long lever arm that you create and you supposedly can twist the gusset sufficiently to cause the distortion.

Also, if you find yourself in a tight parking situation and have to squeeze your body past the door, the effect is the same in distorting the gusset.

[Subwoofer installation]

I was thinking about adding a sub to my 2001 Outback. I already have the box and an amp from a prior installation. The amp has both low and high imputs. Since I would be keeping my stock radio I plan on using the high imputs. In the back of the outback there is another 12V power outlet. Can I use the power and ground from that outlet to power up the amp. Also, can I use the imput from the top mounted tweeters to let the amp receive the signal. I was just trying to avoid the running of the wires and removing the doors panel to tap in to the speakers. Any thoughts....

[intermitent Clutch noise]

A few weeks back when Ideling the car in neutral, if you let the clutch out completly there is a noise that is coming from the clutch/tranmission. I was thinking throwout bearing etc. It is worse when the temperature is colder. But for about 2 days in a row, excessive driveline noise almost metal type of noise occured. It has then gone away, but there is definitly a slighlty louder noise when excellerating etc. There is definitly a little gear noise.. Still on a very quiet night or if the car is cold ideling in the garage just say, if I let the clutch out with the tranny in neutral there is a little noise. Any ides? Would chaning to synthetic gear oil help matters, I figure it can't hurt...

[New post for an old topic of mine...Head Gasket LEAK!!!]

You may have said the magic words. The conditioner. I am in the process of filing complaint with Subaru. I maintain my 2001 Outback with the 2.5 Phase II engine in it impecably. I have done all the maintenece myself on it. WHen Suburau issued the conditioner bulletin I stopped by my local dealer, they threw it in and I was on my way. I just recently did the whole 105K maintence. Timing belt, water pump, belts hoses, thermostate etc.. I got myself a new bottle of conditioner, removed the 125ml of coolant, put in the conditioner and I was on my way. Wrong, 2 days later I noticed my tempeture gauge rising. Well, I actually blocked up my radiator. Nowhere does it tell you how to install the conditioner. My guess would be to do it while the engine is hot and then take it on a 1/2 hour trip. I did mine the night before and apparently the conditioner sitting in the radiator all night caked up...I had the same thing with the coolant smell. You may have a blockage that is letting pressure build up in the raditor and the coolant can be leaking by the pressure cap. Monitor it, because I ended up replacing my radiator, because the conditioner clumped up. Word to the wise be careful with the conditioner, it is really nothing more then a "stop leak". Yes, it does have conditioners in it while can prolong the life of the HG, but becareful. I have not added it yet since I changed the radiator, but I probably should, but I am not sure what to do...If any one else has their 2 cents let me know.

[IS it possible for the additive recall to create blockage/leakage of radiator??]

Yes it is possible for the additive to cause a blockage and create trouble. I pasted my reply yesterday because 3 weeks later we figured out what happened. A new radiator cured the probelm, but follow the directions below for adding the conditioner and you should not have a problem. I did it this way now and my outback is fine...

 

Re: Overheating Engine on Highway

Well it has been 3 weeks later and we figured it out. The crappy conditioner that Subaru recommends to "Condition" the headgasket, or really probably nothing more then their version of "Stop Leak" sat in my radiator overnight and caked and clogged up.. I am going to write and call the 800-Subaru number. I have the insert that they sent for my manual and NOWHERE does it say to add the conditioner and make sure you circulate thourougly throughout the system right away. I figured when I went out for a drive the next morning is would be fine. I guess I was wrong.. Now thinking about it when I added it this time, I idled the car until hot, then shut the engine for about 5 mins. opened the cap added the conditioner and then took the car on a 45 min trip to a friends house. I figured I would let the stuff fully circulate so there would not be any problem this time. I do ALL the mainenece on my car, and have a good deal of knowledge but never thought about this conditioner clumping up. After a new radiator car is good as new.. I guess I can't complain. 108,000 miles and have not put a DIME in to the car other then maintenece. Save for the radiator....

 

 

 

 

After taking my car in for transmission service (a whole other story and working with SOA) my Subaru local service/dealer guys looked up recalls and voila, the coolant additive was outstanding. So, they put it into my cars cooling system and now I smell coolant when I turn on the heater and my radiator has coolant fluid leaking from the top of it. Need advice from all you pros! Does the additive cause blockage that would create pressure and force a leak in the rad?

 

Ryan

[2000 OBW brake pad replacement advice?]

Just an interesting note. I just changed my pads this past weekend on my 2001 Outback 5 speed though. I got 108,000 miles out of the rear disk pads. I did the fronts form the first time at about 75,000 or around there. I mostly do highway driving now, 53 miles one way to work. Prior I took all back rural roads but was driving about 50-60mph.. I bought ceraminc performacnce pads from Pep Boys. They are about $45 a set. They sell semi metalic and ceramic. I had the front pads on since 75,000 miles and still fine.

