04 F-XT owners

Peaty · 12-23-2005, 10:08 AM

I did post this in the 2.5L turbo forum but in case you have not gotten there. Now that there has been at least one major problem due to the filter I thought I'd post it here too:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20694

If you can't view the info on scoobymods it's because you need to register. It's free to do so though.

Peaty

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

Chiketkd · 12-23-2005, 10:30 AM

Great info Peaty. I see it can also affect '04 Baja Turbo and STI owners. Glad you posted it in the 2.5L turbo section as well.

AaronB · 12-23-2005, 10:41 AM

Thanks for the reminder Peaty I had totally forgotten about this. Ordered up my washers today.

Peaty · 12-23-2005, 10:49 AM

About the washers, I agree it's a good idea to change them, however we have had a few people reuse them and just add a few ft/lbs to the torque spec and did not have any leaks. When I did the page I wanted to show people how to do it the proper way so I changed the washers, the TSB does not even say to replace them but still, I wanted to minimize the chance for leaking. At this point because I've seen what can happen, I'd chance not replacing them if it means you are going to not do it because you don't want to bother ordering the washers

AaronB · 12-23-2005, 10:51 AM

Agreed, but I can't stand oil leaks!

Peaty · 12-23-2005, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronB

Agreed, but I can't stand oil leaks!

This is why we do things the right way even if it's more work

As the saying goes, "Not many people take the time to do it right the first time but a lot of people take the time to fix their mistakes" or something like that

Jfrankon · 12-23-2005, 12:45 PM

Thanks again Peaty! I'm going to follow your mod write-up this weekend!

Happy Holidays!

GTP · 12-23-2005, 11:58 PM

I did this took 30 minutes I re-used the washers because I noticed a rougher idle over the past few days and decided to not wait to do this. Thankfully a little more stank on the torque wrench and no leaks.

Peaty · 12-24-2005, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP

I did this took 30 minutes

We're your filters still in the bolt or did they drop out?

Edit: never mind I just saw your post on SF.com I guess they did. So far everyone that has checked has had them drop

hatake · 12-27-2005, 09:47 AM

Thanks, Peaty, for the post. I did this over the weekend, and my driver-side filter was dropped. PAssenger-side was still in the bolt - I pulled it out. Can you tell which way the oil flows on the driver-side? My guess is from the pipe to the engine block, thus meaning the oil passage was partially blocked all these time. Is that right? The rough idle I have had experienced for the last one year seems to be gone. I'll drive around the town to see if I feel a substantial change. Thanks again, Peaty!

Peaty · 12-27-2005, 09:50 AM

AFAIK the oil flows from the lower part in the head into the variable valve system. You are the first person to say that they had one still in the bolt. So far over a dozen people have told me the filters have both dropped out.

AaronB · 12-28-2005, 01:45 PM

Just did mine as well. 20-30 minutes. New washers. Both filters had fallen out of the bolts.

Thanks for the reminder Peaty, I didn't have a rough idle, but the peace of mind of having them out is worth the $2 and 30 minute investment.

Jfrankon · 12-28-2005, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jfrankon

Thanks again Peaty! I'm going to follow your mod write-up this weekend!

Happy Holidays!

Well, I couldn't wait for the weekend, so I did it this morning. Here are my observations:

1) Took me about 30mins start to finish.
2) I used the original washers, torqued down to 23 ft/lbs...no leakage.

3) Both filters were down in the banjo, but were easily fished out with the needle nose (no damage to either).
4) Car idle is now so much more refined, and dare I say quieter. This is not in my freakin head

Peaty, mucho gracias . You give us the confidence to do these things. Without your write-ups, I wouldn't even think of doing this myself. Plus, they are fun (usually) to do.

Keggler · 12-29-2005, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronB

Just did mine as well. 20-30 minutes. New washers. Both filters had fallen out of the bolts.

Thanks for the reminder Peaty, I didn't have a rough idle, but the peace of mind of having them out is worth the $2 and 30 minute investment.

I did this just now in about 20 minutes. I re-used the washers and re-torqued to 22ft/lbs on a cold motor. Hardest part was getting "tweezers" to pull the filters out. I won't know if it leaks until later.

