1 Lucky Texan

probably only adjust the stock one with some 'trick' like shimming or replacing a spring or something. Probably sealed up and not practical to alter. probably an aftermarket one is available set at a higher pressure - AEM, Megan Racing, etc. um - what's wrong with the car?

my wife's car needed a strut at 65K. It has 70k now and needs a lower control arm bushing. Just depends - low miles BUT with lots of secondary road and start-stop type driving is very stressful on a car. so, if that 2000, sat for 5 days a week, that's one thing, but if it went to the grocery store, came home, went to elementary sscool, came home, went to middle school, came home, went to high school, took a kid to karate practice, stopped by the drugstore, came home, went to Burger King, came home, picked up a kid from karate practice, stopped for ice cream , came home - 5 days a week....that's a lot of brake, suspension and steering wear but low miles.

worn steering/suspension components may be allowing too much 'toe in' while accelerating/driving.

man, I JUST read a post about this from a guru on on this or the other board but can't find it now. hand the caliper from a spring coil with a coat hanger or some twine or a bungee cord. Buying a shank nut, or using a 'sacrificial' lug nut is probably the best way to pound them out. (probably spray with some PB blaster and let it sit for 30 minutes/overnight. then, use a bunch of properly sized washers, stacked up as needed, and a 'real' nut(pass thru - not lug) to 'pull-in' the new studs. expect a lot of force needed from wht I've read. dunno i fht e backing plate needs to come off. kinda think not - maybe rotate the hub around to where the caliper bracket is - I think there's clearance there.

sorry - pretty sure it was in the US, maybe california??? wish my car radio had a 'replay buffer' feature like my u-verse TV box does! thing is, if they sent bad gas down a pipeline, how many terminals could have gotten it? EDIT ! ; appears to have been affected about 200 retailers in Indiana. nvrmd

just a few thoughts; could you test the fuel pressure/flow? Maybe inspect all the relays/fuses/connectors/grounds/wire harness associated with the fuel pump. You could 'force' a cel by leaving the gas cap off - then you might be able to retrieve Fuel Trim and other frezeframe data. any correlation to fuel supply? full tank, near empty, etc. most fuel injected vehicles have a 'flood clear' condition when the pedal is floored. Dunno if that applies while you're moving though.

Just heard about a BP gasoline 'recall' - over 7,000 vehicles affected. (maybe in California ???) anyone know details? Could there be bad gas in Canada? fyi

any 'buzzing' sounds right before starting the car? I think there was an issue with abs pumps from around that era. have him take you for a ride and demo his complaint.

well, you could take a look at what the WRX and STI tuners do with Tactrix cable and RomRaider, etc. But I dunno if there's much support for n/a vehicles. for instance, if the air-cut/ air injection valves were stuck on a car, you could kill all 14-15 w'ever codes associated with them, remove the pump and valves and put cover plates where the valves were. No codes, and passes emissions inspection. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1410201 http://www.romraider.com/ http://www.tactrix.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69:what-cars-work-with-ecuflash&catid=40:ecuflash&Itemid=41

yeah, wonder if your version of the EPA would like to know about this. "emissions failure? Sure, Subaru can fix that by turning off the DTC with a ECU reflash or making undocumented alterations to the ECU map!"

that seems like a nice way to generate a little easy income. is there a TSB for this? stupid Subaru either they need a recall under an extended emissions warranty or a mechanism for 3rd party repair-by-reflash needs to be made available.

did he test drive it? What was done immediately before the problem started? any mods,wrecks or more repairs? A timing belt could still have slipped. Did he use OEM plug wires? many people have problems with typical aftermarket wires. And sometimes hoses can work loose after major mechanical work.

OK, even if the frame is at the negative wire's potential - sounds like you've insulated it so, that can't be the problem.

many possibilities, coil, slipped timing, stuck/burned valves, bad plug wires.... double check the timing belt, look for missing/misplaced vacuum/pcv/vapor/IACV hoses, compression and maybe leakdown test, vacuum gauge test, confirm spark at each plug... lots of stuff probably suspect hoses, coil, wires and TB first - easiest for DIY I guess. search here for specific help with those items. post precise Pxxxx codes if possible.

is the body of the horn metal? If so, they may be polarized in the sense that the negative wire is also connected to the metal body of the horn. Check with ohmmeter - might have to push through some paint.

I had that code pop up one day and my car felt like it was in limp mode so, I dunno, without a code I'd say unlikley, but the other symptoms seem similar.

good point look for oil upstream from the turbo, if none found, probably bad seals.

If the breather hoses to the heads and/or the PCV valve stuck open and/or it's hose are misrouted or clogged in some way, you can get oil in the intake. For instance a stuck open PCV will allow boost pressure into the crankcase which could push oil out the breather hoses. Or perhaps the PO tried to install catch-cans or an air/oil separator and did it poorly. Still no CEL?

that bolt at the bottom of the strut was intact? seems like a lot of drop just for a saggy spring.

Ivan, I tried to search the thread for EGR but didn't spot it. I wonder if there's an EGR that might be weak or dirty?

I lift both my cars by the rear diff. (if my floor jack didn't have a rubber pad, I'd probably use a 1/2" piece of wood - just to help distribute the force across the bottom of the diff a little) and place the jack stands at the pinch welds (as indicated for the emerg. scissor jack.) To service the pads and caliper, there's no reason to do anything to the e-brake cable. If you plan to remove the rear rotor, that procedure will involve some manipulation of e-brake components as well as caliper bracket removal. (I think)

personally, I think a DIYer would do fine with a $100 scanner. If you plan to maintain a lot of cars, or you plan to NEVER let a dealer or mechanic do anything to any car you maintain - you may need a $250 piece of equipment or some fancy software. I have an old Innova 3100. It gets used by coworkers more than I use it. It won't get transmission codes, but gets CAN and all 4 OBDII protocols. I think it can be flash updated, but I've never connected it to the computer since i bought it. I think you can get more features for the same money nowadays. I guess check Amazon for good ratings on Innova and Actron. A laptop and cable is very awkward - but there are wireless Bluetooth adapters now and apps for smartphones - so, lots of choices.

I dunno, I found this; http://www.scoobymods.com/showthread.php/fiamm-horn-installation-guide-and-19.html?t=19 also, there is a Civic and a Tundra install video on youtube - maybe someothers.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

The pulley is 2 piece right? Just have him double check the condition of the rubber - and of course that it's running tru after he re-mounts it.