Fairtax4me

96, manual, just rolled 167k miles yesterday. Don't know much about the car, except that it was in our body shop a few years back to have the front bumper replaced and one of the fenders repainted.

The latest addition to my driveway. As you can see it needs some TLC. The first thing I did was spray down the engine bay, I should have taken a before shot, you wouldn't believe how much gravel dust was caked on everything. It's all over the bottom of the car too. There was so much stuck in the wheels it had thrown them off balance. I took them off and cleaned them, and like magic it doesn't shake anymore on the highway! :-p The underside of the engine isn't any cleaner... The headlights are gonna be the first cosmetic fix. A couple night shots. Low beams High beams Now there was a bit of ambient light when I took these that the camera couldn't pick up, but when I'm out in the country driving, that's about how it looks in front of the car. It's scary dark. I might post a tutorial on how to polish the lights and make it last if I can remember to bring the camera along when I do it. Then I'll get the back bumper taken car of... and give it a good detail all around. It's also got a few dents in the hood and doors that need help, but I know a guy who can fix those for me pretty much any time for practically nothing, so they're not too high on the list. I'd also really like to find some GT wheels for it. Though it looks like it may be a little difficult to get them. Anybody know if a set of the two piece lights from a newer (like a 99 maybe?) Legacy would fit? I'm talking about the ones with the clear lens with no reflector lines.

I don't think replacing the battery is going to fix your turn signals. But do replace it. Explain what exactly you mean by "stop working". Do they light at all? Do they blink fast? Slow? Does the light illuminate but not blink?

There's a product made by Wurth called "Rost Off" that puts PB Blaster to shame. Its a bit pricey at some places if you can even find it (probably won't ever see it at your local parts store), but well wurth it. :-p pun intended To get the old studs out thread two nuts onto each one about halfway and tighten them against each other. Then use an impact wrench if you have access to one, or a breaker bar to crack them loose. If it were me I'd leave them alone unless the threads are already trashed. Find a fastener shop in your area (Phone book) and order some stainless steel studs if you're really concerned about rust. Otherwise just buy a generic pack of studs and call it a day.

Why would you pay to get an engine from Japan when its no better than an engine here? Get a set of heads from a junkyard (preferably one that has an in tact and properly aligned timing belt). Or take your heads to a reputable auto machine shop in your area. Last time I had a head rebuilt it was about $100 for the whole shabang. Dipped, milled, and ground, and they even replaced the stem seals. And that was for a 4 cylinder head.

Well at least you got it. Clock springs are easy enough to test. You can run a few volts across each wire and check for steady voltage at the other end. Or measure resistance while the wheel is turned. Of course, you should unplug all of its connectors first.

You could also do a leakdown test.

I'd tell them to prove it. Has the car ever been to any other dealer for repairs? Actually, it might be a good idea to visit another dealer at this point.

Or you could take one of the other ones to your local hardware store and pick up a grade 8 bolt that matches it.

If you can smell gas in the exhaust then you must be getting fuel into the cylinders some way or another. I second the compression test. Put a jack under one side of the engine and lift it until you get enough room. Might help to unbolt the motor mount on that side. YOu generally don't want to "Torque the crap" out of any bolt on an engine. Even on the crankshaft steel threads can still strip out. Or the bolt can stretch or crack and snap off at a later time. Use lock-tite, and only tighten to manufacturer torque specs with a torque wrench.

That sounds like horse poo to me. If the sensor is out of range or not aligned correctly they should be able to see that by scanning the system. No error code should need to be present. What has happened is the sensor has gone bad, and they're trying to find some excuse not to cover it. (I see this quite often, being an employee of a large local dealership chain.) An intermittent problem like this is the hardest type to diagnose. It only happens sometimes, and unless somebody shells out some $$$ for diagnostic time, no technician is going to spend hours and hours trying to track an issue like this down. Unless its getting the technician paid, he/she is going to pull the "Could not Duplicate" card, and send you on your merry way. Most dealerships use service teams these days. There are separate teams of multiple technicians that concentrate only on certain areas of the vehicle. And there are rewards for good performing teams at the end of the month. It comes down to how much work they do, not necessarily how well they do it. There is a customer satisfaction side to it, but a lot of times dealers can find ways to get around or contest bad index scores. If one technician out of the team isn't accomplishing the same amount of work as the rest the teams score for the month goes down and then you have several unhappy techs instead of just one. The service adviser also plays into this, because they get bonuses based on how well the team does. There is a lot working against the customer when a problem like this comes around, but it mostly comes down how greedy the dealer is. And the larger the dealership is, the worse it gets. Now that they have acknowledged a problem in the steering angle sensor, they should be able to fix it. Whether it will be covered under warranty I couldn't say since I'm not familiar with Subaru warranty coverage. If they try to jack you around, get in touch with the Subaru service Rep. for your district/region. Explain the situation in detail, in a friendly manner, and they should be willing and able to twist some arms at the dealership and get this resolved for you.

