Routine Maintenance$ (Update: finished!)

[AutobahnSHO]

So Advance auto didn't have all the filters I wanted for both vehicles- lucky Autozone is right across the street.  They had tranny filter on one and the fuel filter on the other that Advance didn't have.

I don't know the history on the Subie and the Caravan needs all that too. I doubt the wife EVER changed the oil in the last year + 16k miles.

2each Fuel, air, oil, and tranny filters + 2gallons of motor oil + 4qts of tranny fluid =
$136!!!!!!      (That's WITH a 10% military discount on part of it.)

Plus I still have to go install all that crap. sigh.

PS- anyone know which tranny fluid is best for a 97 subaru 2.2L SOHC 4spd slushie???  I'll go look in the owner's manual but I don't trust the counter workers at the discount parts places,
especially for a Subaru here. There are hardly ANY on the road here, parts are sparse...

[The Pirate]

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/27376-post15.html

Read the whole thread, too.  It seems that all the older 4-speed autos called for Dexron III (or II).

[S204STi]

Put Dexron VI in it.  It's reverse compatible with Dexron IIe and III, and it's literally twice as good as the latter.

[Rupert]

VI or IV?

[S204STi]

6.

[AutobahnSHO]

WHEW!!! 

This week I was on night-shift (taking a lame army class) so I took the opportunity to do all the work on my vehicles. Took 3days of several hours each, but I'm DONE. 

I did air, fuel, oil, and transmission filters on the Van and the Subie, along with changing the oil and tranny fluid of course.
The Subie also got a knock sensor, the Caravan got rear brake adjustment.

Started w/ the Caravan brakes, the e-brake isn't holding it on our sloped driveway, the pedal has ALWAYS been soft but the brake booster was changed by Dodge (Maryland) in the spring, and it got worse after we moved to Georgia. The cable to the right side e-brake was STUCK. Didn't move AT ALL. So I took the brake assembly apart to pull the cable out, sprayed it w/ oil, worked it with vice grips back and forth till it was free and moving. Then struggled to put the stupid brakes back together.

I'm getting quick w/ oil and tranny fluid changes on that thing- but the fuel filter was a weird beast. It comes w/ 3 hoses attached, that I had to loosen the gas tank some to put the new one in the tiny gap between the tank and mount.

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The Japanese build some crazy cars. The transmission pan has a drainplug (yay!) and the bolts for the pan have phillips slots in them, so after they're broken free you can use a screwdriver to remove them. But the filter is BOLTED IN by 4 bolts (!?!) and some pipe is in the way, you have to remove it to lower the filter. Plus there are a ton of wires and a sensor-looking thingey IN the tranny pan. The fluid was BROWN and smelt burnt..

I bought 4 qts of fluid, thinking the tranny would be smaller than the Caravan, right?
Well, I had to buy 2 more from the DIY shop and I was still half a qt. low. Apparently it's built so ALL of it comes out almost, since the manual says it only holds 8.3 qts.

The oil filter is perfect: it sits perfectly level so it's minimal mess.

Fuel filter no issue, the knock sensor sits right on top- only back and under the backwards-facing throttle body, so that was a hassle.

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So besides Subie A/C issues, we should be good to go for a while now....

[S204STi]

If the subie had brown fluid I would do another 2 more drain/fill procedures to effectively flush out the old stuff.

And again, Dex VI (not 3 or 4, 6) FTMFW.

[AutobahnSHO]

Four cereal?

Good thing it has a drain plug then, and I got more than 6qts (of a 8.3 capacity) out...

Is there any trick to this?
Drain, fill it back up, put it into gear, let it run a minute, drain it again??

I'll have to do it next Saturday.