heartless Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I have to say I have never really had a problem with any Subaru starting, even in the coldest of winter weather. And there was no real problem starting it on Sunday, Feb 10, 2008 either - a little sluggish at first crank, but was VERY cold, with severe wind chill warnings (winds 30-40 mph) but she did fire up and idled fine, left her to warm up a bit while the other half was clearing a path thru the drifts so he could get out & go to work. About 15 minutes later he came in from the cold - said something to the affect of "i was hoping you would have left it running so it would be warm" - I said I had left it running....uh-oh...sure enough, she was no longer running.... popped the hood and was dumbfounded by what I saw - there was so much snow packed up under the hood you could see the imprint of the hood under-structure in the snow!!! the following picture was snapped AFTER i had cleared a LOT of snow out of there - it was simply amazing that the car had even started in the first place!!! Everything - and i do mean EVERYTHING, was packed with snow - in every little nook and cranny - and we are talking hard packed snow. this stuff was fine, wind blown, packed into bricks snow. I have no idea how long it will take to get it cleared out, but it is gonna take a while I think! LOL Oh, and here is the best part - after cooling off - she did start again, so I was able to get her into the garage - under her own power - for the "de-snowing" process!!! was kind of hard to steer with all that snow packed in, but we did manage. Subaru's ROCK!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbusa Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 ditto! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 thanks for sharing!!! all I can says is YIKES!! guess that's one way to keep the mice out?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 thanks for sharing!!! all I can says is YIKES!! guess that's one way to keep the mice out?? ROFLMAO yeah, keeps out the mice, voles, and other unsavory critters without the smell of mothballs! only problem is, it's kinda hard to go anywhere once she does warm up and stalls out cause stuff is getting wet from the melting snow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 here's a few more pics for those pic hounds of the snow carnage. again, I had already started the de-snowing process, but you get the idea.... and one more for kicks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 took several hours to get this mess cleared out, and even at that it isnt completely clear - would say around 90% for anyone else that may ever have to deal with something like this (hopefully not), here's how I did it... #1 top priority - disconnect and remove the battery! I started at the bottom - cleared out the wheel wells, around the steering, axles, and suspension parts. Using a flat bar - carefully! - poked and dug snow out as far up as i could around exhaust, tranny, etc, breaking up icey chunks as i went. finally moved topside to break up snow and get it to drop down thru the areas I had cleared from below. careful use of the flatbar again, along with a long flatblade screwdriver and a plastic putty knife for delicate areas... unbolting and moving washer bottle, coolant overflow bottle, and both radiator fans (had a lot of snow in them as well) helped with the process - a little more room to work Once i had the majority of the snow broken up and cleared out, i used compressed air to blow out areas that I coudnt get my fingers into - like around spark plugs, under the intake, etc. all the electrical connectors got a blast of air as well. Oh yeah - a good turbo type heater is essential!!! - keeps you warm and helps to melt away that white chit! next step at this point is to take her for a good drive and get everything good & warmed up & whatever is left melted away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My first reaction was:eek::eek::eek: ..Then it went to..Ahh Its a Subaru its fine.. Then back to WTF??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 yeah, that was kind of my reaction at first too, Connie. Seems the spot I park in (outside) is directly across from the corner of the house and when it gets real windy (which it did Sat night thru Sunday - 30-40mph winds) the wind comes whipping around the side of the house, across the driveway and up the left side of MY car...now, it had snowed on friday as well, only an inch or so, but that was enough to cause some serious drifting - especially considering we live in farm country - LOTS of open space & no trees to speak of to slow things down! just one of them things, ya know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My engine bay has been sort of filled w/ snow before, but only after playing in it all day... that's amazing! good work cleaning it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwoodsboy Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 That happened to my parent's 78 (back in the day) The thing wouldnt start ... the battery was frozen. New battery = started right up, and we just let 'er run till she melted off. Nice pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 That happened to my parent's 78 (back in the day) The thing wouldnt start ... the battery was frozen. New battery = started right up, and we just let 'er run till she melted off. Nice pics. yeah, a '78 doesnt have nearly the electrical stuff the '90 Legacy has - she did start, but once it started melting off, stuff got wet that shouldnt get wet and she died... still amazing she started at all with that much snow crammed in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 If I had a garage and needed to get that out, I would have just borrowed a couple of space heaters and some extension cord and left it sitting for a while. Was that an option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbusa Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 that caked on snow will really screw up your wheels balance too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDead Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I run into the same problems myself, with all these wind gusts up to 70MPH in the mountains. But I'm not as nice, I just warm her up, and let everything that wants to melt, melt. I would park her in the garage, but a few foot of snow/ice shies me away. Awesome pics man. Subaru FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinsUBARU Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Ahhhhh, flashbacks to the winter of 2002! Did someone say snow carnage!? My old car on far left (green Impreza) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDead Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Ok now so much as carnage, but still fun none the less. Reverse deep snow action FTW? Was parking out of the main street so the plows could have at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 ROFL - Great pics All!! lovin it! Durania - I did have a heater pointed at it while I was digging - would have taken a week to melt all of that out using just the heater - and with kerosene at $3.69.9 a gallon around here, that is a rather expensive option... Kevin - how long did it take you to dig out your car??? LOL looks like the bulk of that came off the metal roof?? Evildead - I did start it and left it running, but when the stuff started melting she died & would not restart until things had frozen up again... and yeah - all that snow packed into the wheels does screw with the balance! had to dig all of that out too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinsUBARU Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Once I got to my door, I just reversed out. My tires were almost completely squashed from the snow still on the car, part of the windshield was in the passenger seat, both fenders were completely flattened, and the hood had perfect imprints of various engine parts pressed into it. I was laughing pretty hard:banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Once I got to my door, I just reversed out. My tires were almost completely squashed from the snow still on the car, part of the windshield was in the passenger seat, both fenders were completely flattened, and the hood had perfect imprints of various engine parts pressed into it. I was laughing pretty hard:banana: OMG! well, good thing these cars are so tough! think I would have been looking for another place to park tho! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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