spect2k

Could use some help here. Not sure what parts are for CVT and what is for front diff. Definitely different than the 4th gen from what I remember. There seems to be a clear CVT drain plug underneath and then a bunch of 8mm hex. I'm assuming we are looking at a fill/drain for each, but not sure. Not sure if there is a fill, drain, and overflow for front diff. Help would be greatly appreciated!

Congrats! You'll find that each job gets easier the more times you do it. This will surely open the doors to bigger jobs. It's all about courage! Sounds like you do your research. Nice job!

Thanks for the feedback guys, I do appreciate it, but I'm going to do it anyway. If anyone has any torque specs, I'd appreciate!

Ehh, like 15k. Wanna get the old stuff out that went through break-in and don't wanna deal with it over the winter. I'd normally go up to 30k for the 1st change (up to 60k with a really good synthetic after that). Job costs next to nothing to do and is really easy, so little downside. Worst case, a waste of money. Best case, changing fluids on a car is almost always a good thing.

Going to change out the fluids on both front/rear diffs. Anybody done it yet? Same as 5th gen CVT model? I could use torque specs and any other specifics if anyone has a copy of the service manual.

I do 8k as I've now mentioned 3 times, so I can't send out a 10k oci. Subaru engineers recommend 6k on the 2.5. Can you explain why u think 5k is the max one should go?

Oil rated to 25k for normal service and 15k for severe. Filter rated for 15k to match severe. BMW and others have 10-12k OCIs with Mobil1. As I said, I'm going 8k. 10k sounds pretty safe to me.

You're misunderstanding, I'm on my 3rd round of oil with 13k on the odometer (1k, 7k). Due for a 4th soon. I plan on doing 8k between changes with Amsoil, but could probably go to 10 very safely. Still learning the car. Even with Amsoil, I'd never go 13k on a single change.

13k running Amsoil - haven't added any. Check monthly.

Any mods? Maintenance? That's low mileage for the CVT to go. Any ideas what happened?

Same exact thing on my 15, particularly on harder stops.

It looks like you reused stock end links. Any idea how they compare to those on the XV Crosstrek (same ones?) or do u just plan to upgrade if they go?

Not a bad idea, but I didn't notice a valve on the endlink to pump in grease. Unless you'd try to put the needle fitting under the boot? Never tried that before, I'd be concerned that it'd do more harm than good. What do you think?

I just put one of these 19mm on this morning. Thanks to Ray for being our guinea pig! It wasn't a big job at all. I put the car on ramps for easier access. Would've taken less time, but my son stole my 12mm socket! The bolts were real easy to get off and the bar was easy enough to position. Of course with any job, there is always something that pisses you off. When grabbing the endlink to pull the bolt off the bar, I accidentally grabbed the endlink grease-filled rubber boot for a split second and pushed some of the grease out. Hopefully it'll be alright. Just took it for a spin around the block to listen for noises so I can't speak toward its performance just yet. Thanks, Ray!

It's a poor quality cell phone picture...I just love my car in the snow http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i35/spect2k/IMG00091.jpg

So what is considered acceptable thickness and how is it measured? Thanks again

Can we clarify in this thread how to tell when rotors need to be turned or replaced. I know it was briefly mentioned at the beginning, but I have always just swapped out the rotors because I never can tell, so any tips on that could be useful. Thanks.

Had this happen to me this morning. My 08 spec B with 15K - stock. Pulling up to work my stereo and hvac display went off but the radio was still on (not controllable), just like the a/c. I turned off the car and it fixed itself. Still happening on after years with no solution I guess....

ok, works for me

Do you think it is really the best idea to start changing oil grades? If you don't like Mobil1 5w-30, then you switch to mobil1 0w-40 because it's a better formula? What about a different brand 5w-30? From all of the articles I have read where the experts are speaking about oil, I can't recall a single one that doesn't practically have in bold letter, "Always use the factory recommended weight oil". Unless the car is being modified or something, I have enough faith in the engineers that they chose the appropriate weight oil for the car ahead of time regardless of warmer temps (TX, FL, AZ) or colder temps (MN, AK, ME).

Awesome post. Very educational about oil weights. As we have seen, someone else can't tell you exactly what oil to use. It is based on weather, driving style, driving conditions, mant schedule, etc. You have read that mobil1 5w-30 is a thinner 5w-30 than most. You have read that synthetics tend to consume oil when put in the car prematurely - yet they tend to be better protection for your engine. Also that you should still maintain a proper oil change interval even with synthetic or it could be worse than proper OCI with dino. You know what brands are good - redline, motul, royal purple, amsoil, mobil1, Castrol, etc. It's funny, I always make a joke about the Cingular (AT&T) cellular commercial. They say "We have the fewest dropped calls". My running joke is, 'well that's because you have the fewest customers'. lol, I am a verizon customer. True or not, I feel that the same thing applies to mobil1. More people complain about mobil1 that it consumes oil, but that is because around 75-80% of people running synthetic USE mobil1, so it is only logical for it to have the most complaints. That's just my feeling on the matter.