subynut

Went RallyX'n in Wedge over the weekend. Took third in my class.

Replaced the front struts in Wedge. Rides much better. Installed KYB AGXs, they are handling the stiffer coil overs alot better than the GR2s did.

That black EA82 wagon:

I love those Touring Wagons!

Fixed the glove compartment in Wedge. During a drive, on Saturday, I asked my little brother to get something out of the glove compartment. Well, the only thing that opened, was the knob falling out and the box still closed. So, later that afternoon, I started poking at it and got it opened, pulled the tumbler shell out to fix it. Turns out, there's this little spring pin (kinda like the axle lock pins on the tranny side of our CV axles) that worked it's way out. After some finagling, I put it back together and it works again!

Since the PandaWagon is gonna be down for a while, I decided to swap wheels and tires between the Wagon and Wedge. Two reasons: 1) the all seasons on Wedge are awful in every which way. and 2) they're taller than stock and it's killing my mileage. Reminds me of Twitch's XT. I'll get some better pics tonight. I can't make up my mind if I like them on Wedge. They look awesome on the Wagon, but Wedge...I dunno. I do want to go to a 15" wheel though. Around town driving is much much better with the shorter tires. Interesting though, the ride is much better with these than those 16s and the all seasons even though the sidewall height is the same between the two. Maybe those all seasons are just that bad.

Started the process of pulling the engine out of the PandaWagon.

On my way home, yesterday, I noticed the backlight to the trip meter was extra bright. I checked the dash, and..... wait, what's the voltmeter doing up there?!? It was pegged! Uhhhh....that's not good. I pull off the road and the voltmeter dropped back down to around 12V. I mess with the throttle and the voltmeter follows the tach. Wonderful! I lost the voltage regulator. I popped the hood and checked the alternator, YIPE! that thing is hot! So, I decided to take the risk of driving it home, kicked on all the accessories I could kick on, and kept the RPMs low. A trick with an auto, by the way. Voltmeter stayed close to where it was supposed to be all the way home. Even after letting it sit with the hood up for an hour and a half, it still was boiling hot and smelled like burned candy. I swapped it with a used spare I had and things appear to be back to normal. Daily driving Wedge is bringing out all the old Subaru quirks.

A couple cellphone shots of Wedge:

Fixed the axle with the blown CV boot on Wedge. No more axle grease flinging everywhere!

Yeah. I expect Wedge to do that. He's a Subaru. They're born jealous. But, my truck? It's a Ford, it's supposed to just work. The other three Fords do. Why does mine have to be different? I have two theories: 1) I think my truck has learned the way of the Subaru and has become jealous that it's the only vehicle of my three that has not been on a road trip yet. Or 2) Wedge has been saying BAAADDDD things about me to the truck behind my back.

I'm not sure. Thankfully, the PandaWagon made it all the way home on it's own. Power was not that much lower but mileage was dropping slowly. I did check the oil and coolant and there's no contamination between the two. Since I returned from WCSS, Wedge got mad at me for not taking him to WCSS and blew a CV boot. My truck got lonely while I was gone and burned up the bearing in the belt tensioner. So, I've been trying to get those two happy again so I can continue diagnostics on the PandaWagon. Poor PandaWagon, sitting in the corner with a dead cylinder looking all forlorn. No worries, PandaWagon, I'll get ya back on the road as soon as I can!

Did a compression test on the PandaWagon to find out why it has a wonky idle: That might be why. Well, I guess Wedge is going to the RallyX.

Made it home in one piece with no breakdowns. The PandaWagon developed a lope something fierce about 300 miles into the drive home. Feels like it's got a 3/4 race cam in it! Once you're over 2000 RPM, it smooths right out. highway power didn't change, I still need to check the mileage to see if my mileage changed since the lope showed up. Used 10 qts of oil on this trip. All during decel. But that's a whole 'nother thread... Barry had the shake-o-rama from the mud pit, but cleared itself up as we went along. Total miles: 3,447

Thanks to all the staff for another awesome show! We had a great time and well worth the 1700 mile drive up!

Greetings from Sierra Vista!

Road trip! Somewhere on highway 101 in Oregon: Dust storm in Nevada:

342 hp at the wheels? That Suby has got to scoot!

Did a shakedown test in the PandaWagon yesterday: no funny sounds, cruise is acting normal, speedometer is surprisingly accurate, just sticky, same goes with the Tach. I'll keep the speedometer app handy just in case the two start acting weird on the trip to WCSS. Desert heat does some weird things to electrical devices....

WANT! That AWD launch is music to my ears!

I replaced that bad strut top mount on the PandaWagon and scheduled an alignment for Monday. I also checked the brakes and their lines. CV boots look good. Still need to clean the undercarriage before Monday. Then it's just air checks and scrub down the interior.

Idasho, Who's digital temp/pressure is that? I like it!

Changed the oil in the PandaWagon and gave it a bath. Noticed the drivers strut top mount is cracked - will want to swap that before WCSS. Need to also do a good bumper to bumper check and make sure all is good for the trip.

The SPFI isn't exactly quiet. It has a roar to it too. Unlike the growl of the weber.

I certainly want to. Wedge as been to WCSS 10, once to Subiefest, and cruised the AZ part of Route 66. That's all the road trips Wedge has seen since I have owned him. I want to change that. Wedge is awesome and a great highway cruiser. Just need to get some things worked out and fixed before I trust him on a 3000+ mile road trip.