Supaglu

Hi, Assuming the car hasn't got A.B.S (if it has bleed the brakes with the ignition on) - try this :- Starting at the master cylinder - with the reservoir full - you've got 4 brake lines leaving the MC - have someone press the pedal to the floor- open one of the lines and then close it, release the pedal and push it to the floor again - open the same line again and then close it. Do this half a dozen times or more to each line in turn until you get a jet of fluid shooting out of the line from the MC. (use a cloth to prevent the brake fluid from shooting over paintwork) Once you have done this - bleed each brake in turn - starting with the brake farthest away from the MC - working your way round until you get to the brake nearest to the MC. This should sort out any bleeding problems - as long as the MC is ok. You could also clamp off each brake hose and try the brake pedal - if it's a good pedal then undo each clamp in turn with someone holding the pedal down - until you feel which one makes the most difference - the one that either sinks to the floor or drops the most is the line you need to concentrate on. The only other thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the clutch hill holder ! Regards DaveH ps to check if the MC is leaking - pull it off the servo and look at the seal - if its wet with brake fluid - replace it !

Hi, If I were you this is what I would do - 1) Try and get a mechanic to have a look at the engine just to confirm that it is "blown". Have you got AA or any breakdown cover because you could call them out for an opinion. 2) If it's confirmed that the engine is gone then the best thing to do is work out a "balance" sheet for the car ie "good and bad" - (this obviously depends on your own personal finances) - How much Mot remaining ..........? (got to be more than 6mths or not worth repairing) How much road tax left ..........? How long have you had the car - what did you pay for it ..........? How much have you spent already on the car ..........? How much would it cost to buy another car ..........? ((at least £500 for a cheapie) How much would it cost to buy a scrapyard engine ..........?(£150 if available) How much would it cost to pay someone to fit it ..........? (£100 . privately) Example 1) If it's got more than 6mths Mot, and you didn't pay much money for the car, haven't spent too much money on it since you've had it then it's worth spending £250 on it to get it back on the road. Example 2) If it's got less than 6mths Mot, you've spent loads on it already then it's not worth spending anymore - might as well put your money towards another car. Scrap yards are currently taking cars for free at the moment - the price of scrap iron has gone up - so now is the time if you want to scrap it because things will change and it will cost probably a couple of hundred in the near future when this european ruling comes into force. Another option is to look in your local freebie newspapers for traders looking for Mot failures - you might get £50 for it.

Hi, Did you lose much brake fluid from the reservoir ? try bleeding all four brakes and see how that works - also keep making sure that the reservoir pot is constantly topped up !. Regards DaveH

Hi, If the air "bags" are not split (unlikely as both gone down at same time and would also be very unlucky) then this should be relatively easy to get back on the road without spendng any much money. You will need access to some compressed air and a power probe to energise the solenoid valves at the top of the struts. On a right hand drive vehicle the compressor is under the left hand front wing, remove the wing under cover to expose the compressor, you will see all the air pipes going into one place - identify the two rear pipes and remove carefully from the air bottle. Use a small screwdriver or pick to gently prise open the little tabs that hold the pipes in. (there is a special tool for this). Locate the solenoid valves at the top of each rear strut and unplug the connectors. Apply 12 volts to one pin and an earth to the other pin (solenoid side) and you should hear it click open, gently apply compressed air down the corresponding pipe at the front (you can also apply the compressed air at the strut end by removing the pipe from the strut) hopefully your air bag on that side will inflate - when it gets to the correct height disconnect the voltage from the solenoid. Carry out the same precedure for the other side - when finished leave both the solenoids disconnected to prevent them from being deflated by the control unit. If your air bags are ok then the problem maybe the pressure switch (located near compressor). Hope this helps (I have done this loads of times - many years ago) Regards DaveH

Hi Kecks, Has it taken a dump on both sides or just one side ? DaveH

Hi, Try this - using a garden hose or a watering can if hose not available - completely soak the radiator with fresh water, try not to get the engne too wet though. Then let the engine tick over for a while, when your happy that the engine is ok, in case you got the engine too wet. After that take it for a good long drive to dry it out. It may still steam for a day or so but it should stop it ( as long s you dont have a coolant leak). Regards Dave H

Hi, Swap over the two plug wires on that side and see if the misfire swaps cylinders, sounds to me like you have a bad plug "wire". Regards Dave H

Hi, If you shake the old PCV valve and it rattles - then its ok !. One thing comes to mind regarding the piston rings, during the normal course events - all the pistons rings rotate around the piston but what sometimes happens is that one or other of the three rings on one piston will stick and the other rings will rotate so that all the ring gaps line up - if your unlucky then they might stay like it. As already suggested a compression test or leakage test will confirm this. Regards Dave H.

