tacode

Well, here's a follow-up: Yes, I know it's been a crazy long time to have gotten around to this, but hey, family keeps me busy! I replaced both filter and fluid (about 5qrts), drove about 100mi, and all is markedly better. The hesitation is largely down to <3 sec., if at all. It was 15-45 sec, sometimes not all without some throttle. Upon inspection, the filter is just a paper filter with a screen. I got the OEM filter here and an independent general mechanic I trust did the swap. With only half the fluid changed, I am witnessing a 95% improvment. When I first brought this to my sube dealer, they did a "power" flush, and the hesitation got progressivly worse from there. In hindsight, It makes me wonder if they even did it. They never boned me before, but there's a first time for everything. Is it possible that the old filter gasket was seeping causing a pressure loss even thought there was not a trans fluid leak? I just can't understand why a partial fluid change and new filter makes such a huge difference vs a complete flush.

Out of curiosity, how much did the replacement transmission/diff set you back? My '99 Forester has the hesiation issue, which has gotten better with more regular fluid/filter changes, but one day, I'll be looking! I'm still debating whether to dump it or fix it.

FYI - Acid buildup in the bloodstream is neither normal nor a good thing - it signals Ketoacidosis. It is life-threatening if not treated.

The Honda Pilot does not come with a functional ash tray. It has a drawer with a sticker in it that says "NOT AN ASH TRAY" A real ash tray is optional.

Forester Gets a Major Facelift Redesigned Forester introduced in Japan gets an updated look and some new features. Looks interesting. I'm guessing the 2.0 N/A engine is offered only outside the US? Not that I want one, I just don't see SOA getting rid of the EJ25 anytime soon.

Glad to be of help and welcome to USMB! It's a great resource for all things Subaru! Where did you buy your Forester from? Dealer, private sale? They ought to pay for it, because the undersized wheel bearings degraded over time - at least that was my experience - they don't just "melt down" in one day. When you test drove it, did you notice any low droning sound that you couldn't exactly pinpoint? It's kind of a bummer to start out with a service bill right away, but the Forester is a great car, provided you keep up with the maintenance. Definitely check to make it's up to date with recalls and service campaigns.

Which Forester? I believe 2000 L's have drums, while's S's have disc's. Either way, it's quite possible your wheel bearing is shot. One way to tell is to see if you can feel any side to side play on the wheel when jacked up. If it is the bearings, replace with legacy roller bearings. This happened on my '99 Forester around 70k, also passenger side. I do not recall smoke or a strong smell however. Subaru used ball bearings on some Foresters and Impreza's which in some instances have failed. Cost me around $350 to replace.

No. All forward gears have the same amount of delay. The delay is actually getting into the forward gears. I haven't replaced my fluid and spin-on filter yet, per the previous suggestions; I'm waiting for the weather to get a little warmer! Maybe next week... My local dealer has a bunch in stock - $31.50/ea. He said they usually don't replace these filters. I didn't think to ask why they had so many in stock?!

friendly_jacek and mwatt: Thank you for that reality check. You are probably right - they could not have checked the filter. They did the pressure flush/clean on the transmission, but there was no line item for a replacement filter and I doubt it would have been included with the flush without at least a N/C line item. The was no diagnostic time listed either. The thing that I'm curious about is the way you discribed your situation being better when the temps or car was warmer. Mine is the exact opposite: The colder is the better. If I drive for 20 minutes and stop for 5, it always hesitates longer than first thing in the morning. Also, thanks for the info on the filter and the advise - I'll certainly use it!

brus brother - good point about SOA; they did pick up the tab for the 2nd HG job, although it was 12k out of warranty. seven sisters - I looked for "transmission" and "hesitation" for posts by Legacy777. Nothing popped out at me, but I'll PM him to see if it jogs his memory. mwatt - I had read an earlier post about this condition and mentioned the part about the "hidden" transmission filter to the service writer at my Subaru dealer. He looked at me blankly and asked it I could point it out to the mechanic. I basicly relayed what I had read about here, and was told they would look it - turned out it was ok according to the dealer. They have never screwed me before, so while I have no reason to believe they didn't look at it, I guess I also have no reason to believe they actually did. Is this filter easy to get at from underneath? Also do you recall a part number or know where I can look it up? 1stSubaruParts.com doesn't return anything that seems related. Nug - I'll probably go that route if SOA says no way. So what should be a ballpark price for a used 4EAT? I saw one on ebay pulled from an SVX for $1600. Is that representative of what I'll find? Am I looking for a 4eat from a 99 forester specificly, or will any do? Last question - given the choice and resources, which is preferable and why: rebuild existing trans or replace with used trans? Thanks for all the input!

Hello all. My '99 Forester (4eat, 82k mi) is starting the hesitate when shifting into into drive. Reverse works fine. Once it does engange, all gears in drive are crisp. Based on research on this site, it seems that a seal in the 4eat is not allowing sufficient pressure to build to engage the forward gear. Currently, if I shift and wait for the transmission, it takes 5 to 30 seconds for the shift. If I give the car a little gas when shifting, it will shift much quicker. It's better when it's colder - stiffer seals, I guess?? The dealer drained/pressure cleaned the transmission, told me it was probably a seal, but told me the only way to fix it was a $2500 rebuild, or $4000 for a used transmission. I think that's parts and labor. He also said the seal would probably fail completely one day, but that could a week or years from now and that the failure would just be the car not shifting into drive. Do those prices sound right (I'm in eastern PA), and is it worth it? I'm hoping to keep this car for 4 more years. To date, it's had new HG's at 42k and 72k (3rd time's a charm!), knock sensor at 65k, rear bearings at 71k, ignition core and wires at 77k, timing belt and tensioner at 78k, all applicable recalls and campaigns, plus the usual stuff. Should I just wait for it not to shift one day? I have AAA and I'm the main driver. While I consider this a fairly large issue (started at 76k mi and I'm used to it now), it bothers my wife to point she thinks I need to get rid of this car ASAP. While I can certainly entertain that idea , I think there is a lot more life in this car.

