Setright

Hi! Does anyone have any experiences they would like to share regarding the quailty of pagid brake discs? In particular the 8 groove type. Thanks in advance :-)

HELLO?? rweddy, aksor: Throw-out bearings only get noisy under stress, like when the clutch pedal is pressed down. If the noise goes away under this condition, there is nothing wrong with the throw-out. It's bearings, and you can keep driving. Once the whirr starts to get punctuated by irregular rattle-type sounds, you'll need to look at rebuliding.

I am using FIAMM AM100*, which is plenty loud - 134db. Stock power, and there's space behind the bumper, but in front of the radiator, for both of them to be mounted. I did have to lengthen the wires on both my present car, and my old Legacy, but no relays needed. Air-Horn compressor would require a relay, but it's not much louder than AM100, and takes too long to react. *AKA "Highway Blaster"

It's the main bearings: If the sound goes away when you press the clutch down, it's the gearbox. A bad throwout bearing would only be noisy while the clutch pedal is down. Start by draing the MT oil, and take note of the size of the metal shavings in it. You can run a gearbox with bad bearings for a long time, but you should replace the oil often to stop the shavings ruining your cogs. A rebuild is expensive...

I like the comments on this thread. Very down to earth, and none of that K&N "will increase bore wear" crap we hear elswhere. Large, sand-size partcles cause wear, but don't get past cotton and gauze filters. The tiny bits that do get past only cause added resistance in the oil, and hence lower power output over time - or so I have heard in motor racing.

Please bear in mind that the PCV system may let enough engine oil "fog" into the intake - once the engine is switched off - to disturb the MAF. Regardless of air filter type, and even the Sube filters contain oil. Of course, in the above case the MAF was probably fouled due to excessive oil on the K&N element.

"but hey! what do i know! i'm just a girl Jamie" What tosh is this? Don't blame other women for your narrow band of knowledge. Your gender has nothing to with this. Stop using this pathetic excuse.

Looking at the stains on the catalyst, it does seem like they have been left behind by grease, not oil. Obviously, that would require real-life inspection to verify.

Well, I have done it, more than once and can't say I like it. I would get it done for the asking price. No shame in that. Save your pennies by doing all the regular maintenance yourself, and at shortened intervals.

So, are we looking at the same picture? If that's called the "outer" joint, what do you call the joint that lives at the other end of that axle? In the picture I am looking at, I can see the gearbox, the green thing, and a rubber boot which is secured either end by a metal band. Then I see the axle heading off toward the hub. The seal that keeps oil in the transmisson is not part of the half-axle. The half-axle can be removed without oil running out. Eiremed! Maybe there is no leak. Maybe the rubber boot was replaced by someone who was a little ambitious about how much grease to put in, and then didn't clean up afterward. Let the car cool down, and clean the joint with a dry cloth, and see if more grease appears in a few days time.

CV is an acronym for Constant Velocity. Unlike a "universal" joint, a rotating CV joint will maintain the same angular velocity either side of the joint, even at very large angles of deflection. I would use that definition to back up the consensus in this thread, that the green thing is a CV joint.

Rest assured, mine does both. 1) Linkage/throw-out lever needs grease. Air-filter box needs to come out to gain access. 2)Two things cause this. The AWD has more transmission "lash" or freeplay to deal with, and the engine mounts are too soft! You could replace them with mounts from the performance models, STi, WRX, or learn to live with it. I am choosing the second option, mainly for it's price. You learn to come off the gas more smoothly and the car repays you with a smooth transition. Let us know if you make the purchase! By the way, Castrol TAF aka. Syntorq will make the shift MUCH better!

Well, don't get scared by what bobistheoilguy says. I find that most of his tests and theories are of a suspicious nature. He may not always come to the wrong conclusion, but he rarely gets there using infallible logic. That "timken" oil experiment, for instance, is totaly irrelevant to the lubrication needs of a car engine. There is no place inside the engine that stresses oil in a single point. Most of the time, its a plain surface, in some cases a line. Never a single point. The timken doesn't supply oil at any pressure either, like the oil pump in a car engine. I ran a K&N in my 1990 Legacy, from 120 to 190k miles. No problems occurred related to MAF or bad filtration. I am running one in my Impreza now. I serviced the one in the Legacy once, and just made sure it was completely dry after the wash before applying the filter oil, and then let that soak for a few hours before installing it again. No oil on the MAF. It may well be true that the K&N element allows slightly larger particles into the engine, compared to the stock oiled paper element - yes, Subaru paper is oil treated too! However, if you replace your engine oil at reasonable intervals, like 6k miles, then the build of particles won't harm your engine.

