Davalos

I am starting to hate the brakes ... Syptoms ... all of the above toasted the front brakes & the Drivers side rotor (warped). The E-brake has never seemed to work well ... and I swear it contributed to the sticking rotors. now it's useless - no grab at all. I want to solve this once & for all - money be damned. I'm about to replace both rotors, pads in front. I went to the parts store, and they had no hill-holder to call-up. I also asked about e-brake cables, and they told me they came up with REAR cables ($125 for the both of them), but I thought the E-brake was connected to the FRONTs ... I've got drums in back. Any way to TEST this hill-holder thing? Or should I just replace it outright? And what else besides cables can I look for to get this emergency brake to work? I have never had so many head-scratching moments when it comes to brakes. I mean .. there's just only so much it could be! Also .. (gulp) ... how many have replaced drums with rotors in the rear? Is it worth it? Thanks!

Awesome - thanks! I'll check it out. Does it have a threaded back on the chasis?

That is AWESOME! I love the Diamond Plate! I have a Zire that I'd love to mount - it's my "ipod" ... do they make an arm for the aluminum cases? How did you do that?

Hehe ... good one! lmao! Actually, with them sticking, I can't run into anyting really fast, hehe. So it'l lbe a low-speed crash. Yep - I did callipers and rotors... but Maybe I have my terminology mixed-up. is the "hill holder" the same thing as the e-brake? Or is the hill-holder something different?

Thanks ... one thing the machine shop pointed out to me when I picked them up was that on one side, there was a visible crack in the head between the 2 cylenders - he said it was really common, and nothing to worry about & didn't need to be filled or anything - he had already done a bunch of pressure-testing on it, so he was confident about it. To me, it looked kinda scary, but I trust Daryl (the shop guy). Dont know if anyone else has seen that - he said it was common.

The driver's side calliper on my Loyale seems to be intermitently sticking. Something is definitely up with the e-brake, too. It's intermitent, meaning it doesn't happen ALL the time, but when it does ... I KNOW it's doing some major damage. I wanna cut it off @ the pass ... I'll be driving around as normal - city traffic (stop & go), and I'll start to feel some resistance. It'll get worse & worse until I need to pull over. You can SMELL the pads ... let it sit, or give the callipers a tap with a screwdriver, and they kinda sorta seem to get me back. Now, maybe this is crazy, but ... I SWEAR it helps to put it in reverse sometimes ... The same thing happened just before I did my major overhaul a couple off years ago. At the time, I replaced both callipers (charged), e-brake cable, etc. Anything I am doing? Not doing? Any tricks here? The car DID sit with the e-brake on for about 6 weeks, more or less ...

Well ... you were all right. I think I took them off for no reason. HOWEVER ... I'm kinda prone to overkill/preventative maintenance, and I still remember the days of my E-350 costing me about $300 a month in various repairs, and the tires cost $175 instead of $28, hehe. Plus, at 8mpg .. I'm not gonna complain too badly. Live & learn. I'm proud to announce I have 165psi in ALL FOUR cylenders. New springs, heads are like they were new. Let's see, about $70 for the gaskets, $200 for the heads, $80 for the springs, and a few cases of beer for my buddy. Granted, the car was out of commission for 6 weeks, and I was scrathing my head down to the scalp for awhile ... but we finally got it. haha! Whatayagonnado?

Daeron! LTNS, Bro! Well, SOMTHING musta happenned. I know it's a non-interference motor, but SOMETHING musta happenned @ that RPM (3500 or so). I had only 80 psi compression in 1 cylender (others were around 140), and i could NOT getthis thing to start ... and I've been fiddling with it for THREE WEEKS! FINALLY, I said "Screw it!" And we pulled both heads. Sent it to the machine shop & ordered up the gaskets. Is it worth it to go to the dealer for springs? Or does someone have a good source for some great ones?

Really? Could it be that simple? hehe - that WOULD be kinda embarrassing! Looks like everything lined-up ok on both sides ...

BTW: ... '90 Wagon EA82 non-turbo, about 175K on it ...

