Hello from Subaru Master Tech...

[SubaruSeniorMasterTech]

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Hello everyone, I am a retired Subaru Senior Master Tech, having spent more than 25 years working in the industry, working specifically on Subaru's, Volvo's, and...hey, let's not forget Peugeot's. I have been fully trained and certified as a Master Tech in all three of those car lines, but have spent the majority of my time and interests on Subaru's.

What brought me to this forum is the news that Subaru is bringing the Forester 2.0 D to the USA, and I will be one of the first people to buy one...once it does hit our shores.

Due to my experience with Volvo and Peugeot...which had a long history of using Diesel engines...I really like diesel engines, for the fuel economy they provide, as well as the torque the engine produces. I have owned several other brands of cars over the past 30 + years that were diesel powered cars, but...at the same time I have also owned a Subaru during those years, for the shear fun of driving a safe, sporty, AWD car.

My current Subaru cars in my garage(s) are a 1998 Forester S, 2.5 double overhead cam, with 149,000 miles on it. I do 100 % of the work on this Forester, and it does have a few special items under the hood, and in the under carriage, such as IPD swaybars, etc. My other Subaru that we own right now is a 1991 Justy GL, 2WD, with 163,000 miles on it. Again, I am the guy that does 100 % of the work on these cars, and I can assure you that this Justy is a serious snowmobile for wintertime driving. It has all new paint, all new struts at all 4 corners, new powder-coated wheels and serious snow tires.

I drive the Forester 99 % of the time, and I drive it HARD. To me, it is a corvette, a snowmobile, a porsche, and a drag race car all rolled into one vehicle. Because I maintain it to 100 % perfection, I am intimately familiar with every nut and bolt on this vehicle, and I know what it can...and cannot do. I love this vehicle, and many people have wanted to buy this car from me, because they know the condition I keep it in. Until NOW...I have had no reason to sell it, or trade it in, as Subaru has not produced anything that made me want to change from this 1998 Forester S.

That is...until NOW. When the New Forester XS...2.0 D comes to America, I will get a new car.

The Justy GL is my wife's wintertime snowmobile, as she has a 2001 VW Cabrio GLX that she bought brand new, and it is still in beautiful condition. She wants to keep that little Cabrio forever, so...to keep the miles lower on it, and to keep it safe during winter driving, we had a friend (give) us the 1991 Justy GL. (for free). Since then I have dropped over $ 3500.00 into it...including all new paint, and many new Subaru OEM parts, and it is a fantastic car. My wife calls it her Harry Potter car. When the time comes for me to rebuild the tiny engine on the Justy, I already have all the OEM parts sitting in my state of the art shop, and it will be easy to rebuild...adding another 100,000 miles to the engine.

My experience with Subaru goes all the way back to the 1968 Subaru 360's, and I have owned 8 Subaru's over the years, and will...now that they have brought the diesel to us...continue to own Subaru's forever.

Okay, that is me...any questions?

SSMT (Subaru Senior Master Tech)

[Andy]

Wow, great to have you here! Your experience will be welcomed!

[Slovakmaxo]

Originally Posted by SubaruSeniorMasterTech

Hello everyone, I am a retired Subaru Senior Master Tech, having spent more than 25 years working in the industry, working specifically on Subaru's, Volvo's, and...hey, let's not forget Peugeot's. I have been fully trained and certified as a Master Tech in all three of those car lines, but have spent the majority of my time and interests on Subaru's.

What brought me to this forum is the news that Subaru is bringing the Forester 2.0 D to the USA, and I will be one of the first people to buy one...once it does hit our shores.

Due to my experience with Volvo and Peugeot...which had a long history of using Diesel engines...I really like diesel engines, for the fuel economy they provide, as well as the torque the engine produces. I have owned several other brands of cars over the past 30 + years that were diesel powered cars, but...at the same time I have also owned a Subaru during those years, for the shear fun of driving a safe, sporty, AWD car.

My current Subaru cars in my garage(s) are a 1998 Forester S, 2.5 double overhead cam, with 149,000 miles on it. I do 100 % of the work on this Forester, and it does have a few special items under the hood, and in the under carriage, such as IPD swaybars, etc. My other Subaru that we own right now is a 1991 Justy GL, 2WD, with 163,000 miles on it. Again, I am the guy that does 100 % of the work on these cars, and I can assure you that this Justy is a serious snowmobile for wintertime driving. It has all new paint, all new struts at all 4 corners, new powder-coated wheels and serious snow tires.

