samneric

Thanks for the reply folks.... Just to clarify This is the bracket who's ears have broken off (at the end of part 15).. I guess I will take it to a shop and have them suggest the fix (either welding on new brackets or simply putting in a new piece that replaces the cat). Steve

Ok, so the brackets on my rear cat have snapped off so the rear pipe is now left dangling (much to the very annoying addition of excessive exhaust noise). I looked up the part on 1stsubaruparts.... $480 - wow. What do people usually do? New cat? Junkyard cat? have a shop rig up a new longer pipe and remove the cat alltogether? I'm in Louisiana that doesn't have an emissions test so that shouldn't be a problem... Steve

:banana: Dear Steven, Thank you for placing your order with Chaplins Subaru. Order details are given below: Order Summary: Order Reference # 727750 Order Status COMPLETED/SHIPPED Order Date/Time 2011-07-07 17:08:04 Shipping Method UPS Ground Domestic USA Shipping Amount $31.99 Order Total $351.85 Order Comment: Your recent order with SubaruGenuineParts.com has shipped. Your tracking number will be active within 24 hours. To track this order, please visit http://www.ups.com Copy and paste into the tracking box: 1z9971644246072028 ________________________________________ Ordered Items: Item Detail Part# Qty Price Total PT160200 GASKET SEAL KIT Make: Subaru 10105AA401 1 $210.16 $210.16 GSKT ROCKER COVER RH Make: Subaru 13270AA082 1 $10.94 $10.94 COVER CP VALVE ROCKER Make: Subaru 13272AA082 1 $10.94 $10.94 GSKT ROCKER COVER NO 20 Make: Subaru 13293AA051 4 $7.28 $29.12 GASKET WATER PUMP Make: Subaru 21114AA051 1 $2.90 $2.90 THERMOSTAT Make: Subaru 21200AA072 1 $13.87 $13.87 THERMOSTAT GASKET Make: Subaru 21236AA010 1 $2.51 $2.51 RADIATOR HOSE INLET Make: Subaru 45167AA020 1 $12.81 $12.81 RADIATOR HOSE OUTLET Make: Subaru 45167AC010 1 $12.81 $12.81 O-RING Make: Subaru 806919050 1 $2.23 $2.23 AIR PLUG Make: Subaru 45124AC000 1 $6.20 $6.20 SLNG BELT CVR 2 FR Make: Subaru 13594AA012 1 $5.37 $5.37 ________________________________________ Dealer Detail: Dealer Name Chaplins Subaru Email Address sales@subarugenuineparts.com Dealer Address 15000 SE Eastgate Way Bellevue WA - 98007 Dealer Phone# ()-- [Ext: ] Dealer Fax# -- Dealer Website http://www.subarugenuineparts.com

Well, my credit card was charged Wed - status is still "Processing". I guess that means I have at least made it to the next stage Steve

Gosh. At least responses are coming back. I will wait for feedback from my request on fb. Steve

Well, its been nearly 3 weeks since I ordered my Subaru parts... The timing belt kit came withing 4 days... These guys at SubaruGenuineParts have definately dropped the ball since I last used them.... Check out their Facebook page for all the questions regarding pending parts orders https://www.facebook.com/pages/SubaruGenuinePartscom/164392180262789?sk=wall Steve

Crank at tdc? isn't that so the pistons are positioned away from the valves so you can take the cams off without worry of valve interference? Steve

Changing the expansion (evap) valve and dryer is mandatory when changing the compressor. If you buy the kit you get those pieces and a bottle of A/C flush for cleaning out the components. Steve

Have a look here... http://ezinearticles.com/?AC-Doesnt-Cool-While-at-a-Stop---Air-Conditioning-Blows-Warm-at-Idle&id=2209876 When investigating mine, I did read that this could be a symptom of a compressor that is starting to wear - it doesn't provide enough compression at low rpms. But then, that article does list a few other reasons. If you car has high mileage with the original compressor, it may be time to replace it. I just did mine. Have a look for my recent post on the DIY fix.... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=122792 Steve

But getting back to your original statement..... My buddy had a 3 year old car when his A/C started blowing cold - it was a seal on the compressor. Even nowadays its happens unforch Good to know about that side of things as well - imho. Steve

Guessing HGs. Overheating will only occur after those symptoms..... Have a test done on water to confirm. Doing the same on my 98 OBW at the mo. GL Steve

No, I meant how you were discharging Freon into the atmos! Maybe there was a miscommunication! Steve

