donglow2

I had a really hard time joining this group because no activation email would come and I could not find a place to message an administrator. I joined the Outback group instead but then tried this one again with a different email address and the activation email finally came. On the Outback group, I meet a member who is a Legacy owner too and was there because he did not receive the activation email here. He has tried again with the same result. The activation emails are not going to spam. Wouldn't the vendors and everyone else appreciate more members?

So you are going to make the old Vice-Grip not being non-professional argument? Vice-grips are fine for holding the bolt head so you can turn the nut on the other side. I did not turn the nut or bolt with the vice-grip. It only takes a small amount of pressure on the head to keep the bolt from spinning while it is in the knuckles of the wheel. I used the very end of the vice grips, not the teeth (10:27 on the video). Most all mechanics have a set of vice grips for situations like these where you need to hold a bolt head and you do not have a spare hand to do so. Wrenches and sockets on ratches need to be held! Battery impact wrenches have changed auto mechanics for the good, but they are a little heavy and sometimes it is nice to use two hands guiding them where they need to go. Plus the vice-grips give something to hold when pulling the bolt out of the hole after the nut is removed. If you want to try and find the jacking point in the front of a low vehicle that is next to the oil pan, exhaust routing, and other easy crushable things, please do so. I learn the side jack from a long-time mechanic who had done it 1000's of times on smaller vehicles with zero problems. My wood board, which didn't get shown well on the video, has a grove in it for the pinch weld.

I respectfully disagree with the view this is more dangerous than the "widow-maker" bolt compressors. There is nothing more dangerous in than the two bolts that many times cannot compress the spring far enough on a passenger car to get the top mount off without a major struggle. Here is some verbiage from the description of the video. The zip ties used are 175 lbs and there are 22 so the working strength is 3,850 lbs which should be significantly over the force of the spring, but compressing and working with strut springs is dangerous and caution must be taken. They nickname the bolt compressors "Widow-Makers" for a reason. They can easily slip off the spring and injure or kill. This is especially prone to happen when a person is wrestling with the assembly trying to compress the spring enough to put the top mount on and start the threads of the rod bolt, and complicated by the compressor bolts getting in the way of strut top and bottom. This zip tie method does not eliminate the danger but should reduce it. Any method of compressing and changing the spring though can be deadly if done without being fully alert and constant evaluation.

Please be gentle! It is my very first try at making a DIY Youtube Video. It is on replacing struts, reusing the springs, and adding a strut spacer (if wanted) by using zip ties to compress the spring on the vehicle.

The valve body of the CVT in modern Subarus is the weak expensive link that hurts their prior reputation of long-lasting low major repairs and their resale value. Subaru's with 100,000 or more mileage don't sell for nearly as much as Toyotas or Hondas, which also make CVT cars and their valve bodies don't seem to have as many problems as Subarus. Nissan Jatco CVT, most mechanics think, at least prior to 2020, are garbage and really need frequent fluid changes to last any decent length of time. Nissan claims in their last few years to have fixed the problems, but time will tell. Subaru American really screwed up by saying the fluid is lifelong if not towing or hard driving. There are a few reputable dealers in the USA who want their customers to experience the long life Subaru's were known for and recommend fluid flushes to their customers even though Subaru of America does not say it is necessary. Even a fluid drain and fill is a lot better than not addressing the issue at all. The external pump machine used by dealers in fluid flush adds very little to the extra cost. The labor and the extra fluid costs the most. The procedure starts with a drain and fill to get new fluid in the pan. Taking off the return from the cooler (actually, it is more of warmer in a Subaru than a cooler) and rerouting and putting it back is difficult because the space is tight. I bought my 2016 Legacy with 101,000 miles, after my 2016 Outback was totaled when it got sandwiched between a driver switching into my lane and a semi in the other lane. I was all prepared, after a lot of studying to change the valve body when it went bad, because I doubted the prior owner, who had the dealer do all the oil changes and other maintenance, ever had it done. I got such a good deal on it that it was still going to be good deal with a new $3,500 valve body or a rebuilt one for less. I found when doing the flush the hoses on the cooler were reversed. This along with a few other signs, such as the transmission being totally clean compared to the rest of the car, the scan tool saying the car only had 86,000 miles as if the wiring did not get reconnected properly, and the fluid looking like it only had about 15,000 miles on I believe their Subaru dealer put in a new transmission. The valve body on my 2013 Impreza CVT, back when the power train warranty was only 60,000, went out at 68,000. The dealer made me pay the whole $3,300 cost to replace it. Then a month later I received a check from Subaru of America, without ever complaining too them, for the $3,300. Very nice of them! I have a 2019 Camry in addition to two Subaru's in my immediate family, plus do work on extended family and friend's vehicles. Japanese only! After getting expert advice on seeking out a Toyota/Lexus specialty shop (because they supposedly know what they are doing and don't rob you as much as a dealer) for changing the Camry 8-speed automatic fluid, they told me you can't flush the transmission on this car unless the transmission is removed. I knew right then the desk guy did not know what he was talking about but I went ahead, after arranging time off work and a ride to take me there and back when they were done and let them do the drain and fill. Two weeks later the transmission started slipping. After a large amount of research, it seemed the most reasonable explanation for this was they did not put enough fluid in it. In fact, the transmission has to be cooled to a low range just above ambient temperature to measure it correctly and they did not have the car long enough for it too cool to this. I decided then I was doing it myself. I did the full flush and found the fluid was very dirty, even though about 35% had been changed. It completely fixed the slipping. I hope it did not do any damage that will show up later as my goal is 300,000 miles out of this vehicle. I have had some other bad experiences from both Subaru and Toyota actual dealers. Before I learned about flushing I did a drain and fill on my 2013 Impreza at a 165,000 miles. I used Redline Non-Slip CVT. The transmission had been slipping but this completely fixed it. I believe Redline, since they are mostly making it for racing, has more friction additives for the belt and torque converter than standard Subaru CVT fluid, but that is just a guess because I haven't seen any data to verify it. I have read that the slippage in these transmissions that is fixable is probably the torque converter rather than the belt because once the belt starts slipping the destruction of the transmission is comes soon.

