Subaru service

[cameo]

Does Subaru also stress the importance of using its own brand of coolant
and other fluids, including oil filter, as Honda does?
I am soon switching from Honda to Subaru.

[John McGaw]

They do but I've not seen a vehicle in decades where the maker didn't push
their own products. Rest assured that, although Subaru does push their own
stuff, they also give full specs for outside products.

Come to think of it, maybe that doesn't apply to the CVT fluid but that
isn't something that is changed often. I have heard that the service on the
CVT (60k miles?) on the 6-cylinder uses gallons of the stuff and that it is
pretty pricey.

[Ben Jammin]

If you go to a Subaru dealership for service, of course they are going
to use genuine Subaru supplies. If they are using off-brand aftermarket
parts and supplies, that's a big problem.

My 2005 WRX is out of warranty but I still use some Subaru items like
the special filter for the Subaru Performance Tuning Cold Air Intake
Kit and the green Subaru Long Life Coolant.

In some 2008 and all 2009 models Subaru changed the coolant to blue
Subaru Super Coolant (11 year life). The two coolants -- green and blue
-- are not to be mixed. You might have difficulty finding the right
coolant for your car at your local aftermarket car parts store.

[abj...@sbcglobal.net]

Depending on the age of the vehicle try to stick with
Subaru stuff.

If its a much older car, say 1990s model, early 2000,
you may use various brands or generic fluids that meet
specs, but more recent cars its better to use Subaru
branded stuff ...as newer cars seem more sensitive to
Subaru specific fluids.

The SUBARU ATF-HP for example is far superior to a
Valvoline ATF fluid specifying suitability for Subaru-HP,
in a my 2013 Forester XT. In my 2000 Impreza there is
no noticable difference in gear shifting smoothness
between the two, but in the Forester the difference
is big.

The Subaru oil filter is much preferable also.
Its tested for proper flow, and has correct bypass
valve setting (23 psi). If you look at some filters
that people use for their Subarus, the oil inlet
holes are smallish, example some Purolator oil
filters specified for Subaru. I am sure that given
certain conditions, say at startup or very high rpms
there has to be a difference in flow.

The Subaru green coolant for older cars is supposedly
also formulated to have more anti-corrossion properties
then regular green coolants. I don't use it, I use
regular green Preston, or Zerex, or Peak, but change
these every two years. The headgasket problems in boxer
engines are frequently blamed on coolant seeping under
gravity into vertically positioned head gaskets and
corroding them.

Subarus cars are a bit different tahn other cars and
its good to stick to Subaru branded stuff. Subaru fluids
are mostly made by Idemitsu so if you check carefully
you can buy this brand and it will probably be the same.
Beck Arnley brand also sells some fluids that are exactly
the same.

Basia

[cameo]

On 4/22/2019 2:11 PM, Ben Jammin wrote:
> If you go to a Subaru dealership for service, of course they are going
> to use genuine Subaru supplies. If they are using off-brand aftermarket
> parts and supplies, that's a big problem.
>
> My 2005 WRX is out of warranty but I still use some Subaru items like
> the special filter for the Subaru Performance Tuning Cold Air Intake Kit
> and the green Subaru Long Life Coolant.
>
> In some 2008 and all 2009 models Subaru changed the coolant to blue
> Subaru Super Coolant (11 year life). The two coolants -- green and blue
> -- are not to be mixed. You might have difficulty finding the right
> coolant for your car at your local aftermarket car parts store.

I wasn't thinking using off-brand products because I learned the hard
way with my Honda Accord that the price difference isn't worth it. Using
non-Honda coolant, for instance, costed me a heater core and radiator
that corroded from the wrong fluid. Now, even though I have my car
serviced at a trusted independent shop, I buy the needed fluids or parts
at a Honda parts store for the mechanic to use. I even buy the motor oil
brand Honda dealers use (Castrol) because my shop does not carry it.
They don't mind passing up the usual markups on the parts they provide.
Not many shops will do that.

[cameo]

I agree with everything, you write here as they also apply to Honda
cars. Must be a Japanese thing, I guess. As to oil filters though, I
discovered that filters made by Wyx are interchangeable with Honda OEM
filters. I think both are made by Wyx for the US market.

[abj...@sbcglobal.net]

Napa series *7712 oil filters are also made
by Wix and specified for Subaru, they have
proper 23psi bypass valve opening pressure,
and large inlet holes.

Wix numbers are 57712, and 57712XP for extended
performance filter. NAPA sells equivalents made
by same company Wix. The Napa number is 47712
for the Platinum line of filters, and 7712 for
the Gold line. Platinum is the best.

These are nice filters and I like them, but tighten
them well as some people report the flat gasket can
leak if not well tightened. Subaru OEM filters have
a round shaped gasket that flattens under pressure
and seems to seal a bit easier. All minor differences.

These Wix/Napa filters are very good, have better
construction and filter media inside. NAPA had the
Platinum line on sale last week. I bought a couple
for $4.99 a piece.

Basia

[cameo]

Thanks for the tip, Basia. (Nice Polish nickname, ;-)

[abj...@sbcglobal.net]

Your very welcome, I am actually Polish. I was raised
both in Poland and in the US., in Chicago, ...going back
and forth between the two countries in my youth. 15 and
a half years total spent in Poland.

Basia

[Wade Garrett]

Yeah, I've been driving Japanese cars for over 30 years, I stick to
buying OEM maintenance items- the price difference compared to
aftermarket stuff being insignificant in light of the cost of cars these
days and how little the filters and fluids cost over the life of the car.

Only item I refuse to pop for are the absurdly-priced OEM cabin filters-
not to mention the dealer rip-off labor charge to swap it out behind the
glove box door if you let them install it.

I get a $10 Fram or comparable at Walmart. It takes me about 60 seconds
to install it- not counting the time to remove/reload all the junk that
has accumulated in the glove box. I do find some interesting stuff in
there though on clean out and can usually toss about a third of what was
in there.

--
Ever notice the shortage of "armed law-abiding citizen” victim tragedy
stories in the news?

[cameo]

I ja jestem Węgrem. Sto lat!

[cameo]

My Accord does not have a cabin filter.
Soon after I posted the prior message, I had an interesting issue with
my car which then was fixed on the spot by an old mechanic's trick.
I was leaving a restaurant late night but my car would not start. The
starter would not even make a noise, even though the lights on my car
were pretty bright. A guy from the restaurant gave me a jump start to no
avail. So I called a AAA tow truck to get the car to the nearby Honda
dealership. The tow truck driver tried to start the car too, but it was
the same with him. Then some spark lit up in his head and he tried that
mechanic's trick: tapping lightly on the starter with a metal rod. That
did it! I was then able to start the car and drive home without any
further problems. Though the issue has not manifested itself since then,
but I now carry an older tire changing iron under my seat, just in case.

With hindsight I should have thought about this trick myself, because
several years ago that's how I nudged my alternator to resume charging.
In that case the graphite brushes were too worn and the springs could
not push them hard enough to the commutator to make a good contact.
I suspect that's what my starter is facing now. Time to replace it after
almost 350K miles.

[abj...@sbcglobal.net]

Polak Wegier- dwa bratanki.
:))

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_and_Hungarian_brothers_be

[cameo]

> Indeed. BTW, how did you become so knowledgeable about cars? Most women
I've run into couldn't care less beyond driving them.

[Wade Garrett]

Many years ago I was on a business trip flying on an old North Central
Convair 580- a two engine prop plane- making several puddle jumper stops
across the midwest. At one stop, the right engine would not restart and
the maintenance guys came out with big step ladders and climbed up on
the engine, pulling the covers off exposing its innards. They worked on
the thing for a good 20 minutes- trying this and that and hooking up
hoses and wires to it- but to no avail.

The lead mechanic went into the cockpit and shortly afterwards, he and
the pilot came out and announced we would have to deplane to wait for a
replacement aircraft to arrive as this one was disabled.

My seat mate stood up and said "Just hit the starter with a wrench". The
pilot smiled, thanked him for the suggestion and said the five highly
skilled mechanics working on it had determined it needed major maintenance.

Still standing, my seatmate said “My name is Emil P******* and I’m the
Vice President of Engineering of the company that made that starter. Now
just smack the sumbitch with a big wrench.”

Still smiling, the lead mechanic yelled out to one of his guys still up
on the engine and he proceeded to give the starter a good whack- after
which the engine started right up.

True story!!

