keltik

Ok well i spent the morning wrenching on my wagon, trying to find out where all my oil has been going. Todays task was also to stop the throttle sticking closed, and i saw this. The inside of the plenum is covered in a dusty/oily crud, as ive never stripped down a FI car before i have no idea if this is normal after 260,000kms. So the questions are, is this where my oil is going? There are no obvious external leaks and the car doesnt smoke. Should i bother cleaning it? and if i should, how? I know its not a subaru but you guys are usually good. KELTIK

Just sat a physics paper on this, theoretically it takes zero energy to keep wheel spinning - no matter how heavy it is. However - the heavier the tyre is, the more energy it will take to get it up to speed. Choosing a lighter tyre for MPG would have about the same effect as putting alloy wheels onto your car. Not worth worrying about really. But youve gotta ask yourself WHY is the tyre lighter? Maybe its not built as strong? KELTIK

We have a Shuttle in our capmervan running on a 300w 240v inverter. The Shuttle's power supply is rated to 240w and as its not using this 100% of the time the inverter powers it with no problems. As a laptop is Waaay less power hungry than a shuttle id say no problems man. KELTIK

Heres my 10 cents. Apologies if this obvious stuff has been suggested but quite often people cant see the wood for the trees. Have you checked your HT leads, the 2 plugs that arent sparking - are the plugs stuffed? And if your vehicle is a 95, cant you pull the codes? As for tow truck bills, here in new zealand we either tow the dam thing ourselves, or get a mate with a nice big ute and a car trailer to lend a hand. Last i saw it cost $40 to hire a car trailer for the day from the local gas station. So maybe the best option here is to give the stealership or a good garage a crack at fixing it. It seems at the end of the day - all that poking around with volt meters has achieved is confusing us even more. KELTIK

If youre gonna go that route and start welding fins onto things, wouldnt it be easier to fab up a horizontal rad and roof mount it. I saw a nice low profile one added under a plastic cowl on the roof of a mini at a demo derby a few years back. It looked kinda like a huge roof scoop but I never found out how well it worked though. KELTIK

My rear amp draws a 12-15amp load going flat out, i ran 8gauge wire as per the auto sparky's advice. No problems yet. KELTIK

Respect to anyone willing to give this a go, but i'd have to agree with nipper. Its a complex job so get it done right first time and good luck! KELTIK

From what ive heard the digital gauge to analog swap is a PITA. As for stopping the engine, 5th gear with the handbrake on should do the trick. KELTIK

If i hadnt seen the other pics this would have been awesome. RWD Power!! Nice Jump - wrong car tho, thats what old hondas are for.... KELTIK

I Should have added; Of course this is a good option for things such as loose wires or change rattling, if major components i.e engine or steering rack are rattling then tightening the bolt or whatever is the correct option. KELTIK

Install one or even two ultimate rattle removers. If problem persists - rotate stereo's volume knob clockwise until rattle is no longer heard. Worked wonders for my wagon. KELTIK

Im no expert but $2500 doesnt seem sane! Im getting the back half of my car replaced and resprayed for that much. Who knows a rough price for this job? KELTIK

I think tradme is your best bet mate. I dont think any NZ dealership is gonna have panels for an 81. If wagon doors will fit i know theres a couple of parts cars on trademe. Good Luck! KELTIK

If youre wiring it onto the original fan - i would watch out. Youll be almost doubling the load on your original wiring. Running lots of amps through 20 yr old cable could cause a problem. Also you would have to rig up a different beefier fuse. I would just run the secondary fan through a switch - just keep one eye on the temp gauge in heavy traffic and flick the switch if needed. Another option would be to rig up some kind of relay to the existing thermoswitch or if you wanna be really flash, install an electric fan controller set to cut in a few degrees above the first fan. KELTIK

I just hate them for snubbing the STI ATV. And the fact inspections cost so dam much. KELTIK

As for changing the new user status - donate $5 and choose whatever you want. KELTIK

If it will stay powered on with no speakers attached i think we can call it dodgy wiring, otherwise it looks like a bad amp. Will it even work in other vehicles? KELTIK

The last time i had to do a similar job i just took the power steering belt off and spun the pump with my finger. This was on a honda though and i have no idea how stiff the pumps on subarus are. KELTIK

On my wagon i took the +12 ACC On line from the back of the stereo and put a switch on it so when the grandma is in the back i can turn my sub off. Some head units have a dedicated line for remote amp power on, if not you can just use the radio's power on +12v. KELTIK

Well i doubt the LTSA would ever allow something that cool - but if its for off road purposes i guess you could get one of those lovely brats on trademe and pretend its a hatch... KELTIK

Hehe another good comparison - tap the roof of a soob with ur knuckles then whack the volvo with a hammer and see which sounds more solid. Having 3 Volvos in the family I KNOW how heavy and solid they are! KELTIK

Whats the remote power hooked up to? Try just powering that - eliminate any head unit problems. KELTIK

Wow......Naaaaaah that cant be right? can it? KELTIK

I just used good ole duct tape to stick the camera to my dashboard...hehe keep it simple. When i need a wider angle i wedge the cam in my passenger seat head-rest. KELTIK

Well ive seen one nice tach but anyways - do you really need a light to tell you when to shift? I saw an automatic civic yesterday with a massive tach and shift light, how stupid can you be.... Always think about how far the same amount of gas could take you. KELTIK