I haven't had the rough idle in a while and found both filters in the banjo fitting. I'm guessing we all had rough idles until the filters fell out of the bolt and into the fitting.

WRacerX · 12-29-2005, 11:32 AM

Just did this on my car. Took about 20 mins. Both filters had fallen out of their bolts. The passenger side filter was cracked (the metal screen part) and seemed like it was on it's way to disintegration! Man, I'm glad I did this.

When I was working on the passenger side, I also found that the dealership monkies hadn't properly reinstalled the air filter cover. The two tabs at the bottom of the cover towards the engine were not in their slots. Idiots...

Thanks for the invaluable info Peaty !

Scott

PS: I re-used the washers with a couple more ft-lbs of torque. No leaks.

pleiad7 · 12-29-2005, 11:44 AM

Still have to do this as well; so far the weather hasn't cooperated and I don't have a garage. More rain ahead this weekend...

FXT22 · 12-29-2005, 07:08 PM

Checked my '05 night before last, and no filters were found- even though the VIN seems to fall in the range before the filters were pulled by Subaru ...better safe than sorry.

SuperRuWRX · 12-29-2005, 08:01 PM

Thanks Peaty,

Today I ordered 4 new washers from my local dealer.

Richard

ahartfie · 12-29-2005, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FXT22

Checked my '05 night before last, and no filters were found- even though the VIN seems to fall in the range before the filters were pulled by Subaru ...better safe than sorry.

I meant to ask about that...I have an 05 too but my VIN is lower than the one where they say they fixed the problem in the 04's. So, just to assuage my paranoia about car trouble, is it safe for me to assume that if the problem existed in the 05's, the TSB would cover them, too, specifically and not rely on just the VIN?

I guess what my question *really* is, is do the VIN numbers restart at 0 for each model year, or are they cumulative for the model?

Any answers to assuage my paranoia will be appreciated. I haven't yet worked up the courage to approach this car with tools so I need to know if this is something I need to ask about on my next dealer visit.

sleepy22 · 12-30-2005, 02:31 PM

I'm curious and now paranoid about the '05 models, as well. My VIN falls below the number (significantly, might I add), but was purchased in April of '05 with just 30 miles on the odometer (dealer trade from SF to Marin).

I will probably remove the bolts and examine them next week just to make sure.

But because this is a TSB, is there anyway to take a print out of this to my Subaru Dealer and ask them to fix it for me, under warranty?

Also, it was referenced (thanks, Peaty!), that there are 2 bolts in question, but in reality, there are 4 bolts total. Has anybody removed the other bolts and examined them to see if there are filters on all 4 bolts?

Thanks in advanced.

Peaty · 12-30-2005, 04:55 PM

Subaru will only remove the filters if they can reproduce the poor idle and it meets the criteria set down in the TSB. This is a TSB not a recall.

More info here about TSBs':

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3004

Yes AFAIK there are also filters on the in feed side of the line. However, that filter is being pushed into the bolt and not out. Chances of it getting into the system are a lot less likely. Not to mention those bolts would be a bugger to get to

I'm a little concerned that some people that thought they should have had them by looking at the VIN numbers and did not find any didn't look close enough in the Banjo Fitting. At first I didn't think I had any either, they are tough to see.

sleepy22 · 12-30-2005, 06:16 PM

as always, thanks a million/zillion/trillion, Peaty!

Jfrankon · 12-30-2005, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaty

I'm a little concerned that some people that thought they should have had them by looking at the VIN numbers and did not find any didn't look close enough in the Banjo Fitting. At first I didn't think I had any either, they are tough to see.

That's true, Peaty. Taking you initial advise, I poked around with the needle nose pliers until I "felt" them and then grasped and pulled.

With my naked eyes (don't have great vision) I could NOT see them at all in the banjo (but sure enough they were both in there!)

Moral of this story: Search and you shall find

ForesterXT04 · 12-31-2005, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keggler

I did this just now in about 20 minutes. I re-used the washers and re-torqued to 22ft/lbs on a cold motor. Hardest part was getting "tweezers" to pull the filters out. I won't know if it leaks until later.

