[sheikyerbooty]

Hey Folks,
So glad to have found this site, it has been a great help. I currently drive a 2001 2.5 Outback, it's been a great car. Bought new in Oct. 2000, I currently have 305,000 kms on it (never had the HG done! Though it needs it now). Well the time has come, there is a ton of stuff to fix on it, and with all the rust, it's time to give her up. So, I have tracked down a very nice 2006 3.0 VDC with 160,000kms, it's obviosly loaded, and has the nav system, it doesn't have the most current version loaded, but I believe the one previous. The car is being purchased at a local Sube dealer. They have done their 156 point inspection, and will be replacing the rear breaks, fixing up a some paint flaking on the hatch, and buffing the front bumper with hopes of getting some scratches out. I am getting what I consider a fair price on the car. I gave a depo today, pending an inspection at my local garage, it's is not the most up to date place in the world, but the dude is very honest. So all this to ask if anyone can suggest specific items I should have him look at, as he is not a subaru "expert" but a general mechanic, that said he has taken good care of my 01 through the years. Any help would be greatly appreciated, the inspection is next wednesday.

 

[idosubaru]

The serpentine idler and tensioner pulley bearings should be replaced. He can check them with a stethoscope or remove them - just takes a couple minutes - and inspect by hand. Very common issue and the bearings are essentially maintenance items.

Rear wheel bearings. Compare post-driving temperatures with a temp gun, that's the best method to check, checking immediately after you get there would be best before heat transfer does it's thing. Subaru has an extended 8 year 100,000 mile warranty for those in the US market for 2006 models.

That's about the only common issues with them other than maintenance and wear items such as the following:

As a note, spark plugs are past due.

Oil cooler gasket and valve cover gaskets are common oil leak points, easy visual inspection.
Front inner axle boots are most likely to be torn on all Subaru's.
Fluids - transmission fluid would be most likely to show any signs at that low mileage.
Wet/aged struts.

Solid components on that, not much to worry about with those. Do your maintenance and 200,000 miles is rather easy.

 

[cardoc]

That H6 is one tough engine. Just have the suspension, brakes, cables, tires, alignment, electrics in the car, windows, seats, all the controls work, etc. Check transmission fluid condition, diff fluid condition.

You will like it. Get it out on the highway and cruise at 100 k then floor it. When you feel the cam kick in, then you'll know.

Unless you run it low of oil or coolant, you will not have an issue with the engine. Run high octane gasolines. Keep the induction clean.

 

[sheikyerbooty]

Thanks for the tips guys, very helpful! Are there any spots on these that are known to rust prematurely? That was the main prob with my 01 , those darn rear wheel wells! They salt the roads heavily here, and I will be getting the car rust proofed after purchase.

 

[avk]

Gary: do you happen to know exactly which models/years fall under the 8/100 warranty?
Is there a TSB, or is it an un-announced policy?

 

[plain OM]

It was a TSB and letters to registered owners of affected cars. See attached. It's from May 2008. I'm not aware of any extensions or broadening of the coverage, but it's possible. Also, Subaru of America and Subaru Canada Inc are separate companies and what SOA does isn't always reflected by SCI. Check with a local Subaru dealer to see what approach SCI had on this.

 

[cardoc]

Rust is an issue with any vehicle, especially the wheel wells. The right side gets hit the hardest on average because the salts run off with the road grade toward the "curb". If the car is washed regularly during winter, the salt doesn't have a lot of time to do damage. You especially need to get down on the ground and spray the undercarriage and wheel wells good. Also, keeping it waxed helps to prevent damage.

 

[avk]

plain_OM, thanks a lot. I was wondering about Tribeca, which has the same hub, only with a different bolt circle.

 

[plain OM]

Not familiar with the Tribeca, but I don't see any TSB that's related to wheel bearings for the 2006 Tribeca, which would be the closest to the affected Legacy/Outback years. (See: Subaru Technical Information System)

 

[avk]

You did answer my question, thanks again. Apparently the production run for 2006 Tribeca began after they made changes to the bearings, otherwise it would have been on the list.

