Couple of Questions

[CC Legacy]

New to the forums and to Subaru and I have a couple of questions for those who can answer them. 1st, I will do my own oil changes as I do my other cars, so my question is where can I safely put my floor jack to jack the from front to rear? When I look under the car, it has shielding from front to rear so I really don't see where to put my floor jack so as not to do any damage. 2nd, the car has the non-turbo 4 cylinder, the owners manual says it holds 4.4 qts, is that right? I have seen a couple videos that show people putting in 5 qts. Even when I checked dipstick it actually shows higher than the manual shows it should be, doesn't make sense to me, sorry if this seems like stupid questions, I just want to be sure. Thanks for any info and help anyone can give me.

[boxkita]

paragraphs?

[Stuff]

From manual: "Contact a SUBARU dealer when jacking up the vehicle using a garage jack." I haven't heard of any official response. Check out https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/central-lift-points.517381/

 

Not directly related but there are the 4 jack points below the rocker panels. As with a lot of cars these days you need to use a jack pad/adapter.

[CC Legacy]

From manual: "Contact a SUBARU dealer when jacking up the vehicle using a garage jack." I haven't heard of any official response. Check out https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/central-lift-points.517381/

 

Not directly related but there are the 4 jack points below the rocker panels. As with a lot of cars these days you need to use a jack pad/adapter.

 

Thanks for that, I will do some research to find something to use on my jack.

[boxkita]

the owners manual has jack points in it.

 

the dealership doesn't use those jack points. The pinch welds are the common jack points. If plastic wrapped, there should be a break in the plastic under the door pillars. If not there, then the suspension mount points will be typical jack point.

[Mitaine]

I did my first oil change this spring which wasn't a big issue. No shielding underneath needs removing and the filter in the engine bay is the easiest possible setup. In Canada, the manual says 4.2 liters which is about what I put in to bring it to the full mark. And yes, my car was a good 1/2 inch above the full level from the factory. Subaru is taking no chances here... LOL

 

As for jacking the front end, you'd be much better off with a set of ramps.

[CC Legacy]

I did my first oil change this spring which wasn't a big issue. No shielding underneath needs removing and the filter in the engine bay is the easiest possible setup. In Canada, the manual says 4.2 liters which is about what I put in to bring it to the full mark. And yes, my car was a good 1/2 inch above the full level from the factory. Subaru is taking no chances here... LOL

 

As for jacking the front end, you'd be much better off with a set of ramps.

 

Hi, thanks for letting me know that, I bought one of those heavy rubber pucks that sit in the saddle of my floor jack so that I can jack at the jack points.

 

Yea I wondered about the oil fill since mine was the same way, up past the high mark, so you filled it to the high mark if I understand right since the manual says 4.2. Don't know why they just can't make it an even amount. Did you do miles or amount of time such as 6 months they say or 6000 miles? We don't put 6000 miles on in a year so I figured I would every 5000 miles which would take most a year since it is full synthetic.

 

I sprayed my car with Woolwax for rust prevention so I had to drive it up on ramps both front and back, and I see all the body cladding underneath the car, made spraying trickier but got it done. Again thanks..

Edited October 10, 2021 by C+C Legacy

[Mitaine]

Hi, thanks for letting me know that, I bought one of those heavy rubber pucks that sit in the saddle of my floor jack so that I can jack at the jack points.

 

Yea I wondered about the oil fill since mine was the same way, up past the high mark, so you filled it to the high mark if I understand right since the manual says 4.2. Don't know why they just can't make it an even amount. Did you do miles or amount of time such as 6 months they say or 6000 miles? We don't put 6000 miles on in a year so I figured I would every 5000 miles which would take most a year since it is full synthetic.

 

I sprayed my car with Woolwax for rust prevention so I had to drive it up on ramps both front and back, and I see all the body cladding underneath the car, made spraying trickier but got it done. Again thanks..

