Zefy Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 ok so here i am... 17 and have one of the nicest brats in the province... the problem... it needs to pass an inspection... so far on the car i have replaced: -clutch -tranny seals(meaning i took apart the entire thing) -wheels -carb -passenger side front axle -wheel barings -front brakes -modified the axle hub/knuckle(because of damage) -throttle cable(modified ea81 cable) -spark plugs/rotor/cap/wires -all the fluids(tranny, diff, everything) i did this stuff over the course of the year and a bit and have driven it a total of 210 miles... now to get it legal to drive in Canada i have to pass a vihicle inspection... now i have gone over the car over a dozen times looking for things that might make it fail and i took it in yesterday... now there are catches... if it fails i can no longer get day permits for it(only able to use trailers) then once i have fixed the problem get it retested(FYI the test by itself costs 130 bucks) and trailer it down to the shop... well my car failed on 3 counts: -a loose bolt on a crossmember(ok half a minute with a ratchet...) -windshield wipers are bad(ok 20 bucks or whatever for new ones) -and last(the one that gets me steamed) my inner tie rods are worn out... so with all of that including the test to get it to role out of there shop a registered, legal canadian brat is going to cost me 750 bucks... all of the money i have been saving for insurance GONE... so this is deffinatly not good so i check around... all of the places i looked for the inner tie rods had it for much cheaper then the shop but they weren't easily available... and i can't leave my car at there shop so waiting for the parts to come in would take to long... and since i wouldn't be able to drive the car down to there shop to get it retested it is just going to cost me more money... now i found a brand new steering rack(complete) for 240 bucks(the same price for just the 2 tie rods) then according to him it will take longer to do the whole rack then just the tie rods... so i look into this... Jim my suby guru hick guy(not on here) informed me that the tie rods are problably fine but its the bushings that are gone... and if so this is all just a waste of money and time... also that changing the rack is much faster then just the ends(its like 6 bolts, 2 cotter pins, and just slide it out) so i talked to the shop about my findings... he told me that he checked the bushings and they were fine and i asked him if he was sure and he (kinda) barked at me saying that they have blah blah experience and his mechanics have blah blah certificates and everything... i backed off but i wonder how much of that experience is with subarus??? so he completely ignored me and my knowledge and i even looked at the tie rods as i left... the boots had not been removed(meaning he never checked the bushings!!!) and that he had just shaken it... well on any other car shaking it would have told the story but on a subaru shaking it ussually means the bushings... so my parents talked to me and i gave in and let him fix it all... they(and myself) want my car on the road... so its either a month for me to do it(waiting for parts and me figuring out how to do it myself) or i let them do it and i drive it away today or monday... this whole experience is really upsetting to me so i thought i would get your takes on it... here is the total on my car so far... -1300 for car -50 for plugs/filter/blah -300 for clutch/seals/machined flywheel/fluids -70 for flywheel bolts(after somebody at school torqued them to 120 ft/lbs and had to get them airmailed from oregon while teacher getting some that he didn't tell me about... which i also got charged for...) -20 for axle(thanks jeff! it would have been 520 from the dealership) -70 for barings and throttle cable -20 for brake rotor(thanks Jeff! would have been 80 from dealer) -70 for other set of barings, cable, and hub from John that got lost in the mail(stupid canada post) -180 for day permits(6 of them i think) -50 for trailer to get it in Canada -750... what the shop wants to charge me... over half the price of the car...\ so far i(and my parents in some cases) have spent 2880 dollars(canadian) on my brat... is it worth it? when its all said and done i think so... thats my story... and it seems there is a really good chance of going to WCSS7 with it... thanks for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subafreak Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 In the end it's always worth it but........... Never do the math!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 dude it is sooooo worth the money if you have one of the nicest gen 1 Brats in your area. Now if it was a giant rust bucket, I might have to smack you. I spent more on the trailer to go from Oregon to Wyoming then I have spent on my whole Brat! So even though it doesn't seem like it'll be worth it, it will, trust me;) I miss driving my Brat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 In the end it's always worth it but........... Never do the math!!! Amen to that! Some say the horse is the most expensive land transportation... no way... my Brat is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SakoTGrimes Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Never I thought I'd say this, but.... come to Oregon. There's virtually no regulations for 20+ year old cars. If it has a windshield and doesn't spew black smoke its good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Have you checked out prices on aftermarket tie rods? Can get them for around US$30 each here, then you just need to get a wheel alignment done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felipe01forester Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Never I thought I'd say this, but.... come to Oregon. There's virtually no regulations for 20+ year old cars. If it has a windshield and doesn't spew black smoke its good Same in Texas. Anything older than '81 and you just need seat belts and headlights. What do you expect coming from a state that has drive-thru liquor stores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 i shopped around for the tie rods myself... and i found them for about the same price as you guys but unfortunatly the availability was low and would have to be shipped to me... it would take to long so i gave in and payed the extra price... but hey! my car is LEGAL!!! w00t!!! as for the drive through liquor stores... thats just sad... i was baffled when i saw beer at 7/11 when i went to the states... here you can only buy liquor at you know... LIQUOR STORES... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonwingsubaru Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 man you need to come to tennessee, no vehicle inspection or emmisions here, i have seen many cars that make great misquito killers lol. it makes it so much easier if you dont have to worry about a car passing inspections, especially in a place with no rust!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 but hey! my car is LEGAL!!! w00t!!! It was a long hard battle but...Your back on the road! That's all that matters. I've been dinged on a few inspections too. I've been through the tie rod thing. So I just took it to a different station and got a second opinion, I passed! Another station said my caliper was shot and showed signs of leaking. The car didn't use fluid? I cleaned the caliper with a wire brush and told them it was replaced! Of course both places wanted to fix it for a ton of money Even in Utah we can buy Beer at the 7/11's Of course anything else must come from the liquor store. Good Luck, Glenn 82 SubaruHummer 01 Forester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Sweet82It was a long hard battle but...Your back on the road! That's all that matters. thats what i think... and since my brother got my parents to pay for his insurance on his honda because of school and work conflicts... so if i get a job my insurance is payed for!!!(my insurance is going to cost 1700-1800... ) and since i spent all of my money on the repairs, this is indeed a sweet deal... just in time for summer and the SHOW!!! yay!!! 46 more days!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack in Norfolk Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 For future reference, it never hurts to have a good friend that does vehicle inspections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinsUBARU Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Always leave a 12 pack in the trunk and ask them to check for a strange sound you have been hearing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack in Norfolk Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Always leave a 12 pack in the trunk and ask them to check for a strange sound you have been hearing now that is a fine idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 now that is a fine idea! Or just move somewhere that doesn't have inspections;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 Or just move somewhere that doesn't have inspections;) haha ya... move... maybe later... maybe when i'm out of highschool... i plan on never having to do an inspection again...(so no buy any cars from the states...) nah i don't want to move... Vancouver was voted second best place to live in the world! the #1 spot is in sweden i think... and AND... the Coquitlam water shed apparently is some of the cleanest river water in the world... SO HA... I'm not going anywhere!:-p kevinsUBARUAlways leave a 12 pack in the trunk and ask them to check for a strange sound you have been hearing well there was indeed a strange sound when i drove down to the shop... i even told them about it... they didn't do anything... and wouldn't it be kinda obvious if there was a 12 pack of beer sitting in the back of a brat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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