Scoobywagon

Getting caught with it would be a bit of trick, as, unlike diesel, it is not dyed depending on its tax status. If you drive a diesel vehicle and they find red in your tank, you're hosed. But AvGas isn't dyed, so there's really no way to tell unless they're going to pull a sample of your fuel and have it labbed. And theres really just NO WAY they're going to foot that bill. A valid point is raised regarding alcohol (ethanol) and plastics and rubber. However, its darn near impossible to get non-ethanol fuel any more. Not that it can't be done, but most commercially available fuels can be classified as E10. So it isn't like the car is just going to suddenly burst into flames or anything. Just keep an eye on the fuel lines and, if you notice a problem, change the fuel lines. no problem.

Sears boxes are built by Kennedy and are actually pretty nice. In fact, some of them are as nice as anything built by Snap-On or Matco. But they are a LOT cheaper. $1500 is a pretty decent price for that. Something comparable from Snap-On or Matco is gonna be more like $3-4,000. I haven't seen the Excel box from Costco in person. But I know that Costco used to carry Homak boxes. Those are pretty decent, too. Come to think of it, the construction of that Excel box looks an awful lot like Homak construction. Both of those boxes look like pretty good deals. Especially if the Craftsman box is going on sale. At the prices listed, I'd likely go for the excel box. But if the Craftsman box is going on sale in a week or so, I'd do that. Its 10" wider and wider is still better. Also has 2 more drawers. The other thing you might do is keep your eye on govliquidation.com. They frequently have good boxes, you just have to go get them.

I'm not sure that'll help, but I can't come up with a reason that it will hurt, either. Then again, you live in Colorado and its winter, so my guess is that MOST of the gas you get will be somewhere around E85 anyway.

Lower ambient temps will cause the compressor to short-cycle because the condenser core essentially becomes more efficient. The compressor's cycle is controlled by both temp and pressure. Since you're not getting the same pressure drop across the evap core, the compressor doesn't have to run as much. Short version, this is normal behavior. As ambient temps come up, the compressor's duty cycle will get closer to 50%.

For the most part, sunroofs are not available as parts. Generally speaking, you can get the replacement from the dealer, but its the whole sunroof assembly. Start by getting an exploded view diagram of the sunroof. My guess is that all you can get is the complete assembly.

I don't have any diagrams, but the cowling is usually attached with a couple of screws and 3-4 panel clips. Pretty much pops right out.

Despite what it says on the face, there is NOTHING McIntosh about those stereos. They are built by Clarion. Error 2 is (usually, as I recall) a changer mechanism error. Error 6 is a transport mechanism error. Don't know what 12 is.

Well, That's just Spiffy!

I would think the thing to do would to build a tongue for your receiver hitch with a pintle or clevis on it. At least, that's what I would do.

Dann, If you can't get it started, I'll bring my scanner up when I come early next week. I'm going to be up there doing some work with some friends and I'd be happy to come give you a hand. I'll be up there late on Sunday and I'll be there through at least Wednesday.

I have to do some work on my daily driver in the next couple of days. I'll bring my EJ calipers in to see what it would take to swap them on to the EA knuckles. As for the Nissan Silvia, that was sold in the US as the 240SX. Could have been sold there also.

There are a couple of things this could be. First is the fresh air intake at the bottom of the windshield. Make sure that its drains aren't plugged. It is supposed to drain itself so that water doesn't get into the cabin through the blower cage. Also check the drain from the heater box. The other thing it can be is the windshield leaking. The 89 GL does not have a windshield gasket. Instead, the w/s is urethane set. If THAT is leaking, then one of two things must be the case. You either have adhesive failure and water is getting past the bead or you have paint failure and the water is getting between the urethane and the steel. Either is bad because they both lead to UGLY rust in the pinchweld REALLY fast. My first instinct is the fresh air intake. Start there and work your way back. Let us know what you find.

Most manufacturer's that recommend synthetic motor oil in an engine SHIP that engine with synthetic in it. Having said that, the traditional recommendation has been to use dino-juice up until about 15k. The reasoning was that the synthetic has such high lubricity that the engine wouldn't break in properly with it. I really don't buy that. There are a number of reason why I don't buy that logic, but what it comes down to is the fact that a number of high-performance engines come with synthetic already in them and there's no way that those manufacturer's have gotten around the need to break the motor in. Well, ok...maybe M-B has something up their engineering sleeve. Thus, my suspicion is that your Subaru service writer is mistaken. I'd be willing to bet there's synthetic already in there. Just spend a little time going through the options and select a brand that you like. As for weights...I used to use RedLine 0w-20 in my 92 SHO. Stuff looks like salad oil coming out of the bottle. A friend of mine uses Royal Purple 0w-(not sure) in his monster trucks. THAT stuff looks like dark purple laundry soap. Frankly, that guy is the most compelling argument I know of for using Royal Purple. Redline sponsor's him, but he still spends money out of his pocket to use Royal Purple. Not only that, but his Redline rep told him he understands why.

