Any preferences out there as far as who should do my Legacy 2.2L automatic
75K miles tranny maintenance?Do it myself - I'm not exactly a mechanical buffoon but I have NEVER done anything except check/adjust fluid levels. Is it extremely complicated?
Take it to local Subaru dealer - had a bad experience with them trying to recommend un-needed maintenance...
Take it to a third party Tranny place?
Thanks for any help you guys can give me!
DJay
Non of the above. Shop around and see which quick lube type places do a trans FLUSH service. A simple machine is spliced into the trans cooler lines and replaces ALL of the fluid including the converter. Shop around as price around here varies from $135 to $65....The $65 is the exact same service with the same brand fluid. TG
Does the Legacy 2.2 use a spin-on filter? My warranty manual says the part is "maintenance free", but I wouldn't trust that. It's somewhere around $25 for new filter. It might be worth replacing.
Agreed on the flush...
Not so sure if a quick lube place is the best choice. Any good transmission shops in the area? Or even another Subie dealer to at least talk to? My only auto's on a Toyota Camry, and there are enough dealers around (SoCal) that a trustworthy one was located (too bad they're not the closest!), and they charged about $75 last time they flushed the trans, so the quickie place wasn't even a money saver.
My Subie dealer runs a bit higher (less volume, less competition?) but I'd prefer someone who knows Subies worked on my car than most of the "kids" I see at the local quickie places. That's just my opinion, though. Also, another poster mentioned the possibility of a spin on filter: if the OP's car uses one, I'd suggest getting a Subaru OEM unit regardless of who does the work.
Rick
There are several Japanese or import car specialists in my area. They don't have the ripoff dealer service prices, and don't seem to hire as many green kids as many dealers do. A lot of dealers seem to hire inexperienced personnel on the premise that people are going to come to them for service anyways.
I don't have an automatic, but the my manual does mention it. Subaru has thought this out thoroughly, to the point where they label their OEM spin-on ATF filter with "TRANSMISSION", and their engine oil filters with "ENGINE", to avoid confusion. However - something tells me that the kid at the quickie lube place might still get it wrong. :-(
Thanks guys. I'll do my homework and make an "educated guess" as to who to take it to. My problem is that the subie dealer that is close is an hour away. Next closest one is two hours away. I will check about the spin down filter too.
It doesn't seem to be just the kids at the quickie places that scare me with subies though. I had "experienced" techs have trouble with my car - eg. not knowing that venting the radiator when refilling it makes the job go quicker etc...
I'll let you all know how it went.
Djay
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