What have you done to your car today?

It must be that time of year... I also cleaned both air filters today, and fitted a piece of flyscreen across the front of the air intake. Hopefully that will reduce the number of bugs I have to remove from the filter.
 
Not today, but last Friday, my odo clicked over the 200000km mark while heading down the Hume Freeway. Time for another 'whole box and dice' service! Interesting at this point to consider what's gone wrong and what I've had to do to it, apart from scheduled servicing and consumables, since I bought it in Feb '06 when it had 58000km on it:

- starter motor intermittently stopped engaging on ring gear - replaced starter motor
- original dual-mass flywheel was squeaking and then the clutch plate broke into 3 pieces - https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=860 - replaced clutch and flywheel
- knock in front suspension - undiagnosed
- gaps in seal in front of front windows causes wind noise at speed - not fixed
- viscous coupling in centre differential binds excessively once gearbox is hot - not fixed
- check engine light, fault code and rough acceleration - replaced O2 (A/F) sensor
- oil leaking from spark plug seals - parts bought recently and I will fix when I get around to it
- whine from left rear wheel bearing - will have this replaced soon
- fluid leaking from power steering rack - rack replaced with reconditioned unit

I have mixed feelings about whether this is a good track record or not, as I hear of other cars of similar age and odo reading that have had fewer problems, and there's a bit of a halo around the Subaru brand regarding durability so my expectations were high. I haven't had two of the common problems for Foresters of MY03 vintage - head gasket leaks and rear strut failures - so should be thankful of that! Indeed, the self-levelling rear and the suspension tune (spring and damper rates) are probably my favourite things about the vehicle and leave me with a pretty good feeling about it despite the problems listed above.
 
Gidday Simon

Sounds like a rough ride to me, mate.

Over 18 years and 234,000 kms in Roo1 ('93 Impreza), I had the air con reconditioned, the rear exhaust system replaced and a couple of re-conditioned d/s fitted due to broken boots wrecking the CV joint.

Repaired/replaced the instrument nacelle due to a faulty speedo, then used the parts from the old one to repair the s/h replacement.

Other than those things, just the usual major services, brake pads (the rear drums never needed replacing), wiper blades, tyres and light bulbs.

It developed rust from a shoddy windscreen replacement when about 8 years old, so this had to be repaired last year ($1,000). While this was being done, it was discovered that the top paint coats were de-laminating from the body prime coat because of an unknown cause. Around then I traded it in on Roo2 ...

Had one wheel alignment in that entire time.

Basically very happy with the vehicle, and I hope that we get as good service from our "new" Foresters.
 
SimXS I have similar feelings aswell about Subaru.

I've been through this in the 2 years I've owned my Forester.

9x tyres
1x motor
1x gearbox
1x clutch
2 cv's
1x wheel bearing
2x timing belts
2x water pumps
2x struts
4x new springs
1x radiator
2x batteries
2x exhausts
2x brake pads all round
4x new rotors all round
I've lost count of how many wheel alignments I've had.

The current paint is looking less than average and not from the offroad scratches, more fading on the roof and bonnet.

Plus all the little things, some of which you have mentioned. Sure I have been hard on the car but hell if I had a Hilux it'd still be going strong with all the same or more abuse..
Pretty much everything has been replaced. If I were to do it again, I'd buy a new car, use and abuse for 5 years then sell it before the km get to high and it has issues.
Then again with my L-Series it just kept going and going. 238,000km on it when I sold it, I did 10,000km in the few months I had it and that just kept on going. Things just aren't made to last anymore..
 
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i have also had plenty of issues, one of my latest was my engine blowing up after only 169,000ks. as well as many other issues.

i have come to the conclusion that subarus are defiantly not bullet proof.

i wouldn't say any car is bullet proof even my mates land cruisers have issues
 
thunder039 said:
i have also had plenty of issues, one of my latest was my engine blowing up after only 169,000ks. as well as many other issues.

i have come to the conclusion that subarus are defiantly not bullet proof.

i wouldn't say any car is bullet proof even my mates land cruisers have issues
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Very true! If you want a indestructable car or close to buy a Hilux :cool: Probably going to be my next buy :iconwink:
In pretty much the same km as you I've been through all you have plus another 5-10k worth :( Oh and they are very expensive to fix unlike a Holden.
 
taza said:
... If I were to do it again, I'd buy a new car, use and abuse for 5 years then sell it before the km get to high and it has issues.
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Taza, the trouble is that new cars with airbags, ABS, the new stability thing etc are nowhere near as much fun as the earlier cars, and cost heaps more than ours have in the first place.

