2009 Legacy 3.0r

[VdubaRoo]

I just bought this from a local dealer lot, original owner put 102,000 mi and owner bought a new car. Very clean for it's age. Was cosmetically well taken care of. Really clean inside, nothing "weathered". Mechanically (I've never owned a Subaru before), engine starts smooth from cold and didn't have anything that might me question if something might be starting to go when I beat the hell out of it, when I test drove. That's always the way I drive a car buying used as is, since I can't drive it long enough under different conditions.

Now, here is the immediate fix that came up. I saw a tear in a CV boot passenger side that had thrown all it's grease around it. Driving the car, front right side has a dull thud you can hear on bumpy back roads. You can't feel anything through the drivetrain uphill. I had it up to 110 mph on straight highway and noticed a slight drift that would go either way with no hands on wheel over 5 seconds. Otherwise, steering is tight and no clicking on sharp turns. I took it down the road a mile to a pepboys to put on a lift to look underneath before I bought it. I guess there were tears in both front CV axles and they said sway bar linkage needed replaced both sides. I found a pair of used OEM front axles online and just waiting on them. I'm not in a position to pull the original axle and possibly fix the boots. I wasn't under the car to see if there was any seepage from any of the tons of oil seals but none were mentioned for there upgraded visual inspection. If you drive the car hard and really hit the brakes, there's a small wobble/vibration in steering wheel that isn't felt in brakes. Tires are some cheap kuhmo, look same age with one tire with less wear than other 3. Somewhere from brand new, radiator was replaced with a Denso and they put green coolant back in. 5 speed AT shifts good but definitely original fluid in it. Basically, first owner decided to just run it however long ago knowing they were gonna buy new. I paid $6200 for it. What do I need to be looking at when I find someone that's not a pepboys mechanic to work on it?

I tried uploading pics from phone and they didn't attach... I'll figure out how to attach to show inside and out....

Edited April 6, 2020 by VdubaRoo

[VdubaRoo]

Hopefully, pics will show attached. Topic might be in wrong forum... Maybe a Mod could put in right forum if wrong

 

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[ChrisJapan]

CV boots tear frequently unfortunately since their next to the exhaust. I would just replace the boots if the axles are still good. It’s a messy job, but not too difficult and it’s cheap. If you wait too long then you’ll have to replace the axle. Do your best to get OEM since aftermarket have terrible tolerances.

 

Definitely inspect every bushing on all arms, diff, etc. I had a clunk towards the front of the car and it was a broken trans mount. It’s a cheap part. You can tell if the clunk is the trans by jacking it up, and shaking the drive shaft for any play.

 

Other frequent issues are the sway bar end links.

 

I would also change the PCV valve for maintenance.

 

I had shaking at highway speeds. Nothing fixed it, including alignments, multiple wheel balancing, new bushings, new bearings and axle... it ended up being was old rotors (not warped, just heavily rutted).

 

To sum it up, things that went wrong on my 3.0 OBW in the past 6 years... normal wear and tear on suspension components, wheel bearings, CV boots, brake components, and a warn out steering rack (still using it and it’s fine). Most of the miles are from Brooklyn and Manhattan. I’m at 120,000.

 

MrSubaru on YouTube is great for Subaru maintenance.

 

 

My Humble Build: https://wheelwell.com/christopher-setter/2sog/2008-subaru-outback

[VdubaRoo]

I had been trolling this forum for a few days and got a good idea to go OEM on major components that make a Subaru a Subaru. I found the Mrsubaru on YouTube and watched a bunch of his videos. They were really helpful with preventative maintenance and common repair on them. I'm right there at the 105000 mile mark and would love to pull the front cover off to replace the timing chain tensioner and a new OEM water pump. It will be a few months to even consider but really good idea since I plan on running this car in the ground. Thanks for mentioning all the bushings and bearings in the suspension as a must too check. I don't trust the mechanic at pepboys knew enough, or probably really cared to look at anything that wasn't obvious. I'll check out that other mount mentioned.... you might have pointed at the one thing I was not 100% about. I do always put park brake on with any incline but noticed shifting from park to drive, shift to reverse and back wasn't as smooth as I thought it should be. A mount sounds like a big possibility. All other gear changes felt good and smooth. I already have a used pair of Subaru CV axles being shipped to me right now. I'll check out the old ones and repack and reboot if not too far gone. I paid $200 for a pair pulled from another 09 legacy 3.0r. I didn't know the miles on them but visually looked really clean. All the aftermarket new axles were one size fits all with questionable quality or tolerances.

