Phaedras

Apparently my car is pinging since I installed a 45K volt MSD coil and 8mm Accel wires. I had also installed NGK V-power plugs. I believe my ignition timing is standard, so why is my car running the best with 90+ octane gas? Will these simple Mods already create the need for higher octane gas? My mileage seems to be affected as well and has sunk even more now that I have to run Premium gas. Also, will advancing the ignition timing create the need for even HIGHER octane gas? Will I have to be running Shells super-Octane gas if I follow through with that?

Good gawd, is this seriously the only way to remove the oil pan? Is the problem accessing the bolts or will the pan just not come off without bumping into something else? My oil pan on my 92 Loyale leaks slightly and I would hope that once it becomes critical I will either know how to do all this unmounting (and have the proper equipment for it) or there will be an easier way.

The socket I got looked like it meant business, but sadly the clearance between the cat and the differential is too narrow to fit the socket, even less the socket and wrench assembly. :-( http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=3909&size=big&sort=1&cat=500 This shows what i'm talking about. I've also now disconnected the sensor and my car doesnt seem to give a damn. No CEL, nothing. Not that I always want to be running around with an ultra-rich fuel mix...

My sensor seems to have been in quite a while, how would I best go about in loosening it up? Besides that, there seems no way to get a wrench around the hex-shaped part of the sensor. Does one usually use pliers instead? My sensor is the type stuck in the first catalytic converter.

Is this adaptor just for Nissan, or can it also be used in Subes? Is there an adaptor that could be used for a Loyale?

I have some new info: apparently the O2 sensor can also be at fault. When the engine is cold, a faulty one can screw things up a bit.

Fuel filter is new. Compression I have no way of testing. Exhaust seems ok. Cat doesnt go "clonk" when I hit it, and the mufflers exhaust pipe is pretty rusty, but the muffler itself sounds ok. Would a turbo muffler help? Problem also existed before I put in new plugs, but I will admit that it was the first time I had ever gapped plugs and they might variate between .47 and .50. This is only because I have a MSD coil and accel 8mm wires in there now, plus NGK v-powers. Otherwise I would have left a smaller gap. Anyone else heard of the "dead pedal" phenomenon?

Ouch. I thought that if the pioneers had the right hole lineup, there would be some adapter that could easily do the job. Sadly, I have no power drill right now (for shame), so I might have to have someone like Circuit City to do the dirty deed.

Bingo! Wow, that is great to hear someone describe the problem exactly. Of course, the question is still open as to what causes this phenomenon...the most obvious seems to be something in the fuel delivery system...

I wish, but I got the car used, with aftermarket speakers already installed. Pioneer had the forsight to use a set of different holes for different models. Infinity did not. Rotating also does not help. I think I can barely get one screw in, but that doesnt help much in the way of mounting the speaker. This is especially true for the door speakers.

Is there someplace I can find adapter plates for my 92 Loyale? I have some 2-way speakers from Infinity that have the typical "cross" pattern (top, down, left, right) of screw holes. These are so not going to fit the weird "star" pattern (top, lower left, lower right) of the stock holes. I would also prefer not to drill any new holes.

I'm not an expert on transmissions, so there's only little I can tell. The first time I drive the car in the morning I usually get the hesistation at it's worst. I'll be going down the road at a low speed, and when I hit the main road and want to jet out, it's like the car will speed up a bit, and then just hit a wall. It stays at the same RPM for 2-3 seconds, and then jumps. After that, it's fine for the rest of the trip. The later hesistations (which do not *always* occur) are minor compared to the first one, usually involving me going at higher speeds and wanting to go a bit faster, but it taking the car a second or two for that concept to kick in :-)

No, no codes at all. Had one for the EGR solenoid when I got the car 3000 miles ago, but pulled one off a junker and wiped the codes. Been fine now. Previous owner seemed to have forgotten a lot of basic maintenance, so I'm sure there's all kinds of smaller things in non-optimal condition. I'm just wondering which might affect the cars acceleration in such a way.

Automatic. The hesitation doesnt seem to be around the time it's trying to change gears though, I believe. And when it does so the transition is smooth enough.

Now I know these cars' 1.8ers don't have much accelerating power, but there are seriously times when I will hit the gas and for a good 2-3 seconds NOTHING will happen. Now that I've put in the usual performance coil, plugs, wires, filter, etc., the hesistations have lessened. I now have a nice low-end torque kick. But every once in a while (while still being annoyingly often), my engine just won't give a damn I've just hammered the pedal to the floor. Then, after a couple seconds, it'll surge and climb 1000rpm in a split second. Is all this just because my engine is small, or could there be issues with fuel delivery, such as a dirty injector? Does the O2 sensor contribute? I know mine is funky since I'm only getting 20-22mpg on a relatively smooth running car. Ignition timing needs to be adjusted? Would raising that and running 90-92 octane be beneficial? Or is my transmission funky? Thank you for your help.

No, no problems related to it. I just thought it wouldn't hurt, plus I'd like to see what the TB is made of. And it never hurts to install new gaskets, even the TB one. I was planning on just dissambling the TB and flushing it with warm water. Bad idea?

This may sound stupid, but I have no clue as to how to determine any of these phenomenae. My motor seems to be running relatively fine, according to my ears, but I don't know what I should be listening for.

The TB on my Loyale is quite dirty, with a lot of oil having built up over the years. Does it make sense to detach the TB and give it a thorough cleaning, plus switch out the intake hoses? Is there a way to get main intake hose (the one connected to the airbox) While I'm at it, I might as well clean the injector as well. Anyone know if there are ways to dissasemble the fuel injector and clean it?

I just built a new MSD coil into my Loyale and of course read the instructions AFTER I had it all set up. MSD mentions that I need a "ballast resistor" so no "personal injury" or "product damage" will occur. Is this all just hot air, or is my coil eventually going to go nuclear? I have the newer crank angle distributor, if that helps.

But where's this oil coming from? It worries me that my whole air intake system is full of this gunky stuff, but I'm more worried why this happened in the first place.

It's a solenoid thingy, it's almost identical to another solenoid whatsit. Seriously, isn't that the canister purge solenoid? Looks to be the EGR solenoid to the left of it, I just replaced one in my Sube today.

This is what I saw after removing the fat air intake pipe off the top of the fuel injector. I'm just going to assume this ain't the way it should look. A thrice-as-old identical model at a junkyard was a lot cleaner. All tubes running from the main one have this oily oil-like substance (possibly oil) on them, plus the one running into the PCV valve. What gives? Think I should powerwash this crap off? Switch out the hoses? (well, not really an option with the cold air intake)

Alright, so my plan to explore my car by taking random things apart probably wasn't all that great. I unscrewed the cap of the wiper motor for kicks, pulled it off less than an inch, but once I saw it was a generator of sorts I pushed it back on and rescrewed. 'Course now I know what it is, and now my wipers blow a fuse every time I hit the switch for a millisecond. Do I need to buy a new assembly or can I just rearrange the components inside the motor housing? Can someone hook me up with a new motor if all else fails? These things are horribly expensive...:-(

Well, in that case one must ask which brand of gas uses better additives? I'm sure with today's technology you can find some sort of chemical solution that can clean you're engine while you drive, the question is does anyone deliver that effectoively at this point.

I get Chevron's Techron gas just for the heck of it, but I wanted to know if people have any experience with different gasolines, like differences in mileage, motor wear & tear, etc. Or is this another one of those discussions like the mineral vs. synthetic oil? :-)