90,000 mile Maintanence to-do's

[Bradley Walker]

Hello all,

My 90k maintenance is coming up on my `01 OBW rather quickly. At one time I
would have taken it to the dealership only because a service manager who
used to work there is a friend and customer of my business. So I trust his
insights, decisions, and suggestions. However as I have written in previous
posts, he left due to questionable practices happening at the dealership
when a new service director was hired. He and 7 other people quit.

I asked him if his GM dealership where he works at now would perform the 90k
service and he said normally they would but they didn't have any Subaru
trained mechanics hired at the moment, however being that he himself is a
mechanic and former short track racer, he offered to do the service for me
at a "significantly less" cost than what the Subaru Dealership would charge.
Their charges are around $740 for a "Max Service" 90k service, and $570 for
the 'Mini Service' packages, neither of which includes a timing belt change.
However this guy wouldn't be charging more than $300-$400 tops and doing
everything including a timing belt change. I was planning on providing all
the fluids, oils, belts, filters, etc on my own.

Now, being that it looks like I have financial room to spare, I want to give
my OBW good care and check multiple items on the car even though they may
not be included in the Subaru recommended 90k service. Here is what is
included in the dealerships 30/60/90/120k service plans:

Mini Service (Basic Service) - $570
------------------------------------
Change Engine Oil and Filter
Install Oil Additive
Perform Multi-point Inspection
Inspect Brake System
Inspect Battery
Inspect Coolant System
Rotate Tires and set Tire Pressure
Inspect Exhaust System
Tranmission total fluid flush
Replace Fuel Filter
Lubricate all hinges and latches (door locks & weather strips if needed)
Complete Coolant Flush
Install Spark Plugs
Front End Alignment

Max Service (Includes the above) - $740
-----------------------------------------
Rotate and balance all tires and set tire pressures
Fuel Induction/injection service (3 part)
Inspect distribution cap, wires, and rotor
Inspect Drivebelt
Replace PCV Valve (at 60k & 120k)


Now my question to the experts here is that, what else should I be concerned
with that isn't listed in the above servicing? Being that I will be paying
the mechanic around $300-$400 for the above, I want to use the extra cash to
check/replace any other filter or item that I can think of that would
eventually need replacing within the year anyway.

What is everyone's thoughts on that?

Bradley

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hello all,

My 90k maintenance is coming up on my `01 OBW rather quickly. At one time I
would have taken it to the dealership only because a service manager who
used to work there is a friend and customer of my business. So I trust his
insights, decisions, and suggestions. However as I have written in previous
posts, he left due to questionable practices happening at the dealership
when a new service director was hired. He and 7 other people quit.

I asked him if his GM dealership where he works at now would perform the 90k
service and he said normally they would but they didn't have any Subaru
trained mechanics hired at the moment, however being that he himself is a
mechanic and former short track racer, he offered to do the service for me
at a "significantly less" cost than what the Subaru Dealership would charge.
Their charges are around $740 for a "Max Service" 90k service, and $570 for
the 'Mini Service' packages, neither of which includes a timing belt change.
However this guy wouldn't be charging more than $300-$400 tops and doing
everything including a timing belt change. I was planning on providing all
the fluids, oils, belts, filters, etc on my own.

Now, being that it looks like I have financial room to spare, I want to give
my OBW good care and check multiple items on the car even though they may
not be included in the Subaru recommended 90k service. Here is what is
included in the dealerships 30/60/90/120k service plans:

Mini Service (Basic Service) - $570
------------------------------------
Change Engine Oil and Filter
Install Oil Additive
Perform Multi-point Inspection
Inspect Brake System
Inspect Battery
Inspect Coolant System
Rotate Tires and set Tire Pressure
Inspect Exhaust System
Tranmission total fluid flush
Replace Fuel Filter
Lubricate all hinges and latches (door locks & weather strips if needed)
Complete Coolant Flush
Install Spark Plugs
Front End Alignment

Max Service (Includes the above) - $740
-----------------------------------------
Rotate and balance all tires and set tire pressures
Fuel Induction/injection service (3 part)
Inspect distribution cap, wires, and rotor
Inspect Drivebelt
Replace PCV Valve (at 60k & 120k)


Now my question to the experts here is that, what else should I be concerned
with that isn't listed in the above servicing?

I'd inspect the fan belts closely and if there's
any sign of cracking, replace them. Change the
air filter and dump a bottle of the expensive
Techron cleaner in the gas tank. I also degrease
the engine around every 60k miles. Check the CV
joint boots every oil change.

If the car is tracking straight, the steering wheel
is even when you're going straight, and the tires
are wearing even, you don't need a wheel alignment.
My '99 OB has 126k miles and has never been aligned.

What's the oil additive? There's nothing you can do
to improve good motor oil.

 

[Bradley Walker]

I'm not sure what the oil additive is, unless they say that to refer to
adding something to the oil to prevent internal headgasket leaks...?

So far my OBW shows now signs of steering left or right and when on a
straight road letting my hands off the wheel, it goes straight with very
little deviation on veering.

How is an engine degreased?

Thanks for the info on fan belts. I was leaning towards checking all fan
belts & hoses because if I can purchase those seperately, I'd replace them
all in one shot.

What about the cabin air filter? Can the air filter/cabin air filter be
replaced while here at home on my own time? Is it easy to do?

 

[John Rethorst]

I'm not sure what the oil additive is, unless they say that to refer to
adding something to the oil to prevent internal headgasket leaks...?

Subaru recommends a coolant additive to do that.

 

[Bradley Walker]

Ah ok. I'll ask the dealership what their oil additive is and what it's
purpose is.