jarl

The LEDs may be somewhat temperamental with voltage/current. Do you have the dimmer at full scale? If "not", it's possible some of the LEDs are over the lightings threshold, and others below it. Have you measured the volts present at the IP connector, and the voltas at one of the bulbs? BTW: when you say you can't control the intensity, you mean that when you lower the setting on the dimmer all the bulbs stay on, or just that they turn off without dimming? If it's the latter, I'm afraid they are behaving exactly as they are supposed to. If you want to control the LED's intensity you need a PWM controller.

And how long to put it back on?

Yep. This is a very good opportunity to put an EJ22 in there. My '99 now sports a '95 EJ22 with 90k on it. When looking for alternatives, keep in mind you'll want to do the timing belt, water pump and seals. You'll probably need to replace the (plastic) oil separator. And while you are there, why not... ?

Something to keep in mind: if you have the new pipe in your hands, and you are 100% sure it's the right part, don't hesitate in bending/destroying the old one. I spent some time trying to be creative removing the one in my car until a chunk of it came apart because of the rust, and everything was much easier afterwards.

Just a quick note: on my '99 OBW with stuck rear brakes you could hear some grinding when turning in one direction. I don't know what could be flexing, though. Also, if you replaced only one of the axles before, try to take a look at the other one. The boot may be in so-so shape too

Man... that's a beauty... no visible rust! You have some serious leaks, though Those should have been addressed when the timing belt was done... Anyway... there are just two things catching my attention at this point (other than the oil mess and the apparently cracked knock sensor you already mentioned): - The the spark plug cables are not OEM (are they?). I don't know if that may affect the MPGs, but the collective brain seems to prefer OEM cables (or NGK, if I remember correctly) - The air filter looks very clean to have 50k miles on it. Still, I would consider replacing it to see if it's restricting the flow Other than that... I dunno. Try to measure the vacuum to see if there's a leak somewhere. I can't tell if the MAF needs to be cleaned... one of the local gurus may help you there. I don't think the mismatch in the number of pins is an issue. I saw you mention your tires are losing air quickly. If those are alloy wheels, consider having the tires re-mounted. That solved the problem in my OBW

Well... one month and a half later, I finally replaced the ATF on my car. I ended up using Valvoline Maxlife Dexron, because of the price and the fact it's specified for "higher mileage" cars. I chose to go for the "one stop" procedure (the Porcupine's Way ) to avoid wasting fluid as well. So... in case someone find this useful in the future, here's the report: I used... - 3 gallons of Valvoline Maxlife Dexron III - New OEM bolt-on filter and plug crush washer - About 4 ft of 3/8" clear plastic hose - A 2 liter Coke bottle with a mark at the 2qt level, an empty oil gallon jug, a pan to catch the oil - Ramps, filter wrench, sockets, etc. I drove the car about 5 miles to warm the ATF a bit, and to make sure any crap that may have settled over night went into suspension once again. Drove the car into the ramps, crawled underneath it and removed the plug. (bummer #1: the plug wasn't the magnetic one, meaning metal shavings were not being removed from the fluid). The stuff coming out of the transmission was nasty I used a filter wrench (band type) to remove the filter. The filter was too small to grab it, so I got a small piece of scrap metal angle and clamped it along with the filter. Installed the new filter and the plug (18lb-ft per FSM). Added one gallon of ATF using the dipstick tube (driver's side). Then transferred the old oil to the two (empty, graduated) jugs. From the marks on the jugs, I got 5.6 quarts of used ATF out of the transmission. I added two more quarts of ATF (six total) and then disconnected the top hose at the transmission cooler (on my '99 OBW the cooler is vertical and on the driver's side of the radiator). Then I connected the clear hose between the cooler and the (now disconnected) hose. Made a vertical loop with the hose, clamped it to the hood and started the car for a few seconds, until I saw ATF flowing through the hose. It was coming out FROM THE COOLER, meaning that was the return line to the transmission (the one I needed!!! if it had come from the disconnected hose instead, that would mean the return line was the one at the bottom of the cooler, which is a pain in the lower back to disconnect) Then I disconnected the plastic hose from the rubber hose, and drained the oil still on the plastic hose into the coke bottle (leaving the other end still connected to the transmission cooler). And the fun began... I grabbed the coke bottle with the hose still on it, sat on the driver's seat and started the car. Watched the bottle filling, stopping the engine slightly short of the 2qts mark (the oil will continue flowing a little bit). Poured the contents of the coke bottle into the used jugs, and put two more quarts of ATF into the transmission. Repeated two more times, but on the last iteration I added a bottle (1/2 quart) of Trans-X and only one quart of ATF. At this point, also, the ATF coming out of the hose was cleaner, although not 100% (bummer #2) At this point I estimated I had 11 1/2 quarts of used oil out and a similar amount of new fluids in, and 1 quart of new ATF left. Reconnected the cooling line to the radiator, cleaned up all my stuff, lowered the car and went for a short drive (again, some 5 mi). And to my absolute amazement, everything seemed to work fine The delay to go into "D" has reduced a bit already. It's still not "good", but better. We'll see how does it work tomorrow morning... Finally, I parked the (now warm) car in my garage, and checked the ATF level. It was slightly high, so I removed 8 ounces or so using a large syringe and a piece of hose through the dipstick tube. The fluid level still registers *slightly* high but I'll leave it there for now... until I learn how to read correctly the $%#^$ dipstick. I confirmed the oil wasn't as clear as I would have liked, but it's way better than it was originally. And I was done While underneath the car I saw some stuff I didn't like... the driver's side valve cover is covered in oil... probably because of a faulty o'ring on the oil filler tube (bummer #3). The bottom of the front differential is also covered with an oily grime (bummer #4) but I'd like to believe it's old (I still need to deep-clean that area). We'll see. Anyway... I hope this helps. I'll keep you posted.

