1 Lucky Texan

My dad had some chains, they did break and mess up the '68 Impala to some extent. Our problem is we get ice, invisible ice, and studs or cables or chains,etc. might be nice to have on your car, but really, it might be better to just wait 8-36 hours or so and it will either have melted off by then or your neighborhood street will have been driven on enough that, if you can get out of yuor driveway, it's safe to carefully travel. Of course emergency services and a few others for which travel might be imperative under any conditions should be prepared with some traction-enhancing device. AWD is great to get moving, but on ice, it won't stop much better! Plus, we have these idiots that think their RWD pickups are invicible - I pass then in 'ice storm' weather all the time - they are usually @ss backwards in the ditch! I don't want THEM to hit ME! I try to stay home. Carl

Hmmm.... maybe some corrosion inside the battery cables? Or you got a bad, new , starter? I dunno Carl

double check that it isn't closed on the seat belt. I once had a door that was against something and I couldn't open it until I used a lot of 'hip force' against it to make it complete the 'latch sequence'. Then I opened it OK. I dunno Carl

If I wasn't a 'flatlander' and knew I would be encountering potential 'car stuckage' I would have these babies ready to go at the beginning of the snow season; http://www.spikes-spiders.com/ Carl

Nice ride - I kinda like the top pic, maybe if it was cropped a little closer, but the faint lighting in the interior looks cool. The hubcaps kinda crack me up though, how the 'tear drop' openings point forwards on one side and backwards on the other! (wish I could legally run without a front plate...grumble...grumble) Carl

Motorcycle Cop: Whatcha got in the trunk? J. Frank Parnell: Oh... You don't wanna look in there. hahahaha - man I love that movie! Carl

it won't fix your car, but maybe this will give a laugh; http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=456213&postcount=3

I suppose you could carefully crack open the fuel system to relieve some pressure, reconnect everything, then see if the car has the same symptom starting as when it sits for a week. I dunno Carl

I didn't know a 98 had those connecters! Is it an alternative way to read out the codes like the old style blink numbers? Anyway - cool your car is doing better. Carl

lol! ;^) Carl

Probably not the coilpack if idel is smooth (although, it would be a good idea to check under other conditions and rpms). Did you try to clear the ECU after the plugs/wires change-out? If the car has been missing/running poorly for a llong time, catalytic converter could be bad caussing the rear O2 sensor to detect bad cat efficiancy I guess. has this car had an oiled intake filter (K7N-type)? Could be a bad MAF sensor - really need to read the codes. I dunno Carl

Did you guys click on the ebay store link? Several lsd rear units for sale. Carl

Your doing more extensive exhaust modding than I did on my '06 - I just have a Stromung dual tip axle back(no complaints) but there may be some good info at http://www.subarureview.com/engine.php?PHPSESSID=5e0d8b877a17a1a43c990d2b384b40b8 And the exhaust forum at www.nasioc.com Sometimes at nasioc you can find sound files too. Carl

I'm suspicious of the scanner. Aren't a lot of codes well over 1000 ? I'd get a different place to scan the codes and make sure the scanner is OBDII ISO compliant/whatever is the protocol for Subaru. Plus, sometimes 1-2 fairly simple problems can create multiple codes. Almost any severe air/fuel issue can cause misfire codes for instance. Doen't mean the spark plugs are bad. Carl

That's a lotta mileage on both those items if they are original. I'd consider it - at least they'd be eliminated from further speculation. You can also test the t'stat in a pot of hot water if that interests you. Carl

Hmmm, the only thing here is the temp. Lower third MAY be open t'stat. I'd prefer you said it was at 40% and gets there quickly. Again, just a few degrees difference but it can matter. It depends a lot on the linearity of the gauge but I had this exact problem in a Dodge Avenger and the apparent guage difference was about 30% when bad and 40% after putting a new t'stat in. Oh yeah, I guess the tires are the correct size for the car? Carl

Yep, open t'stat can be hard to spot too. FEEL of the wheels after driving some, a hot wheel may indicate a draggy caliper. How did the old plugs look? consistent with each other? no carbon? Did the o'scope the O2 sensor? I'vre they can be 'lazy' and lead to problems. Maybe a search for a vacuum leak would be good? I dunno - everyone else has good ideas.

thanx for this - good link. Carl

I know this can be true for lower octane as the knock sensor does its thing, but what about higher octane? Carl

I'm no expert on Seafoam, but I'd expect a 27 yo car with that low mileage could have some carbon buildup due to possibly driven in such a manner it doesn't get heated up much. Carl

Man, that's fantastic. I bet some folks who try don't clear the ECU. Carl

Drill down through here; http://www.boxer4racing.com/ I bought a muffler from them and the price and delivery and communication was great. No other connection etc. there are likely other sources around too. Carl

Interesting. Did you do an ECU reset before this experiment? Otherwise it could take a while for the computer to adjust to the acetone use. Carl

Well, in keeping with the title of the thread, remove all unnecessary weight - maybe even some necessary! lol! Take out any seats that aren't used, remove the spare and associated tools. Keep windows rolled up, especially at freeway speeds. Remove bike rack/whatever crossbars. Oh, and only keep 1/3 tank of gas in the car to save even more weight. Install vacuum gauge and take nipper's advice and drive while keepin the vacuum as high as possible. any more gas saving tips out there? Carl

Well, without being able to closely examine the problem, we're all just guessing. But I'd be surprised if just the briefest touch of a hone didn't solve the issue. I once had to repair a Honda that sucked a valve into cyl.#2 and I just honed that one cyl. and put in a new piston (because the old one was destryoed by valve chunks) with new rings of course. I only had slightly higer oil consumption. When the walss of the cyl were impacted, there is no real loss of material. It forms 'craters' with rasied edges. The hone removes the raised areas but obviously cannot 'fill' the pits - so a little oil stays in there and gets burned. Your issue is a little different with oxide xtals 'growing' from the cyl wall. I still expect though that any pits left will be miniscule after the briefest 'touch-up. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you used a scotch brite pad and just reached in there and 'wiped' away the rust. And of course , use of ANY abrasive will require meticulous flushing to prevent contamination of the oil,etc. Again, we're not there. It also depends on your expectations. I'd think the concern with having it bored over would be balance issues but ???? Just try the minimal amount of abrasion first and examine the results, you can get more agressive later if required. I dunno