Also difficult to justify modding and then selling a couple of years later -was only discussing this with a friend last week, who was saying how lucky I am to have my 'own' car. They get a new Subie every 12 months as a company car. As I said to them, I can't see the sense in it...


taza said:
...Then again with my L-Series it just kept going and going. 238,000km on it when I sold it, I did 10,000km in the few months I had it and that just kept on going. Things just aren't made to last anymore..
Click to expand...

"That's what I'm talkin' about...!!!" :lildevil:
 
thunder039 said:
i did just about 300,000ks in our mitsubishi magna that was serviced regularly but was driven pretty hard and not one issue in all that time makes me wish i didnt get rid of it.
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Any blue smoke by that stage? That seemed to be about the one problems with an otherwise bullet proof, if somewhat bland, car.
 
nope! didnt burn any oil. burnt oil once when on a hot day towing a car! my mother has one also that hasnt been serviced regularly at all and has done well over 300,000 now. more bulletproof than any of the subaru's i have unfortunately
 
Taza, Thunder and all

I keep on saying that you cannot treat a modern sedan based car like a WWII C49 Jeep (or like a 1975 SWB Landcruiser ... ).

If one does this, it all ends in tears.

In all fairness, Subaru advertise their vehicles as "all road vehicles", not as "off-road vehicles".

Sorry, but that's the facts of the matter.
 
thunder039 said:
i did just about 300,000ks in our mitsubishi magna that was serviced regularly but was driven pretty hard and not one issue in all that time makes me wish i didnt get rid of it.
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How many of those kms were off-road? Or even on rough dirt roads, for that matter?

Now, with that thought in mind, how many kms have you driven your Subaru/s off-road or on rough dirt roads?

:iconwink:
 
Ratbag said:
In all fairness, Subaru advertise their vehicles as "all road vehicles", not as "off-road vehicles".
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Very true mate :cool:

Ratbag said:
How many of those kms were off-road? Or even on rough dirt roads, for that matter?
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Well for me personally, I've done about 40% offroad (easy, med & hard) at a guess.
With that in mind I may have only done a lousy 93K, but I'd have to be the first to admit, they've been very hard km's I must say :twisted:

I'll list what I've had to fix & replace on my Forry over the next couple of days or so.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
That is very true Ratbag, thus my reason for wanting a proper 4WD. The main reason why I like the Soob over big 4wd's though is that you can rally them around on gravel roads and the likes. They aren't designed to be rock crawlers and I haven't modified mine for that but more for camping and FUN!

If I ever get another Soob it will be onroad only and I'm sure then it would be a reasonably reliable car for the most part.

How many km do I drive on gravel rds well this year probably a few thousand alone, most of that rally style driving. Then a little hardcore rock crawling and a fair amount of beach/sand work.

Since I have replaced everything in my Forester though I suspect I will get it to the 300,000km mark and within 2-4years. By then I think it will be tied out and very well used. I don't plan to put much more money into the car other than general maintenance as it just isn't worth it, but I have again changed my driving style both on and offroad.
 
Well yesterday I check the oil in my new motor in the 6 or 8 weeks it's been in. Done 8500km and it has burnt some oil but nothing to be worried about. Running reasonably well but am having the check engine light come on randomly and semi often. If I drive it like I stole it the light goes out. If I drive it like a normal person it comes on but only sometimes. Bit weird... :shrug::huh:

My Geolander AT-S tyres are going good, I'm going to push 60,000km out of them so I can't really complain about that! :biggrin:

Today I also did a small test with my Foz. I have a lightweight crank pulley to install which shuold give me some power/torque and just help with general driving. It pretty much has the effect of removing about 100kg from the car. I removed both my P/S and alternator belt along with my A/C belt(haven't put the pulley on yet) and went for a small drive round the block. The car pulled much harder without the drag from the accessories. Especially below 3000rpm. Can't wait to get the pulley on now and have similar power :cool: It was most noticeable when taking off from 2nd gear while at a rolling speed. :D
 
i do thousands of ks a year on dirt roads, especially seeming as i live on one! but once again i dont do hard 4wding mainly just camping and trips to the snow.

sounds like the new pulley is a worthy investment taza
 
Bought a 4.44:1 rear LSD diff today, also sourced an L series box.

Project "Custom dual range" is go!

Now on the lookout for a;

5spd DCCD and controller,
4.44:1 front ring and pinion,
Front LSD,
SF dual range box (or 1st and 2nd gearset).

I'm hoping to pull it off for around $2,200.
 
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