Hello fellow subbie owners, I'm a recent proud owner of a 2002 Impreza TS Wagon(I know) AT(yeah I know). The car has about 86k kms (about54k miles) on it right now. But from what I've gathered from the previous owner, there wasn't much maintenance done except for oil changes:eek:

So I've been doing some extensive readings around many of the wonderful subaru communities around the net, and I've learned alot, but now I do have some questions that I hope you knowledgable folks can help me with. Please be as thorough as you can because I'm a newb when it comes to cars.

I use this car mostly for daily driving, keep in mind I live in Canada and it's very cold in the winter (-40F is quite usual) and summer time it's pretty cold at night as well 50F). Please let me know if there's anything I need to watch out because of this.

Ok here are the items that I plan on changing:

- air filter. Would stock paper ones be good enough for a stock car? I've heard high-flow filters help the engine breathe better and provides better milage. I'd be willing to spend $50 on a high-flow filter provided it would improve things.

- coolant. Do I need a flush or is drain&fill good enough? I understand I should stick with OEM or similar coolant with this, and there is a special subaru conditioner for it to prevent HD leakage.

- brake fluid. Again do i need a flush for this? I understand any dot3/4/5.1 is good. Any recommandations for daily driving?

- power steering fluid. flush/drain&fill? Nothing special here right?

- now this is the tricky part. What should I use for tranny and front/rear diff fluid? Should I just stick with what the service manual recommands? Dexron III for tranny, GL-5 for diff? Should I go with dino or synthetic? What brand is a good one? This is one place I can't seem to find a good anwser, as most discussions are about manual transmission and opinions seem to be quite mixed.

- spark plugs&wires. I understand NKG v-power copper should be good enough for daily driving. Are OEM spark plug wires good enough for it?

- I'm getting terrible milage right now 12.5-15 mpg, I know it's winter, but this is quite extreme. Do you think a thorough maintenance like the one I'm going for is a good start to try to improve milage?

Lastly, can someone recommand a good Canadian online store that sells Subaru parts? It seems cross the border purchases are expensive with shipping, taxes, etc.

Sorry about the long post, looking forward to all your expert opinions.:)

Stock air filter, don't bother with a K&N or similar replacement. Won't do anything for you power-wise and may not filter as well as stock.
Coolant, it depends on what the old stuff looks like. If it's still clean when it comes out then a simple drain/fill should suffice, but if it's brown and nasty a flush might be a good idea. Chances are it will be ok even if it's never been changed, the mileage isn't that high.
Brake fluid, flush it completely. A flush is the same as bleeding except you continue the process until all the old fluid has been replaced by new. Before you begin suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and pour new fluid in, this way you will be pulling clean fluid through the system and not the old and dirty stuff.
Check the brake pads, if they are low change them first before you do the fluid.
For the trans and diff, synthetic may be the way to go due to the cold temps where you live. There are a number of synthetic ATF's and GL-5's, any of them should work as long as they meet Subaru's spec for the application.
Power steering fluid, also consider synthetic for the cold weather.
Plugs and wires, OEM on both. You don't need anything fancy here as long as you change them at the proper intervals.
You didn't mention engine oil but synthetic is a good idea there too for better cold-weather starting and engine protection.
If mileage does not improve after doing all the above, you may need to look at other things such as an out-of-spec 02 sensor and/or coolant temp sensor, both common problems.
For recommendations on local parts sources, try posting in the Canadian regional forums here.

Stock air filter, don't bother with a K&N or similar replacement. Won't do anything for you power-wise and may not filter as well as stock.
Coolant, it depends on what the old stuff looks like. If it's still clean when it comes out then a simple drain/fill should suffice, but if it's brown and nasty a flush might be a good idea. Chances are it will be ok even if it's never been changed, the mileage isn't that high.
Brake fluid, flush it completely. A flush is the same as bleeding except you continue the process until all the old fluid has been replaced by new. Before you begin suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and pour new fluid in, this way you will be pulling clean fluid through the system and not the old and dirty stuff.
Check the brake pads, if they are low change them first before you do the fluid.
For the trans and diff, synthetic may be the way to go due to the cold temps where you live. There are a number of synthetic ATF's and GL-5's, any of them should work as long as they meet Subaru's spec for the application.
Power steering fluid, also consider synthetic for the cold weather.
Plugs and wires, OEM on both. You don't need anything fancy here as long as you change them at the proper intervals.
You didn't mention engine oil but synthetic is a good idea there too for better cold-weather starting and engine protection.
If mileage does not improve after doing all the above, you may need to look at other things such as an out-of-spec 02 sensor and/or coolant temp sensor, both common problems.
For recommendations on local parts sources, try posting in the Canadian regional forums here.

Mulder, thanks for the quick reply.

- Is the air filter we are talking about the one under the hood? Then I've heard there's another filter right behind the glove compartment, what is its purpose? How often do I need to replace that one?

- How can I check and make sure all the brake fluids have been drained out completely? I understand I would need a bleeder for this?

- For trany/diff oil, is there any other Subaru specific specs besides Dextron III and GL-5? I've read somewhere that GL-5 might be too think and cause more wear and some people use GL-4 instead, would this apply to an AT?

