I VERY strongly doubt that the plugs (“pulstar”) in the link you posted are the OEM plugs for your Subbie.
I am 99.99999% certain that all Japanese manufacturers are using either of these 2 brands for their sparkplugs: NGK or NipponDenso. So, either of these 2 OEM plugs are the ones that you must buy.
In order to solve any uncertainty, all you have to do is to go to your Owner’s Manual, open it up to the section “Specifications” or under “Maintenance-Plugs” and find out exactly the brand and model number that your Subbie needs. It’s just that simple.
“I asked if I needed a transmission service in the near future. He checked it and test drove it with me and said “It’s great. You don’t need anything done to it.” So–he’s not a cheat.”
Your car needs to have the trans fluid changed every 3 yrs/30k miles, whichever comes first.
“Checking it and test driving it” do not suffice, as a transmission can function quite normally today, and can totally crap out tomorrow if the fluid is not changed on the schedule mentioned above.
Your mechanic may not be a cheat, but I DO question his competence, based on everything that you have told us–from his incorrect info on plugs to his approach to determining when the trans needs to be serviced. Saving money in the short run is great, but when that “thriftiness” results in much higher expenditures in the long run, he has not done you any favors or saved you any money.
First, I owned a 99 Legacy, and I don’t think platinum plugs were specified. Regular copper core were specified. The maintenance also called for 30K plug changes, so unless you intend to exceed the 30K, the value of the platinum plugs decline substantially.
For reference, here are my recent costs for a Subaru plug change (Kansas City metro area, independent mechanic): Labor $110; platinum plugs $10-14 each, max total $166. For copper core plugs, labor is same, plugs should be $4-5 each, max total $130.
You need to ask what they are doing to justify the $500 cost listed. This may include air and fuel filter replacement and other services I did not list here. For $600 I can get a full 30K service, which is every item on the maintenance schedule. Most of the time I come in less than that, because I do some of the maintenance service myself.
I reviewed the Pulstar plug, and have a major issue with them as far as warranty is concerned. They list a one year warranty. NGK, AC Delco standard plugs match that, and other brands like Autolite provide a two year warranty. If these plugs are superior, then I would think that the warranty would also be superior, and it isn’t. For me to use them, these plugs would need to be guaranteed for 60 or 70K miles or more, because that is about the interval needed to retrieve the additional plug cost, even after considering labor savings from not changing plugs every 30K miles.
Sorry Christie, but your mechanic is dead wrong in a couple of ways. Those Pulstars are NOT recommended by Subaru for your car, I guarantee that. They provide nothing extra for their extravagant price. You should go with the exact plugs recommended by Subaru. Period. And I also agree with others that him saying he can tell by a drive if your transimission needs a service is pure nonsense. By the time anything would be noticed by a drive the damage would already be done. Subaru is very clear and specific in their manual about when you need to service the tranny. Follow their recommendations, not his ‘seat of the pants’ judgement.
I’m assuming you have the 2.5 engine, because I believe the 2.2 calls for standard copper plugs. The 2.5 calls for laser platinum plugs, original part# NGK PFR5B-11, new stock number NGK 2300. They’ve come down in price quite a bit over the last couple of years. The cheapest I’ve ever gotten them for my '99 is about $18 apiece online. They currently sell at auto parts stores for about $14 plus tax.
I can’t tell you what all goes into the tune=up you need, so I don’t know if you’re paying a fair price or not, so I won’t comment on that whole thing. What I will say is USE THE PLUGS IT CALLS FOR and expect to pay more than for “standard” platinum plugs. Now as far as your mechanic goes, I won’t make any assessments/insinuations (etc.) about him, but he is in a for-profit business, so he wants to make money. You obviously don’t need to pay $25/plug, but he’s going to charge more so he can make a profit. Chances are, if you can get them at the store for $14, he can get them cheaper wholesale, so he’s getting a pretty good mark-up charging $25 to you.
What I can say about replacing these plugs is that it’s a pain in the you-know-what. You have to have 5 joints in each arm to be able to get these things in and out. To say it’s a tight squeeze is the understatment of the year. My mechanic charged me over $100 just for the labor to do it (and replace the ignition wires) after I’d had enough trying to do it myself. So, there is an unusual amount of labor involved in replacing these plugs compared to what we’re used to doing to replace “normal” plugs.
You’re not mechanically inclined so you have a tendency to take some BS as the gospel truth.
