SUBARU BAJA 2003 1.G Owners Manual

11
Maintenance and service
Maintenance schedule11-3
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Maintenance precautions 11-3
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Engine hood 11-5
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Engine compartment overview 11-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine oil 11-8
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Cooling system 11-13
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Engine coolant 11-14
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Air cleaner element 11-17
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Spark plugs 11-19
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Drive belts 11-20
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Manual transmission oil 11-21
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Automatic transmission fluid 11-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Front differential gear oil (AT vehicles) 11-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rear differential gear oil 11-25
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Power steering fluid 11-27
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Brake fluid 11-28
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Clutch fluid (MT vehicles) 11-30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brake booster 11-31
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Brake pedal 11-32
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Clutch pedal (Manual transmission vehicles) 11-33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacement of brake pad and lining 11-34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parking brake stroke 11-35
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Tires and wheels 11-36
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Types of tires 11-36
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Tire inspection 11-37
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Tire pressures and wear 11-37
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Wheel balance 11-40
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Wear indicators 11-41
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Tire rotation 11-42
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Tire replacement 11-42
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Wheel replacement 11-43
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Aluminum wheels 11-44
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Windshield washer fluid 11-44
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Replacement of windshield wiper blades 11-45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Battery 11-48
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11-2Fuses
11-49
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Main fuse 11-51
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Installation of accessories 11-51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing bulbs 11-52
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Headlight 11-54
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Front fog light 11-56
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Front turn signal light, parking light and side marker light 11-56 . . . . . .
Rear combination lights 11-57
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Tail light (on the tailgate) 11-59
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License plate light 11-60
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Map light, dome light and door step light 11-61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
High mount stop light assembly 11-63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sport activity lights (if equipped) 11-64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maintenance and service11-3
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CONTINUED –
Maintenance schedule
The scheduled maintenance items required to be serviced at regular in-
tervals are shown in the “Warranty and Maintenance Booklet ”.
For details of your maintenance schedule, read the separate “Warranty
and Maintenance Booklet ”.
Maintenance precautions
When maintenance and service are required, it is recommended that all
work be done by an authorized SUBARU dealer.
If you perform maintenance and service by yourself, you should familiar-
ize yourself with the information provided in this section on general main-
tenance and service for your SUBARU.
Incorrect or incomplete service could cause improper or unsafe vehicle
operation. Any problems caused by improper maintenance and service
performed by you are not eligible for warranty coverage. WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive vehicle must NEVER be per-
formed on a single two-wheel dynamometer or similar apparatus.Attempting to do so will result in transmission damage and inuncontrolled vehicle movement and may cause an accident or
injuries to persons nearby. Always select a safe area when performing maintenance on
your vehicle. Always be very careful to avoid injury when working on the ve-
hicle. Remember that some of the materials in the vehicle may behazardous if improperly used or handled, for example, batteryacid. Your vehicle should only be serviced by persons fully compe-
tent to do so. Serious personal injury may result to persons not
experienced in servicing vehicles.

11-4
Always use the proper tools and make certain that they are
well maintained. Never get under the vehicle supported only by a jack. Always
use a safety stands to support the vehicle. Never keep the engine running in a poorly ventilated area,
such as a garage or other closed areas. Do not smoke or allow open flames around the fuel or battery.
This will cause a fire. Because the fuel system is under pressure, replacement of the
fuel filter should be performed only by your SUBARU dealer. Wear adequate eye protection to guard against getting oil or
fluids in your eyes. If something does get in your eyes, thorough-
ly wash them out with clean water. Do not tamper with the wiring of the SRS airbag system or
seatbelt pretensioner system, or attempt to take its connectorsapart, as that may activate the system or it can render it inopera-tive. The wiring and connectors of these systems are yellow for
easy identification. NEVER use a circuit tester for these wiring. If your SRS airbag or seatbelt pretensioner needs service, con-
sult your nearest SUBARU dealer. Before checking or servicing in the engine compart- ment
Always stop the engine and set the parking brake firmly to pre-
vent the vehicle from moving. Always let the engine cool down. Engine parts become very
hot when the engine is running and remain hot for some time af-ter the engine is stopped. Do not spill engine oil, engine coolant, brake fluid or any other
fluid on hot engine components. This may cause a fire. Always remove the key from the ignition switch. When the
ignition switch is in the “ON” position, the cooling fan may oper-
ate suddenly even when the engine is stopped.