You could hang one of those ventless propane heaters from a ceiling fan (low speed setting of course) with a swivel fitting in its supply line. Sort of an oscillating heater system.

There is currently NO aftermarket scanner on the market that will read Subaru ABS codes. I checked as this came up for me a while back. The only option is the Subaru scanner. My Snap-on and Matco reps both came up empty searching for this.

I've got a bit of experience using synthetics. My advice is this...if you're going to go synthetic, go big or go home. By that, I mean go right to the top of the line. No half-measures here. Get into either Redline, Royal Purple or Mobile1. My advice would be for Royal Purple as I have more recent experience with it than the other 2. You might check with Subaru, though. They may have some specific reasons for using one or the other.

Just because I'm curious, and I'm certainly not criticizing, but why are you getting away from the electronic engine management?

I don't know that there are any particular mechanical concerns with either engine. Personally, I think I would recommend the turbo model. That's not just because its the one I want (it is). Having driven a few turbo cars up and down some pretty fair mountains, I have found that I really like the extra power that the turbo gives you. At altitude, it really isn't so much that you get EXTRA power as you seem to lose less power as compared to a naturally aspirated car. If you have the means, get the nice one. Get the turbo.

Nice place. I'm jealous.

I'm sorry, I was a bit unclear. You're quite correct that temp has a lot to do with the goings on here. I'm not forgetting or ignoring it. My point was that the increased internal displacement of the york-type compressor will yield lower duty cycles when regulated to 100 psi, compared to the, admittedly more common, rotary type A/C compressor. Reduced duty cycle translates very directly into less heat buildup as does the reduced system pressure. Regulating to 100 psi is still plenty to run air tools and inflate tires. And it represents a 6.8:1 ratio. That's well within the operating parameters for any A/C compressor. Both of these compressors will run a bit hot in this application, but, in the end, I still feel that the increased displacement of the york-type compressor makes it a bit better choice here.

Well, duh....you would obviously use that when you REALLY need to get a cheap HF impact gun spinning! I'm not actually sure what 200 psi would do to a HF impact gun, but I am pretty certain it would be entertaining...you know...from a safe distance.

This is true and yet, for this application, is also immaterial. The high-side of most A/C compressors will get to 250 psi pretty quick. I've seen some that would go up over 500. In this case, you'd be regulating pressure down to 120 or less. Probably more like 100 psi. So, from the compressor's point of view, there are NO high pressures involved. Heat should not be much of a problem, because you just aren't working the compressor that hard regardless of type. So the real question is, which type will deliver higher volumes of compressed air? Generally speaking, that goes to the York compressors hands down. This type of compressor is still common in larger applications, such as buses, for just this reason. Either compressor will do the job and the OE compressor has the added benefit of already being in the car. However, a York compressor will be easier to implement in a scratch build.

Yes, I trust those mileage figures. Here's why.... In Japan, there is this thing called Japan Compulsory Insurance (JCI) and it requires that a new car be inspected after 2 years of service and every year thereafter. This inspection is not what you and I tend to think of as an inspection. They do not merely sniff the tail pipe and check the tires. During JCI inspection, a car gets more or less field stripped and ANYTHING that is not up to specs gets repaired or the car gets junked. Period. The problem is that, after about 30,000 miles, you start seeing lots of wear in the car. Worn suspension bushings, leaking brake calipers, etc. So the car gets EXTRAORDINARILY expensive to keep on the road. Thus, most cars in japan get junked not terribly long after they pass the 30,000 mile mark. Well, really, its more like the 50,000 kilometer mark. So, you can expect that a JDM car has had all of its major maintenance up to that point. It may or may not have had all the minor stuff, like oil changes, on time. However, Japanese people tend to be very fastidious, as a rule. And owning a car in Japan is an expensive proposition. Thus, if you can afford to own a car, you tend to be very proactive in keeping it up. This has the added benefit of keeping your annual JCI inspection costs down. So, yes. As a rule, the JDM engines and transmissions are all they are cracked up to be. Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. How do I know these things? Been there, done that, taken a beating on a JCI inspection after a car purchase there.

You CAN use the A/C compressor as an air compressor. The problem you'll run into is that the A/C compressor really doesn't generate much air flow. So you need a fairly large tank and some run time if you're going to run air tools. If you REALLY want to do this, I'd recommend against using the stock A/C compressor. Instead, use a York-style compressor. They are most commonly found in buses and some older Dodge rigs. The nice thing about the york-style compressors is that they have a lubricated crank case and, thus, do not require lubricant in the refrigerant. They also provide plenty of flow, since they are generally intended to operate in larger vehicles.

Well, the upshot here is that in just a few years, you'll have a VERY low mile car!