1 Lucky Texan

a few months ago, there was a box truck on fire on a local freeway service road. My wife made some comment about the stream that was gonna be contaminated with FD foam and water run-off. I said look again, backed up the u-verse pvr, it was a stream of molten aluminum! came from right under the front fender area and had run across several feet of grass! crazy so, you guys gonna disassemble a Subaru with tannerite next?

reminds me of;

03 H6 OBW; some minor stuff (wiper blades, swapped a little pwr steering fluid and tightened hose clamp, cleaned battery terminals ,inspected stuff) adjusted parking brakes engine oil and filter drain/fill transmission - 3.5 quarts ATF-HP (I did this 6 months ago, thinking about doing it again next October - then once every 2 years) biggest job, replacing rear bushings on the lower control arms (transverse link) with Prothane poly inserts. Discovered DS axle now has split boot (suspected from smell) found front brake pads need replacing 06 WRX wgn; replaced front parking lights with LED due to one being burnt out. swapped some pwr steering fluid - need to to swap more, very dark looking. engine oil/filter while checking parkingbrake adjustment, discovered bad rear wheel bearing! argh! While inspecting front area, found broken antiswaybay droplink! argh! (car has less than 42K miles!!!) I think i discovered more work than I performed!

Thanx, whether I drive in or take the knuckle, I will confirm with the shop NTN bearing and OEM seals. do most shops remove the knuckle for this or do the repair on the car? That is, would I really be saving much money by taking the knuckle in?

I'll look tomorrowbut, just for clarity, this pic is what the newer legacies have, but I do not (correct ? )on my 06 Impreza;

I tried to interpret the drawings at opposedforces . Looks like a sliding hammer, then an outer seal, a bearing, 2 inner seals - maybe a snap rin or 2. NOTHING there looks like any kinda bolt in unit. ugh also discovered a broken fornt anti-sway bar link. That problem explains the car 'porpoising' in fsat tight sweeping turns. Stupid plasic suspension part! My cars are starting to fall apart. The WRX has under 42K miles! Rear wheel bearing, broken ASB link - seriously? any pics or guides for the knuckle removal? might save a little if I just haul that down to the dealership for repair. with my wife recovering from her knee surgery, at least we don't have a pressing need for both cars, but it's hard to spend as much time with the cars due to housework, nursing the wife, etc. And I'm supposed to go back to work on Thursday. ugh didn't get everything done i wanted - PLUS found more work!

any good threads, DIY guides? I THINK I once was in a thread that mentioned changing them out may have gotten easier in 'later' model cars. I was doing some 6 month maintnance and discoved my left rear wheel moves about 1 or 2 millimeters in all directions. I was susupicu=ious I had a new noise back there, found it. dang! I am not gonna buy a hub tamer or other expensive specialized gear - so, i may take it to my dealer. just kinda like to confirm how hard/easy it might be since I'm off work for a coupla more days. (kinda disappointed , I also found a split boot on my wife's outback. sigh....)

hmmm, I know it's tight, but, would it be possible to use a heat gun and/or some 'freeze mist to test the CAS? If the engine is idling well, and heating the CAS made it stumble, OR, if the car was showing the problem and idling poorly and some freeze spray direct at the CAS settle the miss down, might be diagnostic for the sensor. also, I wonder if the alternator/charging circuit could be a problem? ripple or low voltage?

crank angle sensor?

yeah, evidently, you are supposed to mark/align a new factory mount, and i assume a new press-in OEM-style bushing. You mark the mount-to-arm position, then make sure the new stuff gets put back on in the same orientation. But every part of the Prothane kit seems able to rotate (indeed, it's all lubricated) so, that particular issue can be ignored. I took notes and pictures and may write the procedure up in this or a new thread. There may be a little more NVH than before, hard to tell for certain. Honestly, I'd say it'sa dice toss on the poly bushings over springing for OEM. But, I did save some money. Basically, it's all the same removal/installation, but with the added hassle and mess of removing the old bushing from the mount. But without the need to align the new mount to the arm or measure any offset. hope they last

how old is his battery? he may have bad battery cables. He had the option to say no to using the battery. It may have been your idea, but it was his decision. Buy him a pizza and some beers - or lottery scratchers.

got one side re-worked and 'snugged' in place, the other side is cut out should go together quickly tomorrow. I have pics and notes. hoping a few little procedural tips might help the next person. I think these fail a little early because, like the inner tripod socket boots, they are near the exhaust. 9 years isn't that bad a run, but it's only 70K miles or so.

