2000 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Maintenance and service10-9
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CONTINUED –
HS0176
HS0175
Drain plugSealing washer
Oil filter
6. Remove the und er c over.
7. Remove the oil filter with an oil filter wrenc h.
8. Before installing a new oil filter, ap p ly a thin c oat of eng ine oil to the
seal.
9. Clean the rub b er seal seating area of the lower c rank c ase and
install the oil filter b y hand turning . Be c areful not to twist or d amag e
the seal.
10. Tig hten it ap p roximately two-third s of a turn af ter the seal makes
c ontac t with und ersid e of the c rank c ase.
CAUTION
Never over tighten the oil filter because that can result in an oilleak.
11. Reinstall the und er c over.
12. Pour the sp ec ified amount of eng ine oil throug h the filler nec k.
Oil c ap ac ity: 4.2 US q t (4.0 liters, 3.5 Imp q t)
13. Start the eng ine and make sure that no oil leaks ap p ear around
the filter ’s rub b er seal.
14. Run the eng ine until it reac hes the normal op era ting temp erature.
Then stop the eng ine and wait a few minutes to allo w the oil d rain
b ac k. Chec k the oil level ag ain and if nec essary, a d d more eng ine oil.

10-10
Recommended grade and viscosity CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
Oil grade: API classification SJ or SH with the words “ENERGY
CONSERVING II ” (if you cannot obtain the oil with SJ
or SH grade, you may use SG grade oil.) or the new
API mark (Starburst mark) displayed on the container.
New API Certification Mark (Starburst Mark)API Service label
1
2
3
1 Ind ic ates the oil q uality b y API d esig nations
2 Ind ic ates the SAE oil visc osity g rad e
3 Ind ic ates that the oil has fuel saving c ap ab ilities
In c hoosing an oil, you want the p rop er q uality and visc osity, as well
as one that will ad d to fuel ec onomy. The following tab le lists the rec -
ommend ed visc osities and ap p lic ab le temp eratures.
When ad d ing oil, d ifferent b rand s may b e used tog et her as long as
they are the same API c lassific ation and SAE visc os ity as those rec -
ommend ed b y SUBARU.
Eng ine oil visc osity (thic kness) affec ts fuel ec ono my. Oils of lower vis-
c osity p rovid e b etter fuel ec onomy. However, in hot weather, oil of
hig her visc osity is req uired to p rop erly lub ric ate the eng ine.

Maintenance and service10-11
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CONTINUED –
OM-H2756
SAE viscosity number and applicable temperature
Recommended grade and viscosity under severe driving conditions
If the vehic le is used in d esert areas, in areas wi th very hig h temp era-
tures, or used for heavy-d uty ap p lic ations suc h as a towing a trailer,
use of oil with the following g rad e and visc osities is rec ommend ed .
API classification SJ or SH:
SAE viscosity No.: 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50

10-12Cooling system
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
CAUTION
The cooling system has been filled at the factory with a high
quality, corrosion-inhibiting, year-around coolant which providesprotection against freezing down to –33F ( –36 C). For adding,
use genuine SUBARU coolant or an equivalent: a mixture of 50%
soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant. Use of improp-er coolants may result in corrosion in the cooling system. It is im-portant to maintain protection against freezing and corrosion,
even if freezing temperatures are not expected. Never mix differ-ent kinds of coolant. Do not splash the engine coolant over painted parts. The alco-
hol contained in the engine coolant may damage the paint sur-face.
Hose and connections
Your vehic le emp loys an elec tric c ooling fan whic h is thermostatic ally
c ontrolled to op erate when the eng ine c oolant reac h es a sp ec ific tem-
p erature.
If the rad iator c ooling fan d oes not op erate even w hen the eng ine
c oolant temp erature g aug e exc eed s the normal op erat ing rang e, the
c ooling fan c irc uit may b e d efec tive. Chec k the fus e and rep lac e it if
nec essary. If the fuse is not b lown, have the c ooli ng system c hec ked
b y your SUBARU d ealer.
If freq uent ad d ition of c oolant is nec essary, there may b e a leak in the
eng ine c ooling system. It is rec ommend ed that the c ooling system
and c onnec tions b e c hec ked for leaks, d amag e, or lo oseness.

Maintenance and service10-13
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CONTINUED –

Engine coolant Checking the coolant level
Chec k the c oolant level at eac h fuel stop .
HS0178
“FULL”
level mark
“LOW” level mark
1. Chec k the c oolant level on the outsid e of the res ervoir while the
eng ine is c ool.
2. If the level is c lose to or lower than the “LOW ” level mark, ad d
c oolant up to the “FULL ” level mark. If the reserve tank is emp ty, re-
move the rad iator c ap and refill as req uired .
HG0115
Rubber gaskets
3. After refilling the reserve tank and the rad iator , reinstall the c ap s
and c hec k that the rub b er g askets insid e the rad iat or c ap are in the
p rop er p osition.

10-14
Changing the coolant
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
Chang e the eng ine c oolant in the following p roc ed ur es ac c ord ing to
the maintenanc e sc hed ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Book-
let ”.
1. Remove the und er c over.
2. Plac e a p rop er c ontainer und er the d rain p lug and loosen the d rain
p lug .
HSA002BB
HSA001BB
3. Loosen the rad iator c ap to d rain the c oolant from the rad iator. Then
d rain the c oolant from the reserve tank. Tig hten th e d rain p lug sec ure-
ly.
4. Install the und er c over.

Maintenance and service10-15
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CONTINUED –
HS0178
HSA003BB
“FULL”
level mark
“ LOW ”
level mark
5. Slowly p our the c oolant and fill to the rad iator filler nec k and to the
reserve tank ’s “FULL ” level mark. Do not p our the c oolant too q uic kly,
as this may lead to insuffic ient air b leed ing and t rap p ed air in the sys-
tem.
Coolant c ap ac ity 6.6 US q t (6.2 liters, 5.5 Imp q t)
HG0115
Rubber gaskets
6. Put the rad iator c ap b ac k on and tig hten firmly. At this time, make
sure that the rub b er g askets in the rad iator c ap ar e c orrec tly in p lac e.
7. Start and run the eng ine for more than five minut es at 2,000 to
3,000 rp m.
8. Stop the eng ine and wait until the c oolant c ools d own (122 to
140 F [ 50 to 60 C] ). If there is any loss of c oolant, ad d c oolant t o the

10-16rad iator
’s filler nec k and to the reserve tank ’s “Full ” level.
9. Put the rad iator c ap and reservoir c ap b ac k on an d tig hten firmly.
Air cleaner element
WARNING
Do not operate the engine with the air cleaner element removed. The air cleaner element not only filters intake air but also stops
flames if the engine backfires. If the air cleaner element is not
installed when the engine backfires, you could be burned.
The air c leaner element func tions as a filter sc ree n. When the element is
p erforated or removed , eng ine wear will b e exc essiv e and eng ine life
shortened .
The air c leaner element is a visc ous typ e. It is un nec essary to c lean or
wash the element.
Replacing the air cleaner element
Rep lac e the air c leaner element ac c ord ing to the ma intenanc e sc hed -
ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”. Und er extremely
d usty c ond itions, rep lac e it more freq uently. It is rec ommend ed that
you always use g enuine SUBARU p arts.
HBA003BB
HBA002BB
1. Remove the b olt sec uring the rear air c leaner ele ment c ase.