frag

It's not the Internet? :-\

Well, that's a problem I had'nt toought of. We dont have inspections here, but that's coming. If I'm not misreading anything, his replacement 2.2L engine was made to work without the EGR valve. This is the case with my engine also and it's not pinging even with its normal diet of regular gas. So in his case, nothing was «disabled». The only question, it seems, is to determine if the ECU will adapt to the info it gets from all the 2.2L sensors and not try to compensate for the EGR valve that is not there and that it is made to monitor.

There are a couple of Midas shops around Montreal that can sometimes weld a replacement flange in cases like yours. I think they are also doing business in the U.S. Maybe show them the problem... and ask them for a price.

My guess is an engine made with no EGR valve will not suffer from a lack of it... My opinion, and it's only an opinion, is that nothing else will suffer from the fact that the 2.5L ECU expects something coming from the valve's solenoîd and does'nt get it. The only problem I see, still only an opinion that it's the ONLY problem, is that with a constant CEL, you wont know when another CEL is tripped.

You beat me by 400 mtsmiths. I loaded my Legacy (regular struts) with 1000 pounds of sheep manure (in plastic bags that were not leaking... luckily... ) two years ago and apart from the fact that the rear was a little low, everything else handled fine.

I have a manual trans 96 2.2 L and it does'nt have an EGR valve. Maybe it's not practical, I dont know, but maybe you could replace current 2.5 ECU with a 2.2L ECU made to go with an EGRless engine?

Good advice most of the time, but my experience is that when the bolt is so rust welded that the head breaks trying to remove it, no bolt extractor will be able to exert enough torque to get it out. But that's only MY experience. Good luck! P.-S.: If you try the bolt extractor route, heed also Shimonor's advice and heat the bolt surroundings to red before trying to take it out. Another method is to heat the bolt itself and let cool to break the rust. Dont forget to heat specialy the part where the threads are.

If the bolt is not to badly rust welded in place, I would... 1) try the Craftsman bolt extractor. and if unsuccesful... 2) would mig weld a cheap socket on the bolt. You could have this done for cheap at any welding shop. 3) If that fails or if you break the bolt's head trying to remove it, then the last resort is drilling off the part of the bolt where the threads are (rear half of the bolt. Get a new bolt to know how far you have to drill), then remove the bolt and replace it with a longer bolt and lock nut. I had to do this twice, on my former Loyale and on my Legacy.

At first sight insisting that there should not be more than a 1/4 inch difference in circumference front to rear seems an excessive requirement. But according to my measurements, it's not. After 4-5 years, my old Toyo Spectrums have only 1/40th of an inch of difference in circumference. How do I know ? Simple test: put a chalk mark on front an rear tires side where they touch the ground. Drive forward in a straight line for 40 wheel revolutions. Compare the marks position. 1/4 inch of difference in diameter = marks 10 inches apart = very easy to measure and takes real rolling radius into account. Marks 1 inch apart (my case) = 1/40th of an inch of difference in front and back circumferences + peace of mind.

I replaced all of mine last summer. They are different left to right.

I dunno if it's practical, but I would try to find a generic aftermarket relay at a lower cost but able to take the same amp load.

Yes, but it's rarely the main problem with a failing alt. It's the voltage regulator or the rectifier's diodes that go. I replaced mine with a rebuilt OEM alt from 1stsubaruparts as preventive maintenance after ten years of loyal service, and since retrurning the core was too costly to be worth the trouble, I kept the old one and dismantled it. The brushes still had a lot of life in them.

I think that's why some people recommend removing the nipples first and screwing them back with teflon tape on the threads.

When I replace the brake fluid I have to replenish the master cyl reservoir with fresh fluid more than one time and well before the end of the operation. If not, air enters the system and you have to redo the process all over again. How do you manage with the system you describe? I must be missing something.

The easiest way of relieving the fuel system pressure is shutting down the engine and waiting three hours. Ample time to let the system pressure dissipate. I have a fuel pressure gauge, so I know. Three hours is even too much time, but better be safe than sorry. Even then put a rag around/under the connection when unfastening cause a little fuel will spill anyway. Good luck.

My car uses 1 litre evey oil change (5K to 7k kilometers). I suspect it to be a mixture of oil consumption and a number of smal leaks. With my usual optimistic outlook on life, I see this as a mean of refreshing the oil additives...

Lots of thngs to do right now (end of semester and a new rad, a new clutch, IAC cleaning and front bumper dent, all waiting) and not much time or nice temperature to do them (I'm really a shade tree mechanic and when there's no sun and no leaves yet in the trees...). The insurance ajustor came and left his card and I have'nt had the time to get back to him yet. One thing though, I have not had the time to really go at it either with a hair dryer or by tapping it from inside (things to unbolt and set aside) but I have the feeling its slowly (very slowly) popping out by itself (heat of the sun...?) I'll keep you posted on IAC cleaning's effect on idle roughness and on the bumber's fate). That said, the ole Legacy is merrily put putting it's way everywhere I want it to go. Really like this car. Thanks for asking.

And would'nt it be a good idea to use synthetic oil since one of the strong points of synth oil is resistance to breakdown at higher temps? And in your case «higher» temps takes an even more ominous meaning...

Yes, now you're on the same plane.

Nice ride MtS. Is'nt that a little dangerous riding up there where the air is rarefied ?

Seeing how the glass is folded outwards, the lighting bolt must have travelled upwards.

Lucky for her she was a bad conductor.

If your description of what you did is exact, there is absolutely no problem. You have to have at least a quart over to even begin to worry.

Sorry to repeat myself, but if you want to be sure about things, do the following. Find an empty parking lot or something similar. Put a chalk mark on the front and back tires sides were they contact the ground. Drive the equivalent of 40 wheel revolutions in a straight line. Compare the marks. If front and rear circumferences are more than 1/4 inch apart, the marks will be more than 10 inches apart. That is much easier to see an measure than a 1/4 inch difference in circumference. When I did that test on my tires (5 year old Toyo Spectrum), the marks where less than 1 inch apart. That means that the difference in circumferences front to rear is around 1/40th of an inch. That really gave me some peace of mind. N.B.: Its important to check front and rear tire pressure before doing the test if you want the result to mirror actual driving conditions.

Like God's vengeful eye in Cain's tomb...