rweddy Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 In Colorado we have a napa car talk show that has mechanics talking about car issues. Kind of like car talk but more technical, not so much fun. Anyway they talked about Subaru motors today. They said because of the boxer style motor, they recommend changing the antifreeze every 12 months and that abuse is the number one cause of HG failure. A caller had 97 OBW with 170,000 miles and was scared to take it on a road trip because a friend of a friend told her that her HG would blow without warning. The talk show host (shop owner) said they have several customers with 250,000 to 300,000 miles on their 96-99 2.5 on the original HG. And antifreeze maintance was the key. Just some food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 In Colorado we have a napa car talk show that has mechanics talking about car issues. Kind of like car talk but more technical, not so much fun. Anyway they talked about Subaru motors today. They said because of the boxer style motor, they recommend changing the antifreeze every 12 months and that abuse is the number one cause of HG failure. A caller had 97 OBW with 170,000 miles and was scared to take it on a road trip because a friend of a friend told her that her HG would blow without warning. The talk show host (shop owner) said they have several customers with 250,000 to 300,000 miles on their 96-99 2.5 on the original HG. And antifreeze maintance was the key. Just some food for thought. Interesting. How fresh antifreeze would prevent HG failure? Just curious... BTW, Subaru requires coolant change every 30000 miles which translates every 2 years or so on everage. This is more than other manufacturers require. Same with fuel filter, ATF, brake fluid, and spark plugs. I always wondered why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 Hmmm.... NAPA show saying to change your coolant more often.... Um, yeah, can you say conflict of interist? That said, I am all for changing coolant every two years or so, as it does get contaminated and the additives "wear out" so to speak. Lots of people don't understand the importance of regular scheduled maintenance. If you change fluids, belts, hoses, plugs, etc more often, the engine is going to function better with less stress. Less stress makes for longer engine life. That's why I'm a real stickler about these sorts of things with my cars and those of my friends. I believe without a doubt that is one of the biggest reasons why my 18 year old car that's creeping up on 180k, with one exception that was a stupid mistake, has never left me stranded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted September 26, 2004 Author Share Posted September 26, 2004 Interesting.How fresh antifreeze would prevent HG failure? Just curious... They said that since the subaru has a boxer flat 4 engine coolant and oil tend to stay in the heads rather than drain back like in a v or inline engine. They said this is cheap insurance for HG life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 that the 2.2s did not have this problem? The basic design is the same except for the larger bore. Frankly coolant maintence is good but does not make up for the fact that this is a flaw. There have been a large number of folks who took good care of thier cars that have been affected. To be an opinionated expert is not that hard in this society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Outback Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I had the privelage of talking to a mechanic from SOA the other day. And I asked him about the HG issues on the Phase 1 2.5's. He said that it really wasn't a very big deal. And really didn't affect even 1% of the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 Wha? Someone from SOA downplaying the HG issue? That's hard to believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 They said that since the subaru has a boxer flat 4 engine coolant and oil tend to stay in the heads rather than drain back like in a v or inline engine. They said this is cheap insurance for HG life. Their comment about the coolant "draining back" is completely bonkers. Coolant shouldn't be draining back on any type of engine. It should circulate when the pump is turning, and it should stop circulating when the pump stops turning. This morning I heard Pat Goss (Autoweek) state that "C" designation in the API donut (e.g. CI-4, CF) stands for "compression". INCORRECT, it stands for "commercial". Methinks too many mainstream journalists are learning stuff off the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theotherskip Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 This morning I heard Pat Goss (Autoweek) state that "C" designation in the API donut (e.g. CI-4, CF) stands for "compression". INCORRECT, it stands for "commercial". ah, pat is right on that one. the c stands for compression like the s stands for spark in other motor oils (ie SF, SJ, SL ratings). what would the difference between a commercial and non-commercial oil be? a compression (diesel) oil can be used in spark ignition engines, but not vice versa. diesel engines produce a lot of soot, and compression oils have the ability to keep the soot in suspension. this is why diesel oil turns dark black almost immediately after an oil change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 ah, pat is right on that one. the c stands for compression like the s stands for spark in other motor oils (ie SF, SJ, SL ratings). what would the difference between a commercial and non-commercial oil be? a compression (diesel) oil can be used in spark ignition engines, but not vice versa. diesel engines produce a lot of soot, and compression oils have the ability to keep the soot in suspension. this is why diesel oil turns dark black almost immediately after an oil change. Ha, ha , ha. S=service, C=commercial (officially). I guess some people could not remember that and coined the spark and compression mnemonics. And now the myth became the truth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theotherskip Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 Ha, ha , ha. S=service, C=commercial (officially). I guess some people could not remember that and coined the spark and compression mnemonics. And now the myth became the truth! whoops... i stand corrected. from http://api-ep.api.org/quality/index.cfm?objectid=74E2BB59-910D-11D5-BC6B00B0D0E15BFC&method=display_body&er=1&bitmask=002001005000000000 The top of the Donut shows the oil's performance level for gasoline and/or diesel engines. The letter "S" followed by another letter (for example, SL) refers to oil suitable for gasoline engines. The letter "C" followed by another letter and/or number (for example, CH-4) refers to oil suitable for diesel engines. These letters officially stand for "Service" and "Commercial." funny that s for spark and c for compression also lines up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 On a whim I checked the API website and confirmed my suspicion that the correct spelling is AutoWeak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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