Val Demar

Good call guys, two bad wheel bearings in the rear were the cause. I searched on youtube for wheel bearing noise and it was fairly close to what I was hearing. I'm happy I'll regain some of my sanity when I drive it.

 

2010 LGT 105k miles. I'm in a similar situation with newish Micheln Pilot AS. The noise I hear is like off-road tires hum on pavement, it's subtle but repeatable at speeds 50-70mph, and not RPM dependent. Is this what you had or was it more like metal grinding noise/whine? I had the tires rotated and re-balanced which didn't change much, so it must be the bearing(s) as I don't think the higher-end Michelins would be noisy at just 5k on them. The noise is however is not what I had in mind how would a failing bearing sound.

 

EDIT:

Found this:

My sounds is similar to what you hear in the video when the car is on jacks, so I suppose it confirms it's the bearing.

This is what i went with for my 2010 LGT, presumably 2.5i is the same:

 

20330AJ10A COIL SPRING-FRONT

20380AJ10A COIL SPRING-REAR

3340107 KYB Front Left Excel-G Subaru Legacy

3340106 KYB Front Right Excel-G Subaru Legacy

340043 KYB Excel-G Subaru Legacy Rear

 

I decided to err on the side of caution and got OEM strut mounts, but the KYB ones might be just as good:

20320AJ00B STRUT MOUNT-FRONT

20370AJ00A STRUT MOUNT-REAR

 

You will probably want to replace the bump stops and definitely the dust covers after 150k. I cheaped out and got the KYB replacements SB103/SB113 for those, do yourself a favor and get OEM parts for these.

 

Very happy with the result. I mulled over getting Konis but the advice I got here is unless you're lowering the ride KYBs are just as good and less work.

Super clean and low miles 2010 for $12k.

 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/hermosa-beach-low-mile-2010-subaru/6965420109.html

 

Dang, I should have waited for this one! But mine is white and limited with HK, so maybe not

There is a bird. But there is also a sound. It was the turbo heat shield vibrating according to my dealer, they managed to somehow adjust it, they had the car to address another issue in that area and they were able to find it while working on it. The sound was gone when I was picking up the car, hopefully that was it.

What are the J10A springs?

 

That's the last 4 of the Subaru part number. Read posts 3-4 in that thread I linked above.

I went with the J10A springs for my 2010 LGT, visually the car doesn't sit any higher than before, but I didn't take a tape measure to it.

See this discussion and post #4: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2010-lgt-suspension-refresh-questions-278990.html

 

Stay away from KYB dust covers and bumpers if you're replacing them, just go OEM.

So lately I'm hearing some kind of high-pitched sound when driving with windows down. Not very loud. This typically happens when the engine is cold, then it disappears. I discovered it is noticeable in neutral too. In this video the in first revving of the engine, this was like to 2.5k rpm, it is clearly audible when I let go off the throttle - you may need to crank the volume up a bit. In the second revving stupid birds add to the effect, but the sound is also there. Any ideas what it can be?

 

That's a very valid concern, more for some cars than others. I haven't installed one on my girlfriend's Versa because the drain plug is already almost the lowest point on the car, but mine is protected by my Primitive Racing skid plate. Also, looking at the bottom of the GT, it seems like a rock would bash the turbo first before it made it back to the drain valve.

 

Yup, probably best taken on a case by case basis, and I agree with your GT assessment. Overall unscrewing the plug isn't that big of a deal with the right amount of leverage and a good socket, can be satisfying too Frankly I'm more annoyed by the need to fill the empty oil bottles with used oil from the pan and taking them to a recycling place.

I have that same valve (no nipple). They are awesome and every car should have one.

 

But they don't for some reason. I've been thinking about installing one, but the thought that a piece of road junk may hit it and cause it to open or break it off causing rapid oil loss stops me from doing it. I get it, it is very unlikely especially with the under cover shielding it, but the tried and true threaded steel plug gives me more confidence over a piece of soft brass sticking out an extra inch from my oil pan.

Stopped by the dealer this morning. They will take care of it, but they also think the heat shield was missing before I brought the car in as the bracket in front of the turbo is broken and they say the threaded holes where the bolts supporting the shield go in are rusted inside which indicates they did not remove the bolts. I have no problem giving them the benefit of the doubt, but I had this car for over 2 years now and drove more than 20,000 miles since I got it including this same route where it happened, so my side of the story has some weight too. I don't race it, just normal driving. Regardless, even if the shield was missing it should have been noticed, so I have the right to be mad about it.

Bad gas is certainly a possibility - I had the issue on Friday, though, and then filled the tank on Saturday and it was still doing it Monday. I got gas at two different Chevron stations, and 15 days apart (I don't drive a whole lot), so the odds of it being bad gas are low, I think.

 

I get bad knock with Chevron gas on my Tribeca, well, got it two or three times from gas stations in different parts of California, I stopped using Chevron after that, haven't heard knock since.

FWIW, I second the primitive racing plate. You can also get the plastic under cover from the 2.5i models and it helps to seal everything up. (that's what I have)

 

The confrontational part of me wants you to take it back to the dealer and tell them that they're the ones who took it off so they owe you a new heat shield and plastic under tray. The charge for the exhaust manifold gaskets is your proof.

Yeah, no way I'm letting them off the hook

I am wondering if the temps there were high enough to ignite the plastic, the front of the hole looks somewhat charred.

