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I'm taking the car in next week for an alignment, maybe I'll see if they can check if the mounts need replacing while it's there. I noticed that even after cleaning out the EGR valve I'm running rich when I first start the car. Where should I start as far as troubleshooting? It stops once I've been driving for a couple minutes and if I start it when the engine is still warm. I've also noticed a burning oil smell coming through the vents, I need to figure out where the cabin air comes in and fix the leak in that area as a higher priority than the rest of all of the seals in the car that are leaking externally. E: My friend up here says it's because there's less air and it's cold, I guess if they run at open loop for a few seconds on start-up that makes sense? I hadn't noticed it on my Impreza but then again it also has a smaller engine, therefore less fuel to stink up the area. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jul 3, 2021 |
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Jul 3, 2021 01:39
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the carwash? good god man e: also yeah iirc earlier fuel-injected engines would run rich when starting up cold to get the catalytic converters heated up, but that may just be anecdotal hogwash and/or may not account for all the richness my 95 impreza definitely stinks like an old v8 when it first starts cold Cactus Ghost fucked around with this message at 12:24 on Jul 3, 2021 |
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Jul 3, 2021 11:06
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The previous owner of my Saabaru threw out the cat because "it plugged" at 100k  so cold starts, especially in the winter, basically throw raw liquid fuel out the tailpipe.
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Jul 4, 2021 16:15
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 apparently the front struts I installed are bent or something, I took it in for an alignment and the mechanic says he can't get the camber dialed in on the front with the stock bolts. I have a pair of aftermarket camber bolts lying around so I'm taking them in tomorrow but I guess I'm moving coilovers up on my to-do list since I don't know how long these are going to last.e: Crossposting from the general questions thread. Does anyone know about rebuilding coilovers? I don't currently have them, but I'm probably going to have to get some soon because my SVX's suspension is worn and apparently the used struts I put on are bent and Subaru no longer has any struts in stock. The thing is most/all of the brands that make them are Taiwan-based and I'm concerned about them being able to be rebuilt in the 20-30k miles when they need it. Are coilovers similar enough to be rebuilt by places in the US without having to ship them all the way back to Taiwan, assuming the company even exists in a few years? 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jul 8, 2021 |
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Jul 7, 2021 23:58
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Got it back from the shop, rolled the windows down when I was leaving the parking lot because it had been sitting in the sun. Drive home and the driver's window won't roll up, the rest will. I hear the relay clicking when I press down on the switch, but not when I pull it up. Now I get to pull the door panel and see if I can make the window regulator work, and if not then I have to find a used but functioning one and order it, assuming I can't cross-reference the number to one from a different car. I sent my friend a picture of the regulator module and he said he has seen identical ones in Toyotas from a similar era so maybe I'll get lucky. E: Good news and bad news. Good news, I got the window rolled up. Bad news, parts exploded out of it when I tried putting it back together so I definitely need a new one, and the driver's switch still doesn't work. I ended up using a screwdriver to push the toggle in the housing of the switch to get the window up. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Jul 9, 2021 |
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Jul 9, 2021 00:47
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Well, I went to the scrap yard a few days ago, there was a SVX in the yard. Unfortunately the window switch had already been pulled, so no good there. I did pick up a windshield washer fluid reservoir since mine has a hole in the bottom, a lug nut since one is mismatched, and a hubcap since one is missing. I found a window switch module on Ebay so that's coming by the 20th hopefully. Especially because on that same trip I went to my ex's and picked up our dog because where she is right now isn't good for the dog so I'm taking care of her until my ex probably moves in a few months. There's a sunroof but I'd like to be able to roll down the window for her when I take her in the SVX so that she can stick her nose out the window and smell everything. I'll mostly be taking her in my Impreza since that has cloth seats I don't care about her scratching up with her claws but if I'm taking her out of town I'd rather give her the more comfortable ride. Dog tax, here she is being confused about how seats work: 
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Jul 12, 2021 19:51
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I don't think theres a lot of love for rebuilding ??? brand coilovers. Konis, ohlens, bilstiens etc all day though. You might be able to parts catalog a this diameter this length setup from one of them though.
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Jul 15, 2021 01:12
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Yeah, that's the frustrating thing. The options for the SVX are from such well-known brands as "Gecko", "Ceika", "PB Brakes", and "STD Suspension." Also Aragosta but they're like $3500 plus shipping from one of the JDM importer sites because for some reason a Northern European brand can only be found in Japan. And they're apparently more race-focused. There's also an American brand but they're notorious for simply not delivering stuff that gets bought for months or years so nope.