If you like Bridgstone, stick with them. The characteristics that make you like Bridgestone will be hard to find elsewhere. By that I don't mean they are the best tyre ever, but they appeal to you, and that counts - appeal to me to! I run Blizzak LM18 in winter and they do me fine, and might offer extra snow traction over your present tyres, but I haven't tried those. I also run their summer tyres. Used to be real Michelin fan, but lately their prices have risen faster than their quality.

Okay, king looked a little closer at the photo than I did, SORRY! THERE IS A HOLE in your CV joint, get it replaced and try to argue for a warranty repair, since this "is a common problem" and they should know that!

It's the inside CV joint, and that's the number catalyst just below it. That thing gets VERY hot and because it's so close to the CV joint.....Mine looks the same, but I have never noticed it smoking. MAYBE, an overfilled gearbox will leak oil across the CV seal and cause smoke. Unless it continues to smoke, I wouldn't worry about it :-)

The 20% chance goes to piston seals in the caliper. After a pad change, the FIRST predal press is likely to go much further than normal and potentially damage the MC piston seals. Bleeding afterward wont rebuild the seal :-( Get the wheels off, and make sure the caliper seals are OK, then replace/rebuild the MC, it's the only logical next step. Nothing "dummy" about that :-)

Well, start in the engine room. The filter box needs to be removed. My 1990 model had four screws/bolts securing it yours may be different. Along with a "jubilee clip" that held the engine side of the intake pipe/hose onto the filter box. Careful, try not to bump/shock the MAF. The resonator/snorkus has a short pipe that intrudes into the filter box, this is just pressed in through a flexible rubber seal, and a bit of juggling will allow you to lift the filter box out. Once out, you have clear access to the top bolt that secures the snorkus. Unscrew this. Next up, get underneath the car and undo the plastic pop-rivets that secure the plastic shielding inside the fender, you don't need to remove it completely, but the front has to be able to drop down. From this angle you should be able to see the second the bolt that is still holding the snorkus in place. Undo it. Again, a bit of juggling and you will be able to get the snorkus down and out. From here, I did the following, after a lot of experiments, and found this to produce the best throttle response and induction noise - or melody if you prefer! The top part of the snorkus, the pipe that runs from the filter box, into the fender and makes a turn downward, needs to be cut off. Include roughly a four inch drop after the bend, meaning that you hacksaw the pipe off an inch or so above the big black box of the snorkus. You must attach a suitably sized intake-trumpet/velocity-stack to the end of the pipe to avoid turbulence. The turbulence will ruin the noise and throttle response. Screw the shortened peice of pipe back into the car and attach the filter box again. Make sure you get all the bolts secured. Seen from below, my install looked like this: http://www.geocities.com/vik2r/Sube/intake2.jpg At this height the intake opening is in no danger of ingesting water during normal on-road driving - I once drove mine through wheel-hub-high water and had no problems. Good luck, and try to keep the knuckle grazing to a minimum :-)

Well, the "ectomy" part of the word means "remove", so it doesn't involve adding anyhting. ALthough I do see what you mean about adding a real snorkel on serious off-road machines!

Lets call the black box: "resonator". The resonator kills some of the intake noise by slowing the air flow and thereby creating a barrier for shock waves that result from intake valves snapping shut as air is still trying to get into the cumbustion chamber. This slow moving air is a better feed for the PCV system, since the air pressure in the resonator will be higher and therefor easier to "suck" from. If possible, keep the resonator in place. Fitting the open type filter and making sure it has access to cool air will improve things, the resonator won't get in the way most of the time - except at high engine speeds, where slowing the intake air flow is counter productive.

Lol! :-)

A good mechanic can remove the cam covers - three bolts on either side - without leaving marks. The right tools and a little patience help, and the knowledge that these two factors also stop you scuffing your knuckles!

Dirt or gunk in a wheel speed sensor, or maybe a ballooned brake hose.

My cars always seem to leak a little from the front washer jets - usually in street corners entered at 40mph... :-)

Cool! Nick is as meticulous as I am! I run them up in four stages, star pattern, wheels off until the final tightening - can't hold them by hand. The difference in running them straight up is apparrent at high speeds, expecially at the second "harmonic" around 100mph.