issues to tackle for newbie

[skinnyhb]

alright, as some of you have read in my other thread, my car needs some work. it has been suggested that i approach some of these problems myself. so, here is the list of things from the mechanic that my car needs.

 

oil and filter change

air filter

fuel filter

major engine tune up

timing belt and components need replaced (what are the components)

drive belts cracked

valve cover gaskets leaking

oil pan gasket leaking

radiator leaking

upper and lower radiator hoses old and worn

clutch slipping

thermostat and gasket needs replacing

clean and adjust rear brakes

 

 

 

alright, so i am mentally ready to tackle whatever i can on this car. i will be armed with some basic tools, the how to keep.... book, another subaru repair manual, you guys and my local Autozone. which, if any should i avoid and which should i do first. keep in mind the only other car work i have really done is replaceing the brakes and rotors on my old truck as well as oil changes.

[erik litchy]

theres some writeups on this site that may be helpfull

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=43

if you havent done much major work i dont know if you are up for a clutch job its pretty time consuming

[maxmays]

Well, keeping in mind I'm just a newbie as well who's probably more dangerous than helpful when it comes to car repair, here's what I would suggest based on what I know:

 

I would go ahead and get your drive & timing belts (along with timing parts, idler pulley & such I believe; make sure you buy/borrow a timing light from somewhere), new radiator & upper/lower hoses, & thermostat/gasket and do all these at the same time. With the old radiator out it will be rather easy to change all the belts before you install the new radiator & hoses. The thermostat should be done also at this time because it's always a good practice to replace it when you do major cooling system work (or even just when you flush the system ). I've never done valve cover gaskets, but I'm given to understand it's a bit easier than it seems at first glance (I however would feel more comfortable with extensive reading of the instructions and a knowledgeable buddy there with me). The oil pan gasket should be pretty straightforward, and of course put in new oil & filter at the same time. As a newbie, I have found this much out: work that seems extremely hard & complicated really isn't as hard and complicated as I first thought. It just takes some extra time for the first-timer, and then when you come back to it to do it again after several thousand miles you won't be able to imagine why you thought it was hard to begin with. As far as the other items, the true gurus of the board can help you far better than I. I suspect brakes in the rear might be next. . . .

 

My $0.02 worth.

 

-Max

[Caboobaroo]

first off, pull the engine. The most EASIEST way to get all of the listed above, done on your car. You can the replace the oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, clutch, timing belts and drive belts, drop it back in, do the radiator, hoses, t-stat, oil change and fuel filer since it should be right there in the engine compartment, tune up and then tackle the brakes. If you try to do the oil pan gasket or even the valve cover gaskets with the engine in the car, you'll have more headaches then you know what to do with.

 

it also helps to list what car you're doing the work on as well so we can give you more specific instructions on how to do something because the fuel filters have different location from EA81s and EA82s.

[skinnyhb]

update:

 

today, i changed the oil, oil filter and air filter. i also replaced the drive belts. oil, and filters were easy. belts were somewhat difficult because the Autozone gave me the wrong size, so i had to go back several times and ended up with a belt that was a little shorter than the stock one. is this going to be a problem? also, the adj. bolt (as it is referred to in the keep your subaru alive manual), although it cannot be tightened anymore, there are still threads on the upper half that are sticking out. this might not make sense, but everything is running for now. im going to probalby run it by a mechanic tomorrow and see if he says everything is alright.