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Jul 15, 2021 02:35
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AmbassadorofSodomy posted:IIRC, Crocodile Dundee was the spokesman for the Outback back in the 90s. We had a Legacy with a NOAA weather radio frequency programmed in to the head unit. My parents fuckin loved (and still love) that weather radio.
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Jul 15, 2021 02:39
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That was a 97-04 Subaru thing across the board, IIRC. My Outback had one from the factory as well.
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Jul 15, 2021 05:09
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Koni strut inserts should work fine with stock-height springs. The ones on my WRX wagon were used with Racecomp Engineering wagon springs which only gave me about a quarter-inch drop.
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Jul 15, 2021 05:25
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STR posted:That was a 97-04 Subaru thing across the board, IIRC. My Outback had one from the factory as well. i think only on some trim levels
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Jul 15, 2021 17:08
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Koni strut inserts should work fine with stock-height springs. The ones on my WRX wagon were used with Racecomp Engineering wagon springs which only gave me about a quarter-inch drop. Good to know. Now my concern is that one of my rear struts is out of alignment at -2.3ish degrees of camber when the lowest allowed per spec is -1.4, would the cut-a-struts remove parts of the strut that are most likely to be bent? Is there even a way to tell where it's bent? The fronts are also both out of spec but I have the old ones still that I could use. One benefit of the coilovers is they would come with new strut mounts, which basically don't exist otherwise in the rear. I also need to get a tape measure and get under the car and figure out what my ride height actually is and whether there's something hanging lower than it should because there's a speed bump on my road that I scrape every single time I go over it so I have to go around it. Even if I'm going at a crawl, it scrapes somewhere between the front and rear wheels. I might end up going coilovers to put an extra inch or so on the ride height just so I can deal with that.
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Jul 15, 2021 18:40
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Got the new switches installed today, works perfectly. Now a question: I have some Sta-Lube moly-graph grease that I use on the slides and bolts of my guns and my sunroof is struggling and my driver's side door hinge is creaking and popping, is that an appropriate lube to use on those surfaces? I know graphite lube is commonly used but I'm not sure if only dry graphite lube would be appropriate or if this stuff would work. I've got a 14oz tube that I've used approximately 1oz of over the past 2 years so I like to use it where applicable.
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Jul 22, 2021 02:39
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Good to know. Now my concern is that one of my rear struts is out of alignment at -2.3ish degrees of camber when the lowest allowed per spec is -1.4, would the cut-a-struts remove parts of the strut that are most likely to be bent? Is there even a way to tell where it's bent? The fronts are also both out of spec but I have the old ones still that I could use. One benefit of the coilovers is they would come with new strut mounts, which basically don't exist otherwise in the rear. I wouldn't recommend spending time or money trying to correct a bent suspension part, yeah. That's going to be a long and slow path to unpleasantness. What you can do to try and figure out what part is wowed is to use a straight edge (doesn't have to be machinist-grade) and check both the threaded top of the rod and the cylinder for straightness. If you have that much camber I suspect the clevis tab welded onto the strut housing tube at the bottom is what's bent. Not having good-quality strut mounts could also be causing a little bit of camber wobble but it's hard to say without pictures. I feel like if it's that degraded you're going to be seeing other issues as well. Also look at the rear lateral links as it's really easy to bend the U-shaped ones on Imprezas (on purpose) when someone slides into a curb. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 03:03
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Idk anything about that cars rear suspension but usually the rear camber is controlled by something else. Either an upper arm or a trailing arm link. If that is the case a worn out bushing would usually lean towards more negative camber. If there's anything above where the shock connects that links the rear hub to the chassis then the shock isn't to blame for the camber. Edit:. Anything above the lowest part of the shock.
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Jul 22, 2021 03:04
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TBH I don't know anything about the rear suspension either. I think it's lateral links but the thread title came from Cat Interceptor seeing the front control arms which have absolutely nothing in common with any other car they ever made to the best of my knowledge. I'll probably see more when I finally get around to the rear brakes or do the coilovers. E: Just checked the FSM, and yeah, they're dual lateral links with trailing arm, they look almost (but not quite) identical to the ones that gave me so much trouble on my Impreza. On the bright side this thing leaks from so many places all of the bolts have been easy to get out at this point. It looks like the strut mount is the highest thing connected to the knuckle, the lateral links and trailing arm both connect beneath the CV axle, the sway bar connects just above it, the strut connects just about at the top of the knuckle. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 04:00
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Edit: I clicked the wrong thread cause I’m old and dumb.
