robm

It didn't look that cold, more like heavy wet snow. Maybe -5 deg. C? Warming up as the day went on? I have been on roads like that with big 4x4 trucks, climbing up logging roads to get to a good spot to go snowshoeing. We usually stop because the trucks run out of places to turn around, not because my Loyale loses traction. And I 'm breaking trail... What are you using for tires?

How did you get it on the ferry? They let you tow it on, with a rope?

I replaced the O2 sensor on my '93 Loyale this weekend. It went much easier than expected. The hard part was figuring out how to disconnect the connector, the scary part was if I had a 7/8" ring wrench tight enough to fit the corroded old sensor body. In the end, it practically fell out in my hand. I could have pulled it with a crescent wrench. I replaced the sensor because my gas mileage has been dropping for the last few months. The best it has been getting is 13 km/l, it used to get well over that on the highway when I keep the speed moderate. The old sensor had soot deposits on the base. Is this typical, or is it a sign that my engine has been running rich?

The 7207's are an interesting idea. How much radial load rating do they give up, in favour of the axial? This might be a good mod for autocross, as they tend to run light and corner really hard.

That problem really sounds like a flaky connection on the idle solenoid. Does it have one on your model? Or was that a North America only item? It could be crap in the float bowl, perhaps. If it has no solenoid, then try cleaning the float bowl. It is a lot less work than tearing into the whole carb.

How about the throttle position switch? It is worth checking. Clean the IAC really well. And maybe the MAF sensor, too, while it is all apart and you have your can of spritz cleaner in hand. And look for air leaks, like others have said. Would the O2 sensor affect the idle?

The heater motor relay is on a bank of relays under the dashboard, above the fuse panel on the left side . It is one horrific PITA to get to it, photos will do you no good, and would be really hard to take. No idea about the power windows.

Actually, the conversion from Imperial to US liquid measure is 5/6, not 4/5. 3.785 liters to the US gallon. 4.546 liters to the Imperial gallon. 34 MPG (imp) is 28. 3 MPG (US).

Actually, those are functional on the original truck, I believe it provides the "flow-through" ventilation. If you plug the hole, you won't get hardly any air through when you open the vents. It is one of the little things I really miss about 60's/70's vehicles. Open the knee vent and get a blast of wind (plus dust, dirt, dead leaves, especially the first time in the spring) right in the face. Almost as good as a motor bike!

If I were you , I would be looking more at the throttle position sensor, the idle air control, and the mass airflow sensor for the problems. More likely to be in one of those systems than in the ignition.

You would think so, but maybe it sealed shut? Look at the damage, and see what happened. We can suggest stuff all day, you can see it right in front of you, the more info, the better the suggestions will be.

Likely burnt insulation on the main starter lead? Or perhaps some oily gunge started on fire from an overheated starter lead? If it ran OK after that, the fire doesn't seem likely to be the problem. What could get burnt, then stop working a few weeks later? The best way to tell is to look for fire damage, and go from there. There is something there that will need replacing, at some point, even if it is not part of the problem right now. I just thought of something that does fit the profile: cooked fuel hose that finally broke off?

Usually, the book time is pretty generous, but sometimes it isn't. Then, they get creative in charging for "extras." Like the time I had the starter contacts on an AWD Toyota Corolla changed. The book time to R&R the starter was 45 minutes, and replacing the contacts is a 20 minute job, according to a friend who was a dealer Toyota tech. There was no book time to rebuild the starter, the book is more geared for replacing rather than repairing parts. I let the shop do it, as I had spent 45 minutes looking for the starter, and never did find it! Final charge was for 2.5 hours of labour, with R&R and rebuild all lumped together. An hour and 45 minutes to rebuild the starter? Not likely! Real time to R&R the starter: 2 hours Real time to rebuild: 0.5 hours.

Old Craftsman sockets are awesome, and so common. A buddy and I once spent hours on a Sunday looking for a deep, thin-wall, 12 point socket to pull apart an automatic transmission. His new (1980's vintage) Craftsman socket was too thick-walled. His girlfriends' father's stuff was 6 point Snap-on (heavy duty mechanic). My Dad's 12 point Snap-on from his WW2 aircraft mechanic days was too shallow. We finally found someone with a 50's or 60's vintage Craftsman 1/2" drive 12 point that worked perfectly. The walls were half the thickness of the 80's stuff. I also have a 5/16" Black and Decker drill. It takes 20 seconds to come up to speed ( 2500 RPM) but then it has enough torque to put a huge spade bit through 50 year old Doug Fir without slowing, and break your wrist as it comes through. I tried using it as a screwdriver, and there is so much momentum, it will bury the screw an inch deep on the overrun. I figure it dates from the 40's?

