Scottbaru

Any foam or milky look in the oil? It could be an external coolant leak, simply leaking out somewhere. Did they find evidence of seepage, maybe some white, crusty buildup along the headgasket? It could be a coolant leak anywhere, even a leaking radiator cap.

http://www.mcmaster.com/ shows nearly 1000 spring pins, I'm sure you'll find what you need there.

A few months after I bought my '99 I decided to adjust my clutch. I found a heavy wire dangling, turns out it was the engine ground. It ran great without it, no change after attaching it. What about spray-painting with zinc "galvanizing" from a rattle can to prevent corrosion? What about copper anti-sieze in the connection?

Excellent, I wonder what they did? Any change in fuel mileage? It's probably a PID type controller, they may have adjusted it to be less aggressive with the throttle. My '90 Eclipse GSX had a mildly abrupt cruise control, the head of product development at Mitsu told me it was programmed for the non-turbo version, and was giving a bit more throttle than needed. It wasn't nearly as severe as this, and there was no real need to compensate.

My 740 has an electric pump and valves, pulling coolant from the engine and routing it through two heater cores. Lots of little oddities in this car, but well done and nice to work on. No mention of what coolant yet? Yeah, you can always default to OEM, but that tends to be $, and no dealers anywhere near me. Prestone's site says the phosphate in their coolants is a corrosion inhibitor, but tends to settle minerals out of the water. They say it's not recommended by euro manufacturers because they have hard water over there, but Prestone says it's ok over here. Huh? Anyway, they offer Dex-Cool, phosphate and silicate free. It was designed for GM, but GM now recognizes that it does more damage than good, bummer. Lots of info on Dex-Cool damage on the web. I'm running it in three of my four cars, guess it's time to change some coolant. Zerex has some good coolants, recommended by BMW and enthusiasts. I don't know who carries it, haven't looked yet, but that'll be my next coolant. I always run distilled water with my coolant, but rarely can I get all the hose water out. Even with opening the block drain and blasting with air, I usually come up a gallon short on what I should be getting in there. I always put in half the capacity of coolant first, then water, so I know I have a 50/50 mix.

I agree on the easy-out. If you're not familiar with the process, you need to get a hole centered in the broken bolt for the easy-out to go into. The broken end is rarely flat, usually a prick punch is best to start the hole, then a center punch to enlarge the small dent, then a small, sharp drill to make a pilot hole. Follow that with a drill appropriate for the easy-out you've selected. The easy-out is a left-hand, tapered spiral that digs in as you turn it left, which should unscrew the broken piece. I'd soak that broken piece in penetrating oil as soon as possible and let it soak a while. I prefer PB Blaster or Kroil, but anything will help. If you break off the hardened easy-out in the hole you've got a real mess, as you can't drill through the hardened easy-out with most drills. Good luck!

I put an ARB bullbar on my Landcruiser, lots of importers for those, maybe they have something? It seems everyone has bumper protection in Northern Australia, Mad Max stuff.

I have a question for a friend: He wants a 2002 Impreza and is open to a TS, Outback, or WRX. What should he look for and what motor is the best? Any tips on things to watch out for? He wants to buy one with 70-80k and drive it for a winter car for a few years, hopefully until at least 160k. thanks for any help.

Must be an auto tranny in that Audi 100 pos. If it were a 200 I might make you a deal! I'm looking at a '95 S6 avant, last year of the mighty 5-cyl 20V turbo and durable drive train & suspension. A lotta $ though. The last year of the Subaru 2.2l was '99, and only in the Legacy, not Outback or Legacy GT. I'm keeping my eye out for one of those too, my quattro is going to give me trouble some day, everyone on this board says so! I've heard the 2.2 came in some early, manual tranny Outbacks. A low-mileage example would be a very good find.

Just a note of caution: My brother was part of a team that tried to develop a notch-back Camero at GM. In accident testing the flat deck sheared through the interior at neck level. They tried weakening the thin, fiberglass deck until it was too flimsy to be practical, and it still sheared through. I built a deck in the back of my Landcruiser, but never used it because it seemed dangerous. I have some ideas that will collapse longitudinally, and have good strength, but they're either fairly expensive.

Today I saw both these tires at Sam's Club. The TripleTred looks much more sophisticated, with more edges and ramped grooves that look like they'd expel slush better. The HydroEdge looks very 2D, simpler, more rubber and less groove, less variation in groove width or depth. Just from looking at them, I'd expect the HydroEdge to have the advantage in dry handling, the TripleTred in wet and snow. The TripleTred does get much higher marks in snow on Tire Rack's site, and slightly higher marks in nearly every other catagory, including noise and dry handling (what do I know?). And it's $12 cheaper. I'm getting info on Nokian WR and NRW, and if for some reason I don't go with Nokians I'll get the TripleTred. Tire Rack's price is about the same as Sam's, but I'll probably pay a little more to go to my usual dealer.

What engine is common in the NZ Subarus?

I don't see the NRW on the Nokian site, maybe I'm not looking in the right place? I see them here http://www.tirefactory.net/nokian.htm, and on the website of a dealer here in town. Anyone know about this tire? My daughter has decided she loves my Legacy, so I'm looking for another 2.2l, and likely two sets of tires now.

