hklaine

I was actually going to mention this in my original reply. I feel that in the viscous coupling behavior, reaction became smoother and faster. Again I noticed this improvement primarily in cold weather. From my experience with this, my first AWD car, the action of the viscous coupling seems smoother when the gear fluids are warmer. Perhaps the synthetic helps here by being less prone to change in viscosity with temperature. As for the shifting becoming more "notchy" I think there is validity to that as well from my experience. I personally prefer the notchy feel. (which can be enhanced further with trans mounts and shifter bushings) *end rambling <--- WHAT is this thing?!

I use RedLine 7590NS in my Subi and have had no problems. From www.redlineoil.com 75W90NS: "This GL-5-type gear oil doesn't contain the friction modifiers for limited-slip hypoid differentials. This makes the transmission synchronizers come to equal speeds more quickly, allowing faster shifting and much easier low-temperature shifting. Can also be used in racing limited-slip differentials where weak spring design causes too much wheel spin." They also have another product 75W90: "Our most popular gear oil, this is the preferred product in nearly all car and light truck differentials, both conventional and limited-slip. 75W90 is preferred for most racing applications. It contains friction modifier which is recommended for limited-slip units. 75W90 Gear Oil can be used in many transmissions and transaxles; however, other Red Line lubricants have better frictional properties for rapid synchronization. Exceeds API GL-5." I don't particularly care for modifiers (friction or viscosity) and being as my car is not a limited slip I decided to go with the 75W90NS. I have been using it for quite some time with no ill effects. Shifting improved dramatically, especially in cold weather. I double-clutch my car, but have not had any issues with synchros in situations where I have shifted w/o double clutching. BTW the car/tranny has 106k on it. Just my personal experience. Haven't tried Mobil 1 or other synthetics for that matter. -Heikki

It's raining too hard to go out and look, but I am assuming there is nothing you can remove to gain access to the back? -Heikki

New grommets should come with the new gaskets. You can find fuel filter info here. -Heikki

aba4430's jack method works well. The biggest PITA with this job is refilling the rear. I use a large "syringe", w/o the needle of course. I am running RedLine 7590NS and it works great in all weather. -Heikki

What kind of car? Stock fogs? -Heikki

Very cool. I live about 6 miles north of Flemington and am also a North Hunterdon graduate. -Heikki If you end up getting the lights without the harness and all PM me, and I can dig up my wiring info. It might be similar to yours. (?)

No. I believe it was taken at Englishtown (Raceway Park). You are familiar with the Flemington Fairgrounds? -Heikki

If you buy the "OE" kit it comes with everthing you need. If you tear the parts out of a junkyard car you will want to get the lights, the connectors behind them (both ends) and the switch. The wiring harness isn't in the car if it doesn't have fog lights. The kit comes with everything. -Heikki H4510AC500 <-- I think this is the kit for your car. The wider openings in the bumper? Mine are the squared off ones (see my WWW link for a pic)

My dealer has them on the parts counter. It's a sheet with a chart of the different suggested services vs. mileages. -Heikki

Do the U.S. cars' fog lights work with the "dipped beam" headlights (AKA daytime running lights or DRL)? I guess my '96 is pre-DRL. I rewired my fogs to work with any lighting, so that I could run them with just the parking lights and no headlights for foggy conditions and still have them turn off with the ignition. Interesting thing is, if I turn the parking lights on with that switch on top of the steering column, I can't use my fogs. I guess that's a good thing, less bulbs to drain my battery if I hit that switch (which I tend to do when cleaning) and park the car. -Heikki

Woah, woah, woah... I don't know how I feel about this. I know my car's mostly Yamaha/Mazda but it still says Ford on the outside. -Heikki

