edrach

Primitive has a number of schools planned for 2013. Of interest to me will be the one at the English Gravel Pit in Vancouver, WA on March 22-24. Other schools planned for the SW and West throughout the year. Check out the 'site. http://www.get-primitive.com/

Easiest check to see if the alternator is working like it should: At idle you should see around 12.5 to 13 volts dc; run the rpm up and the output should increase to 13.5 to 14 volts at 3000 rpm. With more rpm the max volts should hold steady; anything above 15 volts at high rpm indicates a faulty internal voltage regulator. A better test is to do this with the headlights on; loading down the alternator shouldn't affect the output much until you reach the maximum load rating (around 65 amps for the early alternators). I usually duplicate the readings at the battery terminals (should be the same).

Maybe better, but certainly not cheaper. I have quite a few wrecking yard alternators for the EJ22 series (my '97 Impreza). Whenever I see a good one at Pull a Part, I buy it and install it on my Impreza. The old alternator gets marked "used but tested good." And the new one stays on until it fails or is replaced by another. If your car uses the same alternator (check the large plug...the shape will tell you which version you have), I'd be glad to ship you one of my "tested" ones. If I have to ship, $45 would include the alternator as well as the shipping.

The older style is no longer available from Subaru; it's been replaced by the tear-drop shaped one that you've posted. I bought one of the tear-drop versions from Jason in parts at Auburn Subaru (now Mike Scarf Subaru); his internet discount brought the price down to under $50 if I remember correctly. You could see what the cost is for one and then continue your search for more on ebay and/or craigslist. Toll free number is 1-866-five two eight-528-two. The real trick is programming it to work with your car. I spent hours and couldn't get the timing quite right to make it work. My son tried and got it first time; go figure. An after thought, besides ebay and craigslist you might search on Amazon.com

Austin, any identifiers on your tool kit. Might be worth while to check craigslist for tools for sale.

Sorry to hear that. Seems to be a lot of this going around in Seattle lately.

If you drive on bumpy roads or such, it prevents the struts from flexing inwards at the top. I have one on both front and rear since I do a fair amount of rallycross. If you don't go off road much you really wouldn't need the added rigidity. Good for added stability if you go track racing.

Sent your info to my two sons: James might have a room to rent and Eric might have some leads for work. I'm sure Amazon is looking for people to pick up the holiday crunch.

What's going on in Spokane? You guys are deserting it like rats leaving a sinking ship.

really nice photos. great job.

Wardrobe malfunction! What, you didn't bring your cold weather ultra glue! Time to take those puppies back to where you bought them.

Funny how the guys in the excalades and such believe the hype they see in the commercials from cadillac. Glad to hear you're okay.

Best of luck with the new (to you) Forester. It pays to check out a used car as carefully as you did. No one will hold it against you that you didn't spring for the Impreza. From what you say, I know I wouldn't have either.

My choice for winter tires are Hakkis (Nokian), Hankook and Toyo in that order (all studless for me). Summer tires I've settled on the Conti DWS all weather tires (don't think they come in a 15" version).

Local subie shop: Superior Import Repair. http://www.fixmysuby.com Owner has been a USMB member for many years and shop does excellent work at reasonable prices. Even though I live just north of Seattle, I've had them work on my car when it's had issues while down in Portland on business.

To answer your question, 4x108 will not work. Go with the Peugeot wheels if you want to go to 14" or 15".

NTN is the brand for OEM; DOJ and CVJ will be painted green. I've had the most success pulling used axles that look good at the junkyard and rebooting them if needed. MWE is a local Denver area rebuilder who has a pretty good reputation; has that changed?

No one has mentioned rim width. Most of the OEM wheels are 6 to 6-1/2 inches in width (for 16" diameter). I purchased a set of nice RS rims and mounted tires on them and found the rear tires rubbed on the struts. I didn't realize the RS rims were 16x7" and would cause the rubbing. A pair of 5mm spacers in the rear solved the rubbing problem.

Sadly the emissions places in WA state no longer require the mileage to be recorded so it doesn't get into a carfax/autocheck report. Apparently your corner of the country doesn't require it either. That's why I try to buy a car from a private owner who might have the service records. If the car goes to auction or is traded in, the service records (if any) are discarded because it would affect the sale of the car.

Still works: http://www.fordofkirkland.com/autocheck.aspx?vin=JF1GG68544H814484 Looks like your car lived in new england most of its life. Not a lot of information, but nothing bad jumps out at you.

Austin, I have set of steelies that I can lend or sell; check your PMs.

Which car are you bringing? I might have a mounted set of snows (5x100 bolt pattern) that I can lend you. My schedule (and the cold) prevent me from going, but if my tires make it there, I can be there in spirit.

Yea, there were a number of spectators viewing the rallycross from behind the winery that is adjacent to the field.

If you were there you had a great time. If you weren't you missed a really fun event. A HUGE field---maybe 60 acres---with a splendid course laid out by Paul Eklund of Primitive Racing. I just love his courses; they flow smoothly from one exerecise to another. If you find the correct lines it's almost like the car is on autopilot. Weather was perfect; overcast with no rain all day. But it had rained for the 5 previous days and the field was water-logged with large puddles (lakes?) here and there. For the most part the field held up for the 48 cars and 68 drivers that turned out for the event. A few (3 or 4) had trouble in the muddiest portion which was re-routed for the afternoon session. It was decided early on to run the course twice to save time; so instead of three 1-1/2 minute runs, we had two three minute runs. It was a hoot. My wife and I finished 1st and 4th in Prepared AWD class. As it turned my first was good for best time of day! I just love beating all the WRXs and Stis with my '97 Impreza wagon. Hooray for mud...the great equalizer. Organization was great with the event starting a bit late due to the unexpected large turnout for this time of year. But the event finished on time around four pm with enough time for fun runs for those who hadn't enough. There's real hope that this field will become a permanent venue for ORG for the next few years. I'm hoping that will happen. It also looks like it might also be suitable for the rallysprints that Primitive is hoping to get off the ground in 2013.

I would check the vin plate on the inside of the door post that lists the stock tire size. That would be a start. I suspect you can go oversize without trouble, but others will have to chime in. My '97 Impreza wagon lists 195/70-14 tire size as stock, but I'm currently running 205/60-16 size with WRX rims without any trouble.