heartless

ok, update as of less than 15 minutes ago... topped up the radiator - was very slightly low, but not low enough it should have caused a no heat situation... overflow also got topped up just because I turned everything off when I started the car & let it come up to operating temp.. temp gauge rock solid dead in the middle of the sweep. heater temp was still set to 80 on Drivers side, 70 on pass... turned it on, and lo & behold, we have heat, and plenty of it... So.. thinking this is NOT heater core, t-stat or water pump related... electronics perhaps? I dunno, not familiar enough with the climate control system What say you guys?

gotcha! like i said. will check into that tomorrow when the snow lets up.. snowing and blowing at the moment and rather chilly out

oof.. sorry.. my mistake/misunderstanding.. that I am not sure about.. will have to check tomorrow - after the snow quits, and after verifying the radiator is full when cold

@Numbchux and @Rampage - i did mention the hoses.... I personally did not go out and feel the hoses this morning.. He did.. said the bottom hose was ICE cold - car had been running for at least 10 minutes.. maybe 15.. and he was getting NO heat at all - fan WAS blowing, however.. blowing cold air. Climate control was set to 80 he said Again, I am going by what the other half said.. I did not go and check personally, but He is pretty well versed himself, so I think he knows the difference between full, and not full..

Other half's car - has the 3.0 - H6 engine.. about 210k on the clock (give or take a couple thou) no signs of coolant leaks anywhere, rad full, overflow at appropriate level.. temp gauge reads normal, but NO heat (electronic climate controls) upper rad hoses are hot, bottom hose is cold... Assuming thermostat stuck in closed position, or should we be looking at water pump as well? edit to add: heat was working fine on his way home yesterday evening, but not working this morning - and subzero ambient temps this morning..

very few of us have the ability to purchase this stuff wholesale - we are not businesses.

just skimmed through this.. but imho - far too much effort for very little gain. An old/weak/dying battery is going to get replaced in my vehicles. Period. I don't have the time, energy, or money to waste on testing something that simply just needs replacing, and/or could cost me even more down the road by killing my alternator. I live out in the country - running to the parts store is not a couple minute thing here.. 30 mins one way to get to the nearest. I NEED my vehicle to be reliable and ready to go at a moments notice, not screwing around with chargers and wasting time/energy with testing that is only going to tell me what I already know - the battery needs replacing. To each their own, and if doing all this makes you happy, then by all means, feel free. But for the majority of us, it is neither frugal, nor expedient to bother with it. Batteries have a lifespan, and where you are located - geographically - will affect that lifespan. I will spend the $80-85 on a quality battery when I need to, and have the confidence that my vehicle wont leave me stranded somewhere.

just repaired the wires going to the hatch on the other half's 06 Outback about a month or so ago.. on close inspection, out of all of them (14), there were only a couple that were not showing signs of fatigue.. just fixed them all to be done with it. Was a heck of a job, getting the interior bits out just to get good access to the stuff. my personal preference is not to solder the joints in vehicles - but a good western union splice with heat shrink over it. soldering can cause further issues down down the road from vibrations.. but to each their own.

brand of wires does make a difference on these cars.. parts store wires are no good. OEM or NGK wires ONLY. plugs should also be basic copper core NGK.. they do not need, or want, the fancy stuff.

yay for the easy fix! lol yeah, i had to do one on my old 95 Legacy some years ago.. it made a good mess, but was an easy replacement

i did not send a file.. I sent a link to a website that has factory service manuals.. most of the files on that site ARE in English.. but yeah, sometimes there are other languages available. it does appear that the Owners manual is in Russian, lol - but the SERVICE Manual (what you need) is actually in English - I just downloaded to verify

i thought they had the headgasket issue pretty well sorted out by 2011... most of the HG failure prone ones were in the first half of the 2000s decade (2000-2005-ish) - so yeah, i would not be too concerned about HG on that... burnt oil smell could come from a lot of things.. most commonly a torn boot on an axle - usually right side - that slings grease at the cat converter... but yeah... i would be looking more closely at things and get it properly diagnosed - dont jump to conclusions without evidence

yup, 2002 Forester... 1 click for drivers door, 2 for all doors same on our 06 Outback

i think it is the back one, but dont quote me on that.. hopefully someone else will chime in shortly

before you go trying to change that hose, wipe your finger across the wet and see what color it is... if it is not red, it is not that hose leaking.. honestly, that looks like coolant to me that is probably dripping down from somewhere else - it does not look like tranny fluid

nope, dont think changing the ECU is going to solve the problem... I agree with el freddo... change the o2 sensor.. and check all related wiring for damage... on my 02 Foz, I had broken wires that were causing the O2 code

in that case, it could very well be a faulty switch.. I would suggest going here and grabbing the wiring section at the very least for your car.. there should be some diagnostic stuff in there to help you figure out what is going on.

more likely a Daytime Running Light (DRL) other half has an 06 Outback... DRLs come on as soon as the key is turned on... there are ways to get around them, but not exactly simple depending on year and model the DRLs on my 02 Forester were easy to disable... the 06 Outback, not so much

My 02 Foz has a single bulb, dual filament headlight... not possible to do that.. his 06 maybe.. but that would be up to him.. and the high beams are not the problem.. it is the low beams/DRLs

i understand that, but every 5-6 months? seriously? LOL He has replaced headlight bulbs on this car more frequently than any other vehicle i have ever seen.. bar none. and from what I have seen in searching about this, it is VERY common on the 3rd gen and up to go thru headlight bulbs pretty heavily. This suggests to me that there is a fundamental issue with the lighting design/wiring in general on these... not a good thing - especially when they make it ever harder to actually change one out..

And the answer was..... . . . Both bulbs blown. yeah, the older ones are so much easier on headlights.. heck even my 2002 Fox is easier on headlights, LOL Only 4 yrs between them, but I think in 3+ yrs of ownership i have replaced one headlight bulb... in that same time frame, he has probably done 3 or 4 bulb changes.. usually one at a time, tho... this is the first time we have seen both go at once

so i have been reading.. often enough that it almost precludes anything else.. i think i will keep my older Subie, LOL, it doesnt have those problems

so anyone care to take odds on the chance this is a simultaneous bulb outage? research is leading me to believe it may be.. the nitty gritty... Other half went out and started his car this morning to let it warm up a little before heading to work.. 2006 LL Bean Outback.. has DRLs that come on automatically when engine is started. He said both lights were working when he started the car... comes back in the house to finish getting ready.. goes to leave, and no headlights... no DRLs, no low beam when turning switch on....all other lights are fine.. markers, tails, etc.. fogs work, high beams work.. just no low/drl. He ended up taking my car to work since it is dark when he leaves, and dark when he gets home. LOL fuses all check ok, relays seem to be fine (swapped with others to check) He is going to pick up some new low beam bulbs after work tonight for me to put in tomorrow in the daylight.. so... bets are now open...

it is quite common to get well over 200K on a Subaru - especially if taken care of. My 2002 Forester is just over 262K.. and counting.

possibly plugged up injectors? if you have good fuel pressure, and it will run with starting fluid (please dont do that a lot) then it is a fuel delivery issue..