ThosL

I needed a front knuckle/spindle for my 97 Subaru earlier; checked all around, was told by a Subaru specialist that 97 Outback front knuckles were hard to come by. An online search turned up a number of them, but nothing in driving distance. I asked one of the local junkyards what was the closest one that came up on their parts finding service, they gave me the name of one about an hour and a half away. I called them, they said they had several. So when I got up there they had pulled one that was very rusty, the wheel bearing looked ok, but the ball joint was torn or cut. They said the other ones they checked out were no good. Was there a way around having to spend $100 for a substandard front spindle?

I appreciated a lot of the work the shop has done and I really hope they get back to normal. For the record I did stop by later and gave him some cash for his trouble. I found the job relatively easy though initially I thought I would need power tools; just some wrenches and a ratchet with the right metric tools should be enough.

There is a lot of hatred and hostility in your statements. I don't know why you are looking for a fight. Liver complaint, just an overbearing control freak mentality? If the facts were lined up properly on the case the state would consider the shop to be at fault for having an inexperienced helper working on vehicles. All that was required was to have the rotor brackets loosened, and if the pins are frozen the best option could be replacing the brackets and putting in slide pins/grease, etc.. Easy job, he said it was a half hour job but his guy bungled it. I had been told he'd do it the day before, stood around for quite a while and he said his mechanic wasn't going to be back; next day I come and he has a helper work on it breaking parts...If I can do this quickly as it turned out any idiot can. There is no good reason to break parts.

The local snow crews are using non-caustic melts as far as I know. But old rust remains a problem.

I've been using the gauge, I didn't realize they are unreliable. Could be the gas additives, they always seem to lead to poorer mileage in the cold months. Car runs very well, no drag from brakes or other sources when in neutral. MPG around 20.

As jeryst rust was a perennial problem with Subarus until when? You should have seen my 84 1.8 Wagon I got cheap from a Vermont mechanic named "Van". Totally rusted with sheet metal riveted on body panels. Those 1.8s were easier to work on. I like fully manual functions, including high/low 4 wheel drive; do not like all the automatic stuff. 2.5 engines definitely have a lot more power. EJ22s can be bullet proof engines, I always owned station wagons, not sure if the smaller versions have any advantages.

I did the driver's side rotor today; noticed the caliper bracket also has a non-sliding pin. These cost around $30 for the bracket, and then slide pins, are around $10. If the caliper is good no reason to change out on high mileage vehicles. I have no idea why a mechanic (or wannabe) would force slide pins, breaking them, unless they were trying to prove one of Murphy's laws.

I have been noticing the mileage dropping to under 20 mpg. I changed out the plugs with standard NGKs today, care runs very well. I checked the air filter, cleaned it out. Are there any other good candidates that could be causing this? The plugs were down to toothpick points, they are not easy to do unless you have quality tools.

I have never had a bolt vibrate loose; I tighten reasonably, don't make a point of killing it. So the whole idea is reasonable force; mechanics are much more aware of torque specs which become critical in certain applications.

I'd just asked Frank to install the rotor, I said I couldn't get the bolts off. He was having a non-mechanic work on it, a mechanic probably would have caught the frozen slide pin, not forced it/broke it. Frank had said I should be able to do it, but he said he would be able to do it for me in a half hour, etc.. On the mechanics not being liable for damages when they break things, and then upping the ante if the customer complains with legal liens if they don't comply; the customer can always go over the shop's head and should with state agencies, filing complaints with relevant authorities. One unhappy customer can cause a lot of headaches, why issues should be addressed man to man without the need to resort to the law which ends up being a lot more expensive for all concerned.

Good analysis, thanks. I think we should all be using neverseize, teflon tape and similar products when necessary. I would just hope mechanics would be mindful of necessary vs. excess force.

Is there any commercial or other counter, push-back if a mechanic "kills" the bolts or nuts? Have any studies been done to show real risks if the tightening is not cinched down fully?

