MR_Loyale

The front right did seem a little stiffer. I bled some fluid and took off the calipers to spin it o see if the bearings made noise. They seem to be OK. I put the calipers back on and it seems to spin freely now. I think the clunk I hear was the passenger side CV axle. I drove it for a bit and was not able to reproduce the clunk other than the known axle noise. Thanks for the help, I totally forgot about the hill holder.

How do I release the brake pressure on that hill holder? Backed the cable out all the way and still has grab.

Oh crap! Never thought of the hill holder. I did adjust the cable a few months ago (brain fart). THANK YOU! (drop computer to rush out to the car)

EA82 Loyale Sedan FWD MT (93). Got under Uno today to check out the front suspension components because I am getting some noises when I drive. It has been a while since I checked under there so I took today to do so. I put it on jack stands and went to spin the wheel by hand (to hear the bearings) and the brakes are grabbing even though the emergency brake is off. The fluid level is good so I am not sure what is going on. Anyone ever seen this before? I thought maybe my emergency brake adjustment was wrong but I did this same check of spinning the wheel last August before I left on my trip and it spun freely. What could change over time to make the brakes grab even when the emergency brake is off? Pads are good btw. I know I have an issue with one or more of the axles as I get a repetitive clunking that increases in frequency with my rate of speed. I think it is the driver side so I will replace the axle. Do I have to undo the two bolts connecting the leading rod to the control arm so I can get the ball joint out? Also what size punch is needed for that spring pin? Finally the ball joints. These are the original to the car, 180,000 miles on them. They appear to be in good shape. I could not rock the wheel either vertically or horizontally. Two days ago I got a wierd clunk doing a left turn up my driveway and I suspected ball joints. Can these be bad even though there is no apparent play? At 180K miles and 22+ years should I just replace them for safety sake? They aren't an expensive part.

It all comes in a kit for about $100 (US). You can probably find the belt alone without the tensioner and idler pulleys, but if those quit working, you risk killing the new belt. Belts should be replaced every 60K miles (96560 kilometers).

I had a similar thing happen to me the first time I did timing belts years ago. It wasn't the timing belt, it was the crank pulley. I hadn't tightened it enough and the nut came loose about 300 miles later. Another reason the car will suddenly die is if the screw holding the rotor in place comes out.

Might ask this mechanic what he thinks because he fixed this same thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoZ4KRkmnA&feature=iv&src_vid=zLEudwDEY-c&annotation_id=annotation_1047107659

So Magpie is officially gone now?

Is it impolite to ask the name of the outfit that treated a longtime contributor so poorly? I would like to know whom to avoid. If that is how they treat loyal employees, customer loyalty is probably held with equal disdain.

I agree that the Impreza would offer more safety however, the Loyales at least do in fact have crumple zones. Cannot speak to the gl models but it was definitely a selling point back in 94 when I bought my Loyale. The 89 is probably least safe in side impacts as I am pretty sure the crumple zones for it (based on my Loyale) are head on only. Impreza also has airbags doesn't it?

Actually the ability to live plot real-time readings was one of the reasons I chose that model Jeszek. You pretty much have real time abilities in that scanner. The thing is that OBDII can send many different kinds of messages, ones that exist when that scanner was produced and ones that come out since it was manufactured. The phone apps probably have an ability to sniff out the new messages, but I am guessing that the software that came with the scanner can be updated as well as the flash memory in the scanner itself. So other than having the ability to plot gorgeous million colored graphic based charts, yours has a basic Cartesian (x,y grid) plotting in one color. Here is a video of what he is talking about: No phone service contract required with your scanner.

Also I avoid ARCO for their crap gas because they are the FRAM of gasoline. Just thought I'd throw that one out to keep the thread going. Discuss.

Thanks for posting the source of that letter and the link. The pdf begins : "Oil Filters come basically in three qualities. Very good, with excellent filtration; normal; and really incredibly bad. This last category, really incredibly bad, should obviously be avoided. Accordingly, never use a Fram, Pennzoil, Penske, Castrol, or Quaker State oil filter in any motor you like. All of these filters are made by Fram." For the record I don't think FRAM is the devil nor should their factory be burned to the ground and their employees are probably just trying to feed their families. The jury is still out on their executives however. FRAM is the choice of Cheap Bastards (CB) everywhere. Now don't get me wrong, I am a cheap bastard at heart. Father time however has brought me to a new level of Cheap Bastard Enlightenment (CBE). Because in every action you do there is a reaction. If I choose to drink CB beer or wine (two buck Chuck) and save some bucks, I might find I get a reaction of gaseous rumblings and liquid poo the next day. If I choose the CB bread I might save some bucks and but I won't get nutrition I need and maybe later I will fall ill with cancer due to the chemical fillers they use. By the time you reach my age, you have either learned something from those experiences or you just do the same thing over until you die. If you learn from the previous experiences your CBE level goes up. If I use CB filters on my beloved Subaru, the thing that gives me freedom, I might get a reaction such that the Subaru doesn't move any more and I will have lost my freedom. But that is where I draw the line my friend. They can take away my beer, my bread my toilet paper... If your Subaru is still running this July-August I hope you make it to WCSS.

Have you ever considered teaching a program say like the community college? Be sure to post here if you decide to do your own business either in a fixed location or mobile. Sounds like you already got lots of customers that know you are trustworthy. That is an asset as they are clientele you can use to start your own gig if that is what you want to do. Maybe a youtube channel dedicated to repairs and such? Best of luck.

