Allpar Mod

I can say that I've seen how airbags do save lives first hand more times than I can remember. The potential injuries that they can cause are way less traumatic than if they weren't there. Obviously, they do their best work in conjunction with wearing seat belts. I believe that disabling them would do grandma a disservice. I don't know what the inspection regs are where your grandma lives, but if there is an annual inspection, you better check if disabling the airbags would cause the car to fail or not. I know that they may not be able to tell unless the airbag light is on, but still potentially could be an issue.

I have to agree with the others. Being a long time and frequent Dremel user (I hope the inventor is rich and famous beyone belief) and hazardous materials technician, the cutoff wheels still make enough sparks to ignite gasoline vapor. The flash point (temperature that causes ignition) of gasoline is low enough that it takes a minimal amount of heat to get it going. The vapors have an explosive quality so they are much more dangerous than the liquid fuel itself. The vapors also ignite much more readily than the fuel will. Drill them out.

In all the years I've been dealing with cars both foreign and domestic, I've never heard of overheating and battery problems being connected. If you're absolutely sure the battery's toast, get a new one. You should test the alternator for output. Problem is that the way one should really test charging output is with a good, fully charged battery. So, that being said, you'll either need to borrow one from another vehicle just for the testing or buy one first. A simple hand held inexpensive multimeter set to 20 volts DC will do nicely and is all I've ever used with good results every time (I recently replaced my over 25 year old Radio Shack digital multimeter that my bro in law damaged with a new Craftsman digital one for just $29. You can get a reliable one cheaper even, but I use mine a lot). Just connect it to your battery ternminals and start the Soob. At idle with nothing on, it should be above 13 volts. Now, turn stuff on until everything is on and kick up the idle a bit. It should still be above 13 volts. It's not uncommon at idle with everything on for it to be closer to 12 as they are only putting out 15 amps or so at idle, but with a mininal increase in RPM, it should show normal voltage. Simple as that.

+3 on the steering column u-joints. Had just this problem and fixed it with PB Blaster in liberal amounts and a little time to let it work. Make sure you lube both joints. I didn't see the lower one the first time as it's a bit obscured from view and had to go through this again. This happened in the spring and hasn't reoccurred since.

Trapping air during PS parts replacement is a very common occurance. I recently replaced both a pump and high pressure line on my F-150. It whined like a schoolgirl stuck under a bus. (I don't know how I came up with that one ) To get all the air out of the system, just run the vehicle a while then work the steering wheel slowly lock to lock numerous times. It may take a while to get all of the air out of the system so be patient and work the steering wheel to and fro a lot, slowly. This has helped immensely the few times I've done PS service on several types of vehicles. While you're working the air out of the pump and rack, make sure to check the level in the reservoir as it may drop as the fluid is taking up the space originally taken up by air.

This sounds extremely similar to when my alternator crapped the bed. The gauges malfunctioned as battery voltage went away. I did several posts on the subject as the malfuntioning alternator directly affected performance before it finally caused the Soob to die on an exit ramp.

Anything that transmits or receives RF signals can be interfered with. If you look at any of the plethora of devices that utilize wireless signals or the owners manuals, they often have a label that state that they must not cause undo interference but may receive same by an FCC mandate. Low power devices are the most succeptable to interference. They are just not shielded enough to reject it. The trick is to figure out the source of the problem. Still and all, even if you figure it out, there may well be nothing that you can do about it depending on what the cause is.

The last experience I had with this was on the '90 Loyale I had. I was surprised to find that the u-joints weren't user serviceable. Fortunately, there was a long established shop that did rebuilds in town (Drive Line Service in Pittsburgh) and got a rebuilt one for a very good price. Of course, that was with exchange. It was worth the cost to do a drop-and-swap and have it right than to try to figure out what joints could fit and possibly have issues with it.

I have heard that also, but not for a long time. I replaced both calipers on the front of my '99 OBW in the spring as one had one frozen piston and the other side worked ok, but I didn't like the way it looked. My experiences are generally that if one caliper goes, the other is not too far behind. You definately need to replace pads on both sides if you only replace or rebuild one. That should be a given. If you're taking the time to do one side, do both now and save the trouble down the road.