Maintenance and service11-5
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CONTINUED –
When you do checking or servicing in the engine
compartment while the engine is running
A running engine can be dangerous. Keep your fingers, hands, clothing, hair and tools away from the cooling fan, belts and anyother moving engine parts. Removing rings, watches and ties isadvisable.
Engine hood
WARNING
Always check that the hood is properly locked before you start
driving. If it is not, it might fly open while the vehicle is moving
and block your view, which may cause an accident and serious
bodily injury.
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11-6
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To open the hood:
1. Pull the hood release knob under the instrument panel.
2. Release the secondary hood release located under the front grille by
moving the lever toward the left. Lift up the hood, release the hood prop
from its retainer and put the end of the hood prop into the slot in thehood.
To close the hood:
1. Lift the hood slightly and remove the hood prop from the slot in the
hood and return the prop to its retainer.
2. Lower the hood until it approaches about 6 in. (15 cm) from the
closed position and let it drop.
3. After closing the hood, be sure the hood is securely locked.
If this does not close the hood, release it from a slightly higher position.
Do not push the hood forcibly to close it. It could deform the metal.

Maintenance and service11-7
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CONTINUED –
Engine compartment overview
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1 Manual transmission oil level
gauge (MT) (page 11-21) or
Differential gear oil level gauge
(AT) (page 11-24)
2 Air cleaner element (page 11-17)
3 Clutch fluid reservoir (page 11-30)
4 Automatic transmission fluidlevel gauge (page 11-22)
5 Brake fluid reservoir (page 11-28)
6 Fuel filter 7
Windshield washer tank (page 11-44)
8 Fuse box (page 11-49)
9 Battery (page 11-48)
Q Engine oil filler cap (page 11-8)
W Engine coolant reservoir (page 11-14)
E Radiator cap (page 11-14)
R Engine oil level gauge (page 11-8)
T Power steering fluid reservoir (page 11-27)

11-8
Engine oilChecking the oil level
Check the engine oil level at each fuel stop.
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1. Park the vehicle on a level surface and stop the engine.
2. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and insert it again.
3. Be sure the dipstick is correctly inserted until it stops with the
graphic symbol
on its top appearing as shown in the illustra-
tion.
4. Pull out the dipstick again and check the oil level on it. If it is belowthe lower level, add oil to bring the level up to the upper level.
CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
If you check the oil level just after stopping the engine, wait a few min-
utes for the oil to drain back into the oil pan before checking the level.
To prevent overfilling the engine oil, do not add any additional oilabove the upper level when the engine is cold. The dipstick has a notch above the upper level.
Just after driving or while the engine is warm, the engine oil level
reading may be in a range between the upper level and the notch
mark. This is caused by thermal expansion of the engine oil.

Maintenance and service11-9
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CONTINUED –
Changing the oil and oil filter
Change the oil and oil filter according to the maintenance schedule in the “Warranty and Maintenance Booklet ”.
The engine oil and oil filter must be changed more frequently than
listed in the maintenance schedule when driving on dusty roads,
when short trips are frequently made, or when driving in extremely
cold whether.
1. Warm up the engine by letting the engine idle for about 10 minutes to ease draining the engine oil.
2. Park the vehicle on a level surface and stop the engine.
3. Remove the oil filler cap.
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4. Drain out the engine oil by removing the drain plug while the en-
gine is still warm. The used oil should be drained into an appropriate
container and disposed of properly.
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself with hot engine oil.
5. Wipe the seating surface of the drain plug with a clean cloth and
tighten it securely with a new sealing washer after the oil has com-pletely drained out.

11-10
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6. Remove three clips at the front of the cover under the oil filter.
7. Slide the cover toward the vehicle front to remove it.
8. Remove the oil filter with an oil filter wrench.
9. Before installing a new oil filter, apply a thin coat of engine oil to theseal.
10. Clean the rubber seal seating area of the lower crank case and
install the oil filter by hand turning. Be careful not to twist or damagethe seal.
11. Tighten it approximately two-thirds of a turn after the seal makes
contact with the lower crank case.
CAUTION
Never over tighten the oil filter because that can result in an oilleak.