Hi, If it's a quad cam then chances are very high that valves and pistons have collided 99.9%, if its a twin cam then it's a "safe" engine - no valve damage. Regards Dave H

Hi, Is it not the brake light bulb failure unit, ie if your brake light bulb fails it lights up on the dash. Regards Dave H

Shelly, Just need to get a few facts straight ! Right - you say the big end bearings went !!!, what exactly happened ?, is it just knocking ?, or has the engine let go ?. Because if it's just knocking and depending on whether you switched it off quick enough you may be able to just replace the big end shell's (no pun) and a new sump gasket - this will cost you approx £60-70quid for the parts (probably even less as it's only a three cylinder). You can take the sump off with the engine still in the car and will only take a couple of hours. Over to you ! Regards Dave H ps I live near Horsham, West Sussex

Hi, Subaru's in the Uk use "three way" catalysts - and consist of two cats, the front one I believe is the two way cat and the second one is a "one way"cat. If the US subie's are the same and I believe they probably are then if you have the rear cat missing on your vehicle then the catalyst system is not removing all harmful gases. Regards Dave H

Hi, Sounds to me that you have just flooded the engine with fuel, under the dash - drivers side you should see two black single pin connectors - connect these together and this will stop the fuel system from over injecting when starting, put the gas pedal flat to the floor and crank the engine over until it fires, let the engine warm up and then disconnect the two black connectors. These connectors are used when the vehicles are new in the showrooms so that they can be started and stopped continuously when moving them around. You can also check the operation of your fuel pump by connecting the two green single pin connectors together and switching on the ignition - the fuel pump should then pulse on and off. Hope this helps ! Dave H

Basically how expensive was your meter ?, you could try connecting your 10amp wire to the battery neg lead and the com wire to the battery neg post - but if there is more than a 10 amp drain then you might blow your meter, or if yur lucky just the fuse !. If you dont get a reading then open one of the doors to test it, an interior light should give you a reading of approx 3 amps Good luck ! DaveH

Hi, If your subie has a "tailgate" and the wires run through the headlining down into the tailgate then check the wiring loom where it comes out of the roof into the tailgate, the wires break with all the opening and shutting of the tailgate and then short out. DaveH

Hi, Do you have a thing called a "shunt" with your ammeter ?, it should be capable of handling lots of Amps in case there is a serious short. Disconnect your negative lead from the battery - connect you "shunt" cable between the battery neg terminal and the neg lead ( so that the shunt is completing the circuit ), then connect your ammeter to the shunt, if there is a drain it will show on your ammeter. DaveH

Hi, It does sound like you have a faulty battery, you need an ammeter to check properly for a drain on the battery, but if you disconnect the earth lead and with everything switched off, if you lightly touch the earth lead back onto the battery post then you may see "sparks" anything more than a very light spark could indicate that you have something draining the battery when you leave it overnight !. DaveH

Hi, To do a proper compression test you need to - 1) Disconnect your coil from the ignition circuit - basically to prevent any damage to your ignition module - (stop any sparks) because the leads are not connected to the plugs. 2) Prevent your fuel system from delivering any fuel - either by disconnecting the injector plugs or the fuel pump itself. If you have a catalytic convertor you dont want neat fuel going into the cat. 3) Remove all spark plugs - if your head gasket is blown between two cylinders then you may still get good compression if that plug is left in !. 4) When you crank the engine (turn it over with the key) put your foot on the throttle pedal and hold it to the floor whilst it turns over - and turn it over and listen so that you get the "four cycles" ie - Induction, compresssion, power and exhaust. it needs to be at least four times because the compression stroke is only one of the four cycles ( hence - four stroke engine) 5) The throttle pedal needs to be held open because if you have an inlet valve thats burnt out you will still get some compression because the throttle flap is shut. 6) You should also carry out the compresson test on a cold engine and then compare the readings with the engine hot. Hope this helps Dave

Hi, Firstly - has there been any work done to the car recently ?, what have you checked so far (apart from the fuses) and also have you checked the fusible links by the battery ?. Have you checked the headlight bulbs ?. Dave

When you get the pulsing can you feel it through the steering wheel or through the brake pedal ?. If through the steering wheel - then look for something "mechanical", ie - calipers, pads, steering/suspension joints - check they are all doing what they are supposed to. If through the brake pedal - then look at the rotors, A.B.S if fitted.

Hi, just to add my bit to the last post - with subaru's - it doesn't always ring true that if you turn the steering wheel one way then the noisy wheel bearing is this side or that side - because the front wheel bearings on subies are two individual bearings -slightly further apart than other makes of bearings, so in theory you have an inner and outer bearing on both sides. So on the left hand side - the outer bearing will be quiet on left hand turns and the inner bearing will be noisy (if it's faulty). Dave H

Hi, Are you assuming that the wheel bearings are ok because they are tight ? - the noise you describe does sound like wheel bearings !. If you drive in a straight line (at speed 50 - 60 mph) - then turn the steering slightly to either side - does the noise appear and disappear - if it does then it is definitely wheel bearings. Dave H

Hi, A tip for getting stuck spark plug boots off - works every time ! Grab the end of the "boot" and put a little bit of pull on it - then waggle the lead side to side vigorously - the boot will pull off with no damage to the lead. - Guarenteed !. Dave H.

Hi, Is it sticking out the top of the hole or the bottom ? - also is the tag still in place at the bottom ?. Dave H

Hi, Smokers toothpaste is the best !. Dave H.