[CapeAnn]

I am picking up my new Forester this coming week and was wondering what are the top three things you would recommend with breaking in/seasoning a new 5 speed Forester beyond generalized break-in procedures. Of course, I don't have a manual in hand which would help.

Off hand I can think of not running it past 65 mph on the highway as I take it up I-95 to Boston!


Cheers,

CapeAnn

p.s. got myself a short-throw shifter to tighten up what (to me) feels like a rubbery shifter.

 

[good dog]

Boy, are you goinging to get a variety of answers on this.

That's all I'll say for now.:biggrin:

 

[pleiad7]

Off hand I can think of not running it past 65 mph on the highway as I take it up I-95 to Boston!

I don't see a reason for this speed limit other than not to get ticketed... for engine break-in it's more important to vary your speeds on the highway, i.e. don't use cruise control.

 

[FLdrummer]

All I did to break in my Forester was to follow the general break in procedures and follow the maintenance schedule at the appropriate intervals (either time or mileage, whichever came first).

 

[CapeAnn]

Cheers Pleiad & & Fld,

I won't use cruise control and typically make it a point (in a new car) to vary speed & RPM reasonably to season the engine.

CapeAnn

 

[adc]

I don't see a reason for this speed limit other than not to get ticketed... for engine break-in it's more important to vary your speeds on the highway, i.e. don't use cruise control.

Exactly. Don't use cruise for 1000 miles. And when its safe get totally of the gas for a few seconds periodically. Say every 10 minutes of highway cruising. That sucks more oil up the rings. Only do it if you can. May not be able to do on 95.

Change the rear differential oil within the first 10000 miles. That's not in the manual.

 

[Drivezki]

Nothing at all wrong with using cruise. Just don't use it for 'extended' periods. What ever that means. Hours and hours? Hundreds of miles? Who does that anyway in normal everyday driving.

 

[adc]

Nothing at all wrong with using cruise. Just don't use it for 'extended' periods. .

I disagree..no reason to use it at all. The more you vary speed the better. Subaru tells you not to use it.

 

[Drivezki]

I disagree..no reason to use it at all. The more you vary speed the better. Subaru tells you not to use it.

I disagree with you too. :banana: So we're even.

 

[CapeAnn]

General takeaway knowledge:

1. Vary your RPM, but don't sustain rev's over 4K
2. Cruise control is not really your best friend during the break-in period.
3. pending - lubricant changes above and beyond what manf. recommends

More than anything...gotta get that manual in hand. BTW - all of this would be moot if my dealer had the wherewithal to actually register my vehicle online. Downloading the manual would be click away.

Thanks for the recommendations.

CapeAnn

 

[vintage42]

Nothing at all wrong with using cruise. Just don't use it for 'extended' periods. What ever that means. Hours and hours? Hundreds of miles? Who does that anyway in normal everyday driving.

Cruise control defeats the purpose of frequent accelerations and decelerations, which loads and unloads the mating surfaces of gears and bearings, and rocks the pistons skirts and rings.
The best and easiest break in consists of driving fast on hilly, curvy country roads. The frequent repeated accelerations and short bursts of speed, alternating with decelerations, are the ideal break in.
Manufacturers understand that this is not always possible, so the break in instructions are simplified to two items: avoid sustained high rpms and vary the speed.
It does not really matter how a car is broken in, except to those perfectionists who understand the process. Modern cars do not have problems from whatever normal driving they were given during the break in period.

 

[AlleyCat]

I's watch out, the break in oil has been analysed to be 20wt and apparently doesnt take kindly to any spirited driving. Our engine didnt break in properly - it burns oil and knocks. But the dealer drove the car from a CT dealer to NH probably at 75MPH at 3500rpm the whole way for 2 hours. I would get some rotella t5 10w-30 in there asap just to be safe. Normally I would keep the factory oil in for 1000-1500 miles but not in this case. Subarus do NOT like low HTHS oils, thus the recommended (for fuel economy only) 5w-30 appears too thin - but our new engine is beyond hope at this point.

 

[FLdrummer]

Change the rear differential oil within the first 10000 miles. That's not in the manual.

+1

I didn't do that. When I finally did, it was obvious that the fluid was way beyond it's service life. And since the front differential and transmission share the same fluid on the manual transmissions (or that's how I think it works; I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong), it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to change the transmission fluid out at the same time as the first rear differential fluid change. The front differential is breaking in the same as the rear.

 

[vintage42]

... Change the rear differential oil within the first 10000 miles. That's not in the manual.

+2. It has been repeatedly noted that the rear diff gear oil looks bad early. I changed the front and rear diffs on my 4EAT at 15K, by which time the rear looked grayish and had some sludge, while the front was still like new. The rear diff must stress the gear oil a lot harder than the front. I synthetic in both and will be changing them every 15K.

 

[Lone Ranger]

Don't exceed 75% of tachometer redline during 1st 1000 miles. Don't baby the engine but don't flog it to death. As for changing out the manual transmission oil and differential oils-- I did mine @ 12,000 but mainly due to having forded some high water (to the rocker panels.. flooded urban streets) for peace of mind. The OEM oil that came out didn't look too bad. Was still clear but with some swirls of gray in it, and the magnetic drain plugs had black waxy/sludge-like stuff stuck them probably micro ferrous material or whatever. Keep in mind that on the manual transmission model Forester, the front differential shares oil with the manual transmission gear box, this is why Subaru recommends 75W90 GL5 gear oil for the manual transmission 'fluid'.

P.S. I thought you could do a free download of the owner manual (PDF file) on the Subaru technical information website or the MySubaru.com site?

 

[CapeAnn]

Keep in mind that on the manual transmission model Forester, the front differential shares oil with the manual transmission gear box, this is why Subaru recommends 75W90 GL5 gear oil for the manual transmission 'fluid'.

P.S. I thought you could do a free download of the owner manual (PDF file) on the Subaru technical information website or the MySubaru.com site?

Thanks to everyone for their valuable recommendations. I appreciate it and will keep a diary to change out tranny fluid every 10-15K for my manual Forester.

As per mysubaru.com - it believe it requires a registration by the seller. It does not allow the casual user to download current manuals. In my case, the dealer is anything but efficient with customer communication :icon_mad: which is why I am trying to learn here before I take it up for a semi- longish drive to New England. Seems I 'll be doing a bit of off-the-highway driving to keep it interesting for the engine. :biggrin:

Cheers,

CapeAnn