Rolo fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Jul 24, 2021 |
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Jul 23, 2021 21:14
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I think you're looking for the thread over here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2973186 This thread is a project car thread for a weird Subaru.
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Jul 24, 2021 22:48
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It’s been it’s been 15 years, I was bound to do it eventually. Thanks for being nice 
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Jul 24, 2021 23:06
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Well, I'm ordering coilovers. Now I just have to let my bank know to expect a four digit transaction to Hong Kong so they don't flag it as fraud. I'm hoping to get them before first snow so I can get them on and get an alignment done and my snow tires on. I'm also going to see if the mechanic is able to corner balance them but who knows, it seems like most of the performance stuff around here is offroading and while I know offroad coilovers exist I'm guessing corner balancing isn't as much of a priority when you're doing 2mph with 1-2 tires off the ground. I'm looking forward to driving this in the snow with proper studded snows (Nokian Hakka 8s or 9s I forget which) and a performance suspension. I'm going to be careful because I really don't want to have to try to find clean body panels for this thing but I expect that it will handle better than any car I've had in the snow between the suspension and the dedicated snows, the closest I've had before is all-weather tires, which are like all-seasons but severe weather rated. Presumably because in parts of Finland they have to deal with snow most of the year.
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Jul 30, 2021 22:20
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Well, more to-do stuff, I need at least one new speaker and possibly a new head unit, I'm getting rattling from the driver's door speaker and a lot of buzzing using a tape adapter, I need to see whether CDs or normal tapes have the same effect but lol where do I find a tape? Maybe the thrift store has one or something. I'd also really like to get a 360 camera going, someone almost backed into me a couple days ago and it was real scary because these body panels are not easy to find and getting backed into can be messy because they can claim that you ran into them. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Aug 7, 2021 |
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Aug 7, 2021 03:58
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Well, oil change done. I didn't take any pictures because A) it's an oil change and B) it started raining halfway through so I just wanted to get it done. Overfilled by about .2 quarts but since it's leaking I figured that wasn't a problem, and I've accidentally overfilled my Impreza more than that with no problem. Also nice is that the car had oil changes done at reputable shops so they didn't over-torque everything to hell. I was able to get the filter loose by hand even with the underbody cladding in the way and the drain plug seemed to be pretty properly torqued. I'm going to take it on some errands tonight to make sure it doesn't leak once the car heats up, but I just had to get the new fumoto valve to snug with a short ratchet and it felt solid. One problem I'm noticing, the dipstick keeps popping loose. Does that suggest blowby? Plugged PCV? Where do I start to hunt this down? The gas cap also hisses quite a bit when opening it. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Aug 14, 2021 |
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Aug 14, 2021 01:38
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22 Eargesplitten posted:One problem I'm noticing, the dipstick keeps popping loose. Does that suggest blowby? Plugged PCV? Where do I start to hunt this down? The gas cap also hisses quite a bit when opening it. Yup, PCV is a good (cheap) place to start. Might also see if there's an o-ring on the dipstick you can replace to cover all your bases. Otherwise it's probably blowby aka worn rings or valve stems. Gas cap is a totally different system. Evap canister or vent might be plugged but I figure you'd see codes. Any problems when you refuel (pump stopping a bunch, etc.)?
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Aug 14, 2021 02:47
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No problems with fueling up, it takes the amount I would expect. It's not throwing any codes but it's also OBD-1 and looking at all the codes, the only one I'm seeing related to evap would be canister solenoid failure.
