PopsicleMud

hehe... you guys posted a lot while I was writing my one post. I have a floor jack and jack stands too, if borrowing them would help. It probably couldn't hurt to have them on hand. I'm not too sure of my schedule on Saturday, but I'll see if I can free up a few hours to lend a hand.

I just replaced the clutch in my Loyale with my cousin's help. I'd guess it took a total of about 10 hours spread over three days, but it could probably be done faster. Monstaru's right about the hard part being aligning it when it goes back in. Having a real tranny jack would be a huge help. You might be able to get one from the AutoZone in Burien. They rent out some tools for just a deposit, with a full refund when you return the tool. I'm not sure if they have tranny jacks available though. Are you replacing the clutch too? If so, you'll need an alignment tool. I have one from doing my clutch, and I just left a message with my cousin to make sure she still has it and didn't throw it out with the old clutch parts. If she still has it, I can loan it to you. We did the clutch by dropping the tranny out of the way, but since we weren't swapping trannies, we didn't have to pull it out from under the car. If you drop the transmission, you'll have to lift the car pretty high to slide the old tranny out and the new one in. I don't have much advice to offer if you're planning to pull the whole engine/tranny assembly out through the engine compartment. When are you planning to do the swap? I'm pretty busy these days, but I might be able to help you for a few hours.

I think I can do that. I just remembered another question though... I want to be sure I put everything together facing the right way. I'm pretty certain I can figure it out, but I just want to be sure since I didn't get to see them in place. The two nuts that were sitting on top of the transaxle were a regular nut and one that has a large head and a narrower threaded shaft. I assume I put the cable through the rotating piece on the fork, then thread on the nut with the big head so that the narrow side is facing the fork, and put the normal nut on to lock it in place. Is that right?

I'm finally replacing the clutch in my Loyale (as mentioned in this thread). The new clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing are all in place and the transaxle is back in place and secured to the engine and crossmember. I just need to reconnect everything else. When I was taking it apart, I noticed a cable that connects to the fork just below the clutch cable, except that it wasn't actually connected. The two nuts that go on it were just sitting on top of the transaxle. I assume this cable is for the hillholder. The funny thing is that the hillholder used to work, but It's been a while since I drove it regularly because of the slipping clutch, so I'm not sure if it was still working or not. At any rate... Since it was disconnected, I don't know how it was set before. Does anyone have any tips on adjusting it when I put it back together?

I just wanted to poke my head in here to back the guys who are saying, "Replace the O2 sensor." My Loyale went from 22-24 MPG to 26-32 MPG when I replaced mine. Then the clutch started slipping and it dropped to 19 MPG. I'm changing that right now.

I'd feel the need to run skid plates on the street with that kind of clearance.

A friend of mine called earlier today and said that he saw a Brat towing another Brat in Burien, WA today. He said they both looked pretty nice, so we figured it would probably be someone from the board. So who has a broken Brat in Burien?

LEDs are plenty bright when aimed the right direction, as they are in truck tail lights where they're set in a panel facing the desired direction. Samo's point is very important, though. Enclosed car tail lights are designed to use the omnidirectional light from an incandescent bulb and spread it in the desired directions with reflectors. With those LED replacement bulbs, the light is likely to be very bright when seen from one direction and nearly invisible from every other direction.

I've driven with my headlights on during the day time ever since I had a silver '79 Cutlass that just wasn't very visible, especially on grey Seattle days. I just had a look around that lightsout.org website. What a load of hooey. I've never once felt blinded by someone's headlights during the daytime, though I can see why they're annoyed by some manufacturers using the high beams as daytime running lights. If they're worried about being blinded by headlights during the daytime, they definitely shouldn't be allowed to drive at night.

I think I'm just around the corner from you, Xoomer. Is your XT the blue one with the front license plate in the windshield? I have a black Loyale wagon with Pugs and Hellas on the front on 15th.

I think the answer's probably yes, but here are the circumstances. This morning, I was driving up a steep hill near my house (160th in Burien, for those of you who know the area). I got it up to 4th gear, and the engine started to rev up without putting in the clutch. I put it back in 3rd, and continued up the hill fine. When I got home, I adjusted the clutch cable nut out three turns. After that, I was able to drive up the same hill three times without any problem, but the pedal worked a lot lower than I like. I adjusted the nut back in 1.5 turns. Now the clutch doesn't seem to be slipping, and the clutch catches in a reasonable spot, but is this just a sign that I'm due for a new clutch?

I put Hella 500s (the big round ones) in front of my grill, and it hasn't caused any problems. I used to have overheating problems due to a bad radiator, and the lights worried me then, but since putting in a new radiator, it runs very cool, even with the lights. Here are some pictures so you can see how much of my grill is blocked. I did mount them near the front of the bumper to allow more airflow around them, but I'd say as long as your cooling system is in good shape, the lights won't make much (if any) difference.

Thinking about mods before it's even delivered? Sounds like something for the "You know you're a Subaru owner if..." thread.

Why is your car smoking? I'd guess it's a combination of peer pressure and irresponsible advertising from the tobacco industry. I'm sorry. Sometimes I just can't stop myself.

It wouldn't be so bad if they were consistant. I went to the test station in Renton, and they didn't test it on the dyno. They just had me run it at idle and then at something like 2500 RPM with no load.

So last weekend, when I crawled under the Loyale to change the O2 sensor, I noticed that something was missing: the stock skidplate! It turned out that the place I took it to for an oil change a few weeks ago forgot to put it back on. I called them and they still had it, just waiting for me to call, so I drove down there and of course it only took about two minutes to put it back on. It looks like they even cleaned it up for me. The moral of the story? If someone else works on your car, double check their work.

Having a good O2 sensor seems to have a big impact. By changing mine, I've almost completely eliminated pinging on big hills and improved my gas mileage. I'll have to go through a few more tanks to get a firm measurement, but my gas mileage seems to have gone up by as much as 5 MPG.

My girlfriend just graduated from WWU, so I've spent a lt of time in Bellingham over the last three years. There are lots and lots of Subarus there, but I'm sure they'll welcome one more.

I just got a Bosch universal fit O2 sensor for about $22. The only difference between the universal sensor and the OEM sensor from Bosch is that the OEM one comes with a Subaru connector on it and you have to crimp on the universal one.

Have you tried changing your O2 sensor? I just changed mine on Saturday, then took a trip to Mt. St. Helens. On the first 220 miles, which included the climb to 4000 ft and we used the AC most of the way, I got 26 MPG. On the last 75 miles, which was basically flat and we didn't use the AC, I got 32 MPG.

That last suggestion sounds pretty good to me, but as I read these ideas, I just can't help thinking of the old method for pulling a loose tooth: tie one end of a string around the tooth, tie the other end to a doorknob, and slam the door.

Badges? Badges? We don't need no steenkin' badges! Sorry... I couldn't help myself. Seriously, though. You need the badges to pass inspection? I'm glad we only have an emissions test here.

Brasso also works very well as plastic polish.

Yeah... what they said. I have a sloped driveway, and all I have to do to coast backward into the street is let the clutch out an inch or two to disengage the hillholder, then push it back in until I need to move under power. Once you get used to the thing, it's no hastle at all. Don't let it scare you away from a shiny new Subaru.

I have to get back into home brewing... and make room in the garage for my car. I thought translating between letters and numbers made it an entertaining challenge.