I'd agree that a second opinion from someone with a good rep is in order. Generally, smelling burning oil is an external leak issue and even though you didn't see something, doesn't mean that it isn't small a leak enough that it burns off before leaving too much visible residue to be that noticeable. Personally, I had a '90 Loyale Turbo several years ago, low mileage also. The parts are expensive enough to discourage me from owning another. I had an issue with the exhaust components (for real) and I had to take it to a Subaru dealer for service because nobody else I trusted would work on a turbo. The bill knocked me off of my feet. My oldest son has a '97 Jetta turbo and has had issues with his. After getting estimates after he found someone that would work on them, he is never going to buy another also.

As seems to be the case once again here, you're getting good advice. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS diagnose problems by the K.I.S.S. principle. Simply stated it is... KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID! (No personal reference to you or anyone else here intended.) It's often suspect when a problem goes from nothing to a big something immediately. A shop makes more on a steering rack R&R than on balancing 4 tires. I tell people all the time to look at the most obvious and simplest possible solutions and go to the more complex (and expensive) if they don't pan out. You usually don't have to throw parts at simple solutions, at least not as often as the more complicated ones. A good rebalancing every so often is a good thing to do even if it doesn't fix your problem right now. It won't be wasted money. Wheel shaking at speed is usually related to either or both tire issues and brake rotor warpage. I had a bad shake started not long ago on my '99 OBW and balancing and rotation corrected the problem. Go that way first. If you feel pulsation in the brake pedal on applying them, have the rotors cut or replaced also. Warped rotors will cause a shimmy at highway speeds. The worse the warpage, the worse the shimmy. Bent rims cause shimmys. Have you nailed a curb or big pothole recently? If the tires are fairly old, it's always possible that there could be some cord separation causing the problem which cannot be fixed. This mostly occurs with steel belted tires. Suspension problems causing shaking are most often related to ball joints and other components like idler arms and tie rods, not so much a rack, though I guess it is possible.

I have the same kind of load tester and it is accurate enough to give you a reasonable idea if the battery's heading south or not, at least from my experience. Having a hydrometer is a good thing, but it will not tell you if the load capacity of the battery is impared or not.

Thanks.

My gremlin has reappeared after another heavy rain. Water must be getting in the door and shorting my power lock master panel. It's done this before and renders the locks inoperative for a couple days until things dry out. I'm pretty sure it's in the driver's door. I don't think it's in the relay module under the dash as I never see any sign of water there. I want to take the panel off and see what I can do to rectify the issue, but I cannot seem to figure out how to remove the trim plate over the lock and especially window switches. Any help?

As an RVer with a 24' travel trailer with experience towing with the wrong vehicle, I can safely say that research is needed before anyone selects a tow vehicle for anything, short of a very small cargo trailer or lightweight boat. You have to look at the towing capacity of the intended tow vehicle, weight and size of the trailer, tongue weight and more. There are web sites and articles on RV sites devoted to this and should be completely researched before any decision is made. You can interchange the info to a non RV trailer very easily because the info is basically generic to any vehicle and trailer. Towing with the wrong vehicle can be disasterous. You can do powertrain damage to the vehicle and safety is a major consideration. A big problem is that both vehicle and trailer sales people will tell you want they want to just to make the sale. Never trust them. I went through this when we traded up our pop-up for a travel trailer. My truck at that time towed the 8' pop-up just fine but was totally unsuited for the larger and heavier TT. The salesman at the RV dealer assured me that it was ok. I found out differently on the way back when we picked it up. I felt that we were going to wreck at any moment even with the proper towing accessories attached. The truck also struggled more than I expected it to. Learned a hard lesson here and later found untold accounts online of the same experiences. Have them do their homework first away from the dealership. It could save them a lot of money if not their lives.