No competent mechanic would recommend those Pulstar plugs; period.
An expensive plug does not make the car run one bit better or attain better fuel economy either.
You can use regular copper core plugs and they will work just as well as a platinum or iridium plug. The only difference is that after about 30-40k miles the copper cores will have a tendency to misfire more than the other plugs.
Your mechanic says that your transmission doesn’t need to be serviced and this means he’s not a cheat? No, it means utter cluelessness when combined with the Pulstar recommendation and the expensive plug statement.
You really need to find someone else to service this car.
(And while you’re at it, ask this mechanic whether or not the valve lash needs to be inspected on a regular basis. If the performance of your car is impaired a bit then maybe the reason for this is failure to perform that task regularly.)
No car came with pulsar plugs as original equipment, your car came with NKG copper plugs from the factory $ 2.95. If you want to use platinum, go with Denso @ $4.95.The pulsar plugs have been tested by auto mags and been found to be a waste of money and no better than regular platinum plugs.
I also wonder about your mechanic. No need for those plugs. Just use the plugs recommended in your owner’s manual. The same ones that came in the car when new.
[i] Your car needs to have the trans fluid changed every 3 yrs/30k miles, whichever comes first.
“Checking it and test driving it” do not suffice, as a transmission can function quite normally today, and can totally crap out tomorrow if the fluid is not changed on the schedule mentioned above.
Your mechanic may not be a cheat, but I DO question his competence, [/i]
I totally agree. You can be too cheap and that will end up costing you more. Not getting the transmission fluid changed is one of the most costly errors you can make. Most people seem to believe you don’t change the transmission fluid until there is a problem. You change the transmission fluid to prevent problems. Once you notice a problem, it is usually too late.
Okay-- I checked with 2 Subaru dealers and also checked my Owner’s Manual.
It uses Champion plugs (RC10YC4) which are very inexpensive. (If it were the 2.5L engine, it would need the much more expensive plugs. Both dealers confirmed this.)
They also said it doesn’t need routine transmission services and that flushes are not recommended because of the high mileage (144K). They said if the fluid looks okay and it drives alright, then it’s okay. Also the online 1999 Subaru Scheduled Maintenance (http://www.subaru.com/content/downloads/pdf/maintsched/1999SchedFed.pdf) says the transmission needs to be inspected every 24K but not serviced or replaced unless there’s a problem or it’s driven in severe driving conditions (it isn’t). This was all in agreement with what my mechanic said.
So, problem solved with the spark plug issue but questions remaining with the transmission issue.
Platinum spark plugs last about 4 TIMES as long a regular plugs. Most of the cost in a tuneup is labor, so it pays to go with the best plugs, platinum or Iridium. I paid $17 each for Iridium plugs for our Nissan. The ignition tuneup came to $173.34. They’re good for 100,000 miles, and will last the rest of the car’s life.
You’re right, the schedule just says inspect (replace every 15k under severe conditions). Most folks here would say it’s better to replace it (not flush it) every 30-50k, but your mechanic is correct. So now it’s up to you.
The owners manual is not always correct and there’s a reason for this. The car manufacturers want the car owners to think their vehicle needs very little maintenance. It’s a PR issue more than anything else.
No one, and I mean NO one, can visually inspect transmission fluid and state that it’s good or bad. If it’s burnt and smells odd, then yes there’s a problem. Additives in the fluid break down over time and it’s quite possible for the fluid to look fine and still not be up to specs.
A transmission flush will not hurt a high mileage transmission if the pan is dropped and cleaned first, filter changed, etc. More bogus info that you’ve been given.
Aged brake fluid can also look fine but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need to be changed.
There are a number of things the owners manual may state in regards to maintenance that sound fine to the car owner but from a purely mechanical standpoint are misguided to put it politely. I mentioned valve lash inspections, so consider this recent post.
A number of folks on this forum have said high-mileage vehicles should not have the transmissions flushed as metallic fragments dislodge and cause damage. I’ve also read several article online that describe the same problem. You mentioned a particular way of doing it (ie drop and clean the pan first). Is that the usual way, or is that something special?
I read the post about valve lash. I’ve never heard of that being checked before-- not in my manual, either. When would that be done and what does it entail?
Also, I read that just changing the transmission fluid leaves a substantial amount behind. One (or more) of the commenters on this thread said it should be changed every 3yrs/30K. How does changing only some of the fluid help?