ThosL

There were a few people at work with jobs paying a buck or so over minimum that were checking around for used cars and ended up buying new or nearly new to the tune of $15-$20K or more, they will be making installment payments forever, nailed down as wage slaves. I would not wish that on anyone. The wastefulness and throw away economy is one of the big reasons for global warming and many problems in our country. And what happens if they are at fault in a car accident without comprehensive insurance? They still have to make the payments and if the car is totaled they have to think about getting another one.

I find it very inefficient to buy tools you will use one time; on this tow hitch installation project, I called two of my usual mechanics, both are very busy this week; one referred me to "Bob's service" who is busy for the next several weeks; I checked around to a number of UHaul installation garages, one in Orange was available, but that is a long drive and their reviews are poor. I used PB Blaster and a freeze product, used a torch on the stripped bolt and used "Gator" drive designed to help with bolts like that. No dice on that. There were a number of curve balls on this project that were not spelled out in the Draw Tite directions. How the alignment of the bolt installation that would get affected by pulling out the old tie downs, etc.. So some DIY installers have to use a screw driver etc. to shift the alignment so you can put their bolts in, which by the way have a 19mm head, not the 17mm of the ones you pull out. Also the installation of the muffler rubber grommet bracket is not clear in the directions for those who have never done one of these projects. Jostling around the muffler on this project also caused one of the intermediate pipes to snap; I used some products to buy me some time. The purchase of bolt extractor for $30 or so is highly wasteful if you never use the set again; in my case I had no other option and was able to remove the stubborn 17mm stripped bolt; also used lubricants and torch on that. I went to one mechanic who said he had none of those bolt extractors so could not help. Unbelievable, I thought most mechanics have $10K or more in diverse tools. My modus operandi has been sharing what I have as much as possible, so to have to buy single use tools strikes me as wasteful.

I hope you have been getting top dollar for your used car when you go to sell. How do you sell it? Do you trade it into for a new car at the dealer? The car donation options do not get the charities much in market value from what I have heard.

I will probably use one just once so will not buy a set I will never use again, and I did see what Amazon had but want to get it done as soon as possible.

Thanks for the information; I picked up a breaker bar at Auto Zone some 1/2" tools, and was able to loosen a number of the bolts; just have the one that is somewhat stripped so will be looking for a bolt removal tool tomorrow to get out the last one. Unfortunately my brother gave away a lot of his tools a couple years ago so has only 3/8" ones left.

Sorry that I brought up an old issue I had not heard how the company addressed the issue apparently as well as they could. There just aren't that many branded vehicles that keep running at 200-300K miles.

I meant that the head of the bolt is stripped; they do make ratchet fixtures to turn bolts like that but considering I haven't gotten it to turn yet I would rather have a mechanic tackle it with his expensive tools at $70/hour.

At least one of the bolts is stripped out so the job is more complicated; I checked with a local shop that does hitches who said that with the older frozen ones you may need to get a strong lubricant into the bolt from above or side, as spraying on from the bottom does not get where it is needed.

It just strikes me as a serious issue that should have been addressed instead of dragging on for years. Often the only motivation for companies to address the problem is an economic fear of downside losses that their shareholders and future customers will hold them accountable for.

And that is the reality for the vast majority. I recently quit my job at the local Home Depot. Doing self employment instead, pays a lot better. Just no incentives for most workers beyond getting in more hours if available. And the crazy high theft levels with law enforcement almost never called even when thieves pull knives out when questioned on thefts, no receipt. A $60 or so million store with over $7 million storewide in thefts; meanwhile workers work for a buck or two over the minimum. Money is being funneled to the top all statistics show and the propaganda machines about how great things are run 24/7.

I showed the bolts with the instructions from Draw Tite to a good mechanic today, and he did not know how he would get it off (though he probably could) and is very busy. So I may check with a shop that is available to do it.

I followed the directions, used my brother's quality ratchet with a 17mm socket and there is no way on earth using that that the bolts or nuts holding the rear tie downs in place will come out like that. All the PB Blaster in the world would not help much either.

https://www.smart-service.com/blog/subaru-warranty/subaru-head-gasket-will-subaru-pay-for-repair/ This seems to be an epidemic with many of the Subarus from the late 90s into the 2000s, head gasket failure as well as other common problems that lead to that such as the low quality radiators that make head gasket failure more common. Why haven't class action lawsuits had more success since these problems are so well known?

I ordered a "Draw tite" unit and finally got around to checking out trying to install today. But no way to install with non power tools. There is just too much rust on the tie down bolt/nuts that come out to make way for the hitch installation. I'll check with a mechanic who has the power tools.

I have a couple local mechanics that charge $50-$90 an hour. I had an ignition coil blow today, was not sure what it was and one of the mechanics ordered a unit that I could have gotten myself and saved some money but that was not an option. The key for people may be to not get risky vehicles, Subarus are well known for head gasket failures which can easily be a cause for junking a car. If Subarus are premium performance cars then the answer may be getting lower maintenance vehicles. Maxing out credit cards, burning through life savings on a repair, or taking desperate measures are painful decisions people should not have to make. People just don't have the money for major repairs in many cases. We're not talking about pizza delivery drivers here folks. We're talking about the vast majority of the population working in the service job economy. The average weekly income these days is under $1000 a week before taxes. So with rent, healthcare, food, and all the other costs of living, a car that suddenly costs thousands of dollars more, can create dire circumstances for people. There usually is an affordable solution, checking around for a Saturday mechanic who does good work, looking for a mechanically sound less expensive vehicle; maybe using public transportation or other non car options for a while, carpooling. When I have had vehicle breakdowns I've walked to work, no big deal for me, but would have been for others.

Those are scary high prices for many customers. Statistics are that the great majority of the working population is making a lot under $20/hour. So how many hours do they need to work to pay in order to save the vehicle? Practically I would be looking at any and all alternatives to maxing out credit cards or blowing much of my savings. I'd look for a competent mechanic, explaining my situation. Is there an affordable option? You have single people, family people, the disabled and many other groups of people needing good transportation.

I went to the auto junkyard today as they said they had a Forester with a hitch. $65 for the hitch from the somewhat rusted vehicle. $75 for one from another junkyard, new, but no bolts. The somewhat rusted one may or may not have salvageable carriage bolts. If I get the new one without carriage bolts how many will I have to get?

I use "Legal Shield", about $25 a month, consultations and letters are part of the deal.

I'll defer to the expert. If the head gaskets need to be changed out what is the likely price range on that job for this vehicle?

You could pull out the thermostat; could even put the heater on full blast, should suck some heat off the engine. Just don't use crap like Blue Devil or other fixes that don't work. Do your research.

I don't see the place where a tow hitch designed to bolt up would actually fit. I did not see plastic grommets in the chassis that would pop out to make way for a hitch, are these in all these cars?

I checked it out with a friend today; made sure the connection was good though a little loose. He commented on the connectors not being solid enough. Code was still up; is a continuity test indicated?

Thanks so much. I pulled the cable off the battery which usually clears the codes, but it came up again. I checked the connections which looked OK to me. The previous unit was in rough shape. Is there any performance issue with these? Also saw the green connector under the engine to check solenoids, not sure if that would help. I'll go back to Auto Zone to check the code. I got 25% off at Advance Auto with an online coupon.

Thanks very much for all the excellent advice by knowledgeable members here! I hopefully learned years ago to defer to the experts when they are doing their job.

If they pull it I'm probably still looking at $75, which may be the way to go in this case. Ffld County CT. Cost of doing business.