We are both right. My problem is not enough transmitters, your problem is too many! A 1/8" stereo jack for the MP3 player, with a switch beside it to switch in the radio when required, would be a nice and simple way to deal with it. A 3 pole switch (L, R and signal to the amp) would be perfect, but not the easiest to find. If a resistor is required, no problem. It could all fit on a plate mounted where the deck is supposed to go.

You do NOT want to tie your MP3 player to the amp inputs on the tape deck board. They are designed to take a very tiny signal off the tape head and crank it up to 1 volt or so. Your MP3 is already putting out enough signal to use as an input to the power amp in the radio. I think you are on the right track with the switching signal, something has to turn the amplifier in the radio on when the tape goes into the slot. Good luck. OH: And I haven't found my radio to be crappy at all. It is the best radio I have ever had, in fact. I live in a pretty mountainous area, with few transmitters, and the stock radio in my Loyale has the fewest holes in reception of any I have owned.

Put the relay under the hood. Use the wire that goes to the solenoid for the coil, and pick the 12V for the contact straight off the starter motor. Main engine ground is right there, too. I did mine with ring terminals and spade connectors, so the whole thing can be removed, back to stock, very easily. No cutting into wires, no guessing which wire is which. The relay works great. Too bad the starter circuit is still flaky!

With MPFI, is there any way for a single injector to cause all 4 cylinders to fill with gas? If not, then: The ECU went nuts? Or the transsitors in the ECU that go to ground to fire the injectors all shorted out? These seem unlikely, but so does 4 pistons full of gas.

I think rverdoold is concerned about the corrosion of brass and aluminum together. The aluminum is the loser in that little battle. Steel and Al just bond together (as we all have noticed if we are reading this thread) but copper or brass and Al eats the Al. May not be an issue in a dry climate where they never put salt on the road. Retapping for an iron NPT pipe plug with antiseize should work just as well, and wind up with a situation no worse than the original arrangement.

I am currently fighting this, although it has been good the last few days. I have installed the starter relay, but it is still flaky. It seems to get worse after a long trip, right now. It used to be the cold that caused trouble, now it is heat? I found that wiggling the spade connector on the solenoid helped for a day or so, before I put in the relay. I suspect the next step is to remove the starter and clean or replace the contacts. I suspect they get burnt from making poor contact, so they make poor contact, and get burnt worse... It may also be the clutch switch, as I find a good hard kick on the clutch seems to help when it acts up. Unless it is just jarring the contacts into making better connection? I am currently waiting for some serious inspiration to fix it, meaning I am too lazy to pull it all apart and do it properly until it lets me down again.

I notice you used $C. Are you in Canada, or did you just convert it for me as a courtesy? If you are in Canada, which parts store did you get them from? We don't have a lot of choice where I live. Thanks.

Smacking the starter with a tire iron helps sometimes, too. That makes the brushes sound even more likely. Are brushes available from the dealer? I have had my head under the dash a few times, dealing with a wonky blower relay, but I have not been able to find that flipping clutch switch.

Miles Fox's write-up is pretty good, and illustrated. http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/timingbelt.htm Don't forget to cite him as a reference in the paper! PCV valve is dead easy, just pull off the hose and unscrew. There seems to be some bias here for the original Subaru part. They are only about 5 bucks, so why not? (Although such a simple check valve shouldn't be rocket science, not sure why aftermarket ones have such a bad reputation.)

After fighting with this intermittent no-start problem for several months, I finally put an interposing relay into the system, as advised by GD. It worked for a week or so, now it is back to its old behaviour. Symptoms: Won't start sometimes. Not even a click. If I turn the key to "start", hold it for 15 -20 seconds, then punch the clutch hard, it will go. Sometimes I have to do this several times, I just get a click at first. It seems to prefer doing this when the car has just been on the highway. Weather is not an issue, 40 deg. plus temperatures. Toasty warm for February. What I have tried: New battery Cleaned connections at battery and at starter motor Installed interposing relay so the ignition switch etc. only sees enough current to pull in a standard Subaru round headlight relay. What is left? I lean towards it being the clutch switch. Maybe out of adjustment? Or dirty? WHERE is the *#$&@ thing? The other option is the starter motor solenoid contacts. But why does it respond to the clutch being punched? This thing is beginning to really bug me. The last time it failed me I was at the light for the one lane bridge., Very embarrassing, with a line of traffic behind. It started just in time to miss that light.

Kias and Hyundais = "random weird objects?" I like it. My old AWD Corolla did the same sliding all locked up stunt on a friend's icy driveway. Slid down the driveway, off it and then down a hill where it was brought to a halt by a tree. The cat, who was in the car at the time, was not impressed. As it rolled by their septic tank vent, it broke off the ABS vent pipe and slashed the tire to ribbons. I was not impressed. I locked the centre diff and drove it back up the hill, icy driveway and flat tire and all. My friend was impressed. She thought it was a tow truck job, or at least wait for the pickup to come home and inch it out with a chain.