Exhaust - Cabin Hepa Filter - Driver's Side door sounds hollow

[jrizz]

First - thank you to all folks on here so generous with your knowledge, I REALLY appreciate it.

2009 Legacy 3.6 115,000miles, I've had it since 108,000

Exhaust

Smelled fumes. The cheaper shop says $660, the more expensive shop says they don't cut and weld but would replace the whole thing, $1,900 (I don't think the mean the whole exhaust system, but the whole whatever-parts-are-faulty). Previous owner had had some cutting and welding done, but acknowledged that exhaust work would be the next significant expense, he guesstimated around $3,000.

I don't know enough to know if doing the $660 means a cut and weld, I'll ask, and if so, that would maybe just be kicking it down the road, or if it is a comparable repair, just something some shops don't do.

Any thoughts?

I'll see if I can get under the car and take some pics.

 

Cabin Hepa Filter

They say it's all crudded up and I'm sure it is. $115 to swap in a new one, but I think under $20 to buy the filter. Is it a hassle to replace myself? I'm about to search for videos but thought I'd throw the question up here, too.

 

Driver's Side Door sounds hollow, almost rattley

All the other doors sounds solid when closed.

Asked the more expensive shop to see if they could find the culprit. Said they removed the interior door panel and only thing amiss was the latch/handle assembly, and that maybe that was the problem. $400+ for that repair which I opted against. Anyone have any ideas whether it could be the latch/handle assembly or maybe something else the shop missed?

 

Thanks a milly

 

[blackobxt]

Impossible to tell without knowing what kind of work has been done to the exhaust before. If it’s all stock stuff and it’s not rotted out, replacing most the gaskets should be fairly simple. If it’s a hack welding job or if it’s all rotted, shop labor can add up.

 

the cabin filter is cake, follow one of the many write ups and same some $$$$.

 

drivers door sounding hollow can be many things. In my case, the crash bar inside the door has broken lose on the latch side so instead of getting that confirming solid “thunk” I get more of a “whack rattle”. Impossible to tell without opening it up. Also not a hard job. Just follow the many tutorials on line

[59ctd]

Exhaust - I'd try to find where the leak is and focus on that.  Sometimes it can be just a leaky donut seal causing the issue.  I don't have a 3.6l though and don't know that exhaust system.

Cabin Air Filter - it is not that hard to do yourself.  procedure is in the FSM and takes less than 30 minutes.  It is mostly just removing plastic bits in the glove box to gain access to the filter behind it.

Driver's Door sound - check behind the rubber gasket on the lower rear edges of the door for broken spot welds.  My 2008 Legacy had this and the door sounded horrible when closing.  Fixing requires drilling the spot welds out *carefully* to not hit the outer panel from the inside and then a very large flange STEEL pop rivet and appropriate rivet tool to fasten the pieces together again.  Seal with RTV sealant well to the rubber seal and it should be good.

Edited July 20, 2022 by 59ctd

[NORULZleggy]

you can order Nameless exhaust for like 1000 that bolts up or something cheaper that blots up easy. cabin filter is easy to do. I actually have mine setup now so it take me less than 5 mins.

[apexi]

Yeah definitely do the cabin air filter yourself, I used to do them once a year in my old '09 legacy. The process shown in the video below is what you'll have to do. It's not hard, the little plastic screws are kind of annoying to remove though. I used to just push them back in after and it didn't harm them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpWmETNDj5E

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by apexi

[jrizz]

thanks y'all

 

[jrizz]

if anyone's still paying attention to this thread, I got the exhaust sorted out, and then just now in the last of the light got the cabin filter done no prob, and then did the engine filter. Never done either before and may have been a little hasty with the engine filter...as I was putting things back together I noticed (image attached) the hose stay was damaged and so the hose (power steering fluid I think?) was not secured. it doesn't seem likely to move much, but I don't know enough to know if this is a problem or not. It may have been like this, or I may have damaged it getting access to the air filter, I have no idea.

Is this a problem? And if so, surely there's a way to secure this without replacing the whole air filter case, right? Anyone have any ideas?

[silverton]

ideally you would replace it, but likely not to cause a problem

[jrizz]

4 minutes ago, silverton said:

ideally you would replace it, but likely not to cause a problem

thanks, sounds like I can put it on the to-do but not urgent list