Subarstar

Had a look in the Autotrader yesterday, very helpful..... Think I'll keep the scoob!.. 218,000 miles Col, you da man. My wee motor could last a while yet methinks. Thanks for your thoughts/opinions much appreciated. The car has always been more than just a means of getting from A to B for me. It's always a joy to drive her and to take care of her and keep her looking as best I can. I think the idea of getting something a bit newer does appeal to me, but I don't think it would ever replace the scoob. I fear I would regret it........

Just looking for some opinions from you guys. Sometimes it's helpful to get other peoples ideas before you do something you could regret. I currently own a MY98 Impreza turbo in white. Fairly standard, owned for seven years and now covered about 103,000 miles. The bodywork on the whole is immaculate. The rear arches are starting to show signs of deterioration, but other than that - perfect. I've just put the motor through it's MOT and was advised that I need a wee bit of welding done on the sills at two of the jacking points. I also know of a few other things needing done just to get the car back to 100%, but with a bit of work and a bit of cash I can get it all sorted out. I'm just not sure what to do. Do I sell it (trade-in), repair it, or just start dismantling it and sell off the bits? If I trade her in I'll probably end up with a boring four door saloon, or a 3-door hatch, nothing you would look twice at..... (budget won't stretch to anything interesting) As I read over what I've just written, I think I'm starting to make my mind up, but I would appreciate your opinions nevertheless. Thanks for reading, norry.

Whatever you do, try and get a recommendation from someone you know. I've seen some really poorly done powder coating, but equally, I've also seen some really poor painting. JB Coachworks in Paisley are good. I've had work done there as well and been very happy with the results. I've also seen work from Chameleon powder coating (Renfrew I think) and they seem to be pretty good too.

Had another look at my leak problems First of all, it looks like it aint the bottom radiator hose that needed replaced after all. I found a crack in the small hose that runs from the overflow on the metal coolant tank, across the top of the radiator towards the expansion bottle. Snipped the damaged bit off, re-connected it and hey presto.....fixed. A few months ago, I replaced the rocker cover gasket, so I assumed that the oil wasn't leaking from there. Guess what?........WRONG! It is coming from the rocker cover. So this time, I'm going to use some instant gasket. I think I had convinced myself the last time I didn't need the sealant, but this time I aint taking any chances. Thanks for your input guys.

Hi guys, also posted this in technical, but not much of a response. MY98 turbo with a small oil leak from the front of the engine, just below the crank shaft pulley. The oil cooler pipe is quite badly corroded, so I think this is where the leak is likely to be coming from. I wanted to check the crank shaft oil seal, but the crank shaft pulley didn't want to play ball!...so I couldn't get the whole timing cover off. With part of the cover removed, as far as I can see, it's pretty clean in there, so I don't think it's the crank shaft seal. Has anyone else replaced this pipe? Does it come complete from Subaru? (It's a combination of steel/rubber pipes/hoses.) The bottom radiator hose needs replacing as well, so I might as well do both at the same time. Any hints/tips would be appreciated. Cheers

Cheers James, Saw most of the cars from Twiglees last year, but managed to get to the hairpin in Ae the year before and was well impressed. Looking forward to a good day tomorrow. Not looking forward to the dust clouds though!.......

Excellent! Had a look on that site earlier and couldn't find the correct information. (Guess I'm just stoopid!) Thanks a lot.

Trying to get an idea of the programme for the rally in Dumfries on Saturday. Anyone got some insider info?....... The last two years, I've been staying down there over the weekend, so I made it along for the start, however this year I'm going to have to travel down from Glasgow area and I wondered if anyone had a rough idea of when the cars would be at Ae forest stages. Yes, I am lazy and I don't want to have to get up any earlier than necessary. I have thoroughly enjoyed this event for a few years now and for anyone else considering attending to spectate....GO! (Just don't wear your good clothes, you'll get covered in dust - guaranteed.)

Just bought some new speakers for the car after putting up with the stock ones for about seven years!..... Had a look at how to get the old ones out and aint too sure what I should do. Do I need to remove the rear seat etc. to release the parcel shelf? I need to free the parcel shelf somehow, because I need to retain the existing speaker covers without breaking them. Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated, before I go down the wrong track completely and end up with a huuuge jigsaw. Cheers.

Rocker gasket - £13.72, 2xGasket (spark plugs) - £6.02 ea., bolt seals - £2.83 ea., bolts - £1.45 Major breakdown in communication in dealership meant that I wasn't actually able to collect the main rocker cover gasket, but I am told it will be sent to me by next day delivery tomorrow - so we'll see!!! Having driven the car about all day today, it seems that my temporary repair was actually quite effective, so I might not fit the new stuff straight away. It's nice driving about in a car that doesn't stink of burnt oil.

Have been dealing with a well known Subaru dealership in Ayr. They have been very helpful, so far and I'm hoping to collect few bits and pieces from them tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on.

Sounds like sealant might be the solution then. I think I'll get a new gasket, bolt washers and some sealant. Don't really want to be doing this for a third time!! 10mm swan neck ratchet spanner - top tip for loosening/tightening the bottom bolt closest to the turbo.

That is where the leak seems to be coming from. I didn't use any sealant - I was only planning to have a quick look, but ended up taking the cover off. Next time the cover comes off I want to be fully prepared. Didn't think I would need sealant, because the gasket should really be sufficient, but I'll do whatever works!

Did a wee search, found a few threads, but the overall outcome was a bit inconclusive! Stripped the cover off last night to take a look. The gasket looked OK, so I gave it a good clean up and put the cover back on. After looking at it again tonight, it looks like there's still a bit of seepage. I have spoken to my local Subaru dealership, but they haven't been able to get the correct gasket yet. The oil seems to be leaking from somewhere along the lower edge of the cover, but not necessarily from the gasket. Obviously, due to the lack of space down there, it's difficult to see for sure where the oil is leaking from, but does anyone know if there are any other seals/gaskets located behind/under the rocker cover?

As above, I wouldn't be surprised if something hasn't been tightened properly. Had the same thing on one of our cars recently. A couple of turns with a spanner and all was well.