Well Sapper thank you for the response. Just for the record, I personally could care less what oil filter you use nor what toilet paper either. And if by some coincidence you can make an economy of scale combining the two I applaud you sir! First off, cellulose is NOT a synthetic media and so is not on par with other media like fiberglass mesh. Why? Also as explained in the WIX comparison video, the spaces between the strands in cellulose are nonuniform in width which means the filtering ability will have great variation. Some areas will have strands close together, restricting flow while others far apart letting contaminants through. Here is a microscopic close up: Most cheapo oil filters use paper. Toilet wipe is also made of paper. Coincidence? Did you PERSONALLY write "Mr Lawrence" or just copy and paste it from a FRAM fanboy website? Please cite the source for context if you did not personally write to FRAM. I will give him credit for admitting the end-caps were cardboard. In the past they have danced around the term to mislead the public giving the end-cap material various euphemisms so as to avoid acknowledging it is really cardboard. . It is also interesting the lengths to which FRAM goes to convince the consumer that the cardboard end-caps are just as good as metal end-caps and their sheet paper (cellulose) filter media is just as good as fiber mesh reinforced material yet their more expensive (xtra guard etc) include steel end-caps and mesh reinforcement. You don't need a PhD in logic to see the original premise that is flawed. In short, if a paper end-cap and paper filter material were "on par" with steel end cap and mesh reinforced fiberglass, there simply would be no need for an "extra guard" or "x3" type FRAM filter as the originals would be be as good or better. What is insidious is the FRAM marketing hype that tries to push off a filter made of an inferior material as being on par with a quality constructed filter. Cheaper supply chain materials costs means larger corporate profits for FRAM and the retailer, not better filtration for the end user. And since the likelihood of any of their prospective customers having the financial means to prove an engine failure was caused by their products let alone pursue it in a court of law ($$$$), they are probably safe in their market space. Your use of FRAM is your business. All we can do is offer our opinion and experiences. However If you ever post a TOD thread at some future date asking for help, don't be surprised if your use of FRAM filters is called out as a contributing factor. But you will still be warmly welcomed at the next WCSS!

Just because FRAM makes the OE filter for Subaru doesn't mean they aren't garbage. http://www.fram.com/media/20698/recall_notice_02052013_for_distribution.pdf Maybe Subaru needs to be bashed for using such poor quality oil filters as OE. Of course if you have some objective evidence to the contrary, I would certainly be open to examining it. The key word being objective (no FRAM financed or affiliate, subsidiary etc of FRAM (or parent (Honeywell is it ?) ) financed "research"). Here is a video of a fellow comparing the FRAM with some others. Note near the end when he shows the small number of pleats compared to the others: CARDBOARD end caps on the filter.

I always had a sneaking suspicion the Underpants Gnomes had some hand in it. But I cannot prove it.

It was more exciting when we had to wonder about the mystery. Now I will go back to wondering about why two socks go into the dryer but only one comes out and the sadness it brings to the lonely survivor.

FRAM, the "good stuff".

Nice. I bet if Jeszek ever bought one, that is what he'd go for.

Could the starter solenoid be bad?

Today UNO caught up to his big brother Ash:

There is a screw driver in the factory supplied kit that is usually in the trunk side compartment. Those screws are a soft metal and can get so they won't stay in. At one time mine got so bad that every other day it would come out because the threads on the screw would wear each time it was tightened down. I finally had to replace it. I think Subaru meant for those to be replaced whenever the rotor was replaced. Why they couldn't make a snap-on style rotor, as US cars had since the 60's is beyond me.

Maybe it was a self destruct switch and he tried it out.

If the AC doesn't have a charge that means there is a leak, an O-Ring or hose perhaps. That leak needs to be fixed and the the system evacuated an shown to be able to hold a vacuum. Harbor Freight sells a manifold kit for this very purpose though it isn't cheap. Once the system holds vacuum and is evacuated (with a vacuum pump ) then you can add the refrigerant. Of course unless you have access to those two tools, you are simply guessing. If you decide to persue this, then you will need a conversion kit to allow your old system to use the new refrigerant as the old freon is an environmental no no and prohibitively expensive anyway (prob about $700 just to fill in today's money. In 2006 i cost me $600 just for that old freon). It sounds as though you have more fundamental issues though as the compressor clutch will not engage. I understand that being in AZ this is important to you. Just telling upfront the costs to be able to thoroughly troubleshoot the system properly. I am sure taking it to a shop would prob run in the many hundreds of $$$ too, but doing it yourself you would have the tools if it broke down again. On mine I had it "fixed" by an "AC shop" in 2006 as I was visiting Eastern Wa in the summer. The place got it working, filled with the original nasty freon at $600 just for the freon. Well when I got home to Western Wa about a month later it all leaked out. I know this because there was a fluorescent dye that marked where it had leaked. In 2013 I fixed the AC determining the leak at the firewall had an O-ring that was not for refrigerant systems and too small as well. For $2.50 I got an assorted pack of proper O-Rings replaced it, vacuum tested it and refilled with the new stuff. There are good videos out there on AC system repair by Scotty Kilmer and Eric The Car Guy. Also you should have either an FSM or Haynes to get you started. Good luck.