Oil in spark plug sleeves

Dear Todd:

P.S.

If I have time this weekend, I'll tally up my costs of the last year or so and we can see whose top dog!

2nd head gasket job.... hell no.

Call Customer/Dealer Services (800) SUBARU3 [(800) 782-2783] 8:30-7:00 EST M-Th 10:30-5:00 EST F

Open a case. What you're dealing with is ridiculous.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA

Thanks for the encouragement, Todd! I will, of course, be making a great big noisy fuss - but I had to give the go-ahead for the repairs as I can't really be without the car for the time it might take to take this fight to Subaru.

The car will be ready for pickup on Monday evening. I begin work on putting my case together to approach Subaru starting tomorrow...

Cheers!

P.S. Thanks for the phone number - but I'm in Ontario, Canada, so I'll look up the Canadian equivalent.

For those of you still interested... :)

As I suspected the belt tightening had no effect. Subaru dealership is pointing the finger at the aftermarket replacement power steering pump. The fact that the original Subaru pump made the same noise is irrelevant/discounted. So, no resolution here - back to my own mechanic to see what they can do.

"Saturating" the bushing, no effect. Still creaks like crazy. Living with it.

$2100.00 later... I am back on the road. Beginning the preparation for opening a case with Subaru. At 90,000 km I had the head gaskets done, the water pump replaced and the radiator replaced. Conditioner was *not* used by the dealership (their records), and I was *not* told to use conditioner.

Wish me luck in my fight!

Cheers! Fred

Oooh. That conditioner bit may be just the piece of dealer screwup to help you win. Now that money's been paid and exchanged, I'm not sure what their remediation will be.... it'll be itneresting though. Keep us posted! Don't give up!

Just the latest installment:

Some paperwork has been gathered and sent to Subaru...

Car was still running badly. Took it in today. After $2100 for 2nd head gaskets... today's exciting bill: $450 for ignition coil...

Add to the list:

Oxygen sensor Radiator Water Pump Tie Rod Power Steering Pump

2 Head Gasket Repairs Ignition Coil

... and more... (that's just what I can think off off the top of my head...)

They can't stop smiling when they see me coming...Sigh....

Fred

Sorry, I missed the whole story.

By chance, was your car ever in an accident?

Yes. One might argue it was in the accident of purchasing a 2001 or

2002 Outback with an H-4.

I'm a victim of a similar accident, and it cost me $4k in maintenance in calendar 2007.

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA

So, should I be glad I sold my H4 '01 OBW in 2005?

I really liked the car (A LOT!) while I had it. I really needed another pickup. My plan was to dump the wife's Wrangler and keep the Subie. I couldn't pry her fingers off the Jeep. 8^)

If it makes you feel any better, the only good thing about the Jeep is that I'm a mechanical guy.

Yeah. If you were headed to an experience like the 2 relayed in this thread.

Liked mine until this past January.

Suddenly I find myself with a Jeep Liberty. The only thing I like about it is that my wife likes to drive it, so I can have my friggin Outback back!

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA

Hi!

Picked up the car this morning - drove it two blocks and it stalled, backfired, stumbled, and I did a U-turn back to the dealership. I asked the rather dubious service manager to just take it out. He confirmed the problem. One hour to drive there, 40 minutes to pay the bill, drive away, drive back, another hour to drive home. My morning wasted, and $450.00 spent - nothing has improved.

$3,000.00 in 3 weeks and the car is undriveable.

The saga continues... I think at this point, however, I might forgo the bulletins and let you know when the situation is finally resolved.

Jesus... What dealerSHIT is this? Don't they know how to test drive a car before returning it?

"Fred Boer" writes: