Time for another road trip!

So it has been some years since my last Subaru purchase! Last one was a one way flight to New Jersey for the series.blue BRZ. This go round is a short road trip to the new addition.

After much household debate and talks of selling the BRZ for something more family friendly, the decision to pick up a supplemental Subaru has been finalized. Heading down to Iowa this morning to pick up a 2010 Subaru Forester as a winter beater/family truckster/work vehicle!

I will update along the way!

 

No Snidley Whiplash! I am picking up a beater so that my race car can stay rust free-ish. Lol

Ok, so that trip was terrible on the way down! Snow, ice, white out conditions. A lot of emergency vehicles and automobiles in the ditches! But, after 4 1/2 hours, we made it!

2010 Forester 2.5X with rebuilt title
176,000 miles
$2700

Now mind you, a $2700 Forester comes with some potential issues and we will get to those!
She made the 3 hr journey back home though without any major incident. Pulls like you would expect and shifts pretty smoothly. Interior is good and the exterior is pretty good as well!

 

Well, here are the details.
The salvage came from an accident with another vehicle in 2013. It was bought at auction and repaired. So it has had 130k of the 175k put on after the accident. So I figured that I’d take a shot on it.

It has a multitude of codes right now. But it starts, idles, and shifts really good. Thinking of replacing the battery and checking some fuses.
I feel like if any more dash lights come on, and I hit 88mph...well you know.

 

I laughed when I saw the tape residue as well.
PO741(torque converter clutch solenoid circuit performance or stuck off) and PO700(transmission control system-malfunction indicator lamp request)

The weird thing is, the cruise wasn’t working and the cruise light was flashing. I cleared all of the codes and took it for another test drive. The cruise worked for awhile and then it turned off. Simultaneously the ABS light came on solid and the AT Oli Temp light started flashing.

edit: @Chux

 

Sounds right. They turn off the cruise on newer cars (maybe 09+) so that you can't just drive with all the lights on. So as soon as the ABS light came on, the cruise control turns off.

 

IIRC, I would run almost exactly 3k at 70mph. Like Chux said, just up through the gears and and once you are over 50 and level off the acc, you should get what looks like another shift. I think it was 200-300rpm drop on lockup.

Russ

 

Gotcha. That makes sense because I believe that is about when I felt a “clunk” of sorts and then the ABS and AT Oil temp light came on.

Do you think that it’s an issue with the torque converter then?

 

Car wouldn’t start this morning. Definitely needs a battery! Going to throw that in in the morning and see how many lights go away.

 

I wonder if the “clunk” that I heard, something like a shift into “5th” was the torque converter locking?

 

It could be in the 6 disc charger!

So, the wife took it to go roller skating in Coon rapids Tuesday night and it ran fine. I went to start it yesterday and it wouldn’t start or even turn over. Went and picked up a new battery and installed that. Went to turn the key and got the same results. No turning over, nuttin. I did have all lights, but no fire in the hole.*sadface*

 

Then it could look and feel awesome in the driveway!!!1!

 

I’ll try to clean the contacts first, thanks Matt

 

does it "click" when you turn the key? Like the solenoid popping out? When I had mine, I always wanted to replace the main cable that goes from the battery to the starter. It never turned over fast and I always thought there was something with the power lead. If you have a voltmeter, you should be able to just check power.

 

No click. No sounds at all

 

Maybe we could just trade!? That sounds moar better

 

Not that I can tell. 2 fobs came with the keys. All standard OEM Subaru fobs.

 

That would be brutal! 170 miles home from Iowa with no cruise sucked bad enough.

 

Do Foresters go 90? This one surely doesn’t. I can’t get it to go any mph currently.

 

Update. I pulled the starter/ignition fuses and they looked ok. But I swapped them anyways. Then I pulled the starter relay out to inspect and reinstalled it. Tried to start it and got nothing. There is a quiet clicking which I’m assuming is the solenoid.
This morning I went out with my wife to try the ol “hammer the starter” trick. I took a wood handled hammer and rested it on the solenoid/starter. Then took another hammer to give it a whack. When Vanessa turned the key I went to hit it but it turned over and cranked. It then proceeded to start! Which is super duper! Now the question is, is it as simple as replacing the starter? Or was it something else? I know that starters can be finicky when they are starting to fizzle out.

Thoughts?

 

Yeah, I’ll probably pick up a remanufactured starter and give it a go. I just didn’t want to have to crawl under the car in the snow and ice. I’m becoming a weenie in my old age. lol.

On the plus side, it should be way easier on the NA than it was on my WRX.

 

A subzero garage sounds glamorous currently. Hahaha! The temps aren’t too bad right now, just the moisture content levels.