90k Service Advice for `01 OBW

[bawalker]

Hello all,

 

I have a 2001 Outback Wagon Limited Edition that has been kept up in pretty great condition. It just turned 90,300 miles today and gas mileage is holding in great around 29mpg at the moment.

 

I need to get several things done on the vehicle that have slowly came about and would like a professional opinion on them and how best to proceed. For my 90k service, I won't be taking it to the dealership. The reason being is that there was a major internal dispute between service managers and the service director. The former Subaru Service Manager (who is a customer of my computer business) is a great guy that I trust my and my mom's Subaru (`95 Legacy L with 299,990 miles) too. He quit the dealership after he felt that the new service director was trying to have the managers push parts/service of questional quality to the customers to cut costs.

 

Now he works for a GM Dealership, but still specializes with Subaru's. He has offered to perform my 90k service for me for around $400 where as the dealership wants nearly $800. I was planning on buying all OEM parts in advance, including a new timing belt since I am at the 105k/5yr recommended period.

 

What are your thoughts when it comes to having the 90k service performed? Since I will be paying upto 50% less for the service, if I need to do other belts and hoses, I might as well do that at the same time. What items should be I be concerned with having replaced, even if they aren't critical because it'd just be simplier to do that with the engine half pulled. What filters, pumps, belts, hoses, etc should be looked at? I plan on having a full transmission fluid flush taken care of at this time. Recommended tranny fluids??

 

Also, I have two other issues that have developed and I've yet to figure out how to best proceed repairing them. First is my drivers side mirror. Something happened not long after I purchased it so that the electronic motor only moves it left and right. When I try to move it up and down, it does nothing. I can hear the motor try to move it, but nothing happens. Someone on the newsgroup suggested I remove the mirror lense to check the motor behind it. I wasn't sure if I had to remove the whole mirror assembly, or if there is a way to remove the lense and check inside of it. Thoughts? Comments?

 

The second issue is with shifting into 3rd gear. Just recently I noticed that when shifting from 2nd to 3rd, and only when shifting from 2nd to 3rd, I can sometimes feel the gears hit or touch right before they engage. This happens just once per upshift. There is NO noise associated with this, there are no symptoms of the vehicle having driving difficulty. However I can feel the gears hit/touch with my hand on the shifter. I noticed that if I press the clutch and wait an additional .25-.50 seconds before engaging the gear, it doesn't seem the gears touch.

 

Someone suggested I might have a bad synchro gear. Thoughts? Suggestions??

 

Thanks!!

 

Bradley

[Legacy777]

I'd suggest trying to change the fluid.

 

There is a cocktail tranny mix that a lot of people have tried and like, including myself. It helped my grinding synchro issues.

 

On NASIOC http://forums.nasioc.com/forums in the transmission forum, search for uncle scotty cocktail or something like that. I think there may even be a sticky.

[idosubaru]

On the timing belt change:

New timing belts, cam seals and water pump and thermostat.

Change the oil pump seals/gasket/crank seal. Tighten the screws on the back of the oil pump (that was an issue of them becoming loose on some EJ series motors, easy to check).

Check all the pulleys and tensioners. Some people just go ahead and replace the tensioners. on an interference engine it's not a bad idea to replace anything you can afford to. You won't be in there for another 100,000 miles, you're relying on those pulley bearing to make it to nearly 200,000 miles. At the very least inspect them all closely and replace any that have any noise or don't feel tight. Typically the lower one that has sprockets instead of a smooth surface tends to get noisey first in the ones i've pulled (and i've read the same thing on here). i've replaced those on most of the ones i've done, particularly on the later interference engines which yours is.

 

everything above is related to the timing belts and should be done at the same time.

 

other items to consider are radiator hoses and clamps (particularly the lower one which may have a rusted clamp). then the drive belts for the alt and a/c stuff since it's got to come off anyway for the timing belt replacement.

 

change your transmission oil and go from there.

[bawalker]

Thanks!!

 

I assume most all of those items can be purchased at AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts and just let the mechanic replace what I have bought and to inspect everything else closely?

 

As for the transmission fluid, does it need to be entirely flushed, or will a drain and refill handle it? I've heard of others draining the tranny only to refill it with 1-2 quarts before it's filled up. Only to find out that there was oil still trapped in behind the gears preventing it from draining out. So does it need a full flush?

[bawalker]

I forgot to mention, when it comes to timing belts, are OEM belts better, worse, etc than ones at AutoZone and stores like that?

[J A Blazer]

Are these items recommended at 90K, or at 105K?

[bawalker]

Timing belts I believe are 105k miles OR 5 years, whichever comes first.

[bawalker]

I just figured up around $288 for the parts, not counting on the fluids that would be replaced, which probably comes to just a hair over $300.

[idosubaru]

i would use Subaru OEM parts for the timing belt and water pump. in my oppinion it's not worth saving a few dollars on an inteference engine. you will be expecting another 100,000 miles service from these items, i'd stick with Subaru on these items. your engine is inteference, if the timing belt breaks or the water pump fails (which can cause the timing belts to fail) you can sustain major internal engine damage (pistons will hit valves). i use anything on non-interference engines but stay with Subaru on the interference motors.

 

for aftermarket you can typically find cheap timing sets on ebay. might even see some Subaru OEM sets.

 

for a manual trans a drain and refill should treat you just fine. for an auto transmission you'll need a flush or to do multiple changes (i like to do at least 3 on mine. do one...drive it a couple days, do another, drive it, do another...then you've replaced a majority of the fluid).

[bawalker]

Do I need just the timing belt only, or the entire kit including the idler bearings and idler sprocket?

 

 

i would use Subaru OEM parts for the timing belt and water pump. in my oppinion it's not worth saving a few dollars on an inteference engine. you will be expecting another 100,000 miles service from these items, i'd stick with Subaru on these items. your engine is inteference, if the timing belt breaks or the water pump fails (which can cause the timing belts to fail) you can sustain major internal engine damage (pistons will hit valves). i use anything on non-interference engines but stay with Subaru on the interference motors.

 

for aftermarket you can typically find cheap timing sets on ebay. might even see some Subaru OEM sets.

 

for a manual trans a drain and refill should treat you just fine. for an auto transmission you'll need a flush or to do multiple changes (i like to do at least 3 on mine. do one...drive it a couple days, do another, drive it, do another...then you've replaced a majority of the fluid).

[idosubaru]

Do I need just the timing belt only, or the entire kit including the idler bearings and idler sprocket?

depends what you want to replace. if you want to replace the belt, buy a belt. if you want to replace the belt and pulleys, buy the belt and pulleys.

 

it's annoying waiting until you get in there to decide what to replace. because then you have to say "okay i need this one part" and have to go get it. if you don't want to replace them all (in which case you'd buy them all ahead of time), then the easiest thing to do may be to buy them all from subaru locally, and return the ones you don't need. that way you have everything you need and can finish the job all at once.