I haven't had the rough idle in a while and found both filters in the banjo fitting. I'm guessing we all had rough idles until the filters fell out of the bolt and into the fitting.

Same here, both filters fell in both banjos. Took about 5 min to get to the bolts and another 10 min to fish out the filters with tweezers. Re-torqued original bolts and washers to 23 ft pds and let the car idle for about 5 min...no leaks so far.

Thanks Peaty!

Jfrankon · 01-04-2006, 09:54 AM

New year bump...I can't say enough how this made a huge difference in the FXT.

12-23-2005, 10:08 AM	#1
Peaty Techno Sapien Moderator Member#: 449 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Lawrence, KS Vehicle: 2019 Impreza Sport Lithium Red	04 and early 05 F-XT owners Please Read I did post this in the 2.5L turbo forum but in case you have not gotten there. Now that there has been at least one major problem due to the filter I thought I'd post it here too: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20694 If you can't view the info on scoobymods it's because you need to register. It's free to do so though. Peaty * Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by Peaty; 01-10-2006 at 12:54 PM.

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12-23-2005, 10:30 AM	#2
Chiketkd Scooby Guru Member#: 71634 Join Date: Sep 2004 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: C-Ville, VA Vehicle: In hibernation...	Great info Peaty. I see it can also affect '04 Baja Turbo and STI owners. Glad you posted it in the 2.5L turbo section as well.

12-23-2005, 10:41 AM	#3
AaronB Worst Mod Ever Moderator Member#: 369 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Phoenix, AZ Vehicle: 19 CTS-V, 18 XC90 17 GTI	Thanks for the reminder Peaty I had totally forgotten about this. Ordered up my washers today.

12-23-2005, 10:49 AM	#4
Peaty Techno Sapien Moderator Member#: 449 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Lawrence, KS Vehicle: 2019 Impreza Sport Lithium Red	About the washers, I agree it's a good idea to change them, however we have had a few people reuse them and just add a few ft/lbs to the torque spec and did not have any leaks. When I did the page I wanted to show people how to do it the proper way so I changed the washers, the TSB does not even say to replace them but still, I wanted to minimize the chance for leaking. At this point because I've seen what can happen, I'd chance not replacing them if it means you are going to not do it because you don't want to bother ordering the washers

12-23-2005, 10:51 AM	#5
AaronB Worst Mod Ever Moderator Member#: 369 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Phoenix, AZ Vehicle: 19 CTS-V, 18 XC90 17 GTI	Agreed, but I can't stand oil leaks!

12-23-2005, 12:45 PM	#7
Jfrankon Scooby Newbie Member#: 20254 Join Date: Jun 2002 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Vehicle: 2010 VW GTI 2013 Outback 3.6R	Thanks again Peaty! I'm going to follow your mod write-up this weekend! Happy Holidays!

12-23-2005, 11:58 PM	#8
GTP Scooby Newbie Member#: 73689 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Greensburg, PA	I did this took 30 minutes I re-used the washers because I noticed a rougher idle over the past few days and decided to not wait to do this. Thankfully a little more stank on the torque wrench and no leaks.

12-27-2005, 09:47 AM	#10
hatake Scooby Newbie Member#: 34811 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Denver Vehicle: 04 Baja T Black	Thanks, Peaty, for the post. I did this over the weekend, and my driver-side filter was dropped. PAssenger-side was still in the bolt - I pulled it out. Can you tell which way the oil flows on the driver-side? My guess is from the pipe to the engine block, thus meaning the oil passage was partially blocked all these time. Is that right? The rough idle I have had experienced for the last one year seems to be gone. I'll drive around the town to see if I feel a substantial change. Thanks again, Peaty!

12-27-2005, 09:50 AM	#11
Peaty Techno Sapien Moderator Member#: 449 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Lawrence, KS Vehicle: 2019 Impreza Sport Lithium Red	AFAIK the oil flows from the lower part in the head into the variable valve system. You are the first person to say that they had one still in the bolt. So far over a dozen people have told me the filters have both dropped out.

