"Todd H." <subaru (AT) toddh (DOT) net> wrote

----Most subies don't have repachable bearings


replacing all the cam/crank seals.
-----Subies (like most vehicles) don't clog the injectors much



Can the rotors be turned? Subaru reccomends a on-car lathe



I think your jumping into more money than you need to spend




--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Automobile Advanced Engine Performance
ASE Undercar Specialist
Currently working at a Subaru Dealership

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troub...l_obd_main.htm
http://www.troublecodes.net/technical/
http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm

"Todd H." <subaru (AT) toddh (DOT) net> wrote

IMHO, that's a load of horse muffins.

I've had most of the same work done on our 99 OBW (including water pump
while the t'belt was off, which I also strongly recommend), although it
was done piecemeal. I haven't tallied the receipts, but my costs were
comparable...and all of my work was done at Evanston Subaru. You could
analyze everything ad nauseum and maybe save a few bucks, but I like
proactivity, plus time is money.

I've had most of the same work done on our 99 OBW (including water pump
while the t'belt was off, which I also strongly recommend), although it
was done piecemeal. I haven't tallied the receipts, but my costs were
comparable...and all of my work was done at Evanston Subaru. You could
analyze everything ad nauseum and maybe save a few bucks, but I like
proactivity, plus time is money.

On 6 Jan 2007 12:21:25 -0800, "lkreh" <lkreh (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

So true. We had an extended warranty on the used 1999 Legacy OBW
we're still driving that expired this past December. Back in the
summer, the oil pump seal went, IIRC, and I knew that to fix this
problem the mechanics would be in the timing belt area, so while the
extended warranty covered the labor and parts for the oil pump
rebuild, we paid just parts and a little extra labor to have the
timing belt and tensioner and waterpumpreplaced at the same time, at
87k miles, while the entire front end was open. We saved about $300
being proactive with this project. Yes, we did the work about 20k
miles "early," but we feel better about it.

"lkreh" <lkreh (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> writes:

And a lot of it. The final damage was $2200. Just over a $1000 in
parts! Rounding off the pennies:

Parts
-----
front rotors 85 (premium)
front pads 97 (premium)
rear rotors 117 (premium)
rear pad 94 (premium)
belt 21
belt 2
fuel filter 45
timing belt 102
timing belt tensioner (out of spec, this car's 5th tensioner!) 143
trans fluid 18
spark plugs 10
radiator hoses 18, 16
5tqs 10w30 synth 28
plug wire set 66
brake fluid 9
brake cleaner 8
hose clamps 4
water pump 105
thermostat/gasket 21
cooling system conditioner 2
battery, installed 80 (when filled for load test found leaking, was
due anyway since it was original 2001)

Labor
------
cooilng flush labor 70
tranny flush labor 70
diff service fton/rear w/ fluid 140
fuel injection + air induction cleaning svc 162
brake fluid flush labor 80
timing belt, tensioner, water pump labor 325
plugs, wires, fuel filter labor 130
brake pad, rotor, adj parking brake labor 260
labor install radiator hoses clamps 65

Tossed in a $226 discount out of "holy crap, this job got big in a
hurry" compassion (I've been there on big computer jobs myself,
feeling for the client as more and more problems are uncovered).


In comparison, my local subie dealer would've been in the same
ballpark, interestingly. From an Arlington Heights subaru dealer::

Service level D (the biggie w/ all fluids, plugs incl timing belt
change) $860 dealer menu
Brakes and rotors, installed $730 dealer menu
Injector cleaning service $138 dealer menu
Timing belt tensioner part cost 143.65
Ac and drive belts 40?
Upper/lower hoses $23
Water pump parts 100?
OEM battery cost 80?
OEM plug wire set 40?
Tstat tstat housing 35?

Which puts us at $2190 before taxes they'd add, and I'm not sure I
have all the parts the my guy replaced that might be needed up there.
We also managed to get a $145 quote on the water pump when calling the
dealer, but I'm seeing $95 as an OEM MSRP at least one place. Not
sure what's up with that, or if there's another piece missing.

So a few summary lessons from my journey
o going 3rd party doesn't necessarily save ya money. This is
true of parts and labor apparently.
o extended warranty folks, complain about your timing belt
tensioner noise before the end of the warranty period, even
if it's just as noisy as you remember it from the day you
drove the last replaced one off the lot -- it may be out of
spec. I failed to make enough noise about mine and here I
was paying $150 to replace it, 5000 miles out of warranty.
o water pump was in bad shape at 105k, definitely a good call
to replace it.
o 2nd timing belt was already showing some cracking at 105k
despite a change at 60k.
o don't buy brake pads at Autozone. They'll cheerfully sell
you pads that fit on your vehicle, but aren't really
qualified for your vehicle (numbnuts sold me semi metallic
pads long ago when this vehicle requires ceramic)
o dont' schedule routine maintenance of this magnitude right
after christmas and year end contributions to children's
educational savings accounts.

Thanks to all that participated in the thread. Due to timing and
other issues, it was impossible to follow all the good advice
tendered. :-)

Any courtesy of not following up and reiterating all the places I
could've saved money now that it's after the fact would be most
appreciated. :-)

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4
Chicago, Illinois USA

Hi Todd: Glad to hear your set for another 100,000 miles. Keep up the
year to year maintenance though. Cheers & good driving. Ed Hayes

"Edward Hayes" <erhayes (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net> writes:

:-)

Thanks Ed. SEe that makes me feel better. :-) I guess it is nice not
to have the car feel like the wheels will vibrate off upon braking.

According to my new mechanic, evidently the last yahoos to have their
hands on my brakes didn't do anything with the rust on the shims,
didn't adjust the parking brake and didn't do any lubrication of the
pad guides, and hence the hanging up of the pads, the uneven wear.
He also found the rotors beyond runout specs but no way of knowing if
they were that way after the last people machined them, or if they
wore into that state from there. Given that last brake job was a
whopping 9 months ago, I have my suspicions.

Increases my confidence that I should do my own brakes again next
time (using factory pad/shim sets).

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4
Chicago, Illinois USA