Service schedule after 100k miles?

It's important to keep an eye on the rubber parts as the car gets older. Check the CV joint boots with each oil change. Catching a torn one early will save you the cost of a new joint. Check the hoses and belts for cracking.

My Outback has about 90k on it and here's my plan:

5k - change oil and filter, Mobil 1, inspect rubber parts, check fluids including battery. 10k - Above plus air filter and rotate tires. 40k - Above plus replace brake pads and bleed brakes. 80k - Above plus replace timing and fan belts, plugs, water pump, oil seals, timing belt tensioner and coolant. Regrease aircon belt idler pulley.

I also replace the battery every 3 years. In my climate, I would judge that it is in hard service and you might be able to go longer.

This is not an all-inclusive list. The handbrake and clutch may need adjustment, the clutch will eventually wear out, and no doubt other things will fail. It should be a good starting point though.

They just make sense to me. I don't have any documentation that it's the best plan. I wanted a schedule where everything happened on 5k intervals and made sense. I've always changed syn oil every 5 thousand and replaced the air filter every other time. The Subaru is unique in that 10k is about right for tire rotation.

40k is a bit early for changing brake pads, but I figure that if I change them with plenty of meat left, there's less chance of warping a rotor. I think Subaru recommends 30k for bleeding brakes. I don't think it hurts to go another 10k and do the pads too.

Subaru recommends 100k for the timing belt. At

80k, mine still looked perfect, so I think 80k is plenty conservative. As to the other 80k stuff, it's all apart and you might as well get your hands really dirty. Probably next time I'll change the radiator hoses as well if they last that long.

I think

Are you saying that Subaru recommends changing the timing belt at 100k or to do it every 100k? My manual said to change it at 60k, so I just guessed that it should be changed every 60k. That's one part that I don't want breaking on me on a trip.

I can't speak for your Subaru, but mine, a '99 California Outback Legacy with a 2.5 engine calls for inspecting it every 30 months/30,000 miles and changing it every

90 months/90,000 miles. That's right out of the original manual I got with the car.

I'm not sure where I got the 100,000 mile number, probably the repair guy that I talked to about changing it. As I said, the old belt looked brand new and I'm sure it could have gone a lot further than 100k miles. On a mission-critical part like that, it's good to have money in the bank.

Ok, I missread the manual. It says replace at

105 months/105k miles. Sorry for the compounded confusion. That's where I got the 100k number, rounded off.

By the way, there is little you can see from an inspection of timing belts, other than if it is cracking. I've changed belts with 160,000 km (100,000 m) and they still looked good, sometimes the printed info was still visible. Since these belts fatigue from the constant bending of going around the pulleys, the only thing is to change them at the specified interval. There is no need to change them sooner, they are made to last the specified interval. Only thing with Subaru is that this belt runs the water pump, but with the back of the belt, so if it seizes, it will squeak and the temp gauge will quickly go up, so you will notice it before any damage is done. Other makes like Honda use the toothed side to run the pump, if the pump seizes, it rips out the teeth, and usually causes instant damage. Last Subaru T-belt I changed was on a Legacy with 180 km (150 mi), where the pump had seized, so I wonder if it's not more efficient to change it at the first belt change rather than wait until the 2nd one, and risk the pump seizing up. Dealer told me they rarely change Subaru pumps, but from my experience the small added cost of a new pump at the same time as the T-belt is cheap insurance, especially when you're on a trip as you approach the next belt change mileage.

Ed B.

Measure the width to tell if it is time to replace the belt. This is in at least some Subaru shop manuals. TG