- The car just had an oil change before I bought it, so I'll wait for the next service and replace it with synthetic oil. Anything I need to watch out for with the switch from dino to synthetic?

- Should I try an ECU reset after all these? Would it hurt in anyway?

- What other things do I need besides the usual visual inspections? How would I know my ignitino system is working properly? The reason I'm asking is because yesterday when I started the car after it sitting for a whole day in -30F, it didn't start at first after about 3-4 seconds of cranking. So I let it sit for a few seconds, then when I tried it the second time, it started but stalled right away, this happened about 2-3 times, and finally it started ok.

- the engine air filter is under the hood; there may or may not be a cabin air filter behind the glove box (it was a dealer option)

- you do not drain the brake fluid - just keep topping off the reservoir and pumping fluid through: if you haven't done brake work before, please find someone to help you the first time

- ignore what people are saying about GL4/GL5 - that only applies to MT

- nothing special needs to be done when changing to synth

- wouldn't hurt anything

- hard cold starting could be anything but I'd start by checking the battery (especially if it is the original)

If you fill out your profile with more specific location info I'm sure someone from one of the local clubs can help you out. BTW do you not have the Owner's Manual? All the regular maintenance / fluid spec info is in there.

- the engine air filter is under the hood; there may or may not be a cabin air filter behind the glove box (it was a dealer option)

- you do not drain the brake fluid - just keep topping off the reservoir and pumping fluid through: if you haven't done brake work before, please find someone to help you the first time

- ignore what people are saying about GL4/GL5 - that only applies to MT

- nothing special needs to be done when changing to synth

- wouldn't hurt anything

- hard cold starting could be anything but I'd start by checking the battery (especially if it is the original)

If you fill out your profile with more specific location info I'm sure someone from one of the local clubs can help you out. BTW do you not have the Owner's Manual? All the regular maintenance / fluid spec info is in there.

Thanks for the pointer about profile.

So what does the cabin filter do? Fresher air for the cabin?:cool:

I live in Saksatoon, I doubt there are any members here is from Saskatoon.

I've got the owner's manual, but I've been also reading the forums, and the more I read, the more confused I am.

I think it was officially called a 'pollen filter' - for allergies

A few possible locals in this thread Any Saskatoonians out there? (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1159603)

The cabin filter is for dust and particles. It's not a HEPA filter or anything that fancy. If you want to make your own check this thread-
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=476514

Welcome aboard. Scoobymods is a great resource for instructions on all types of maintenance for your car. Here are a couple of topics, you can search there for the others.

Bleed brakes
http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182

Spark plugs
http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3017

Power steering
http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7064

to drain the brakes you bleed them, you bleed it until there is no more fluid coming out and there is nothing in the reservoir... then pour in new fluid

to drain the brakes you bleed them, you bleed it until there is no more fluid coming out and there is nothing in the reservoir... then pour in new fluid

This is incorrect. The reservoir must always have fluid in it and cannot be allowed to empty. If it runs out the master cylinder will get air in it and this may require bench bleeding.
Follow the linked tutorials above or in the Brake forum here for the most accurate information.

Thanks guys for all your help. I really appreiciate it. Hope this thread can be helpful to others as well.

This is incorrect. The reservoir must always have fluid in it and cannot be allowed to empty. If it runs out the master cylinder will get air in it and this may require bench bleeding.
Follow the linked tutorials above or in the Brake forum here for the most accurate information.

yea... my mistake

Doesn't steering system use ATF fluid and not conventional power steering fluid? Should say on the reservoir cap.

^^^ yup, Dexron-III

I see alot of people here says they recommand dino over synthetic for transmission fluid, is that only with MT? Also what is synrchomesh? Sorry for the newbish question.

Just about all the discussion about trans fluids/oils you'll see here are for MT's so you can disregard them. For your auto you can use either standard Dexron or synthetic that meets the same spec. There are newer Dexron fluids out that may give better performance and are backwards compatible with the older stuff.

Is the newer stuff a different grade? Like Dexron IV?

A couple questions about the car right now, when on a cold start, after a few minutes of warmup, I shift to D or R, and it takes about 2-3 seconds for the car to respond, is this normal? This still happens when the car warms up, but to a lesser degree. Could this be due to the tranny oil is about 86k and past due?

Another thing is my gas pedal feels really heavy when I press it from a stand still, both when I accelrate slowly and flooring it. The pressure reduces to about normal when it goes about 3k rpm or over 50-60km/h. I'm not sure what's causing this.

Also when I'm driving and accelerate to say 60km/h, and I let the foot go, then if I tab on the gas pedal slightly, the car would jerk a bit back and forth, is this normal?

Another question I'm hesitant to bring up as it might cost me dearly. When I turn left, I can hear something clicking, similar to the sould of a bad CV joint, but not as loud, I also feel a click on the steering wheel itself when I bring the steering wheel about 1/3 turn when turning left. I noticed that the power steering resevior is sitting low and it looks really back from outside (I didn't open it to see from above). Could this clicking be due to low steering fluid, or do I have a possible steering pump problem?