[Ben Jammin]

I do the same thing: I search for a good price on OEM Subaru air
filters onliine and buy a couple. I keep one in the trunk of the WRX
and when the service shop says it is time for a new filter I say "It is
in the boot".

My independent shop uses Castrol lubricants as well.

[cameo]

Some things are universal. ;-)

[Wade Garrett]

I elected to deplane however, and rented a car to continue the trip.
What went through my mind was that if for some reason that engine quit
in flight, the pilot may not have been able to restart it. I'm sure an
engine quitting is a real long shot- but I've always been a timid flyer
and it was only about 100 miles to my destination.

--
Nigerian authorities found a man dead in his apartment along with 16
billion dollars stored there. Apparently he had been trying to give it
away for over 10 years... but no one would return his emails.

[abj...@sbcglobal.net]

Subarus are special, for me at least.

I knew a lady in Poland that had a 60s Beetle and she
could rebuild the engine all by herself! I just do
regular maintenance, haven't done anything beyond
adjusting the valve lash on my 2000 Impreza L Coupe.

Basia

[cameo]

Adjusting the valve lash? That's still more than I've done on any of my
cars. I've only done that during my college years on my motorcycle.
So congrats, Basia!

[cameo]

It was probably a smart move on your part.

[John McGaw]

On 4/22/2019 1:44 PM, cameo wrote:

I took my 2018 OB Touring 3.6R in for an oil change and tire rotation. Two
things I notice (or maybe three): 1. that little engine takes *eight*
quarts of oil but regular service doesn't call for synthetic; 2. tire
rotation does not mean re-setting the TPMS in each tire to tell it its new
location because, through some magic I don't comprehend, the system learns
where each tire is; and the optional 3. no mechanic repairing, changing or
rotating tires has *ever* managed to set the tire pressure to where it belongs.

On tire pressure, why is it that the recommendation is that it be set cold
but does that mean -40F in North Dakota in January or +120F in Phoenix in
July? Watching the TPMS readout it is clear that the pressure varies all
over the place with the slightest provocation even down to rising on the
sunny side of the car.

[Your Name]

A tyre is simply a rubber bag filled with (usually) air, so of course
its pressure will vary with the temperature it's getting.

"Cold" always means when the car has been driven as little as possible,
ie. the normal rested temperature (although that too will vary from
location to location, and time of day). Unless you're magically
teleporting your car from Death Valley to the North Pole instantly
after checking the tyre pressure, it's a good starting point. If you
live somewhere where temperatures do drop dramatically between day time
and night time (and you're driving in both!) you should probably
re-check the rested tyre pressure in both conditions.

[John McGaw]

I really should study the tire (or even the tyre) pressures more carefully
now that I have the ability to see approximately what each of them is
doing. Not something one could do when it meant parking and using the
manual gauge on each to see the trend. I did verify that, on a cool Spring
day with bright sunshine, that the two on the sunny side did increase by a
couple of PSI over the shaded ones while parked in an open lot. And of
course when driven down the highway at speed all of them increase their
pressure.

I have always been quite meticulous about the pressures (I carried both an
expensive precision German gauge, now smashed, and a decent digital) and
noted in every car I've owned that the maker's recommended pressure was
almost never the best for handling and even tire wear -- they seem to be
going for comfort only.

[Your Name]

It's basically part of the same reason racing cars, drag racers, etc.
"warm up" their tyres before the race starts.

> I have always been quite meticulous about the pressures (I carried both
> an expensive precision German gauge, now smashed, and a decent digital)
> and noted in every car I've owned that the maker's recommended pressure
> was almost never the best for handling and even tire wear -- they seem
> to be going for comfort only.

The manufacturer's tyre pressures are really only an average guide
(usually there's two different pressures on the label - empty car and
fully-loaded car). It depends on what you carry around in the car, how
you drive, the weather, the surface you're driving on, if you're towing
a trailer / boat, etc., etc. The pressures may also need to be
different again if you refill your tyres with Nitrogen instead of air
(or anthing else).

It's also only for the tyres that actually shipped with the car, so if
you've replaced them with a different model or brand of tyre (including
changing the wheel size), then the pressures needed could be something
different too. Some of those fancy built-in tyre systems on new cars
don't like having different tyres at all.


Of course, you could just get solid rubber tyres and not bother with
pressures at all. ;-)