deiscient

The pipe heading into the muffler has rusted through. Muffler seems OK, though. Looking underneath the rotted pipe section seems to extend from the muffler to a point just under the rear seat. The next section forward, running to the cat. converter, still seems solid so I would like to just replace the rusted section if possible. A rep at my local FAP office sez pipe sections are not available and an entire cat. converter pipe is needed. $380. AAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!! Does this sound right to the community?

If it is pronounced while turning that suggests a bad CV joint. Are your axle boots torn open? If so road dirt may have gotten in and wrecked your axle joints. Unfortunately, the bearings on Subes are sealed so inspection would involved substantial disassembly of the wheel units.

My '93 Leg has a 135/70 R14 spare. YOu could mount the larger tire on that smaller rim (they are 185/70 R14 for mine, yours are probably different) but, as Gilles points out, that narrow rim means more flexion stress at the tread/sidewall junction which increases the likelihood of a blowout. Also, the bead will probably not sit too well since it is designed for a wider rim. Do you want to use a full size spare on this vehicle? You may not be able to fit it in the wheel well and still have a flat cargo space floor as the space is designed for the compact. JM $0.02 here

'Nuther electrical problem here. I replaced the starter on my '93 Legacy about 2 years ago. The garage used a "reman" mongrel brand starter for the job. During the past few weeks I have been seeing similar behavior to that seen as my original starter was failing; not spinning with first few key turns although the solenoid "click" can be heard. This seems like a very short lifespan for a starter. Does anyone here have brand recommendations? The car has 121k miles on it and runs perfect. I hope to keep it a while longer. Thanks in advance.

Well, I have noticed when my '93 is garaged for several days then The 4EAT hesitates when shifting from 2-3 The overdrive will not engage at all The brakes are quite weak requiring extra foot pressure to stop adequately The steering seems to have a little bit of "wander". These conditions usually clear up in about 10 minutes of normal driving (about how long it takes me to reach the local freeway after leaving my house). Since the PS and trans. use the same fluid (Dexron II/III which may not perform well below 40 degrees C and optimizes at 80+/-) they will exhibit similar characteristics while warming up. Face it, these systems are all getting old and losing some of their resiliency. Personally, I am not relishing the idea of overhauling the transmission, brake booster or power steering system. Is your engine idling rough? Feel like a cylinder or two not firing? Check your ignition wires and/or coil. I had these problems a while back and replacing these items made a night/day difference. Of course YMMV. Get a good mechanic if you do not trust your expertise (I still don't for many things :-).

Is the car an automatic? If so make sure the lever is fully engaged in Park. If the lever does not reach P then you will not be able to spin the key fully to the "off" position. I had a similar situation some years back and the culprit was a penny lodged in the lever guide preventing me from fully reaching the P.

Now that the battery situation is clarified (and thanks for the moral support to all who responded) I need to change the front differential oil. The car has the 4EAT and I flushed the trans. about 6 months ago. The owner's manual specifies a variety of gear oil weights for this app. I will probably go with the 80W-90 given the climate ranges here in the NE. What brands of gear oil are preferred by the community? Synthetic or no?

This battery is about 18 months old. I have heard a few stories about new batteries that ran down in 2-3 days when a door was left open in an auto body shop. Accordingly, the dome light theory doesn't surprise me. That said, I will probably replace this one before the winter sets in since running it down reduced the ability to hold a charge. $60 lesson learned. :-(

An update. (teletype noise in the background...) I borrowed a voltmeter from a friend. We found the battery completely discharged. We then hooked up his charger for a few hours. When removed the juice returned: lights, accessories, starter, VROOM! His suggestion (and probably the right one): the dome light was probably left on for an extended period. The car had been in the garage while I went to NYC for a few days so this is plausible. Now, everyone please excuse me while I crawl into this crack in the baseboard and eat some crow...

I recently replaced the PCV valve and brake fluid as part of 120,000 mile servicing. I started to bleed out the RR caliper first when I noticed that I no longer have any electricity; no lights, no acc. no starter, no nuthin. No sparks or heat observed when I bridged the terminals of the battery (it is 2 years old) Might I have possibly hit something under the hood or in the wheel well to cause a short? If so, what "hot spots" should I look for? TIA for pointers.