The difference could be just an engineering change of some sort. Minor changes to any part during years of production of the same car are not uncommon. Unfortunately, when this happens, it often makes interchangability difficult if not impossible. It's always best to go with what any particular car calls for rather than experimenting with other parts, especially for something important like a starter. I'd advise caution just as md said. While a reputable rebuilding shop is often the best way to go (if you can find one these days) and I do agree that a lot of the commonly sold rebuilds out there leave much to be desired quality wise, I seem to have had a lot of luck with Auto Zone. I've been using their rebuilds for over a decade now and never had one fail prematurely or had to return it right away. I put one of their starters in my truck a couple years ago and it has given me no trouble. Of course, you can low buck it and get a yard one used. They are a crap shoot and could go forever or die next week. Choice is your's. You're welcome for the explanation. I hesitate sometimes to get that detailed because I never want to insult anyone's intelligence.

Not necesarily and not usually. Yes, it's two different parts. The solenoid basically acts like a relay, engaging the bendix drive and "mating" the starter to the flywheel when activated. When you hear of times where the starter still operates after the key is moved off of the "start" position is usually because the solenoid is stuck in the "closed" position and continues to feed power to the starter after the engine has caught. A solenoid is in the "open" position at rest just like any other relays in the car not receiving power at any given time. There's always some power being fed to the starting circuit (constant hot) regardless of whether you have the key in the ignition or not so this is why this specific type of malfunction can occur. This is a reason why it is important to disconnect the battery when servicing a starter regardless of make or model of vehicle. A starter is basically not much more than an electric motor incorporating the bendix which pushes out the center gear to mate with the teeth on the flywheel turning the motor to start the combustion and firing process. The solenoid engages and sends the power to the starter to do what it is designed to do. Moving the key to the "run" position after the engine catches shuts off power to the solenoid which, in turn, disengages the starter and the bendix retracts the gear by eliminating power to the starter itself. Now, if the connections between the battery, other wiring, and the solenoid are corroded or the wiring is faulty, the starter will malfunction to varying degrees depending on exactly what the wiring issue is. However, when it is said that the starter makes a whirring sound when activated but doesn't engage the flywheel, that is a sign of a faulty bendix drive not engaging the center gear to the flywheel. Combine this with sluggish operation when it does try to work correctly, and I have to surmise that the starter is in need of replacement.

I've had to deal with two rusted oil pans, one on my truck and one on my wife's Jeep. Salt doesn't just eat through the body panels and isn't exclusive to domestic vehicles. While Eastwood's encapsulator is a very good product (and rated better on some independent tests over POR-15), if the corrosion ate through the pan completely, I'd replace the pan if it were me. It's often hard to tell if it went through without removing it to visualize the other side. This is something that I'd not feel too good about Mickey Mousing a repair on. I'd coat the replacement to keep this from reoccuring.

You mentioned a whirring/spinning noise. If I read this correctly, that sounds like a bendix drive in the starter not engaging. This is the drive that pushes out the gear to engage the flywheel to turn the engine to start it. When that goes bad, all you hear is a whirring noise when you hit the key. The starter won't engage the flywheel. A starter gradually going south can and will act slowly as it's trying to pull a lot of juice to turn the internal armature. Combine this with the bendix not always engaging and it sounds like a trip to either the yard or parts store is in your short future. My gut says you need a new starter and soon as it's iminent failure sounds quite likely. It's always a good idea to look at the ground wires when there is a puzzling electrical issue and it cannot hurt for preventative maintenance, but I do think that the starter is dying.

The independents are not the only ones that don't know the story about the Subaru gaskets. I was at the local Subaru dealer in Butler getting a part recently and talked about the gasket issue when I inquired on how much they charge to change head gaskets. I was thinking proactively about my OBW, but $1800 is something I cannot afford to put out right now, or in the forseeable future for that matter. Hopefully, the Soob will continue to run like it is now and buck the odds. 88k and a rock steady temp gauge right below halfway all the time even in the 90s with the a/c going. The parts manager had no idea why they fail on the EJ25. He told me that he knew something about it but that's all he knew. I believe that he was serious. I ended up educating him more than Subaru obviously has. As to the stats, I've used nothing but Stant stats in all of my vehicles for years and have never had one malfunction. I've even had a couple stand up to a bout of severe overheating without going bad as I couldn't replace it right away after fixing the source of the overheat. I'm real curious as to why supposedly they fail in our cars and what makes Subaru branded stats so much better. Someone makes them for Subaru, as does all the auto manufacturers, so what makes these so much better and reliable? Inquiring minds want to know.

