Setright

Skip, could you explain to me how that valve works then? All I have found in the filter is a by-pass valve. Also, how come it isn't lifter-click city at the start up after an oil change? Without the filter in, the oil drains back right?

Okay, maybe this is only true of EJ-series engines, but the oil filter screws on from below, negating the need for a drain-back valve. The oil will stay in the filter. This has the added advantage that you can "prime" the filter at oil changes, ie. fill it up with fresh oil before you screw it on. I use Sube filters, and there is no drain back valve. Made by Purolator btw.

I run "real" Silverstars, 55/60W. They are the best upgrade you can achieve by just swapping bulbs. No question. Out on country roads - four times Silver 60W, thanks to a set of Hella FF's - they really light things up nicely. Animals that stray onto the road are easily seen at long distance. I'm sure my bumper is pleased

Erm, Josh...the Subaru PCV works "backwards" compared to most others. The PCV valve draws straight from the crankcase, pulling fresh clean air - ahhh! - through from the valve covers. My point: A catch-can/oil-separator would only be needed on the hose that connects up to the PCV valve.

Yes sir! You have to loosen the engine mounts and lift the engine up. This also helps get the pan around the oil pump suction pipe!

DOHC to SOHC for reduced friction.

Fill the new filter with fresh oil before installing it. Saves on engine wear since the pump doesn't have to fill the filter before it can deliver pressure to the oil galleries. Subes are great for this, since the filter screws on from below, you can actually brim the filter. This is not possible on all those in-line engines with side-on filters.

I am addicted no doubt. But I can only afford one. Mainly because of the mileage I do. 30 k miles a year, about half is work related, so I need "Scoobes" to be running all the time. My baby has never left me stranded, but keeping a 14 year old car runnning like new is a cosstly affair.. Still, when it runs like a new Sube, who can complain, right?

I stick with OE hoses. The most important fact for me is that they are molded in THE RIGHT SHAPE. Standard hoses will tend to kink where you bend them and impeed the flow. At high enough flow rates, the kinks may also cause enough turbulence to create bubbles, and subsequent cavitation in the water pump. But that is extreme, and probably not relevant in car engines. I just like the word cavitation

I would support anyone who suggests that 25% "antifreeze" is enough to prevent the cooling system from corroding. This is like the oil discussion: The most important thing is that you replace it at the correct interval. This is personal from car to car, because use and mileage vary vastly. I do one cold-start a day. The rest of the day, the car is never stationary long enough to cool back down, and this means less condensation problems, and longer oil life. The coolant is also less stressed, because it is not cycled from cold to hot all the time, but remains at a fairly constant temp. IMHO

Oh dear, Josh! What a dumb mistake, didn't they test it?

Fuel filter. 60k mile interval. It's a high pressure filter, so I would recommend OE, and relieving the system pressure before disconnecting the hoses.

Couldn't agree more. The only trouble is convincing people of these facts. Glycol has a Specific Heat Capacity of 2.6 Kilojoules per degree per kilogram Water has a SHC of 4.2 KJ/C/Kg Only certain ammonias have a higher SHC, but these are unsuited for cooling. Water is the winner!

Sure, but you will definitely burn at least one knuckle, and possibly manage a cut as you withdraw the hand in question. If you have a good plug-wrench it will have a rubber ring to hold onto the spark plug, and you can tap it out without touching the hot plug. Be careful when you insert the new plug in the wrench, the wrench will also be getting hot.... Let it cool first....probably best to torque them down on a old engine anyway.

Sounds suspicious. You should take off the housing and examine the ratchet mechanism. There must be something up.

Don't do it man! Do not buy a VW. If you do, look out for these factory-fit defects: Faulty wiring harness, tendency to burst bulbs. Especially the rear light clusters. And that means brake lights! Dragging rear caliper/discs. Brake pads that fail in winter salt. Weak clutch joint on the pedal, clutch will not disengage. Have it welded up as soon as you buy the car. Tdi's and 1.8T's are notorius. Can wreck the piston in the clutch cylinder. Weak battery, leading to radio/CD failure and finally locking you out of the car! Squeaky front struts. If you get all the goodies: Look out for an autonomous electric window controller...tendency to open all the windows, at unexpected times. Squeaky seat rails. Rattling chrome handbrake release. And an assortment of other cabin rattles that would be acceptable in a car above 10 years of age. No car is perfect, Sube included, but at the prices these Germans demand, there is no excuse. The above is compiled from a host of Magazine articles and five VW/Audi owners that are friends of mine. They are starting to loose faith.