Is there a specific reason you have to remove the cams in order to replace the head gaskets?

That is the main reason to vacuum for a recharge. It tells you if you have any leaks. (on older systems you usually will find a few seals that need to be replaced) Big waste of money and time to recharge and have it all leak out in a week. This is where AC system service tools come in handy. You vacuum, put in a UV dye leak detector, recharge and run the system for 20 minutes or so. Check all hoses and components with a UV light for traces of the dye. Evacuate the system, replace what needs, then vacuum a second time and recharge. It sounds to me like the expansion valve may need to be replaced. Id take the car to an AC shop and have them service it if I were you. Edit: The hand pump won't work. You need about 30" of vacuum sustained for at least 15 minutes.

There's a flat on top of the engine at the front, just left of the center line that has the engine type on it. Look straight down behind the alternator.

If the tire has wear on the inside of the sidewall due to driving with low pressure it needs to be replaced ASAP! Right now! Do not drive the car ANY until you get all 4 tires replaced. You are gambling on your life, and the lives of every other driver around you, driving that car at highway speed with those tires. You also need to take it to an alignment shop and have them look it over. Any part of the car concerning alignment that is worn out they will be able to find and replace for you.

For reference. Faster than normal cranking means no compression. The cams being off by just a few teeth shouldn't be enough to get valves crashing into pistons, but it depends on how far they were off. Hopefully you got lucky with this one.

Sounds like a bad ground cable. The starter solenoid clicks when it doesn't get enough juice. You need amperage and voltage to make the starter motor turn. So even if you get 12V at the solenoid you aren't getting the amperage needed to power it. Check all the connections. Make sure the engine to frame cable ground is tight and not broken. Make sure the frame to battery ground cable is tight and clean. And make sure the battery positive on the starter is tight.

Dunno. The first time I started it without the MAF it shut right back off. The second time it set the CEL and then seemed to start just fine. Idle speed was a little jumpy, but it never stalled. I pulled the vacuum line to the MAP sensor (it was close) and the idle evened out a bit. It should run in failsafe mode without the MAF connected. Just like if you unplug the TPS or the O2 sensors, it will run on a preset fuel/spark profile that should at least get it down the road, though likely not very well.

I'd go for the manual. A Sachs (maker of the O.E. clutch) clutch kit is like $170 on Rockauto.com. All the assorted oil seals, timing belt, idlers, water pump, that stuff will be another $300 or so, depending on where you buy it.

Been a while but I figured I would update this. Finally made it to the yard over the weekend and grabbed a MAF as well as a few other odds and ends. Found one that looked pretty new, although it was from a previous generation Legacy, it had the same part number. Popped it in and drove about 20 miles with no trouble. I'm gonna drive it a few days to make sure, but I think I'm gonna call it fixed.

I'm sure someone out there will buy it. I don't see the point, but to each is own. Interesting to say the least.

Most starters that are not OEM are remanufactured. They're hit or miss because the remanufacturer only replaces what it needs in order to work again, and the replacement parts are not always of the same quality as OE. As a result, you might get one that lasts ten years, or you might get one that lasts ten minutes. At least most reman parts have a decent warranty period (most are lifetime). You have to compare time vs money. Does the money saved over an OE part make it worth the extra time to possibly have to replace this part again in a year? Ex. In the case of the First Gen. Cadillac Northstar engine, Hell no, because the starter is under the intake manifold in the valley between the cylinder heads. A Toyota camry 4cyl on the other hand, the starter can be changed in ten minutes because it's on the forward side of the motor and you can see it plain as day as soon as you open the hood. So that could be a yes situation because the time involved would be very little.

It should be adjusted so that it moves the pedal away from the firewall. I think you want to go counter clock-wise. What you're trying to achieve is more pedal travel. Usually with this type of problem it's because the pedal hits the floor before the clutch is full disengaged. You move the pedal up it lets the push rod in the master cylinder move further which in turn pushes the push rod on the slave cylinder further. It could be possible that you have some air in the line. Did you bleed the system after you installed the clutch? If not then maybe give that a try. You shouldn't need to, but it never hurts to get new fluid.

If its just for a short time just use the proper weight gear oil. Ain't gonna hurt it to go a few miles just to see if it works.

Well the thing is, different oils may have different detergents. You never really know how an additive is going to react with the detergents already in the oil. It might be fine with one brand of oil, but not with another. You just never know, the risk of causing harm or accelerated wear to your engine isn't worth the $10 or whatever it is that the additive costs. Buy an oil with detergents made for high mileage cars, and change it after 1000 or 1500 miles a few times and you get a cleaner engine without the risk. You can still buy detergent free oil if you know where to look.