I drive the Forester 99 % of the time, and I drive it HARD. To me, it is a corvette, a snowmobile, a porsche, and a drag race car all rolled into one vehicle. Because I maintain it to 100 % perfection, I am intimately familiar with every nut and bolt on this vehicle, and I know what it can...and cannot do. I love this vehicle, and many people have wanted to buy this car from me, because they know the condition I keep it in. Until NOW...I have had no reason to sell it, or trade it in, as Subaru has not produced anything that made me want to change from this 1998 Forester S.

That is...until NOW. When the New Forester XS...2.0 D comes to America, I will get a new car.

The Justy GL is my wife's wintertime snowmobile, as she has a 2001 VW Cabrio GLX that she bought brand new, and it is still in beautiful condition. She wants to keep that little Cabrio forever, so...to keep the miles lower on it, and to keep it safe during winter driving, we had a friend (give) us the 1991 Justy GL. (for free). Since then I have dropped over $ 3500.00 into it...including all new paint, and many new Subaru OEM parts, and it is a fantastic car. My wife calls it her Harry Potter car. When the time comes for me to rebuild the tiny engine on the Justy, I already have all the OEM parts sitting in my state of the art shop, and it will be easy to rebuild...adding another 100,000 miles to the engine.

My experience with Subaru goes all the way back to the 1968 Subaru 360's, and I have owned 8 Subaru's over the years, and will...now that they have brought the diesel to us...continue to own Subaru's forever.

Okay, that is me...any questions?

SSMT (Subaru Senior Master Tech)

Hello Mr. SSMT,

My name is Marek and I drive Subaru Outback 2008 2.5 basic, and I can totally agree with you, this Subaru is insane for it's preformance, handling, towing capacity and most of all dependability. The only thing that troubles me is the efficiency of the car. It is true that I ride it hard as you have mentioned what you do to yours, however the if I do on it somewhat sporty it gives me around 18 MPG, if I go really hard then the number drops to only 14-15 MPGs, for combined. I've been trying to keep the the milage up but cant bring it up to at least 23 when driving nice and I reset the trip A for current driving.
I also don't like the clutch in it, since it has manual transmition it burns everytime I back up (no reving engine), I remember that is was like that since I bought it.
Also many times the sterring wheel shakes greatly and then it stops after while? strange behaviour.
Is there any trick I could do to it to make is more fuel efficient?
Thanks, hoping for diesel OUTBACK soon.

[neilg]

Hi All

I have joined as I currently own the legacy diesel with the highest mileage in the UK. In two years I have put 59500 miles on the car.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE BUT ITS BEEN IN THE GARAGE FOR 12 WEEKS DURING THAT TIME.

30000 miles into ownership the turbo blew and was replaced under warranty at a cost of £2500.

59500 miles in the crank snapped in half whist on the motorway and after significant investigation/debate/arguement the engine was replaced entirely at a cost of £8500 under warranty. This took 9 weeks in total.

My issue is that parts are not yet readily available for the mechanicals on the car and as the warranty period expires in 250 miles time I could be left facing massive bills in the future if anything else fails on this new engine.

The engine had to be shipped in ite entirety from Japan and installed at the dealer. Suffice to say I have lost all faith in the car now and am selling it. I am sure someone will have a bargain as it is now back to being brand new again. Unfortunately I have been the test pilot for this new engine and its not been a pleasant experience.

I have owned 2 other Subarus in the past and my family has 4 others between them and all have been reliable.

I even navigate in my brothers Impreza Turbo Rally Car which is more reliable than the diesel has proven.

Good Luck to anyone planning to put more than 20,000 miles a year on the diesel. Get ready with your chequebook when the warranty expires!!!!

[Rick]

No questions right now, but stick around. :-)
Please.
You sound like a great resource. Wish you lived nextdoor. I do have a 4-post lift you could use - at least as soon as I get the '83 Wagoneer mud bogger off it. If you come over and help with it, I'll buy the beer.

Rick

[Rick]

For some reason the wheels on my Subarus always seem to accumulate mud on them. When I remember to clean them off, the vibration always goes away.
It's worth a shot - certainly a cheap fix if it works.

Rick