Just an FYI on Midas. A while back, I was having an a/c issue with one of my Jeeps that I couldn't pinpoint. I took it to a local Midas shop and they did find the problem. My issue was with the parts cost figures. After I got their quote, and I insisted it be in writing, I called around to the parts stores and got prices for the low pressure line, where the issue ended up being. The difference in prices was astonishing. Midas had the prices jacked up preposterously. When I went back to talk to the manager because I was just plain pissed now on how they looked to rip me off, he was surprisingly candid and took me behind the counter. The shops have a computer program supplied by corporate that sets the retail prices on parts used for repairs. The employee puts in what they paid for the part, wholesale I might add, and it computes how much they have to charge the customer. The markup is ridiculous. I couldn't be P.Od at the manager because he was just following policy. It turned me off completely to ever doing business with Midas again, though. I don't know if any other companies use a similar program, but it would explain the markups at these chain shops. Again, another example of "caveat emptor". Buyer beware!!

I'd be curious on how he figured that it was throwing pieces of the cat through the rest of the exhaust system. That sends red flags up to me. Something doesn't sound quite right to me here. I'd look into a tune up and checking if you have thrown any codes that might not have come up before you invest in new cats. Anyway, when someone fails emissions and are quoted a high price fix, it nearly always concerns me. Too many are getting ripped off this way.

Anti seize is not the best lubricant there is if you're simply talking lubrication quality or amount of slipperiness, but the main thing is that it allows the metal to not corrode and to do what it is intended to do how it is supposed to do it. When you get some of this silver stuff on your hands, notice how hard it is to wipe off compared to grease or oils. It is chemically designed to leave a resilient coating on the surface and for high corrosion prone areas, this is exactly what you want something to do. You'll be quite pleased with the long term outcome using this product rather than conventional lubricants for this particular application.

If you're looking for a tool which does monitor real time data, look at the Innova Can I-II or the Can II scan tools. I have the model which does both generations of OBD systems. I purchased it through Amazon.com where I got the best price around, about $200. The Can II is cheaper. They are sold at a lot of retailers also. The real time mode shows a lot of the systems and has shown itself to be pretty reliable. I know for a fact that they are Subaru compatible as I have used mine on my OBW when it was throwing a code a while back.

I haven't had to deal with this yet on my OBW, but I have on my Jeeps. As was stated, it's a part of living in the "rust belt". It definately sucks. Heat works well to break loose frozen components. I tend to use it a lot for under-car issues. Regular blue bottle torches tend to not be able to get parts hot enough in many cases. I use a MAPP gas torch as they're the next best thing to acetyline. Cheaper also. I have a set of oxy-acetyline torches, but use the MAPP because it's too easy to get carried away with the oxy sometimes and place too much heat if you're not real careful. These are the commonly available hand torches with the yellow fuel bottles. They work better for plumbing repairs also. You shouldn't have to use so much heat that you create a boiling effect on the fluid. If there are rubber or vinyl parts adjacent, they will burn every time so have a extinguishing source handy. If the part is real stubborn, I'll soak it in PB after it starts to cool some then give it a few minutes and more often than not, this combo does the trick. Two reasons why one would have ongoing issues with the same sliders after a stuck pin is freed is if the pin is not cleaned well before it is reused and if the guide hole in the caliper isn't well cleaned out also. What I do is to run the pin over a wire wheel on my bench grinder and clean all the built up corrosion off very well if I try to reuse it. I also use a wire wheel attachment on my Dremel for the caliper hole. I'll spray brake parts cleaner on both areas to clean out the residue after cleaning with the wires to get rid of the crap broken loose. Using anti seize then is a good thing to do to help keep them from corroding again. This stuff tends to be more resilient to the elements than many other types of lubricants. Just make sure you don't get it on places you don't want it to be, like your pads. I've had a lot of success doing it by this process. If you have occassion to replace the calipers, use the anti seize on them from the start. If you reuse old pins, clean them well before you attach them or you introduce corrosion into the holes of the new caliper and start the process prematurely. Hope this helps.