The challenge of removing certain bolts and nuts in trying to do my own mechanical work got me thinking about how it is so easy for mechanics to over-tighten then with the power tools at their disposal. So the next guy, especially those working on their vehicles who don't have power tools are then in a fix and can't get parts off!! Have there been any studies on possible risks that would come from under-tightening? Frankly it looks like overkill is the name of the game in society these days with all the security state, insurance, and paranoia in general of "what might happen" if reasonable actions were permitted. And I doubt that lightly tightened things would come off.

I'd accept reasonable blame on this 97 Outback, too much neglect as pointed out here, but I was able to get it taken care of with the caliper bracket with the new hardware. Heck, I put in a brake pad a week or so backwards, so it was metal on metal, I thought it was just the pad seating in.... Frank who ran the shop is finally off cigarettes which was the cause of the 2 month hospital stay, older Italian guy, has done good work for me before. And yest the rust especially in the northeast is a problem, the Japanese don't allow vehicles over 10 years on their roads. He said drop off some green cash when I'm in his neighborhood again.

I contacted a garage I have done business in the past that is trying to get back on their feet after the manager had a medical issue. He said to come down yesterday which I did then the mechanic was out of commission; he said come back today which I did. I waited around a while, walked downtown to the library; when I came back they had some bad news: the caliper slide pin had broken off when the guy tried to remove it. So they tried using a torch to get it out etc.. I ended up just asking them to put it back together, the reason for the job was replacing the rotor which was scored up. Quick question; does having just one good bolt holding the caliper in, impair the braking in a dangerous way? At any rate I drove around to get the parts I needed and did the job myself; replacing the caliper bracket, and the rotor and pads. The question is, I had just asked him to get the bolts holding the caliper and rotor in, which are a challenge if they have not been changed out; do I owe him much for not doing the job right? Wouldn't a competent mechanic notice slide pins or frozen bolts or whatever led to this snafu, not force them so they break off?

I made the mistake of retiring a Subaru because it was a little unattractive, big mistake. I later got an 84 Jag., worst car I ever owned. I went back to Subarus.

I did accidentally pull out the metal contacts out of the harness and put them back in, not really secure. I will have to address that later.

Putting it in ended the nightmare of the car losing power suddenly, cel flashing, car not starting. Simple problem, probably the starter replacement was unnecessary. A number of mechanics tried to diagnose the same problem without luck for years. I will try to have Longos go over it later, they had a family emergency, so have been closed for a couple weeks.

Thanks, I did pull the pos. cable off for a couple minutes, cel still came up.

I got them today, and installed one, only problem is I wasn't able to get the electrical connector out without the two wires pulling out. I did my best to put them back in with the unit firmly bolted in. Not sure how long that gerry rig will hold. CEL was still coming up after pulling off the pos. cable on the battery. Car is driving well, it was cutting off periodically before I put this in. I will let my sister use my Subaru as I try to see if there are still problems on her 96.

I had front bearings replaced on a 99; lasted a couple years then failed. I was told any damage to the mount the bearing go in will cause them to fail too. I went back to the same shop and they said no dice on any guarantee, and estimated doing the job again at well over a thousands. I got two front knuckles at the junkyard and the whole thing was under $400.

The starter was replaced, I don't really know what the core issue was, just got the codes. My sister is disabled so I don't know what the cause is really. My feeling with crazy people like her, excuse my patience wearing thin, is they make problem out of good cars. I ran that car 150 plus miles in a couple days and it gives the best ride of any Subaru. I'll try to change out the crankshaft sensor see if that makes any difference.

It's an expensive area, there are decent places for diagnostics but the sister hasn't found the problem in a number of searches. There are some excellent and reasonable mechanics out of lower Fairfield County. Generally you have to have an idea of what the problem is so you can get good estimates, most shops try not to give free estimates.

Thanks for the kind offer, pm sent. On Subaru only, the local dealer charges $150 minimum just for a diagnosis.

Wires are a year or so old, plugs may be several years old. Sister has been a sucker for shops pushing work on her. A number of shops tried to diagnose the power loss/CEL problem, without luck a while back and she gave up.