pissed off- fix one thing, another breaks !!

[mo]

ok, bear with my rant.......

the mechanic for my old pathfinder was an hour away and i had to wait
around till mid afternoon, so when i bought my 2000 obw, i wanted to
find someone closer. so a good friend and trustworthy car guy
recommended a guy nearer to me, about 15 minites away from nyc, across
the bridge in teaneck.

i take the car over to get a tune up. plugs . fuel filter, the usual
stuff. and apparently they have to take out the wiper fliud reservior
to change the plugs. the tune up is done, the car runs great, the
mileage is up to spec, but now THE FRONT WINDSHIELD FLUID PUMP DOESN'T
WORK. I take it back 10 days later, and the pump is fried, it's
getting power, but not working. 165 to fix with a dealer only part
and of course, the comment..... " yea, we're sorry about that.
nothing we can really do, ther'es no telling when those kind of things
will go."

a fluid washer pump going at 65.000 miles? leaking rear tail lights?
what's next that shoudn't happen? or did the mechanic screw up on their
own? maybe it's my fault for buying a car in it's first model year,
maybe i got a lemon. but this is lame to me. nice manual trannie
though........

you've all been very helpful, btw. thanks..

 

[Darren Dempsey]

UMMM did they refill the washer bottle when they replaced it as the washer
pump uses the water in the bottle as lubrication as well as cooling(just a
thought)...

DJ
Diesel Technician
Subaru owner for 15 years

 

[lkreh]

How many Outbacks had the mechanic worked on prior to yours?

-LK

 

[mo]

the friend who recommended them takes his outback there, and the office
lady has a legacy that they work on.

and....they didn't drain the resivior, just moved it to get at the
plugs. the level was fine all the time. and the rear works pump
still works.

dealer service doesn't look so bad from this angle, i'm just not quite
up to speed on doing the work myself. haven't done that for a few
years and no real driveway to do it in at the present time.

 

[Rick Courtright]

find someone closer. so a good friend and trustworthy car guy
recommended a guy nearer to me, about 15 minites away from nyc, across

Hi,

Are these guys a Subie shop (as in exclusively, or at least on the menu
w/ Toyota, Honda or something like that?) or "just some guys...?"

Yeah, there's a possibility the pump fried on its own, but it seems
unlikely. Knock on wood, my washer pumps have always given much better
service than that. I'd be for double checking these guys really know
their way around Subies.

Rick

 

[Marc and Jill]

The Washer pump for the rear and the front are one and the same. The green
connectors in front of the bottle are for the power.

Was there fluid coming out anywhere when the rear worked and the front
didn't? Leakage in the hoses?.

If the front worked and the rear didn't that would make more sense that
there was too little fluid as they are designed that way!

Marc