ROYBENNETT

Hi Guys Outback April 2011 2.00 Diesel 115,000 miles 2 owners from new Well we are 2 months down the line since the last post and glow plug has gone down on the new outback 2011 diesel. Looked at trade in prices to trade for a petrol version and got quoted £3,500, which is !Removed! ridiculous, spent three days reading forum threads on post 2009 cars and the complexity of them (old enough to remember rebuilding twin carb 2.00 Austin Princess (Flying Wedge) engine on my drive in 2 days). Conclusion ? 1 Reinvest in the 1999 2.00 ltr Forester sitting on the drive and bring it back into commission for my boy to learn in and have as a back up and run the outback to death. The third car is a 2002 Toyota landcruiser 5 speed manual 3.00 diesel.. Nod to Mr B here. 2 Outback is brilliant to drive and has great torque and low consumption, 18,000 in 12 months and no other issues than clutch and gloplug, great MPG at consistently 45 and above, but needed a clutch at 104,000 mechanics exact words were "its shxt itself" dual mass no good for slight overloading in towing like I could with the old forester. New clutch is good at 12,000 but I know its "tender" and prone to overheating really easy. Usually get 100,000 plus out of cltuches going back 20 years on Toyotas, Rovers, Subarus, and dare I say the word puegots. So to the crunch I need some advice 1 Can I get a beefed up clutch to fit the Outback that can handle the low end grunt and not shxt itself if I go to 2 tons on the car occasionally, up in Scottish highlands crofting so Vxxx are not exactly hanging about. 2 Anyone know a reliable glow plug fix/removal technique 3 Will remapping the ECU fix the clutch issue ? Heard/read about a "PAK update" whatever that is 4 How often does the DPF regenerate ? How long will the glo plug being off be a problem for the DPF 5 If the Glow plug is off getting contradictory advice IM says it won`t affect the regen but then in the same e-mail states that if the EMI light comes on due to it it will, so does it or not ? I know I have asked a fair few questions here guys but any help or advice would be useful, Outback seems to be a good car and I want to keep it as healthy as I can. Thanks

Hi Mr B Agree, and I would have done, but rot now in rear wheel arches and sills despite trying to keep it away from that area, already done subframe 4 years ago and tops of the suspension legs, needs new wiper linkage, head slowly going judging by the coolant change and recent misfire, new shockers needed at back, suspension bushes, don`t have the facilities to do it myself until the self build is done and at a £1,000+ for the local mechanic (who is willing and able and Suby fan) to start we just couldn`t justify it, so sadly it will live its days out as a farm car for the next 2 -3 years, unless my 14 year old can be encouraged to take it on as a project in a couple of years.. So put the money into the cruiser for now.

Newbie to this forum but been running foresters, legacies and landcruisers for years, all prove MR B and Linch spot on, running a 2000 toyota colorado with the 1kzte engine only car I haven`t been able to break and this is my second one, luckily this one is mint, for me cars are tools and get used hard. Subarus fantastic for all year round winter and slog work, Toyota fantastic for big towing and all terrain forest work etc. Running a 2011 Outback first step into the computerised world 114,000 of which i put 16,000 on it in the last 9 months steady 45 - 50 (Toyota at 25 is a tad thirsty on short runs). Clutch on the Outback diesel is sxxt can`t take the low end torgue, towing 2 pallets of slates on a 10 foot bates trailer and it sxxt itself 2 weeks later. so stay within the 1.5 ton towing limit and nurse it you will be fine. Compared to the forester with which I regularly towed 2 tons in a rural environment without breaking sweat, forester clutch eventually died at 170,000 and was the factory fitted original. Thats what you got for a 99 forester, durability, I still have it, but the dreaded tin worm finally beat me this year with it, looking for another one in Mint condition. Otherwise Outback drives fab and is our go to motorway car, only other issue is the glow plugs, get a warranty that covers them, they can be a txxt if (and when) they fail.