Booo Nipper, you're better than that! lol Steve

Lol - the psych part is the hardest part afterall - the mechanical stuff is easy Selling the car - You are selling an old car! You don't have to mention the *theories* of what is going on - only the facts - if that. Look at the positives of the car - apart from a few bubbles in the overflow tank the car's great right? It hasn't even over heated yet - that will come in time and only on long journeys. It just happened to me - my 98 OBW ran fine for 6 months around the city but just took it on a road trip and it overheated. At the end of the day, a fresh owner may feel better about investing in a HG job after he has driven it for a while and come to the conclusion that the HGs are the problem. Fixing the car - That's a poser - there is an area of the "unkown" there. Did he use the right gaskets? did he torque the bolts down right? was the block warped? You do have to realise - even a great, experienced mechanic can mess up. If it came to tearing the heads off again, I would definately have the block surface checked - it seems that was the only thing that wasn't done the first time. I'm not the most mechanically knowledgeable when it goes this deep - I'm going to do the HGs on my OBW and am only going to follow the great advice on this board. If it comes to pass that my block is warped - I'm not going to know that but if I get the same symptoms after all the other things have been done, I'm going to suspect that. Its a tricky dilema, I'll admit - one only made worse by not being able to do the work yourself - its always better peace of mind that way - if you do it wrong yourself its easier to blame yourself Anyway, good luck with the decision making Steve

Firstly - why recharge? If its working properly there is no reason to recharge. If it isn't blowing cold you need to find out why. Its not complex to do but you need some tools. If you don't have any tools you will need some gauges at least. Then depending on how much of an investment in tools you want to make you can buy more. The existing freon will need to be purged. You can buy a tool to do this for about 500 bucks. Or have an A/C shop recover the freon for a charge. Then you need to open the system/replacing seals and add oil to the components in liquid form or pressurized in a can after the system is re-sealed. Then you need to pull a vacuum - you need a vacuum pump - either buy or borrow from autozone. Then recharge. Basically, the process is too involved to post a solution on here. You need to buy the Haynes book on Auto A/C and study it till you are comfortable that you know what you are doing. That is why there arn't too many posts on this subject - you need to understand how A/C systems work before you can safely do any repairs.. I bought the book and most of the tools I mentioned but that was an investment for the future - its expensive! Steve

Yup this sounds like a psychological issue rather than mechanical. I think you know the answer to your questions but as you are slowly admitting to yourself - you don't want to deal with said answer. At the end of the day - you are going to have to make a decision. The options you have to choose from in my mind are: A) Confront the mechanic with the results of a test. Make a deal with him to repair again or whatever. Sell the car C) Keep driving the car until it starts overheating badly then sell/junk it. Steve

HG Parts Shipping Smackdown '11 Results so far: AutoPartsNerd (ebay) ___ 1 GenuineSubaruParts _____ 0 Steve

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Actually, I'll prolly just take the securing bolt out again and hit the block with the repeat torch/PB blast on cooldown technique while it is off the car - I've had reasonable success on stubborn bolts with that approach in the past...

Yeah, it was about that last time - I had figured they were ordering my parts from another location and they were waiting for them to come in.... In the meantime, I'll join their facebook page Steve

OK, cool, thanks for the update. Was thinking of trying to use my torch on it with it on the car - a tad close qtrs though Steve

Hey SchwarzeEwigkt, Good news on the success! I'm about to attempt myself Question: How did you fix that alternator tensioner? When I last tried to take mine off it was real tight and I knew it was going to break so I undid the other bolt instead (it was a ballache to put back on though - had to tension the alt up with the leverage of a big screwdriver until I could get the securing bolt back in). I wonder what my fallback plan is if it does snap off - I'm going to PB Blast it for several days beforehand just in case Steve

Well, everything has been ordered! I went with GenuineSubaruParts for everything except the timing belt/WP (ebay) - I guess we'll see how long it takes them - social experiment!!! 1stSubaruParts would have to have me ship the parts to my house which isn't as preferable as my work location. Oh yes - removing valves - where do I get the special tool??? Or is it better to have the machine shops do them? I'm not sure I trust them down here - for price and ability to work on Sube stuff. Steve

Alright, got the price down a bit following recommendations Description Part#___________Qty Unit Price Price '11 Overhaul Gasket Set_________10105AA401______1___$210.16____$210.16_____ Valve Cover Gasket, RH Old__13270AA082______1___$10.94_____$10.94______ Valve Cover Gasket, LH Old__13272AA082______1___$10.94_____$10.94______ Valve Cover Gasket, RH New__13270AA111______1___$10.94_____$10.94______ Valve Cover Gasket, LH New__13272AA111______1___$10.94_____$10.94______ Spark Plug Gasket___________13293AA051______4___$7.28______$29.12______ Water Pump Gasket___________21114AA051______1___$2.90______$2.90_______ Thermostat__________________21200AA072______1___$13.87_____$13.87______ Thermostat Gasket___________21236AA010______1___$2.51______$2.51_______ Radiator Hose, Upper________45167AA020______1___$12.81_____$12.81______ Radiator Hose, Lower________45167AC010______1___$12.81_____$12.81______ Oil Pump O-ring_____________806919050_______1___$2.23______$2.23_______ Timing Belt/Water Pump Kit__GATES TCKWP277A 1___$285.00____$285.00_____ Radiator Air Plug___________45124AC000______1___$6.20______$6.20_______ ___________________________________________________________$621.37__ Not bad - parts will dip under $600 when I take out one of the Valve Cover combos Steve

Will check into that - I got the $225 price from them on just the belt kit so I will look into the water pump combo. I think they come as part of the Overhaul Gasket Set so should be all set with those - All OEM Will do! Can't wait to get my hands dirty again actually! Steve