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Your Subaru WRX is a high performance car that has the job of carrying you, your family and friends at speed, so treat it accordingly. In addition to routine scheduled maintenance, get into the habit of checking the car on a weekly basis.
Pay particular attention to the following items:
Tyres – should be round and black! Seriously, do not confine your checks to just the tyre pressures alone. Look in under the wheel arch and check the state of tread wear. Are you familiar with the tread wear indicators moulded into the face of each tyre?
Are the tyres wearing unevenly? The early stages of premature tyre wear can often be tricky to spot, so if doubt check with your tyre re-seller. An cheap and easy to fix wheel alignment problem can very quickly ruin a set of expensive rubber. While checking the wheels, don’t neglect the spare! See chapter on Wheels and Tyres for more detailed information regarding tyre pressures.
Under car checks – prior to grubbing around under your car, take a good look at where it was parked. Pay particular attention to the ground under the engine and transmission. Any serious leaks from the powertrain should be immediately obvious. If your can see any evidence of fluid leaks, wipe down the offending component and then check all engine bay levels to ensure that nothing is dangerously low on one fluid or anther. Then take the car for a short drive and re-check. If in this short period of time, a significant amount of fluid has reappeared, “Houston, we have a problem”, seek professional advice.
Engine oil – check the engine oil level from the dipstick. The best time to do so is first thing in the morning, when the car is cold and all the oil is back in the sump. Make sure that the car is on level ground; otherwise any sort of angle can lead to an incorrect reading. Between the full and empty lines on the dipstick is exactly one litre. Don’t ask how many fluid ounces, pints or fractions of an imperial gallon this is. Top up the engine with oil of the same viscosity rating that is already in your engine. If you are unsure about what it should be, check with your service agent.
Remember that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Do not be tempted to overfill your engine with oil, as this can raise the oil level in the sump high enough to interfere with the crankshaft, causing foaming of the oil, which in turn can create problems with boost and variable cam control solenoids.
Subaru recommends engine oil with a SAE viscosity rating of 5W-30 for turbo engines operating in climactic conditions ranging from below zero Celsius (or lower), up to a maximum ambient temperature of + 40 Deg C. This is a very broad range and should be satisfactory for the majority of owners. However, Subaru does have the following caveat in the WRX owners manual as final word on engine oil.
“If the vehicle is used in desert areas, in areas with very high temperatures, or used for heavy duty applications such as towing a trailer, use oil with the following grade and viscosities are recommended:” API classification SL or SJ and SAE viscosity number 30 or 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50.
Brett Middleton has over 10 years experience working on Subaru’s and has transcribed all his knowledge into the Subaru Performance Handbook. His company, MRT Performance has modified and serviced more Subaru’s in Australia than any other workshop.
There is no other Subaru book like it! Get a valuable insight into Subaru models from just about any country.
Bonus chapters available for instant download at http://www.subaruperformancehandbook.com
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