Sorry if I sounded condescending. I hate it when people slam me too. My disgust was on the anti-flush side of the debate and not you. It is nice you are open-minded and a big and knowledgible contributor to this forum. The web article you posted was on automatic transmission but the youtube link I posted, also on automatics, is done by Don Smith. He does a CVT in another video too. It is exactly the same procedure whether automatic or CVT transmission. He has years of experience. Amsoil, which I don't use often because of the expense, even has some kind of warranty on the transmission if using their fluid and flushing regularly. Amsoil is one of the top oil/fluid companies in the world, partly because of the research they do. Another misconception of the article is connecting into the the transmission cooler. It is the return of cooler into the transmission that is rerouted into a container to catch the oil fluid and keep new fluid going into the transmission pan. Flushes start with a drain and fill, then you flush to get the remaining approximately 65% of the old fluid out. There are a lot of false misconceiving statements and opinions in auto repair. This is one of them. The person who wrote this article is feeding on people who have never done a flush and can be deceived.

In my opinion, there are several things wrong with this negative view of transmission flushes. On the article: 1. "it neglects the most important part of servicing the transmission: changing the filter". Many modern automatic transmissions, which this article is about, do not have changeable filters. A Subaru CVT filter can only be changed by removing the whole transmission. The filter is never changed with a fill or flush. Subaru CVT, like many modern automatics (Toyota 6, 8, or 10 speed) only has a screen that can be replaced/cleaned inside of the fluid pan, plus a magnet in the pan that metal wear particles can be cleaned off. Doing a flush doesn't keep these from being done. You only need to drop the pad and do them before the flush. 2. "Fact #2: Car manufacturers recommend against transmission flushes". Subaru does not say not to do flushes. A flush is better which is the reason good Subaru dealers do it. The valve body of Subaru CVT cannot handle dirty fluid, which is why he has gotten 264,000 miles without a new valve body or whole transmission. 3. Fact #2 & 3. Flushes do not pressurize the transmission. It is only returning transmission fluid to the pan so the pump doesn't run dry. There is absolutely no reason to pressurize the transmission, because automatics and CVT's are hydraulic pumps. They already cycle a huge amount of fluid when ever the engine is running. 4. A drain and fill "only removes about 70% of the fluid" is way off. It is more like 35%. If it was 70% there would not be much benefit in a flush. 5. "flushing chemicals are solvents or detergents". Not true. A flush is done with new transmission fluid. You do it until what is coming out turns from the nasty old fluid to the new fluid. Engine oil gets carbon and other impurities that can form slug and carbon buildup from the blowby of the combustion. There is no combustion in a transmission therefore there is not much, if ever, a reason to clean from using solvents and other chemicals. The fluid needs changing from breakdown and metal particles from wear of the parts. It does not get contaminated like engine oil. This article is full of holes. It says a lot of untrue things and therefore leads the reader to a false conclusion. So what if GM says something against flushes? They are no longer a reputable company anyway. The only reason dealers and auto repaid/fluid change shops use a pump is because it is faster. To do it DIY a pump isn't worth the trouble or cost. You just fill the transmission and run the engine for 10 to 15 seconds and then do it again. Took about 12 times to totally flush my TR-580 in my 2016 Legacy. The TR-690 in a 3.6 holds a little more so probably a few times more. Watch this man's videos to find out what real flushing is by someone who really knows.

I have heard that too but do not know if it is true. I have replaced my struts and to try and get them on when they are more extended due to longer springs does not sound pleasant. The cheapest and easiest way to raise either end is with spacers. I purchased some about 40 days ago through Amazon. They came from Russia! I was surprised to get them. Now they are unavailable. It was hard to find some in the 3/4 inch range. There is not a lot of room for choices in the strut area. Another concern is Subaru struts only last about 60k, depending on how rough roads you drive. Most people go a lot longer than that but that is the point you will usually notice a good improvement if you put new ones on. Eventually, the struts will cause tire wear and other problems if you don't replace them. If you are going to either the work and/or expense of putting longer springs or spaces on and then have the car aligned you may want to consider new struts.