I got a weird one … I haven't ever taken any long(ish) trips in this Soobie. I did a 2.5 hour trip last Tuesday – expressway speeds, no problems on the way there. Sat 2 hours when I got there, and then I started back. 15 minutes into the return trip on the expressway, and POW! Total death. 100% down. 3500 rpm to zero in 0.0 seconds, hehe. Pushed the car off the E-way, and found a way to get him trailored the 150 miles back. As I suspected when we got him apart was the drivers side timing belt had sheared. This isn't an interrupt engine, so I figured I'd be up & running. None of the pulleys, equalizers, whatever, were frozen. The belt was in otherwise relatively good shape. They weren't worn, no cord-rip, no signs of rubbing, etc. Anyway, so maybe I got a bad belt. Hey – it happens. It's $17 bucks, no biggie (although getting him home cost me a coupla hundy). I dunno. Putting 2 new belts back on, now the thing runs like CRAP. Like it's missing on 2 cylinders. I checked compression, and I have 140 compression on both passengers’ side cylinders, and I'm at about 120 on one and only 100 on the other (drivers' side). Here's what I can throw into the mix: The belts are only about a year and a half old. I'd say 10,000 miles ago tops. Replaced them January '07. I changed the timing SLIGHTLY during this time, and occasionally, I'd hear some ping when I wanted to accelerate hard. One thing I've noticed lately (about a month before this happened) was that the oil pressure was WAY UP for the first 5 minutes of running – always goes down to normal after a few minutes. Oil change didn't help. The distributor cap kinda looks like there's some carbon build-up on it. And I haven't miked it, but it sorta feels like it's not sitting flat. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was cross-firing, but I haven't pulled any wires, etc. Any ideas? I'm gonna do cap & rotor, but this compression is messin' with me. Has something horrible happened? Am I about to feel really stupid? hehe...

I did mine in the rear doors also. I was considering doing some larger ones in the rear tailgate - if you pull the plastic panel you will find you have enough room for that. You will probably get some rattle there, tho. I can't imagine no one has thought of that before. This is what I did, if that helps. Same speakers in the front & rear. It really does sound pretty good. I'm not gonna win any competitions or anything, but it's very respectable. The headunit WILL need an extension sleeve, and it'll be weird to get used to. They make lots of 1. DIN stuff out there.

Yep. Gutters are behind the trim. On mine, the Yakimas fit almost PERFECTLY behind/over the trim. The only bummer is/was that I occasionally catch the trim on stuff I'm trying to lift over them on their way up to the racks ... I've had to re-set them from time to time. I can grab the racks and shake the car with them - they've done expressway speeds with desks, etc on them. As long as the gutters don't rust out...

And if youre ever short on 96 gallon trash containers ....

I can attest to the Yakima Racks ... You can do ALL KINDS of stuff ... You can Move Furinture ... You can do construction .. You can haul stoves, air connditioners, and cabinets If you have to move your washer/dryer, you're all set And 101 other uses...

Well, I sure did it this time, hehe... Backing up, I pulled a little too close to a trash can and I (what I thought was) innocently "nudged" the drivers' mirror to the point where it folded forward by about 45 degrees. Now it's a little "off-kilter". Kinda sagging off from the top now. I can still use it, but it certanly looks kinda funny. Are there springs or anything in there that can be replaced in there? I haven't cracked-it-open yet. It's not power or anything. I'll see if I can get some pics ...

How about some in-progres pics? That might help to see what you have done so far? ...

I'm still waitin' to see if was worth it ... hehehe. What's the PSI like now?

Hmm ... I can't get at the strap ... but I'll give that a try MAN, do i feel stupid!

Well, he called me & wants to talk tomorrow ... that's a good sign. I have maybe a dumb question for y'all ... does the back seat fold-down flat, like the Loyale/OBW? meaning, does the back seat fold forward to let the back seats lay flat? It didn't look like it, but I was wondering if it was just something I missed ...

Okay, stupid question ... Um ... I have a '90 Loyale wagon. I have been using the fold-down seats for 2 years now ... and now it's stuck. I would SWEAR there's no catch on there - but it sure as Hell feels like one! I think I'm going crazy - I've been using the fold-down seat like 3-4 times a week ... Anyone have a pic of the seat folded forward & let me see what migth be catching on this thing? Yeah yeah - I know .. laugh away.

I had a bad one out of the box last year - had me scratching my noggin' for a LONG time. Replaced battery before I finally figured out it was a bad starter. It's freaky, but it happens. It's lucky it takes like 45 seconds to switch-out. (assuming you leave the spare off ...)