 

[sheikyerbooty]

Inspection done!

Ok had the car inspected, a couple of maintence issues, and a couple of question marks. Rear brakes need changing, and the dealer is willing to replace only the pads. My mech suggested just taking the pads and waiting till I decide to change the discs, as putting new discs, on rusted discs would be a waste. Transmision fluid needs changing, as does the air filter, which leads me to believe, I will have to do a tune up on the car ( I haven't checked the maintence sched, but it seems to me, some serious tune up work has to be done at 180000kms). Rear stabilzer links need to be replaced, I have requested the dealer does this. Now for the question marks. The car has been running on synthetic oil, the previous owner left his "next oil change" sticker in the window, which is 169,000kms. Actual kms are 163000. so assuming he changed the oil at 159,000, the oil was 1/2 a litre, thoughthe engine showed no leaks. I had a celica gts back in the late 80's that I ran on synth, and it too had "vanishing" oil, my mech said that he has seen this before, and it should not be a prob. 2nd question mark was a slight whinning/whirring noise upon road testing the car. My mechanic said it wasn't a tranny, but possibly a pulley, I have googled the issue, and have seen complaints about noisey power steering systems. Aside from tht the car was nice....drove perfectly nad was clean through out. Any commets would be appreciated, and I thank you in advance!

 

[cardoc]

Ok had the car inspected, a couple of maintence issues, and a couple of question marks. Rear brakes need changing, and the dealer is willing to replace only the pads. My mech suggested just taking the pads and waiting till I decide to change the discs, as putting new discs, on rusted discs would be a waste. Transmision fluid needs changing, as does the air filter, which leads me to believe, I will have to do a tune up on the car ( I haven't checked the maintence sched, but it seems to me, some serious tune up work has to be done at 180000kms). Rear stabilzer links need to be replaced, I have requested the dealer does this. Now for the question marks. The car has been running on synthetic oil, the previous owner left his "next oil change" sticker in the window, which is 169,000kms. Actual kms are 163000. so assuming he changed the oil at 159,000, the oil was 1/2 a litre, thoughthe engine showed no leaks. I had a celica gts back in the late 80's that I ran on synth, and it too had "vanishing" oil, my mech said that he has seen this before, and it should not be a prob. 2nd question mark was a slight whinning/whirring noise upon road testing the car. My mechanic said it wasn't a tranny, but possibly a pulley, I have googled the issue, and have seen complaints about noisey power steering systems. Aside from tht the car was nice....drove perfectly nad was clean through out. Any commets would be appreciated, and I thank you in advance!

Engines consume oil, usually a rate of 1/2 quart over 3000 miles, through the crankcase ventilation system. If this is all that the system is down, don't fret it.

The "whirring noise" is something that needs to be located. It could be a dry differential, wheel bearing, engine pulley or anything rotational. Does the tone change with speed of the vehicle? Does it alter pitch between shifts? Does turning the vehicle change the tone?

The rotors can either be replaced or refaced. Depends on the thickness now compared with minimal thickness specification.

 

[sheikyerbooty]

I drove the car myself before the inspection, and heard nothing. The mech didn't specify how the "sound" acted, his only comment was it wasn't coming from the tranny, and was not loud at all, he only heard once the climate control system was turned off, and even then, was dificult to hear. One other note, the fan on the climate control is a bit noisy, dealer mentioned this was a problem with the bearings in the fan, and is an issue with this model. It wasn't so loud that it was annoying, but he said it would probably get there with time, it's a $400.00+ dollar fix. Thanks for your reply cardoc!

 

[sheikyerbooty]

Oh, of course the differential, wheel bearing, engine pulley's were all verified, and were ok. I have to keep things in perspective as well, the car has over160,000, so it will make a squeek or 2 I'm guessing