Older cars can certainly be a challenge as many parts can be loose/old. You definitely want to try moving tires back to front - inspecting everything when you do so. If you have a shop rotate them, have them measure the rims for runout. And axles can certainly cause problems. Spend time/money on these items first. Lower control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack bushings etc. would be places to look also. It seems unrelated directly to engine work - maybe just a coincidence. Did they service anything else? clutch? If you post your city, someone may be able to suggest a shop where you could take a mechanic for a drive to duplicate these issues. he may be able to diagnose it quite well. Certainly better than we can.

does the steering wheel 'shimmy' or vibrate when this happens? Or is there a vibration you feel in the brake pedal? seat of the pants?

yeah, that's reasonable - it just seems like they violate part of the engineering reason the bushing is there to begin with if the arm's 'freedom of travel' needs to be limited. Oh I plan to lube the h3ll out of it - to ward off groaning or squeaking. But I never really thought about straight-up wear. It's certainly gonna be exposed to serious grime down there. thanx

they don't have a metal outer sleeve.(though some poly bushings do press in as you suggest) I haven't done it yet, But i expect to push the pieces in by hand. Dunno, maybe I'll have to stand on them. Just kinda wondering about the apparent difference in 'function/application'. OEM seems to limit rotation, the prothane seems to require slippage. just seems odd.

OK, noob question. never replaced any bushings before - much less switching to poly aftermarket. I have some Prothane replacements for the TVL bushing (front LCA, rear bushing) It appears the original unit is designed to flex - in a rotational manner, not slip/slide. Yet, I have packets of lubricant with the prothane parts. I assume, maybe wrongly, the lube goes in the contact area outside the new bushing/inside the mount (after I remove the old bushing's sleeve) right?

so, Toyota, not Toyota and one electric motor, or 2 electric motors that clears things up.:-\

maybe check the Rumors thread at NASIOC. big changes coming in 2016 for all US cars due to CAFE so, maybe we'll see something? a hybrid with Toyota technology?

very good question, there's a point at which you would just assume you had no worse chance than with any old car. I'd say if it was hot weather, and the car is somewhat loaded, at operating temp. and maybe cruising up/down some hills. The typical HG failure can be a little weird. some folks say they see the temp spike under load, others when engine braking along the exit ramp. Montor the o'flow bottle for extensive filling or overflowing. Defienitely bubbles would be weird. You want to confirm the fans are working too. Just search here for info about any system you have questions about. if it's stock - I think you have the EJ22 engine which is widely regarded as extremely durable. Worth fixing even if it does need headgaskets. Again, if anyone has changed the t'stat, and cannot confirm to you it's OEM, then you should consider just changing it.

do you know if it has a DEALER sourced thermostat? Most aftermarket t'stats won't work in soobs. Stant XACSTAT may work - there could be a NAPA part that will work - most will NOT. They fit, but will lead to weird overheating events. there is a chemical HG test from O'Reilly's and parts places like that - but it needs to be bubbling exhaust gasses thru the radiator so, you will probably need to actually drive it and monitor the temps. i suppose, if it has leaked a lot before, old coolant might look bad or there could be excess 'grunge' in the overflow tank. plan a road trip, with a buddy following in his car (buy gas and lunch for him), travel prepared for overheating and make sure, in a severe emergency, you could get the car towed or a ride to safety.

you probably already lost all the refrigerant. change the o-rings at the compressor, when you refill, use the refrigerant with the UV dye for the first can, top off with a can of regular.(I think the system holds 2 cans?) then monitor for the dye. Hopefully, there's no pinhole in the condenser or leaks anywhere that can't be fixed by more o-rings. Or take it to a shop with a 'sniffer' - they should be able to locate the leak, fix it, evacuate the system and re-charge it.

they only do that here on older cars - plus, I think pre-96 AWD may be exempt due to lack of 4WD dynos. They used to measure at 1200-1500 rpm IIRC. What's required in Montana might be a lot different than California. There could be some States that don't care about a CEL if the car passes the sniff test. I dunno.

where I live, the definition of failing for most gas cars built after 96 is, first, the CEL is on. Additional examination involves, making certain the fuel filler neck isn't modified, making certain all/most of the monitors are 'complete, probably other stuff. Again, you asked Subaru's position on the anti-fouler. Certainly i can't speak for them and I may be wrong, perhaps you could email them and ask. There ARE ways to handle 'nuisance' codes by re-flashing the ECU. Supposedly, and individual is allowed to do it for off-road use only. Dunno about a dealership. Again, what you, a dealership or some 3rd party can get away with, is different than the law. I personally know someone who reflashed their ECU to kill off about 14 codes related to a failed secondary Air Injection system. That person even has an 06 WRX wagon like mine. But. it is only legal for an offroad vehicle as I understand it. It isn't illegal, yet, to use the tactrix cable, Romraider software and ECUflash to actually DO it.