Yeah, I know - that's why I wanted to make sure he let someone else have a shot at it. Salvage titles really scare people, and sometims with good reason. If they're flooded, the car can look just fine, but have electrical problems up the wazoo forever. In this case, he said that insurance companies often go ahead & total out a car when it's near-new, simply because of the customer expectaion. I've heard that other places, too. In this particular car, it was in a front-end collison. And this rings true from what I saw when the car was on the lift - there were welds on the crumple-zones behind the radiator, and it looks like both front wheel assemblies were replaced (marked with "FR" and "FL" on the backs of the housings in front). So hood, fender, radiator, axles, wheels, some front structural stuff, grille, etc. So quite a lot. You can tell if you look really closely, too. The hood lines dont completely match the fender lines in-paralell, if you look closely. But it went down the road straight, and the tire wear was nice & even. Heh heh ... yeah, that and one of the license plate lights.... hehe. Yep. I did call SOA - and they told me they didn't honor the gasket fix because of the salvage title. So that's one bad thing. But yeah - I'd be doing a lot more anyway at same time. I hear ya. I looked at a '99 OBW today, too - 170K mikes on the ODO. But DAYUM it was in good shape. Not as tight as the Forester from yesterday, but still pretty solid. I can't believe these things weigh 1,000lbs more than my Loyale! But 90hp pushing my 2400lbs is SOOO wimpy compared to 165 throwing around 3400lbs ... no comparison! I'm gonna miss spending $140 for 4 new tires, tho .... Edited: Forgot - both airbags blew in the wreck. He said they've been replaced but not "activated" whatever that means. Dealer only.

Well, took him on a pretty major test ride yesterday ... came up with a few more ... Pulley for the PS pump is bad Front brakes (both sides ... rotors seem ok) Drivers Inner Tie Rod Rear Drivers Side axle Boot Rear License Plate Bulb, hehehe. The ceiling console clock Cruise control doesn't work Are these 2.5's supposed to 'tikkatikkatikka'? My EA82 has that noise, but it's nothing severe. All-in-all, I figure its worth $1k in parts to bring that up to speed. Labor is on me ... but that brings the price from $4 to $3.... The owner told me he has another possible buyer on Sunday. I told him that We'd talk after the other person saw it. I'm figuring, if this other person picks it up, I wouldn't have been in the ballpark anyway. And I figure if the other person doesn't buy it, it'll put the owner into a better place to accept my lowball ... I'm going to go in at $3k and see what he says. I have to admit - I like the car, but I started really eyeballing the OBWs out there ...

I'm about to test-drive a 2000 Forester... 80k miles, Salvage title. It FEELS like a steal. HOWEVER ... In order of Head gaskets ... and I've read some about the hed gaskets here & there. It leaks on the ground, not into the oil. I'm gonna kinda assume this basically means a re-seal, timing, oil, water pump, etc? Basically what I did with my Loyale (didn't do head gaskets, tho). Any rough numbers on what I'm gonna spend? I can do the labor. Power Steering Pump (I already got prices from $200-$250) Boots are torn (axles are $150 for both of them, so that's not horrible). Passenger Side Power Window doesn't work - sounds like it's the switch, not the motor. I'm sure I'll find out more tonight. I know my way around cars, and I have a 90 EA82 that I did some pretty major work on last year, but the question is ... What to pay for this car, given the expectation of what i'll have to do with it. I think this has 15"s on it, so I go from $150 for all 4 tires to $150 PER tire, hehe ... mileage SEEMS to be roughly the same - a little less, it appears ... I've already driven it once - a few days ago, and he still doesn't have a buyer for it. I'm going to pick it up & get it on the lift here in a few minutes ... I was just wondering what y'all think. The guy says he BOUGHT it totalled & did the fix-up in 2001, and he's had it since. His wife drives a totalled/salvage Jetta that he did the same thing on ... meaning, that's just how he gets cheap(er) cars, which is fine. I have a tendency to drive cars until they are ready to give away / junk, so as long as it's reliable, I don't necesarily mind that the lines of the hood/fenders arent perfect. This will be one of the newest/nicest cars I've owned. Usually, I buy a $400 junker and spend $2k on it to make sure it always starts. I totally value y'all's opinion - this is a great bunch of Folks - wanted to get some feedback from ya ... He's got it posted for $4000, and I've already warned him that I'm going to find a lot wrong with it, and he seems flexible ... the question is ... how flexible should he be? Am I nuts to buy a Salvage at all? Would I be nuts to turn it down if he would let it go for say, $3000? $3500? It would ALSO mean (gulp...) that I'd graduate from the "Older Genreation of Subarus" to THIS Forum, hehe! Maybe you guys should tell me to run!! hehehe!