[MPacMan15]

Nice purchase! I have a 09 3.0R limited that I purchased in May of 2015 with 45k miles on it, it’s been pretty modified since then and is now at 105k. It’s been a great car no real issues with it at all (knock on wood). I had do do both front cv axles as well around 70k, I just did the boots. Napa has them pretty cheap but my rears are starting to leak a little now. Lowering the car a ton dosent seem to help them lol. Good luck with the car, been very happy with mine!

 

 

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[VdubaRoo]

Nice purchase! I have a 09 3.0R limited that I purchased in May of 2015 with 45k miles on it, it’s been pretty modified since then and is now at 105k. It’s been a great car no real issues with it at all (knock on wood). I had do do both front cv axles as well around 70k, I just did the boots. Napa has them pretty cheap but my rears are starting to leak a little now. Lowering the car a ton dosent seem to help them lol. Good luck with the car, been very happy with mine!

 

 

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I read the 3.0R/limited had higher ground clearance. Think GT spec b had the same. I'm kinda jealous the limited comes with Bilstein front struts standard. Really think that upgrade would probably keep the internals of the CV axles less likely to wear. Maybe a stiffer sway bar.

The boots on my salvage are original and don't show signs of age. I'm gonna pull boot and just regrease. The chick that was original owner must knew she was gonna buy a new one for a while. LCA rear bushing looks dangerous, ball joints don't even need pry bar to see play, kinda just holding pinch bolt to castle nut. Imner tie rods rubber is falling out. Just hope struts have held up. Caught the coolant leak slow leak top/bottom of radiator. It was a Denso. Gonna put stock rad to replace. All new coolant lines, engine and ATF cooler lines, oil cooler gasket. Considering replacing metal up pipe from water pump... Gonna do heater core hoses too. I don't truly understand how corrosive wrong coolant is to system over the long run. Coolant flow is so key to these, it makes me wonder why anyone would ignore proper maintenance. Don't think tranny ever been drained so drop pan, strainer filter, figured I'd do spin on. Not any noticable preventative done by original owner. Somehow has a Dayco serp belt, think AC pump might have seized, it's Dayco but it said Japan on it. Starter is Dayco USA Tennessee... guess was replaced. I knew it had an external coolant leak when I bought it, but all the dried coolant on insulation on the hood has me questioning how original radiator went. I'm gonna find out if it has any small internal HG coolant leak tomorrow. I can't imagine I could find any independent mechanic who do it for less than 12-1500 to fix very early so doesn't wear engine prematurely. I found a shop in Asheville NC, real small shop, no real overhead that would be where I will take it for anything EZ30R specific.

PLEASE tell me how you found a 3.0R 09 limited with so few miles that low price? Sounds like the deal no one could refuse. Must be private owner.

At this point, with all the money dropping in mine, the only mod will be taking the 17" six spoke, sand blast them and paint dark gold. I seen the same rim on a GT spec b, I honestly think it's the most agressivle styled rim.

Maybe if I had deeper pockets, a ram air intake, raptor headers and drop the 3rd cat, open exhaust and have it tuned would be about the cheapest performance upgrade I can think of totally NA.

All the other mods, semi closed head, turbo, intercooler, or a ridiculous supercharger are a dream I don't know how other 3.0 owners take on. They would become track cars and wouldn't want to drive it and add anymore miles than necessary. I wish I could experience one though.

Post up some exterior/interior pics of yours. Is it a southern car by any chance? I think you found, for the money, a rare find. Just wondering exactly how it is optioned out. I honestly don't like Subaru navigation and that space could be used for a much better purpose. Wish a 6 speed box was an option. Really think it would put more torque right off the line, which is only gripe I have.about factory set up. I love smooth power band over 2k and car probably would be better suited for a rolling run.

 

 

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