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Aug 14, 2021 03:28
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Ugh, drove about 6-7 hours yesterday. While leaving, I found out that the CD player doesn't work, it will take the CD in, think for 3-5 seconds, and spit it back out. The tape adapter crackles and pops a bunch like a bad ground, but at least I have the radio. Until on the way back it started to try to tune in to like 2-3 different stations at the same time, even when I changed the frequency it was tuned to. So yeah, none of the options are working right now. Someone (I forget who) in the audio thread linked a $20 blaupunkt that is supposed to be good for the price, and I've already spent a ton of money on the car this month so I'm going to try that for a start. Shouldn't be worse than a 27-year-old head unit anyway, even ignoring the current one not working. Someone else found a harness adapter that will be about $20 shipped with an antenna cable extension that apparently most head units need for this car, so I'm putting in that order tomorrow once I have all the details the seller wants. This whole thing is  but I love driving it so it's worth it.Oh yeah, I'm also going to have to get the seat's upholstery fixed because one of the threads holding the leather together has snapped and a spot is starting to come apart at the seams. At least if I get on it soon it shouldn't be too bad considering it's about a 1-2" rip right now purely at the seam, no leather damage.
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Aug 16, 2021 05:11
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Someone (I forget who) in the audio thread linked a $20 blaupunkt that is supposed to be good for the price, and I've already spent a ton of money on the car this month so I'm going to try that for a start. Shouldn't be worse than a 27-year-old head unit anyway, even ignoring the current one not working.
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Aug 16, 2021 16:37
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It's the Fresno now, but yeah, those. I'll pretty much have it hidden behind the cover 99% of the time anyway so a bad screen isn't a big deal, especially if it means I can have a functioning stereo system sooner rather than later. Also where I am about 8 months out of the year probably qualify as the colder months.
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Aug 16, 2021 18:58
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stone soup posted:if youre referencing the blaupunkt toronto head units; ive installed a few and they've all suffered from bum LED screens that end up failing in a short amount of time and only seem to work in the colder months fwiw, though its never really mattered to me bc i picked them up p much for the bluetooth connectivity Ah, I have like 5 of those, but somehow haven't managed to install any of them. I got them when they were $10 at Walmart, though, so I don't feel bad about it at all, and like 22E, I'd be mainly using BT or a thumb drive anyway. I plan to throw one in my RX-7 when it goes back together, so I'll see what happens.
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Aug 17, 2021 17:02
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Good news! My coilovers get here next Friday  Maybe if I start early enough I can install the rear brakes and do the new lines and fluid change as well. I'm getting a lot of vibration on hard braking and I'm guessing that the brake fluid being who knows how old (probably at least a decade) is not helping there.
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Aug 20, 2021 16:53
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More likely warped rotors for vibes or uneven pad wear.
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Aug 20, 2021 17:52
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Possibly the rears are warped, yeah, since they are very old, I was just thinking that the fluid heating up, water boiling, compressing, boiling, compressing would cause the force on the brakes to be irregular.
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Aug 20, 2021 17:58
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It'll make them feel spongy more likely. Definitely won't hurt to put in fresh stuff.
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Aug 20, 2021 19:10
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Okay. Well I'll hope it's the back brakes causing the vibration, because if not that means there's something wrong with the front brakes I just replaced a bit before I started this thread. Could insufficient lubrication on the caliper parts cause problems? I lubricated the caliper pins but I didn't put any on the clips or between the piston and the metal plate on the pad, my understanding was that the metal backing plate was meant to reduce friction by itself so you weren't supposed to grease that part. I guess now that I have the FSM I can see if I messed anything up. When I did the front brakes I found that one of the backing plates had actually come loose and was grinding against the hub, so these brakes need replacing despite still having a ton of pad left.
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Aug 20, 2021 19:31
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If the pins can't travel freely then it's possible I suppose but that will more likely just lead to a seized caliper and be hotter on that wheel after a drive if you were concerned and wanted to check. Fronts will be hotter naturally (vs rear) since they do more braking.
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Aug 20, 2021 19:55
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This project isn’t dead, but it is going to slow down significantly as I’m trying to get my finances in better shape. I’ve got a backlog of parts to install so I’ll probably go through those and by that point we’ll be in midwinter and I will have no desire whatsoever to be working on a car in a garage heated only by a propane hot dog heater. I still need to install a new axle, rear brakes, brake lines, coil overs, and figure out why the transmission isn’t kicking down.