Cutoff on U.S. (and other LHD countries) cars should look something like this: Notice how the beam cuts up on the right side to illuminate road signs, deer, pedestrians, etc... On the JDM headlights this cutoff will be on the left side so you need to be careful to aim this headlight lower so as to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. Here is a picture of an instance where someone did a decent job of this: (notice the "hotspot" of the driver side lamp is down low, on the sidewalk) You can see how the light pattern loses the "flare" on the right side (since the passenger side lens is designed for a flat cutoff). Here are the two images next to each other: These images are from a thread in another forum but work well here to illustrate the point. You can see detailed instructions on aiming headlights here. I would assume aiming your passenger side light to spec (up/down) and then adjusting the driver side to a reasonable height would work. Aiming l/r may be difficult with the passenger side since you don't have and kink in the pattern to use for reference. Ideas? Trial and error may be the best method for this one. -Heikki BTW: I use driver/passenger side reference points above as they would be on a LHD car.

Nice. Are they RHD/LHD? Are there projectors out there that can be used on on US cars (w/ the proper cutoff)? Anyone know? -Heikki

Which JDM's did you get? Just out of curiosity. Projectors? -Heikki

Assuming they are the same as mine...5x100 bolt pattern w/ 55mm offset. Make sure to check clearance on the rear spring seat. And with something that wide you will want to check the clearance on the inside of the fenders as well. -Heikki

Well put. Also, if you are planning to mount driving lights thet should really be mounted at headlight height for maximum efficiency as their "hotspot" in the distance should be level with your headlights. -Heikki

Did you search by part #? This work? -Heikki

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ If it is available and he doesn't have it, he can most likely get it for you. He is also very helpful with any technical questions/suggestions. I bought several sets of bulbs from him. Top-Quality products. -Heikki

So, I need to adjust my headlights, and unfortunately SOA does not trust me to do this on my own. The front of the manual says to turn to page 10-46 for "Adjustment of headlight aim" but when I go to page 10-46 the manual shows how to check the center points and tells me that if the lights are out of place I should bring it to the dealer. I see that there is one screw on the lower outside portion of the back of the housing. Is this the up/down or left/right? Where is the other? Is the one I see the up/down and the other adjusted using the left/right gauge? I see that there is a stem coming out of it with a hex end on it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. -Heikki Worthless manual page 10-46. Edit: I gave the stem coming off the the R/L level a gentle turn and it moved freely. Was certainly the L/R adjustment. I used this guide. Made a drastic improvement in my headlights and allowed me to adjust fog lights for most efficient use in their intended application.

If you leave the window down while doing the install you shouldn't have any problems. Just realize that when you set the speaker into the door and/if it bottoms out on something that could be the window. So don't force anything. The cradles help raise the speaker out of the door so you may need to use them (I did) but otherwise you should be all right with Crutchfield's info. As someone said, the instructions they send are generally pretty thorough. I did not get my speakers from them, however, I did order my head unit from them and the instructions mentioned every last hidden screw for taking the bezel and console assemblies apart. I have a set of Polk components in my doors, with a crossover mounted behind the "arm rest" part of the door panel. The fit is great and placing tweeters on the sails helps greatly with highs. -Heikki tweeter

Look at the bottom corners of your timing belt covers. Oil there can signal a leaking seal on the crank or cam seals (more likely). This oil drip is lined up conveniently with a straight drop to the Y-Pipe creating a pleasant odor to be pulled in with the heat this time of year. Seems like you are leaking a decent amount of oil so the pump and rear seals would certainly be good to look at along with valve cover gaskets (which like to leak). -Heikki

If the car is clean, and in good running order the price certainly seems fair. At least it would here where cars seem to be slightly higher priced. -Heikki I agree, do the belts (and associated seals immediately).

Be careful pulling the "sail" off the door. I believe the clips are built into the sail and are of the hard plastic variety. The kind prone to snapping off. Mount a tweeter in it while you have it off Also when you mount the new speaker, if you use that stock white plastic cradle for the speaker, make a note of its orientation before removal. It points the speaker in a specific direct for both sound projection and clearance on the window when it's down. As setright suggested, leave the window down. -Heikki

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=91 It's simple. After you do it a few times (you most likely will - especially in colder climates) you'll get quicker at it. -Heikki