12-28-2005, 01:45 PM	#12
AaronB Worst Mod Ever Moderator Member#: 369 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Phoenix, AZ Vehicle: 19 CTS-V, 18 XC90 17 GTI	Just did mine as well. 20-30 minutes. New washers. Both filters had fallen out of the bolts. Thanks for the reminder Peaty, I didn't have a rough idle, but the peace of mind of having them out is worth the $2 and 30 minute investment.

12-29-2005, 11:32 AM	#15
WRacerX Scooby Newbie Member#: 4365 Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Durham, NC Vehicle: 2004 Forester XT Silver	Just did this on my car. Took about 20 mins. Both filters had fallen out of their bolts. The passenger side filter was cracked (the metal screen part) and seemed like it was on it's way to disintegration! Man, I'm glad I did this. When I was working on the passenger side, I also found that the dealership monkies hadn't properly reinstalled the air filter cover. The two tabs at the bottom of the cover towards the engine were not in their slots. Idiots... Thanks for the invaluable info Peaty ! Scott PS: I re-used the washers with a couple more ft-lbs of torque. No leaks.

12-29-2005, 11:44 AM	#16
pleiad7 Scooby Specialist Member#: 71056 Join Date: Sep 2004 Chapter/Region: BAIC Location: Forester central Vehicle: MY04 Forester XT PSM	Still have to do this as well; so far the weather hasn't cooperated and I don't have a garage. More rain ahead this weekend...

12-29-2005, 07:08 PM	#17
FXT22 Scooby Newbie Member#: 79039 Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Rochester, NY Vehicle: '05 FXT Black- (absence of color)	Checked my '05 night before last, and no filters were found- even though the VIN seems to fall in the range before the filters were pulled by Subaru ...better safe than sorry.

12-29-2005, 08:01 PM	#18
SuperRuWRX Scooby Specialist Member#: 4955 Join Date: Mar 2001 Chapter/Region: South East Location: L5P's (Atlanta,GA) Vehicle: 2004 FXT OffRoadSubarus.com	Thanks Peaty, Today I ordered 4 new washers from my local dealer. Richard

12-30-2005, 02:31 PM	#20
sleepy22 Scooby Newbie Member#: 87711 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bay Area, CA Vehicle: '05 Forester XT PSM	I'm curious and now paranoid about the '05 models, as well. My VIN falls below the number (significantly, might I add), but was purchased in April of '05 with just 30 miles on the odometer (dealer trade from SF to Marin). I will probably remove the bolts and examine them next week just to make sure. But because this is a TSB, is there anyway to take a print out of this to my Subaru Dealer and ask them to fix it for me, under warranty? Also, it was referenced (thanks, Peaty!), that there are 2 bolts in question, but in reality, there are 4 bolts total. Has anybody removed the other bolts and examined them to see if there are filters on all 4 bolts? Thanks in advanced.

12-30-2005, 04:55 PM	#21
Peaty Techno Sapien Moderator Member#: 449 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Lawrence, KS Vehicle: 2019 Impreza Sport Lithium Red	Subaru will only remove the filters if they can reproduce the poor idle and it meets the criteria set down in the TSB. This is a TSB not a recall. More info here about TSBs': http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3004 Yes AFAIK there are also filters on the in feed side of the line. However, that filter is being pushed into the bolt and not out. Chances of it getting into the system are a lot less likely. Not to mention those bolts would be a bugger to get to I'm a little concerned that some people that thought they should have had them by looking at the VIN numbers and did not find any didn't look close enough in the Banjo Fitting. At first I didn't think I had any either, they are tough to see.

12-30-2005, 06:16 PM	#22
sleepy22 Scooby Newbie Member#: 87711 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bay Area, CA Vehicle: '05 Forester XT PSM	as always, thanks a million/zillion/trillion, Peaty!

01-04-2006, 09:54 AM	#25
Jfrankon Scooby Newbie Member#: 20254 Join Date: Jun 2002 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Vehicle: 2010 VW GTI 2013 Outback 3.6R	New year bump...I can't say enough how this made a huge difference in the FXT.