MoleMan, You must be outside of the U.S. for it to says change the CVT fluid every 30k? The biggest problem with Subaru USA is they say the fluid is lifetime. Visible outside inspections due nothing but tell you if it is leaking which would be extremely rare. The valve body of a Subaru CVT cannot handle dirty fluid with break-in metal shavings and will usually go out past the 60k warranty. This is why the resale value of USA Subaru drops significantly in the USA. My first one went out at 67k, but it is hard to stay too mad at Subaru USA because they did send me a check for the whole $3,800 the dealer charged me about 3 months after, without my saying anything. Now to your vehicle, transmissions are very different than engine oil. Engine oil gets dirty by combustion. Fire, explosion, etc.. Junk gets past the rings and the valves and into the engine oil passages. The fluid in the transmission only gets dirty by wear, not combustion. The good mechanics in the USA say to change the fluid every 60k so 20k is not much, but a lot of good mechanics recommend the first one be earlier so you are fine having it changed now. The Subaru CVT fluid is much easier than about 2012 and up Toyota (CVT or Automatics) that use a straw drain level check. Besides the crazy straw the Toyota transmission temperature range you have to use to get the level correct is very low which causes the time period you have to do everything to be very short until it is too hot, then you have to wait hours for it to cool down. A real pain in the ass. Subaru uses a standard level check plug and higher temperature range. Plus unlike the newer Toyotas Subaru have pans so a temperature gun works pretty well if you don't have scan tool that reads transmission temp. You just keep adding fluid until it starts pouring out and put the plug back. I have done it on three Subarus and it seems like the level isn't nearly as critical as the Toyota. A 1/4 of a quart on a Toyota can be the difference of too low or too high. I have only done 4 cylinder Subarus that use the 580 transmissions. Your's uses the 690 transmission so I am not familiar with where the drain, fill, and level check plugs are. Do a youtube search. For a 4 cylinder with a TR580 this is the best video . This guy gives great instruction! One important thing I highly advise before you try to replace your own fluid or do any major repairs is a hex set socket bit set with special extra bitting grips. If you watch Mr. Subaru lay his tools out this is what he uses, but he never tells you what it is. Mine is the Proto which is a cheaper knock off to the original one that costs 3 times more. I got mine here https://www.grainger.com/product/56JT06?RIID=61942776435&GID=&mid=OrderConfirmation&rfe=0b8f2a71a2c53eb9ba1f8dda9f8ec34deeb4da43c04d24a3017a3f034f784450&gcrfe=0b8f2a71a2c53eb9ba1f8dda9f8ec34deeb4da43c04d24a3017a3f034f784450&gucid=EMT:10339122:Item:CSM-323&emcid=NA:Item . It is very easy to strip a hex/allen subaru bolt and some of the ones on the tranmission require long extensions to get to. If you strip it there you will be out a pretty penny taking the car apart to access it. Lastly, you need to decide exactly what you want to do. Drop the pain to clean the magnets and get more fluid and grime out, drain and fill, or flush. This is regardless if you do it yourself or have a mechanic do it, but a mechanic might limit your options. Subaru uses RTV as the gasket and it can be a pain to break the pan away. They sell a nice pan gasket if you want to put it back without the RTV. I assume they put the RTV on before they add fluid to it at the factory to keep the fluid from causing seal gasket adhesive problems. You can do or have done drain and fill or flush with or without dropping the pan. Drain and fill only replaces about 35% of the fluid whereas flush replaces all, but is more time-consuming and difficult. One last thing, CVT fluid stinks so put plastic down and expect to wash rags or dirty clothes multiple times.

Mike, In addition to my Legacy, I have a 2013 Impreza that has similar mileage and was in a similar situation on whether to change fluid It has the same TR580 transmission. Here is a little I have learned and experienced. CVT fluid has friction modifiers to help keep the metal belt from slipping, in addition to the lubricant and other qualities ATF has. Unlike AT's the likelihood of slipping increases as the lubricant breaks down from age. I replaced my Impreza fluid at 175K with Redline non-slip CVT and the car drove way better! Well worth it! I can't tell you the science if Red Line is better than stock for high mileage but I can definitely say it worked great for me. Some other recommendations are to do the change with or without flush yourself. It is not that hard, will save you a ton of money, and you will know it was done right. As far a no dip stick transmissions goes it is way easier than a 8 or 10 speed toyota/lexus. After I get used to the forum here maybe I will start a thread on it. But if anyone wants to do it now just follow Mr Subaru video If you want to drop the pan and clean the magnetic and maybe replace the screen add in a youtube on doing that like If you want to go all the way and do a flush there are youtubes on that too. [Redacted by mod]