hklaine

My car (see sig) has got a bleed screw on the top of the radiator on the passenger side (LHD). It has a X phillips-type head on it. If you elevate the front of the car a bit this is a good point to bleed from, provided your rad has the same. -Heikki

I resealed the pump in my car when I bought it at 100k. It wasn't leaking, but three of the screws were VERY loose. I don't know how long they had been that way, but I was glad I checked them. -Heikki

Triangle Below Canal Street. Is the car really named after that? Where's the B9 come in? -Heikki

I would say No Way! Sorry, but I think this is one you have to fix. If there is enough bolt sticking out perhaps you can flatten two sides, grap it with some good vice-grips and back it out (?) If not, then the drill may have to come out... Of course the most important thing is DO NOT SCAR THE MATING SURFACE on the engine side while removing the stud. -Heikki

I would guess at a mile up you would lose +/- 3 psi. There are plenty of calculations you can do for this, but I am just guessing from what I remember to be correct. :-\ -Heikki Edit:Pressure at 1 mi. is ~83% of the pressure at sea level for those interested in the numbers... 1.00 ATM = 14.69595 psi 0.83 ATM = 12.19764 psi

The turbo helps increase the pressure, but this increase is relative. It is relative to the pressure around the turbo. The post-turbo pressure is not an absolute pressure independent of its surroundings. There was a bit of a similar discussion some time ago here. Physics can be a real bi$%h when it comes to performance. -Heikki

Keep an eye on ebay. This is the standard JDM grille, and they come up for sale quite regularly. -Heikki

headlights, foglights, grille, and is that a raised roof (touring wagon)? Oh, and the mailman is missing -Heikki

When I first purchased my Legacy I had a clunking noise in the back on one side. It turned out to be a beat strut. I have also had similar sounds in the SHO, and they were traced down to a bad sway bar mount. Try pushing the car around a corner with a little speed. If it's the sway bar bushing you can usually make it clunk in the corners. -Heikki

If I am correct removing the rear driveshaft will drain the trans fulid. -Heikki

Since it's all new to you, I would set aside a weekend. That should be sufficient but if you don't run into any snags there is no reason you shouldn't be able to get it done in a day. Good luck. -Heikki

I don't see any reason to replace the water pump. I generally replace the water pump on every other timing belt (120k miles). I would personally replace the crank seal since you will be removing the oil pump. If the timing belt isn't due, shouldn't be a problem to reuse it as long as it is in good condition and DOES NOT HAVE OIL ON IT from the leak. I am not sure what the mechanic means by behind the pump wall, but would assume this means the sealant between the pump and the block. I used Permatex Ultra-Gray for this and it worked great, no leaks after 30k miles. Make sure to check the screws inside the pump. If they are loose clean the threads thoroughly and apply some loc-tite blue before replacing them. I found three loose in mine. And of course replace the small o-ring behind the pump as stated before. -Heikki

There are three places where the oil pump could be leaking. a. The o-ring between the low and high pressure sides b. The sealant which attaches the pump to the block c. The crank seal The latter two would cause a visible leak. Since you have the Haynes manual, if you are mechanically inclined you should be OK. If disassembling this mess make certain to inspect/replace everything, though it seems like you had most everything except the oil pump done last time. Timing belts, cam seals, inspect idler pulley, acc. belts, water pump, thermostat, and of course the oil pump (o-ring, sealant, and tighten/loc-tite the screws inside)... If I am missing something someone can chime in I am sure. -Heikki

I don't know about all aftermarket struts, but the spring gaurds do fit the GR-2's. At least they did on my car. I installed the OEM springs when I did my struts and therefore felt I should transfer the spring gaurds, just in case. As for the retainer... It is very quick and easy to install, and probably inexpensive. I would imagine these are the reasons they install it over replacing the springs. They don't have to remove the strut, perform an alignment, etc... Spring rates are generally available from the technical departments at these spring companies. I would imagine that a range of appropriate spring rates are also available from the strut manufacturer (?). I have never pursued the latter. With the springs, the information generally isn't printed in most literature or on the web site. Calling the company's technical staff is the way to go, as they can provide full specs for their products. Knowledgable shops also have this information, provided they have people who understand it. If they don't have either, go elsewhere. Keep in mind, however, that any stiffer spring will reduce the life of the strut. That's just the nature of damped oscillations. I'll be installing the iON Sport Spec Springs (yes, on my '96 BG). Their web site doesn't include much info, but you can find it here: http://www.ionperformance.com/ I hope to have these installed in the next month or two. -Heikki

