Bill90Loyale

bgd- I know nothing about heater cores and hope never to have to learn (from everything I've ever read about 'em). So here's my probably useless idea: Do you have a more-powerful-than-a-hairdryer blower? Like a leaf blower or shop vac that you can run as a blower? If yes, then try blasting INTO the vents (i.e. try to reverse the usual air flow pattern) and see if you get lucky and dislodge whatever mouse nest or piece of junk is plugging the works up. Probably nuts, but I thought I'd throw the idea your way....

There are two of 'em on this engine. Good news: it's a "non-interference" design, so if the belt(s) snap while you're underway, the valves WON'T slam into the pistons. It'll just leave you dead in the water at the side of the road. Good luck.

As with any used car purchase, I would make a real effort to obtain it at $500. Plan on spending about another $1200 (parts cost) or so over the next year or two to get her into good all-round running shape: Tires, brakes, battery, exhaust, tune-up components such as wires, plugs, new disty cap, rotor. Radiator? What about timing belts, when were they last done.... If you get it for cheap, and tackle the PM, then I'd hone in on the body. Get it rust-proofed with hot oil for two years straight to slow the cancer down. With all of the above, and a little luck, you might get another 100K on the clock before she goes to Loyale heaven. If you do, you just got a very good deal. How do I know this? Answer: that's the plan I used on my purchase at 98K miles. Currently 220K and going strong.

You got off easy my friend. My taxes on that are a whole lot higher.

It might just be a rusted out splash plate on the inboard side of the brake drum or disc. Next time you have the car raised for tire mounting or exhaust work or....inspect the back of the wheels and brakes. Sometimes the old rusted splash guard gets bent and makes contact with the drum in turns, producing the grind noise. The fix is simple. Pull the splash guard away from whatever it's making contact with. If it were my car, I'd jack the rear up, put it on jackstands, and get underneath there with a flashlight. Emphasis on JACKSTANDS.

Yes, it makes the contrast better and creates a clear trail. The spray deodorant with baby powder leaves the powder on the surface of the part. The powder wicks up any moisture (oil). Leaves a nice brown trail on the engine part(s) leading (uphill) to the source of the leak.

On the oil pan bolts, the factory manual calls for 3.3 to 4 foot lbs (not 10 as I had suggested earlier), so this gives you more confirmation that the torque is LOW. If you want to narrow the oil leak search more precisely, power wash the engine (steering as clear as you can from electrical connectors), including undercarriage. Drive the engine dry, or let sit dry. Then go buy a can of deodorant - the spray powder kind - and spray the parts or joints that you suspect. Then take her for a ride and warm things up. Your leak sources will be easily traceable to their sources. The Seafoam treatment, when done right, may frighten the elderly or small children. If one didn't know what was going on, one might assume that the car is a tactical nuclear device (ala "mushroom cloud").

I have the same philosophy: i.e. do it all - especially on a car that might get you another 100k or more (if the body cancer doesn't get you first). The "forget the Seafoam for now" comment was just made in the spirit of "you've got a lot of work (fun) ahead of you - get on with it and do the easy stuff last". No worries if you feel like Seafoaming it now. On that subject, I'd recommend the full treatment - suck it directly into the intake manifold via the PCV valve. Will the oil pan gasket really "squish out"? Answer: Yes. Especially once it gets saturated with oil. You can search this subject in this forum and you'll find plenty on this subject. There are also plenty of guys who've stripped the threads on those delicate little pan bolts - big PIA. That's why they have Phillips heads on 'em too - some guys only use a screwdriver to tighten! A nice even torque to snug, and then a tad more is just about right. "Tighter is better" is especially WRONG on these little bolts.

One more thing (actually two): replace valve cover gaskets with oem. Similar to oil pan technique. But the cover on your LEFT (passenger side) has Four retaining bolts and the one on the right has five. You probably already knew that, but just in case....

This is a great plan. Forget the Seafoam for now. When doing the oil pan gasket, take your time. Carefully clean the seating surface on the engine side to shiny clean. NO residual gasket material or crud. On the pan side gasket surface, clean to shiny metal with a wire wheel. NO residual crud. Use the oem gasket as GD recommends. For install: Do NOT use any sealants. Mount the gasket dry. Take your time with all 18(?) little pan bolts. Tighten in about three stages, using star pattern technique (like you would torque your wheel nuts). Your final torque ain't much on these little things (10 foot pounds max?) (help me here GD). Overtorqueing these nuts seems like a nice idea but it's not. It squishes out the gasket. Nice even torquing and you're done. Using the technique described here has resulted in not a drop of oil from my pan since I did this about 7 years ago.

For example, mine. Manual tranny. Paid a whopping $1500 for this baby 122,000 trouble-free miles ago. And teenager-free as well. Mine are ashamed to be seen in it. Makes for a quiet and very enjoyable ride. Best of luck to you Robert. Glad you enjoyed your time in our small community. Let us know if you're ever back this way again.

Pat- 1. MAF sensor dirty/failing? 2. CTS pooped? 3. If coil pack equipped, bad pack(s). If not, check high tension lead for short/failure (wire from coil to dist).

It's happened to the best of us. Don't let it eat you up. The lady's issues are for your insurance co. to handle. Let them handle it. Meanwhile, glad to hear you're not seriously hurt, and best wishes for a speedy recovery - both you and the Loyale.

It was. Good job.

Notify the authorities. Good luck. Let us know what happens.

You can read 1000 posts, and you won't find a better one than this, IMHO. Thank you RWEDDY.

I hope Mrs. Grimes has the life insurance policy paid up.

When someone comes up with the fix, please post it. I've got the same issue on the rear washer.

http://www.magnecor.com/ I bought mine direct from magnecor. 220k on the car and never a problem. The boots on the spark plug end may need a little trimming to get a tight fit, but I'm glad I did it. Good peace of mind.

This is superb advice. I would include the 1995 model year though.

PDF] S 11 E 6 R P C B A 11 6 R F PFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Plug Type. I:. Iridium Platinum. L:. Thread Reach 26.5mm ... Numbers. 2 Hot. 11 Cold. Construction. (ONE OR MORE LETTERS. MAY BE COMBINED) ... http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/partnumberkey.pdf - Similar pages

It'd be interesting to see the stats on blown engines from clogged up dysfunctional cooling systems vs. blown engines from exploding Prestone T fittings. My guess is that, on balance, the folks who just leave their stock setup alone and renew their coolant every couple years do just fine. I see your point, but I think these Prestone T's have been in the marketplace for decades without developing a track record for failure, so far as I know. I'll bet that when they do fail, it's often "operator error" - i.e. loose hose clamp connections and the like....

Robm- My cheap Prestone T-fitting has worked well now for about four years. In other words, about two flushes worth. Pretty handy and probably worth it IMHO.

What Grossgary and Sko say. See: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39838&highlight=drain+plugs

A new O2 sensor! Wow, live large girl. Give him a sip of Seafoam for me wouldja? My loyale doesn't complain too much, but I've been running her on the original egr and purge solenoids and O2. She hardly complains at all, despite a little nausea everytime we start her up cold. I wish I could be as good a person as my Loyale thinks I am.