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Subaru Outback Repair Questions and Answers

Question:  1999 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 150,000 miles. my Subaru when fully warm idles at 650 rpm and a little rough. changed fuel pressure regulator plugs wires. coil. sometime idle comes down to 600 rpm can u steer me in the right direction....thank you

Answer:   Is the yellow check engine light on? When was the last full service tune up? Air and fuel, PCV done?

Question:  My 2005 Subaru Outback, 2.5 with 4 speed automatic has a perplexing problem. As soon as I start to accelerate, there is a pronounced growl. At road speeds the growl gets really, really loud when accelerating, but quiets down at road speeds or when you release the gas pedal. I've checked the wheel bearings and axles, and the exhaust, but everything seems okay. Fluid level is okay, with no leaks. I can hear a chatter coming from somewhere inside the transmission near the pan when listening through a stethoscope.

Answer:  The section the axles come out of is the differential, it's either worn carrier bearings, or pinon bearing...

Answer:    Make sure the positioning light switch is turned off. Do the rest of the lights work ok?

Question:  2001 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 62,000 miles. Where is the EGR valve and how do you change it?

Answer:   The EGR valve is located on the manifold, to remove it you just simply unbolt it.

Question:  1996 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 211,000 miles. I am replacing the ball joints on my '96 Outback Wagon. I removed the ball joint from the steering knuckle and control arm, installed the new one on the control arm, but cannot get the new ball joint back into the steering knuckle. I greased it a little, pried on the pinch slot some, but can't get in. I'm afraid to hammer on it too hard for fear of breaking it. I pressed on it with the jack, but backed off because I'm afraid I'll push the car off the jack stands. Will it damage anything if I lower the car to the ground and try to let the weight of the car push it into the knuckle? Or do I just take a big hammer and pound on it until it goes in? Do you have any ideas or techniques?

Answer:    Rent a ball joint press, some parts stores charge a small refundable fee for tool rental.

Question:  I have a 1996 Subaru Outback with a broken timing belt. The engine is a 2.5 liter SOHC type. Is this engine an "Interference" fit type?

Answer:    This motor should not damage valves, but it is good practice to check engine compressions as a precaution.

Question:  Hi. I know that the Subaru 2.5's have a lot of head gasket trouble, but I have a 2001 Subaru Outback with the 3.0L H6 engine. I have not heard anything on these engines eventually needing head gaskets like the 2.5's. I was wondering if you know anything about this? Thanks, Ben.

Answer:    If you regularly flush your coolant system and never let the car overheat and maintain it, you may never have to worry about the head gaskets going out in it. but when they go out it is completely random.

Question:  1997 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 122,000 miles. My car won't start. It slowly began turning over then gradually the turning over slowed down and now it won't turn over at all. Does this sound like a bad battery or a starter problem?

Answer:    Looks like the battery is weak, but the problem could be the alternator not charging the battery.. remove the battery get it recharge and make bench test your alternator.

Question:  1998 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 185,000 miles. My outback started running badly in the last couple weeks - few hundred miles. Ran fine up until then. Now it won't idle, missing so badly at lower engine speeds that it quits. Seems to run fine at higher engine speeds, kicks into passing gear ok and accelerates fine with pedal to the metal. The check engine light has been on and the OBD2 code reader indicates P0302,3,4 indicating misfire. I changed spark plugs which it needed badly but it didn't help. Seems unlikely all the plug wires would go bad at the same time, or coil etc. for that matter. Any suggestions? Could it be a fuel injection problem? What to do?

Answer:    Start with the basics first, plugs your done , leads, air & fuel filter. You may need to run it on am oscilloscope to view the ignition patens, voltages and spark lines, this will check the operation of the coil and you can do a cylinder balance, best do a compression test first, just in case there is a valve issue. Check for vacuum leaks and have the exhaust analyzer inspection as well.

Question:  1999 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 100,000 miles. My car just started to overheat the other day. It would rise in temp slowly and then quickly go back to normal, So I replaced the thermostat. The car still would overheat after replacing the thermostat. I took the thermostat out and drove the car for an hour without it even coming normal operating temp. so I put another thermostat in and it is overheating again. today the heater would come and go even with the temp above normal and it is full of antifreeze. The temp did not get high enough or for long enough to do damage. Can the water pump quit pumping. It seems to be a circulation problem. No bubbles in the radiator and no water out the exhaust.

Answer:    When the car gets about middle temperature feel the upper and lower radiator hose, if the bottom one is significantly lower then you should check the water pump, sometimes the fins in there become corroded and sometimes corrode. If the water pump is good then flush the system. If the hoses are both the same temperature then make sure the coolant fan is coming on.

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