Did you go into the dealer for the recall? The spring guards that they install will also fit your GR-2's. I have Eibach's on my SHO, and they are great springs. I am running the Eibach's on adjustable Koni's, which are built for a stiffer spring. The only concern I would have is the dampening of the GR-2's against the spring rate of the Eibach's. The GR-2's (I run these on my Legacy - they are great) are a bit stiffer than stock but are still considered a stock replacement. One of the largest side effects will be increased stress on your struts, and shortened life, due to the strut having to dampen a stiffer spring. As long as the springs aren't too stiff, the handling should still be OK, and the struts should last for reasonable amount of time. The lowering shouldn't be a problem. It should provide some better handling and a nice improvement in appearance with less wheel gap (at lease in my opinion). I plan to replace my springs this summer, but probably not for another month or so. -Heikki

If it's not leaking too bad, oil pressure is OK, and you don't have any valvetrain noise then it might be OK to leave it alone (for now). If you are mechanically inclined then do the valve cover gaskets, they aren't a big deal. -Heikki

Valve covers are easy! Oil pump is a bit more work, but you could do it in a day/weekend. It is essentially remove/replace labor of the timing belt and cam seal service. You need to remove timing bely, acc. belts, crank pulley, and then pull off the pump (if I remember correctly). You need to remove the pump, clean the mating surfaces, apply a sealant (ultra-gray), replace the o-ring in the pump, check the screws in the pump for tightness, and replace the pump. I don't know what the service interval is for your timing belt but if you decide to reseal the pump you might want to do the crank seal, cam seals, belts, water pump, thermostat, and check the idler pulleys while you're in there. A good shop manual should walk you through all of it. Take a look at the timing belt and oil/water pump info here (thanks to Josh). -Heikki

So they have decided to adapt that wonderful Tribeca B9 front-end to the Impreza now? Who makes these decisions? -Heikki (not a huge fan - leave well enough alone)

Right On! But don't be scared, even that isn't too difficult... -Heikki

This sounds about right and is how I had mine for some time. I think you should have no problems. If you want to be certain pop out the factory HU (provided you have one) and measure the opening. I do miss the empty storage area, that thing is very convenient. -Heikki

[thread_hijack] Perhaps in '96 the ashtrays were only shipping with a smokers' package - ? I know this seems to be common with most new cars these days. I also don't have a lighter in my 12V outlet in the console. There is just that plastic cap instead. The top unit provides turn-by-turn navigation and houses the map CD permanently while the lower unit provides satellite radio, CD, and MP3 capability. The lower unit's preamps run into the upper unit's AUX in. This allows me to keep the NAVI Map CD inserted at all times plus use the amplifier and tuner in the upper unit (the latter two items are of much better quality in the upper unit). The upper unit can be used alone, but doesn't play MP3's or handle satellite radio. Plus I would then have to remove my audio CD to calculate a route (you can put the audio CD back in and start driving once the route is calculated) and that's a PitA. -Heikki [/thread_hijack]

It depends on the radio. In my setup the top unit is too wide and almost too deep. It is supposedly a single-DIN, but larger than any other aftermarket radio I have ever owned. The bottom one fits perfectly. Most aftermarket single-DIN radios should fit without a problem. -Heikki

I also put anti-sieze on the inside of the pulley, outside of the shaft. This makes for less of a PiTA next time.

Are you severly overdriving the rear speakers? Is there distortion from the bass? If no, then I wouldn't worry about it. What do these bass blockers cost with respect to a new set of speakers? Turn it up! -Heikki

It's a small plate that mounts to the rear of the engine, behind the flywheel. In the earlier cars, like mine, it was made from plastic and often cracked/leaked. Subaru updated this part with a metal version which is now available. How does the dealer know that it is leaking? If you are having that replaced I would also replace the rear main seal while the trans/flywheel is out. It is another potential leak. I did these last summer due to a need for a clutch replacement and installed the metal separator. Replacing the seal and separator takes all of 15 minutes, it's dropping the trans that gets expensive on labor if they do it. I am not sure which plate was used in '98. I am sure most dealers will install the metal one, but it doesn't hurt to make sure. -Heikki