oregoncoast

I had a gas smell in my car. Turned out to be a tiny hole from a sheet metal screw that some past owner had used to secure something inside the car. Check to make sure no one hooked up a sub woofer at some time and attached it to the bed in the back not realizing the tank was right underneath. Long shot, I know. Sure surprised us.

Check the airbag fuse under the dash. It is an SRS/ignition fuse and I've seen these blown in cars with deployed airbag. If you remove this fuse (or it is blown) the car will crank but not start.

Honestly, these guys have given you the solution to the problem you described but you are choosing not to listen. Trying to solve the problem and keep the Pug wheels just because they were a hassle and expensive to obtain is not really a sound decision. Many of us here spent good money on parts that later just didn't work as we wanted them to. Also, you don't need to find someone who is a "real mechanic" just someone who knows about the suspension in these old subarus. Your problems started because you put the lift blocks in backward and then it snowballed from there. You still seem to think that having them in backward would not have caused your camber problems even though everyone here that has experience with them said it would cause the issue. You are going to continue throwing bad money into this car. And the fact that you welded a repair on important rear suspension components is very concerning, given that your knowledge of suspension is limited. A "bouncy" car is not just a comfort issue, it is a safety issue. It is unsafe if the wheels can't stay on the ground. So basically you have front wheels that are not staying in contact with the ground and a rear end that is out of alignment and welded together by a non professional welder with no experience welding suspension components. This sounds to me like a recipe for disaster especially if this is being used as a daily driver. On some of the cobbed together rock crawling projects you see on here, a suspension failure just means a bad day towing the car out. At highway speeds, a suspension failure means a much, much worse day. I understand your frustration, and I see many people feeling the need to alter their car from stock. The fact is they are great cars stock. Sounds like you had some minor scraping on the sand on the very few occasions you would go to the beach; that does not sound like a problem that really needed attention. BTW, the larger tires also affect other components other than just rubbing. Go back to full stock, sell the pug wheels and lift kit, use that money to get some good non-rusted rear suspension components and drive it till you have grandkids. Good luck.

http://store.camel4x4.com/product/SUB001B.html "two in a box" $120 a box I may just have to try these out.

Dude. Get some ac for the wife and dog....damn!

very nice indeed.

Could you provide a link, because the only ones I see are in the 200 ft. lb range. Thanks http://www.milwaukeetool.com/press-releases/milwaukee-delivers-industrys-most-powerful-18v-compact-impact-wrenches

So according to that photo, you should just visit your local pick and pull and let the inspiration flow....

I believe my mechanic has done this successfully, or was about to do it. We are looking at replacing the drive shaft on the race car and so he was working on it to save us some bucks. I will check and get back.... PS I raced a 1200 mile race in Baja with a notchy driveline and then drove the car back...so you might have more time than you think with normal driving.

Very cool.

You guys that keep breaking bolts really need to invest in an impact wrench. Life is much, much easier and faster.

I would love the info on this drive shaft shop that will rebuild two piece Subaru driveshafts - thanks.

You can probably get away with just replacing the struts themselves and reuse all of the other hardware. Take a good look at the bump stops though, mine were toast. Everything else usually can be reused unless trashed. Rent a proper McPherson strut compressor for free from you local auto parts store and just switch everything over one at a time. And air tools are your friends. If you are not using air or at least a decent impact wrench to work on these things...you are working way too hard. If rusty, soak with PB blaster or the like. Also, you can mess with disconnecting the brake line or just cut the new strut bracket, bend it back, place the line in and then zip tie it. No issues whatsoever. U Use a paint marker to mark your front camber bolts before removing...you'll see the marks. Save you from having to get an alignment maybe.

Which Stant one are you using? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/124587-new-stant-xactstat-oem-thermostat-available-at-parts-stores/