I think you should be safe in terms of transmission bearing problems. The first run had weak bearings and these will fail before 120k miles - like mine did - the rest keep going. Clutch is a wear item, and it all depends on the way you treat it. Having said that, I would expect that it's nearing the end of it's lifetime. If and when time comes to replace it, you might want to shop around and find an aftermarket clutch. The newer sube clutches have chronic judder problems. Mine does They have been improved, but even brand new 2003 models are still affected, at least over here. Clutch failure is a gradual thing, so start saving up when it starts to slip during the shift into high gears. My alternator went at 160k, so expect something soon... Wheel bearings become a problem around 180k, but nothing is certain. Make sure replacements are mounted properly and with the correct grease, to avoid premature failure. Rears are the first to go. Again, you can wait for them to get noisy, and then start saving. If you keep and eye on CV boots, you should be able to replace the boot alone and not the joint. Most CV failures result from loss of grease due to cracked boots. Very common on front axles. Simple things like replacing spark plugs, PCV valve, fuel filter, air filter, oil filter, and thermostat should keep things on the straight and narrow. If these are in order, then other more expensive components are less stressed.

Redline will probably make it quieter for a while, but after maybe 20k miles, Redline seems to let the noise back in. Not sure why. I am going to switch back to Mobil 1 next time, the Redline isn't worth the money.

Hello Marnix! Count me in on the Nurburgring!! Went for the first time ever, last summer. I plan on returning

Huh? Aren't all the head bolts accessible once the cam covers are off??

Flush the cooling system. You don't need to use caustic flushing additives, plain water should plenty to loosen up most problems - especially if you use warm water. And replace the thermostat and radiator cap. If any of the coolant hoses look suspect, replace them. Check the ones that run to the cabin heater. I don't like to re-use any coolant hose once I have had it off. The clamping area gets hard and won't seal well the second time.

Well, reverse takes a bashing during the actual selection, so the strength is relevant. Also, the tiny axle that swings the third cog into place to make reverse happen, has no support on the ends. Therefore the axial force created by diagonal cut teeth would stress the shift linkage and have a tendency to pop it out of gear. Andre Citroen came up with the fabulous idea of cutting teeth diagonally in two separate sections, and opposite angles, thereby eliminating the axial force....and giving the firm it's logo!

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/nav?page=car Best of the lot in my opinion. They don't follow the herd, but dare to speak their own thoughts. I have a shelf full of them, dating back to May 1989

Well, the discs/rotors have internal drums to serve as cable operated handbrake. More of that later: BEFORE disassembling anything else, get a big G-clamp and push on the inside of the caliper and the outside brake pad. This will open up the caliper by pushing the piston back in. If the pins are in good shape you can do this with your hands, instead of the clamp. I strongly advise against pushin the piston back with the caliper dismounted, because you risk running skew. Undo the lower caliper bolt, bolt head faces inward, and the caliper should be able to swing up and allow you to remove the old pads and shims - if they are there. Lower the caliper again, and do the bolt finger tight. Next, loosen the caliper bracket bolts. There are two of these, and you should be able to work out which ones they are. Have a thick wire or similar ready to support the caliper and bracket. It should be possible to hook it up to the lower dish/cup of the suspension strut. Avoid flexing/bending the brake hose, try to keep movements smooth and the hose unstressed. The disc may have a small screw attaching it to the hub, this will need to come out. Next up, the handbrake cable needs loosening, or otherwise the drum part of the disc will have trouble clearing the internal brake shoes. Still, it pays to try to wiggle the disc off, you never know you might be lucky. Under the center console, where the handbrake handle lives, you can loosen the cable tension, and hopefully the shoes will clear the drums. Otherwise you will have to pop out the oval rubber grommet in the drum backing plate and pull the shoes inward. Hopefully this won't be necessary...it's a pain, and you will need a good flashlight and tweezers. There is a small cogwheel visible and it needs to be rotated to move the shoes. Experiment yourself to find out which way, I can't remember. There might be locking plate on the cogwheel, in which case you will need to get a long, thin screwdriver in there and release it. When you put everything back together, put a small amount of copper grease on all the bolt threads. The two caliper pins/bolts should also be greased to allow the caliper to slide easily back and forth. Good luck! We'll be waiting here if there more questions...

Torxx, I have been through most of the rainbow, and settled on orange. Yes, it may sound odd, but it makes the needles glow in a cool way, and combines with the faded green backing of the numbers to give a nice neutral whitish colour.