I usually rotate my Forester's tires myself. With a decent jack and jack stands, it's pretty easy. Just to clarify... Non-directional tires on an AWD vehicle should be rotated fronts to backs (no cross); backs crossed to fronts. Directional tires on an AWD vehicle should be rotated fronts to backs (no cross). Is that correct?

This is a good place to start: http://techinfo.subaru.com/ A 72 hour subscription is only $19.99. Just download the manuals as PDF's.

...hmmm. Never thought I'd see the day where I saw Subaru, Saab, Saturn, Pontiac, AND Buick refering to the same car. Talk about maximizing your R&D investment. "Oh, look...there's one of those new Subaru's...oh, no it's not; that's a Saturn...I mean, Buick...no; it not that either...Saab, maybe...OH MY GOD, IT'S A 'NEW' PONTIAC AZTEK...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

THAWA on multiple threads has advised you to change out the plugs from bosch to ngk. It's cheap and easy to do, as opposed to buying and dropping in a new engine. You keep asking for advise, and then ignore it. If you want a new engine because it's what you really want, then just do it already! If you do drop in a new engine, take pictures of the process please!

I always thought the overhead clock was kind of useless, considering there's a clock on the radio as well. If I were to spend $35 to $43 bucks on a replacement, it would have to be a lot more than just a clock! Anyone ever replace it with something like an outside temp guage, trip computer, compass, etc?

This happened to my '99 Forester earlier this year. Light comes on, turns off after a day; back on a day later...and so on. Nothing seemed to have changed, but I took it in to find out what codes were being spit out. Turned out the knock sensor was starting to go. Still worked, but was intermittent. I had it replaced it, and now everything is just ducky.

I have a MY99 S - the rear seats recline back almost all the way. I always took it for granted that all Forester MYs did this.

hmmm...along the same lines as "Minority Report"... "We pulled you over, sir, because you will be attempt a donut in that parking lot in the near future and we're here to prevent it...now, step out of the vehicle and place your license in the shredder....Do it now, your car doesn't lie..."

Out of curiosity, with DRL's, do the instrument lights come on also? I'm guessing that they do if people drive around at night with only DRL's. I could see how a driver could not realize their lights weren't on if they had headlights and instruments on a lighted street at night, as stupid as that sounds. If they didn't have instument lights on, it would (hopefully) trigger them the turn their lights on. It should probably be an all or nothing policy - all lights on (head, markers, instruments, tails, etc) or no lights at all until the operator turns them on. I like how Subaru's (at least my 99 Forester does this) lights can remain switched on, but turn on or off with the ignition. Funny thing is, USAA doesn't count that as DRLs.

So, once you buy the extended warrenty, SOA will turn off the "premature failure" option for you?!?:D Man, I shoulda gotten the extended warrenty! Seriously though, make sure the howling isn't your rear bearings going. My rear passenger bearing started going and I blamed the tires for the longest time - it "howled" at speeds over 40mph. My mechanic knew what it was instantly and replaced the orginal Forester bearing with a Legacy-type one.

Well, SOA came through for me. Per my Sube dealer, both my Forester's HG's were seeping and needed to be replaced. I asked what SOA could do for me considering I had 71k miles and no extended warrenty. Since the HGs were already replaced at 42k mi, it seemed more than a little strange that they failed again 30k miles later. I asked about the new warrenty and conditioner and the dealer said they would talk to SOA. A few hours later, I've got new HGs under warrenty. The dealer told me to original HGs were bad and the first set of replacements came from the same bad batch/design. These new HGs were the newer redesigned ones. After 30k miles, the conditioner should be added after the coolent is flushed. It was not added now, however. So, I'm happy SOA took care of everything and my dealer was tremendous in taking care of SOA. I got new HGs that *should* last, but I'll get at least 30k more of this car - although I'm hoping for a lot more!

My '99 Forester is going to the dealer tomorrow to determine if the HG's are failing again. When they were replaced at 42k, I was losing large amounts of coolent and the temp needle would bury itself and then drop depending on the road. This time, at 71k, I just smell the coolent and see a spray pattern on the underside of the engine cover (passenger side). The level in the expansion bottle does not seem to have changed much. Out of curiosity, for those of you you who have had HG's replaced once already, has it reoccured every 30k-35k, or so?

Who exactly is eligible for this warrenty extention? I had a head gasket replaced around 42k under warrenty on my 99 Forester. Now at 71k, it's happening again. The passenger side seems to be leaking - I can see anti-freeze underneath. Am I SOL as far as Subaru is concerned? As far as not replacing the gasket, but rather adding a "sealent" does sound questionable. Seems like Subaru of America is using GM's playbook. I plan on calling my Sube dealer on Monday, but I'm wondering what kind of resistance I can expect.

'99 Forester - alternator at 28k head gasket and water pump at 42k front crankshaft oil seal at 46k brakes at 62k rear bearings around 60k rear bearings AGAIN at 71k Actually, I was happy aboout the brakes - they didn't fail, they just were too worn to pass inspection - coulda gotten another 10k out of them. The rear bearing thing has me a little concerned, though. But, all in all, I'm still happy with my Forester. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Aside from a complete engine failure, AC failure, or gremlins in the electrical system, I think you've gotten the biggies. I'm hoping to keep this car at least another 5 years.