MTSuby

Yeah, turns out there was another nail in it....either I've got some bad karma coming back to me, or somebody's planting nails under my tires...guess that could be bad karma either way..I'm going to start checking in front of or(depending) behind my tires before I leave places. If that's not it, I guess it's just bad luck. I'm getting fast at changing tires, though!

Are they crap? I owned pickup trucks for the last 10 years, usually ran BF Goodrich AT's on them and never had one flat tire, even when I had a screw in one for a year. I bought my Subaru just over a year ago, it has Cooper snow tires (not sure exactly what model right now). I've had 6 flats fixed since then; 2 in the last week. Sometimes I've found screws or nails, but this time and a couple others, nothing. Do I just have bad luck? I'm getting sick of putting my spare on & dropping it off at the shop. I don't drive in construction areas, and haven't even really taken it offroading much, compared to what I did with my truck.

Well it's a little early to say for sure....but no smell this morning after spraying lysol in the air intake. Thanks for the help, hopefully that did it.

Yeah, the core I got was slightly different from the original, scared the heck out of me, but it fit fine. Of course after I was done getting the old one out, things weren't the same in there anyways....got a few more rattles & a little less directed air flow than before my adventure...

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, I had to double check with people to make sure they would trust it. So far so good....I wish I could remember the site..but people were talking about it going out of business, so maybe it's gone now anyways. There was even an entire thread about it.

Someone gave me a link when I asked a similar question....but I can't remember what it was! They may have been going out of business..but I got my heater core for $10. Maybe someone remembers what site I'm thinking of...

I don't eat fast food (much), but the guy who previously owned the car does... Ok, maybe I should look into the mouse thing a little closer.

Not too many mice around here that I've noticed, so I'm not sure that's it, but I'll check!! I'll try the lysol and go from there.

No I haven't...and where is this HVAC air intake located? Hopefully that doesn't show too much of my ignorance.............Thanks!

I bought my car around October of last year. When it started getting cold, the interior smelled. It went away this summer. As soon as it started getting cold again, the smell's back. I don't feel like it's because of the windows being closed...like maybe in the summer it gets aired out enough so that I don't notice it..It's worst first thing in the morning. Doesn't take long for it to air out & I don't notice it much even after my car's sat at work half the day. Why would cold weather bring out a smell? My best description is.....a fast food fart. Not pleasant. I really smells like a fart...or old nasty fries...or an old nast french fry fart. Ugh.

Ok, I feel comfortable checking that.

Oh boy! All sorts of things to check. I have no idea, but if nothing else, I'll start making a list of things I want a mechanic to check, if I get lazy..

Thanks. I'll keep checking things out.

Awh man, that means this may not fix my no-power issue? Worst when it's cold, I'll accelerate from a stop and it'll just cut out..gets all bogged down & stumbly, then gets over it. Well, I'll still look for a leak and see what I find.

Ok, I do only hear a momentary hiss, but I also feel a loss of power, especially when I use the defrost, so I'll check it out. Thanks!

Interesting....see I know I have a vacuum leak...that would be why I hear a hissing noise when I push in the heater control buttons, right? And feel a pretty serious loss of power, especially when I'm using the defrost setting. I looked around and couldn't find the leak, but maye I should have a mechanic locate it.

That was exciting. And well said. Anyway, what I'm getting at is: poor fuel economy? Hesitation? Stalling? I understand that there are probably also 20 other things that can cause similar symptoms, but, for someone who doesn't necessarily know what his car will run like if it's running rich, or doesn't feel comfortable taking a look to see if floats etc. are bad, what symptoms will get you thinking "carb"? I can replace most things with the help of you on this site if I know they are bad, but diagnostics & exploratory mechanicing are not my strong points. Thanks!

What are the typical signs that it's time to replace the Hitachi carb? I've got an '87 4wd wagon I'm curious about.

Alright, thanks. I'll pay attention to where exactly it is.

Sorry, stupid question, but after replacing my heater core (I had to disconnect the battery) my battery (I think) clicks every time I turn the key to auxilary. It starts fine and all that, but I can hear it click every time I turn the key, I can do it over and over and it keeps clicking when I turn it to auxilary. Did I reconnect it in a weird way or something? It didn't do this before.

Oh yeah, and yes, I used your old instructions.

Ok, thanks everyone. I got up off my lazy a** and dug back into with a fresh mind and got it worked out. I didn't have the blower motor plugged in was one problem. Used some more patience and found where the speedometer cable goes. The heater controls....it has something to do with how tight the control box (right behind the dash) is to the dash switches. Not sure how it got loose since I didn't have to mess with it to take of the dash, but, the more I messed with it the more the 20 year old plastic kept breaking. So I ended up taking the outside buttons off the ones I really really need, like defrost. Now I can just poke the inner buttons. I couldn't figure out, without replacing little tiny plastic parts all over the place, how to get the thing to work right. Like I said, the more I prodded & explored, the more things I broke. At this point, my cars interior is a bit worse for wear, but I've got the important things: speedometer, heat, blower.

87 GL Wagon Ok.......So I got the old one out, new one in...now obviously I've missed something. My blower fan doesn't work, and I can't push in the heater controls, they just won't move at all. My defrost will push in but won't stay, but right underneath it, the cruise will stay on. I know it's not something blocking the heater controls since I pulled that part of the dash out & it's got an electrical box attached to the back, nothing could be blocked, so there must just be a wire I didn't connect? I'm hoping someone will know something so I don't have to just pull the entire dash again and look for loose wires, especially since there are some that were loose when I started that must be for options my car doesn't have. Also, where's the speedometer cable attach to the dash? It came loose when I pulled the dash and I can't see where it plugs back in. Anyway, though, the instructions on the USRM are great! They made it really easy, I just obviously overlooked some stuff..

Thanks, I'll check that out.

Is this something the dealership needs to turn off, or can my mechanic do it? Or can I?.. Or should I just have the system checked out, then use the electrical tape fix to cover the light? I saw that it's just a light to remind me to get it serviced, but my guess is that my system could use some work..