 

 

 

I am surprised to hear that some folks got over 50k on their brake pads... Maybe they're driving a 5 Speed... In any event I got 23k out of my factory pads on my 01 OBW, with an Automatic. I replaced with NAPA's top of the line OE pads (at the time), not too bad, but after 17k, my buddy who works there had me turn them in for a trial of their new Ceramix pads. These are a harder pad than the OE and OEM pads. I have 72k on it now, so if my math is correct, that's 32k on these pads, and I have well over 50% left on them. If you're into doing it yourself, I would at the very least price them out as an option. I haven't had any growling, squeeking like I get from time to time on my 93. I used some cheap Auto Zone Semi-Metallics on it.

 

As far as tools, If I remember correctly, it should be 14mm bolts on the caliper. There are 2 bolts on it, not like my 93, only 1 and the other is a built in pin, you have to turn up and pull back to get the caliper out. I've been using a synthetic lubricant on the pins, etc. Can't remember the exact name, but it is made specifically for brake hardware. I was told some Never Seize lubricants can swell the rubber gaskets, and cause trouble down the road. This synthetic stuff won't, haven't had any problems with it yet...

[CV boot opinions, to split or not to split!]

This is great. Thanks. I was checking all things under my car whiel I was changing the oil the other day. It is a 2001 Outback with 108,000 miles on it. I notices the end of the boot tore/broke off the clamp. The boot is still on and all or most of the grease is still in there. I thinkg I am going to check the pep boys quick boots for now. The longer I can prolong it the better. This is real recent. Should I shoot any grease in before i put the boot cover over it? I would be able to stick a tube in it since I can peal it back a bit.. Any thoughts?

 

 

 

"..but they only prolong the need to replace the cv axle"

 

That's why I used one instead of replacing the whole axle. When it starts making noises while turning, then I'll replace the axle. My experience is that it takes a long time before the axle really deteriorates, especially if you catch it pretty soon after it has ripped and hopefully not much dirt really got in there.

 

I've always had a hard time finding the correct Quick-boot for Subaru's. If you decide to go this route, cut your old one lengthwise and then take it in to the shop with you, because the one they have listed will probably be shorter,longer or have the wrong diameter openings.

 

I just did this to mine a couple of months ago, and I ended up going to Pepboys who had some various Quick-boots sitting in the aisle. I just looked at them all and found one that seemed to match up well. Get yourself some worm-gear clamps to use instead of the clamps that come with the quick boot.

[Overheating Engine on Highway]

Well it has been 3 weeks later and we figured it out. The crappy conditioner that Subaru recommends to "Condition" the headgasket, or really probably nothing more then their version of "Stop Leak" sat in my radiator overnight and caked and clogged up.. I am going to write and call the 800-Subaru number. I have the insert that they sent for my manual and NOWHERE does it say to add the conditioner and make sure you circulate thourougly throughout the system right away. I figured when I went out for a drive the next morning is would be fine. I guess I was wrong.. Now thinking about it when I added it this time, I idled the car until hot, then shut the engine for about 5 mins. opened the cap added the conditioner and then took the car on a 45 min trip to a friends house. I figured I would let the stuff fully circulate so there would not be any problem this time. I do ALL the mainenece on my car, and have a good deal of knowledge but never thought about this conditioner clumping up. After a new radiator car is good as new.. I guess I can't complain. 108,000 miles and have not put a DIME in to the car other then maintenece. Save for the radiator....

 

 

 

 

My guess is that you have a compromised cooling system. The cooling system can not dissapate the heat of an engine operating at highway speeds. But add the little extra cooling capacity of the heater, and you're OK. How about a partially clogged radiator? Drain and back flush that puppy. Maybe some of the debris from changing those parts got into the system.

 

But first, try purging the cooling system of air again. I have a very steep driveway. I just park the car on the steepest part and burp away. Works every time.

[Overheating Engine on Highway]

HELP: I have 107,000 miles on my 2.5 Phase II SOHC engine on my 2001 Outback, the car has been PERFECTLY maintained with all maintence performed by myself. I decided to take the car in for service for the timing belt, waterpump, thermostat, belts, hoses etc. The car now OVERHEATS on the highway. The mechanic changed the thermostat and the waterpump again and it still overheat on the highway. I have flushed the coolant 4 times over the lift of the car. Any thoughs. I am at a loss. I am going to take it back. But I can idle the car and drive locally all day long and it is fine. Once I take it on the highway the guage climbs up to the red zone if I do not turn on the heat..