 

I use a floor jack with hockey pucks when I do the winter wheels change. As for mileage, I'm in the same position as you and drive little so it's once per year no matter the mileage. By definition, 0W-20 is synthetic so I don't see the need to do it twice per year. Just make sure you take a good drive on the highway once in a while to burn off excess gas and condensation in the oil.

[CC Legacy]

I use a floor jack with hockey pucks when I do the winter wheels change. As for mileage, I'm in the same position as you and drive little so it's once per year no matter the mileage. By definition, 0W-20 is synthetic so I don't see the need to do it twice per year. Just make sure you take a good drive on the highway once in a while to burn off excess gas and condensation in the oil.

 

Thanks for the info, I do get the car out on the highway at least once a week to get it good and hot and make sure there are no issues since the wife wouldn't notice small things.

 

Yea I figure I will do oil change about every 10-12 months since it will take that long to put 5000 miles on it, that's about what I do on my truck which I changed this week and it was last November when I did it last.

[motorbreath]

I sprayed my car with Woolwax for rust prevention so I had to drive it up on ramps both front and back, and I see all the body cladding underneath the car, made spraying trickier but got it done. Again thanks..

 

This might warrant a new thread, but what was your experience with Woolwax? Did you use the aerosol cans or did you use the air compressor-driven sprayer?

 

I just ordered the aerosol cans since I need to get it applied in a hurry and it is my first time doing something like this myself.

 

Any advice?

[Enlight]

I've had good experience with Fluid Film which is comparable with Woolwax, they are both based lanolin based. I've since switched to Cosmoline which is a bit more durable, but I hear it doesn't creep as well as Woolwax. As far as aerosol vs. air compressor, it's just a matter of economies with air compressor winning out. There is a new product called Surface Shield that

say is as durable as Cosmoline while maintaining the creeping characteristics of Woolwax. It is also lanolin based.

 

It's a good thing that you're thinking about rust. If you want to add another step, I would look into Salt Away to clean your undercarriage at the end of each winter season. Water by itself will not get the salt off of your chassis.

[CC Legacy]

This might warrant a new thread, but what was your experience with Woolwax? Did you use the aerosol cans or did you use the air compressor-driven sprayer?

 

I just ordered the aerosol cans since I need to get it applied in a hurry and it is my first time doing something like this myself.

 

Any advice?

 

I actually used both since I have a compressor with lots of volume. I really have had great luck with Fluid Film and Woolwax. I used it starting back when they first released it. I had my 98 Ranger sprayed with it and when I sold that truck back in 2016 it still had no rust anywhere and my wife's Taurus the same thing.

 

I would say get both the clear and maybe a couple of cans of the black. I used the black on the suspension and frame of my 2016 Canyon. The spray cans using the flexible 360 spray wand is great for getting into small holes such as drain holes and such.

 

Also, after spraying my vehicles, I drove them on some dusty roads to dust up the product under the vehicle, I've found it helps keep the product on there and then I reapplied the spray again the following year to give it a couple of good coats on the undercarriage.

[motorbreath]

Thanks for both of your responses, I am going to do a quick and not-so-comprehensive application to my cars using the aerosol cans prior to the weather getting nasty. It is already cold and work+life is kicking my rear, so I'll remove the cladding and do it the right way in the Spring.

 

I do not think my compressor has the capacity though, its only a 4gal unit, so I'll probably stick with the aerosol cans since that is cheaper than buying a larger air compressor (I think...).

[CC Legacy]

Thanks for both of your responses, I am going to do a quick and not-so-comprehensive application to my cars using the aerosol cans prior to the weather getting nasty. It is already cold and work+life is kicking my rear, so I'll remove the cladding and do it the right way in the Spring.

 

I do not think my compressor has the capacity though, its only a 4gal unit, so I'll probably stick with the aerosol cans since that is cheaper than buying a larger air compressor (I think...).

 

You really don't have to remove the cladding, I just put the spray wand into each hole all around and sprayed, with so many holes I don't feel that I missed anything, I really didn't want to remove the cladding. The cans do a very good job.