brus brother

My 2000 Legacy GT had a huge collection of road sand collected on both sides just forward of the front doors inside the front fender. Remembering how this area rusted out on previous Subarus as it retained moisture and stayed wet in there, I hosed the area clean until water was again able to flow through the drainage hole. Afterwards, I noticed that there was water dripping from the weep holes further back along the rocker panels. Now I have a persistent musty and moldy smell in the car and was wondering if there is any way to introduce a bleach solution into this area to get rid of the smell. Other than selling them to unsuspecting buyers, how do they deal with cars that have been submerged in floods etc to get rid of these smells?

My 90 Loyale rusted through at these little fuel dampers just outside the tank. They look like miniature "Mallowmars" about the size of a stack of 4 quarters. Anyway, look for something simple before you fret the worst case scenario.

Been following this post with curious ignorance and I must say... damn you guys are good!

Pass the word... Amen er.. Awomen

Hey Vicki, Check with the car dealerships around your area. I found my guy cleaning up a bunch of dents at the local Subaru dealer. They don't need much in the way of tools and work out of a truck or car. They use slim pieces of metal with various shaped heads (the tool that is... not the guy) that can be slipped down inside the window channel etc. and gradually romance out the dents.... then poof... dent no more. I paid about $150 and the guy just kept going, taking every little dent out of the car. There was one spot he declared not suitable for the method because of its location so I just let it ride.

Hey Vicky. Try and see if you have a local "Dent Wizard" or some version of a paintless dent remover. I was satisfied with the end result yet I would have been even more satisfied to catch the dolt who damaged the car.

Try spraying Lysol disinfectant spray into the air intake while fan etc. are running.

Not sure if we're talking about the same thing, but when I bought my 2000GT Legacy, there was a pronounced clunking on turning and I was told this had been occuring for a few model years. Eventually, they came up with a TSB that involved changing out some power steering hoses. It seems to have eliminated the problem.

Frozen retaining nuts on the timing belt covers probably not an issue.

So let me get this straight... even if you go to a dealer and have the 100K warranty juice added, then each time you might change the coolant for whatever reason, you need to have a dealer install the magic fluid or you void the then extended warranty?

Yes you can use the pads again. Just take them off, apply the grease to the BACKS only (or your next post will be about your trip to the hospital after you were slip, sliding away). Replace the brake pads and hopefully your woes will be gone. Hope this works.

Try dental floss instead of violin string.

Your secret is safe with me. BTW what time will you be arriving at our dealership for this "joyride"? Regards, North End Subaru Management... Just kidding

Mailman X is probably spot on with his diagnosis of the oil leak possibilities and suggested repairs. In the meantime, perhaps you could line up some customers and hire out your son to reseal driveways with the leaking oil from the Legacy. But seriously, there is enough real knowledge on this board to fix just about anything you throw at them.

Did you apply the anti-squeal grease to the BACK of the pads when reinstalling. The packet costs 99 cents at AutoZone etc.?

Had the car been driven or even started during the year it was "in storage"? I am going to pick up a car that has been dry docked since March and am wondering what to expect and bring along when picking up the car. Was the battery OK to start the car? Were the brake calipers frozen? I don't have access to a repair location and it's about 150 miles away (I do have AAA). Don't meen to hijack your post but would appreciate a heads up.

You would think that SOA would coordinate the oil leaks from the various engine defects and divert the leaking oil to the rust prone areas... now that would be ingenious.

Anyone know of a good Subie mechanic in the Cherry Hill NJ area (home of SOA)who is not into rape , pillage and plunder. Friend's 97 OBW is leaking a lot of oil at 177 miles. He already had the headgasket blowout 2 years ago and is debating fixing the car or leasing it out to reseal blacktop driveways with the leaking oil.

Low battery on smoke detector?? Just kidding but do you have any aftermarket installations with battery backups? Grabbing at straws for you...

Yup, In my town here in the rust belt state of Connecticut, they use sand mixed with salt! Just like throwing salt in an open wound. The good news about the rust problem is that as the car gradually rusts away and is replaced by Bondo and other lightweight materials, I get better gas mileage!

Having owned a few Subarus, I am aware of chronic rust problems. I just noticed on my 2000 GT Legacy that road sand had been collecting (and retaining moisture) in the space just forward of the front doors, right above the rocker panel and behind the wheel wells. If you open the doors you can easily visualize the space and use a gentle stream from a hose to flush out the sand etc.. There is a small drain hole at the bottom of this space that will function as intended once you get rid of all of the sollids.

http://www.geocities.com/matsut_rpi00/brake_fix.html http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/article.php?a=29 I could go on but if you want to make it easy on both of us, click on the USRM-Repair and Mod at the top of this page. Miles Fox has done some outstanding work for us all. The first site I mentioned has some pictures. One thing I never saw mentiopned was that you will have to line up the grooves on the piston with the dimples on the pads in order to slide them in and close the caliper. Good luck.

Dent Wizard uses various shaped metal rods and flat pieces that they can acually slide down through a window channel. They "romance" the dent out while viewing the exterior and compared to a black line reflected in a mirror. It was fun to watch. As stated previously, there is no need to repaint and this is a major plus. I saw the guy cleaning up the cars in a dealer's lot and cut a deal where he did the whole car... many dents for $200 cash. Seemed like a good deal for the both of us as it didn't take him more than 30-40 minutes. The results are very acceptable. The one ding that would have required drilling a hole etc. was left there and I don't regret not having created bare metal and the eventual rust that follows. It's a great system and hopefully your dent didn't break the paint surface and will be a good candidate for the process.

Great if that's the problem. My 90 Loyale was a horrible smoker and it turned out to be the rubber boots failing around the bolts that hold the valve covers on. It still leaked from the front end afterwards but the majority of the oil leak was related to those boots. As far as getting those timing covers off, this is a common problem and various authors have even suggested just drilling them out and using zip ties afterwards to replace them. Moosens had a very interesting trick for loosening the nut so contact him or check his postings and if you've never gone there, check the engine section linked under USRM Repair and Mod at the top of the page. Miles Fox has many excellent listings on just about every phase of repairing Subarus. This website encompasses an outsatnding group of pros, semipros and hacks willing to share their sorrows and successes. Check out the archives and you will see you are not alone.

I bought a 2005 OB 2.5i LTD Automatic at the end of July ($26,8000). I find the steering stiffer than my 2000 GT Legacy and I think I prefer the lower to the ground cornering in the GT. There is another issue in that a cold (overnight) start of the engine sounds horrible for the frist 25 seconds and then smooths out. SOA states this is normal and has to do with low emissions. Do other manufacturers have a similar noise... I think not. I read where there is an issue of lack of real protection offered by the side air bags. Apparently while they provide adequate head protection, your body will be a hurtin'. Style over function... I love the look of the car. BTW, just spent a week in San Francisco.... great hills.