I drive mostly on dry pavement, year-round, on my 200-mile commute to O'Hare five times a month. The south-west shore of Lake Michigan can be fierce in the winter. I occasionally hit wicked blizzards, life threatening whiteouts, wet slush, and glare ice, with little warning. I can't justify dedicated winter tires. I expect the heavy mileage on dry pavement would reduce their effectiveness in the snow, and I'm reluctant to give up dry performance. On Tire Rack I sorted the 34 possible all-weather tires, and found the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred has the best snow rating based on customer surveys. It looks good, lots of siping and soft compound, heavy water channels. It should wear well and be in good shape when I hit unexpected weather. My other possibility is the Nokian RW or NRW, both look excellent for snow, lots of siping and decent water channels. I don't know much about their wear or noise, or problems. I can't find much info on the NRW, I suspect it's new? It looks noisy, but it's amazing what technology can do.

If it's not an Outback or GT, it's likely a 2.2 liter, which is a very good engine. That's the last year for the 2.2l. I'm looking for another AWD wagon myself, and that's the one I'm keeping an eye out for. That sounds like a fair price if it's in good condition, I paid a couple grand less in January for mine, but mine has no options, and I think I got a screaming good deal.

My neighbor warped the front rotors on his '02 LLB Outback, replaced with OEM, warped again. He did some investigating and found they have a service bulletin for bad alloy used in his rotors. He replaced with non-OEM and has had no further problem. It's his wife's car, and they're about 60 years old and very conservative, so I don't think it's her driving style. I don't know anything about the bulletin, maybe someone here knows how to look it up?

I disagree. Go to the Jeep forums, you'll quickly find their weaknesses in posts ranting or asking for help. Same on Audi or Saturn or Subaru forums. If they talk a lot about transmission cooler troubles, guess what: those cars probably have transmission cooler troubles. These forums are a concentration of car problems broken down by model and year. There are some forums that have few mentions of problems, the 80-series Landcruiser for instance. I did my research before buying my 80. I also did my research before buying my Subaru, and I avoided any with a 2.5l, and watched for clutch problems. I'm looking for another AWD wagon, and I'll be avoiding Subarus unless I find another steal on a 2.2l manual tranny with new clutch and low miles. I think I've got a great car in this Subie, but that doesn't blind me to the reality that there are many bad Subarus. I love my quattro, it's gone 250k with minimal trouble, as did my previous two and two of my brother's quattros. I'd love to get another like it, but the newer ones aren't reliable and I won't consider one newer than '96. Get on the forums and read and ask questions like you are, that's a great way to evaluate used cars.

I'm looking for a new used car. I like Subaru, but I won't consider a 2.5. I'm considering some 6-cyl Outbacks online, pre-'97 Audi A6/S6 quattro, possibly a Toyota/Lexus mini-SUV. It's hard to drive with my fingers crossed.

On other cars I've had good luck protecting the radiator with cardboard or plywood. The starter trick works, but be very careful, and do disable the ignition. And if you don't get it on the first hit of the starter, don't hit it again in the same spot or you'll burn the starter. I hope anyone getting this far into their engine knows how to burp the coolant, although I'll be trying it for the first time this fall. Standby for dumb questions... I've been active on several car forums for the last decade, and lists of parts needed for a job are some of the most useful posts. Thanks! Workarounds for difficulties and special tools are also helpful, and pictures are a huge help. Good post.

Deer, I've hit five now. The two quattros fared well hitting deer at almost 80mph, but the cam pulleys were hit hard. They're just behind the grill, and interference engines. One actually ran well enough to drive to a hotel despite a bent cam pulley. That's another reason I lean toward Landcruiser as my next vehicle, preferrably with a bull-bar.

I'm drooling. Not many in the states, lots of talk on the cruiser forum of converting our 80s. Nice! Is that a 5-cyl? I've had three quattros, they all last forever or until you total them. Several type-44s around here with well over 200k on the clock and going strong. One brother still has his 4000cs quattro running well, needs my turbo engine in it someday.

I bicycle to work, and I'm on my fourth tank of gas this summer in the subie! Most of that gas is from my daughter borrowing it to save her gas $. I'm looking for another car as my daughter's vintage quattro can't last forever. My first choice is a used Landcruiser getting 15mpg. Second is a new TDI. At 15mpg vs 45 (realistically)mpg, and 20k miles/year, and $3/gallon, I save about $2666/yr in fuel cost in the TDI. The new TDI will end up costing well over $24k, interest on my car loan and depreciation will be far more than I save in fuel, and I'm in a tiny car instead of an awesome Landcruiser. I guess if you must have a new car for some reason, maybe diesel or hybrid has some advantages. A slightly used Legacy will probably save you a lot more.

I'm pretty sure tdi stands for turbo direct injection, and they've been around a while. The California Air Resources Board set an impossibly low particulate standard for diesels long ago, effectively killing most diesel cars in the U.S. Nevermind that they put out significantly less of many more lethal toxins than gas engines.

Or buy the ChanneLocks, and wrap a piece of the old timing belt around the sprocket to hold it.

I'd rather have roller bearings than ball bearings, but ball bearings are usually cheaper.