I have heard stories of people hydro-locking their engines by pouring it too fast as well

Don't check the hoses but the vacuum level. That will give you a lot more information. You can borrow the vacuum gauge from autozone, or buy one at harbor freight.

Looking good About the smell: I used Odoban (I think Lowes carries it) on our minivan, and it really worked PD: It's "patchouli"

Time to calm down. You sound like an hypochondriac I would start by cleaning the MAF like John said. Personally I would remove the K&N and revert to OEM filters. Make sure you used the right spark plugs (you changed those, right?) and try to diagnose the whole thing without throwing parts at the car hoping to eventually hit the MPG jackpot. Make sure you check the vacuum produced by the car. "Hoses look good" means just that, but you don't know if there's a disconnected hose somewhere. Can you post a picture of your engine bay? I'm kind of curious... I wonder if the previous owner did something else beyond installing the K&N... BTW: EJ22 engines seem to be very robust, and judging by their reputation I don't think you have a blown head gasket. Also, if you car was burning oil (which means exactly that... oil getting to the combustion chambers and being burn along the air/gas mix) the smoke would be bluish.

Too many issues. Why don't you go V12 instead? http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2275426

Good point. If you didn't purge the cooling system correctly the last time you filled it you may have overheating problems. Not sure about the missing coolant, though....

Ecomodders suggestions are good, and not just for "extreme" people. The "65 suggestions" are really good (at least in my humble opinion ): http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php Of course, the first thing to do is making sure the car is working correctly As for the brakes, you'll want to make sure the pins are in good condition and the pads can move freely. In my car the pads were absolutely stuck, with one of the two pads on one side dragging and the other one not touching the disc *ever* There are some threads here about cleaning/overhauling the brakes. Edit: Sorry for the late edit, but this may be relevant: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/list-common-mechanical-problems-hurt-fuel-economy-5322.html

Assuming you don't have any CEL on: - Make 100% sure brakes are not dragging. Check the wheel temperatures after driving for a while - Knock sensor may reduce MPG without much indication, as do the upstream O2 sensor - Visit Ecomodders

A: Because they can get away with it! Most of the parts in these (and most) cars are off-the-shelve components, packaged in nicely stamped boxes (or bags), but since people don't know better they end up paying big money for anything. Case in point: the bulbs for the dashboard are 50 cents a pop at Digikey (and they are already making a profit), while the same bulb at a dealer is $3 or so. Of course they need to pay for the B&M store, but come on...

OE type/style probably means the sensor comes with the connector, so you won't need to splice the cables (desirable). I thought OEM was Denso, though ...

Gentlemen... may I suggest we don't abuse the system, so it lasts a bit more? It's just a matter of time before someone finds -and patches- the hole, and having a bunch of requests from subarus may call some undeserved attention... (Note to self: not reviving the thread may do the trick as well )

I found more detailed information at scoobymods: http://www.scoobymods.com/showthread.php/legacy-hvac-bulb-replacement-91.html?t=91 Specifically, they mention the subaru part numbers (don't know if it's the same for all the cars): "Short" bulbs: 72351AC061 "Long" bulbs: 72351AC051 The thread mentions also the Radio Shack replacements, which seem to be slightly smaller (catalog number 272-1092). More importantly, they mention what I assume is the bulb type: #7219, 12V, 60mw. Now... most of the stuff you can find at radioshack you can find at good electronics suppliers, like Digikey or Mouser. If you go to digikey and dig for "7219 lamp" you'll find some interesting results, at $9.99 for 25 bulbs. I can't guarantee it, but from the picture they look very similar to the radioshack stuff, at half the price. You'll also notice they have something called a "neo wedge" 7219 lamp. Those are not in stock and the minimum order is 100, but if they are the OEM ones, at 37 cents a pop, that may make for an interesting group buy... Edit1: the manufacturer for the "neo wedge": https://www.jkllamps.com/index.cfm?action=fam&tid=1&fID=19 Edit2: not soobie, but nice to dream a bit: http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-x300-xjr-26/what-led-backlights-dimming-38712/

More info about the bulbs: http://www.scoobymods.com/showthread.php/legacy-hvac-bulb-replacement-91.html?t=91

Did the '99 Brighton come with the newer 2.2? If so your coolant leak is probably external, and new head gaskets would solve the problem. Are you the original owner?

Is it possible to test the flow from the injectors on these cars? Maybe an exhaust leak?

Hey! When did you look at my car??? As mentioned before, the problem in my car were NOT the pins, but the rusted calipers. There's an Endwrench (?) article about this as well -and of course I can't find it now-. Tolerances are just too tight. If I remember correctly, the recommendation from the Endwrench article is to file the grooves on the pads where the stainless steel shims are supposed to slide. I decided to file the caliper instead.

In my case the pins were *mostly* fine, but the sides of the caliper bracket were rusted so badly the pads were 100% frozen. One of the pads was bent I had to remove a lot of material (i.e. rust) from the brackets to allow the new pads to move easily.