If the water pump is being replace it can be. Either the downpipe has to be remove of the turbo assembly dropped down to access the water pump pipe and the heatshield bolt.

Yes, the water pump was replaced, I should have mentioned it.

My dealer basically told me the same. I decided to change all pulleys/tensioner and the pump anyway. It was expensive, but I'm hopefully in the long haul with the car, so all in all after you amortize over a 5-6 year ownership it is not that big of a deal. On the other hand if the pump fails and you overheat the engine, you may be in for much more $$$. Surely the lack of a proper temperature gauge on my 2010 doesn't make me feel very comfortable. If you have a reliable independent shop that can do it for you, you can source the parts with a discount online and save some money. If you plan to get rid of the car in the next couple of years, it may make sense to not do the extras.

There is a bit of a flange but the transition is kind of smooth if memory serves. If you could feel with your finger around the opening with the bolt out I think you would definitely feel the washer if it was there. Ultimately if there is no leak and the bolt is tight you're good to go until the next oil change, if anything chances are it will leak slowly, so there should not be a catastrophic quick loss of oil level. Just keep an eye on the floor or the ground under the car.

This is what I referring to when I said turbo needs to be moved around when replacing the TB. Sounds like you don't have to do it, but dropping the exhaust manifold make things whole lot easier. This would explain why they decided to replace the exhaust gaskets.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5863110&postcount=17

 

The turbo models timing belts are quite a bit more labor intensive than the 2.5i EJ253, because the additional turbo piping, dual overhead cams and one of the water pump bolts is practically impossible to because the downpipe block it. (so you have to remove the downpipe which is easier to just drop the turbo and exhaust manifold/downpipe assembly together.) The are a couple thread that discuss the GT timing belt DIY procedure.

The shield is just not there, no traces of it falling off like remaining bolts, etc. This is what you get for paying $135/hr.

 

This is how it's supposed to be:

 

And mine with the melted plastic cover off:

That's weird that they did anything to the exhaust manifold unless it was leaking. I would find another repair shop if they are doing some questionable things with your car.

 

That heat shield is notorious for rusting to bits and falling apart.

 

Not in Southern California I would think. Plus, if they were removing it 4 months ago and the heat shield was falling apart they should have notified me. If it was missing already they should have notified me as well. I'll head there on Monday and make some stink about it, we'll see what happens. I've been thinking about another repair shop, but they are all expensive here and probably lacking experience working with these cars, at least these guys fix their messes no question asked.

I did think something was missing there. No CEL and no excessive noise, so yeah likely not a leak after all. I just looked at the timing belt job invoice, it lists 2x exhaust manifold gaskets 14038AA000, for some reason they decided to change them at the time they they worked on the timing belt, so they definitely had to muck with the exhaust manifold to get those in. I did notice some signs of recent work on the turbo exhaust cover when I changed oil last time, so they were definitely working in that area. Wish I had realized the heat shield was missing at that time. Given my history of mishaps with them I have a bad feeling they just forgot to attach the heat shield. As far as I know no one has ever touched that area on the car since new, and I couldn't just lose the heat shield. I guess it was fine for driving around town, but at highway speeds and frequent passing in 5th and sometimes 4th gear for 6 hours, it did heat things up considerably more.

 

There is some blackening of the manifold which made me think exhaust gases were escaping from around the turbo inlet flange, but I now realize it would have been very noisy if that were the case.

 

2010 LGT. Drove it for 6 hours straight last Sunday, hasn't been driving it since. Looked under the car today to discover the front under cover melted. Seems like an exhaust leak, if I were to guess from looking at the diagram it is leaking from under the turbo inlet gasket, I guess I should feel lucky the car hasn't burned in the middle of nowhere.

 

I had the timing belt done not long time ago at a dealer, and shortly after I noticed new noises coming from the engine bay, nothing major but noticeable with windows down driving next to walls or structures. It sounded like a bearing starting to go, so I thought maybe the alternator or the AC compressor will fail soon, but I now realized could have been this leak. I read the turbo needs to be moved around on these engines during timing belt replacement. Could the dealer mess something up in the process? In the past I did have multiple issues with them forgetting to properly attach various things, fortunately those were just relatively minor cosmetic issues, but who knows maybe they forgot to torque the flange bolts properly this time.

 

What harm to the car could have this leak done apart from the ruined under cover? Should I be worried about turbo lines being burned? Any idea how much $$$ am I looking to get it fixed?

 

 

Well, too late now as the car is back from the shop. They did manage to fit them in after all with some effort. I am kicking myself for cheaping out on the boots/bumpers but who knew. The rear KYB shock dust covers were actually kind of nice German made, except for the bumper fit The good news is ride is much improved overall, hard to tell if this is because of the 2013 spec parts or the old ones were shot, probably both. The most surprising improvements are the sensitivity to small steering inputs and more immediate brake feel. I did replace the front LCAs so likely the new bushings help. I just wish I had done this sooner. Thanks everyone for their input, this forum is a great resource. Cheers.

My car is being worked on and the mechanic tells me the KYB rear shock bumper which is a part of the dust cover kit SB113 is too big to fit the OEM mount. I'm wondering what the deal is, perhaps they are designed to work with the aftermarket mount that KYB also makes.

As far as bushings, should I bite the bullet and get them replaced at the same time? Front only or both front and rear? Any opinions on OEM vs. aftermarket on handling, longevity? If aftermarket, then which, Whiteline?

 

Sounds like if I go with OEM better just get the full LCA assemblies, do they come with ball joints?