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Sep 13, 2021 22:01
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22 Eargesplitten posted:This project isn’t dead, but it is going to slow down significantly as I’m trying to get my finances in better shape. I’ve got a backlog of parts to install so I’ll probably go through those and by that point we’ll be in midwinter and I will have no desire whatsoever to be working on a car in a garage heated only by a propane hot dog heater. I still need to install a new axle, rear brakes, brake lines, coil overs, and figure out why the transmission isn’t kicking down. I hear there's a vent hood you can get for Penny's on the dollar
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Sep 14, 2021 00:08
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I need to remember to actually take pictures of this stuff but I spent a good chunk of the day today working on replacing the axle. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures tomorrow to illustrate. I have never had an axle that loving hard to get out of the car. First, turns out that this car has axle caps that go over the nut, that's a new one on me. Snapped a razor blade trying to break the seal, spent a good 15-20 minutes fruitlessly smacking at it with a screwdriver/chisel and a hammer, even heating it up with a MAP torch. Then I got out the air hammer and got it in a single go. Power tools really are the number one thing I wish I had thrown money at sooner, they make life so much easier. After I got the axle nut off, I got the axle out of the hub and then the next challenge came in. On Subarus, the engine sits in front of the transmission, then the front axles go off the side of the transmission near the front. On my Impreza, and presumably other 4-cylinder engines, you can actually see the axles from the engine bay if you know where you're looking. On the SVX, not so much. It's directly under the throttle body, and there's a whole lot of other poo poo underneath the throttle body too that I don't recognize aside from the EGR system. But this means that you can't access the axle from above, you have to go below. Which isn't a problem in and of itself, the main thing is that means you can't bring as much power to bear when hammering out the roll pin holding the axle in. And the pin, boy oh boy. Growing up I had a friend with a first generation Legacy. On that car, the axles were held on with some kind of clasp. After that I can only imagine that Satan himself came to earth and paid them billions of yen to change the design. On this car, as well as my '99 Impreza, the CV axle has an odd number of splines. The hole the pin goes through goes through the splines. This means that you can have the hole almost perfectly lined up but it won't work because you had it flipped 180 degrees from how it needs to go. And you won't know until you've hammered on the pin enough to peen the contact end and then pulled it out again, because the pin is very tight and requires a lot of force even when it's going in the right way. I haven't even gotten to putting it back in though. I was hammering away for ages on this thing just trying to get it started with no luck. Eventually I had to grab the air hammer again, this time with the punch tip rather than the chisel tip, and let it rip. That got the pin started, but also got the bit stuck in the axle. I yanked away with no success, I tried feeding another, smaller punch in through the top to go through the roll pin and then punch out the air hammer, but that's when I found that it's just completely inaccessible. Eventually I took the bit out of the air hammer and smacked at the bit itself with a rubber mallet to finally get it loose. After that, with the help of a bigger hammer from a box of random tools my dad gave me, I got it out the rest of the way, and finally removed the axle. I also noted which way the axle was oriented when I took it out, being extremely careful not to rotate it at all as I pulled it out. So God willing, this will be much faster to put back in tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. Inspecting the roll pin when I took it out, it looks like the teeth (it's a serrated roll pin) were packed with what I'm guessing is a mixture of oil, grease, and road grime. In the past when I have taken out roll pins on my Impreza the pin is squished to the point that the teeth are almost touching, in this the pin was held in fully expanded position by the poo poo that was packing the hole. My friend said it looks to him more like someone put RTV in there, which would be the most sadistic thing I think I have ever heard of a mechanic doing. I didn't see the axle in the maintenance records that I looked through before, but I wasn't specifically looking for that, and the cap does look like someone popped it off before. The original owner took it to the dealership where he bought it for 20+ years though, and with how much attention to detail I have seen in the work up to this point I would be surprised if they did that. The bolts on this car are actually torqued to spec rather than hit with a high torque impact at 150PSI for 10 seconds like the other cars I have worked on.
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Sep 19, 2021 04:14
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Just trying to keep this thread out of the archives while it's mostly dormant. A while back I noticed that the acceleration seemed off, it didn't seem as responsive and even when I had my foot to the floor it would downshift at normal points. Wouldn't downshift flooring it uphill either. Pop the throttle body cover off and what do you know? The nuts holding on the replacement throttle position sensor backed off and it was just hanging out not connected to the throttle rod at all. A couple new nuts and some loctite and it's good as new. Next up: replace the tires because it's winter.
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Dec 2, 2021 23:07
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<posts in  Texas>What is this winter you speak of? That’s just when it gets a bit chilly and grey, and rains a bunch, right? Why would you need different tires for that. …Texas Snowpocalypse of 2021 notwithstanding
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Dec 3, 2021 20:14
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