What have you done to your car today?

stilson said:
I had a datto with an occy strap that took on reversing duties.
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Venom said:
Good chance to start collecting parts for a box with front lsd and l series low range!
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Maybe use the occy strap or just your hand to hold it in reverse till you build a new & better box :iconwink:

Still bit of a bugger though. Mine keeps jumping out of gear in LR, 1st & 2nd on descents. Bit annoying but I can live with it till I get my box built.
 
made the final preparations for the drive to Mt Isa, will be heading north toward Rocky and staying in Emerald overnight. Hoping the wagon won't mind towing a trailer for that long O_o
There's a lake just south of Emerald that i really wanna take some photo's of at sunset... here's hoping I can keep up the pace enough to make it in time
 
Nachaluva said:
Maybe use the occy strap or just your hand to hold it in reverse till you build a new & better box :iconwink:

Still bit of a bugger though. Mine keeps jumping out of gear in LR, 1st & 2nd on descents. Bit annoying but I can live with it till I get my box built.
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I actually read about that as being a factory fault.

Im thinking I have 4 choices.

1. Just drive the car the way it is. Don't fix anything until it is actually undrivable.
2. Thrash the crap out of it as is till/if it dies then just part out anything not broken.
3. Write off as I can't sell it and would get more money this way. lol
4. Buy a cheapo reliable L-Series, leave it stock other than the stereo. Then get my car home (700km north of perth), let it sit in the garage but keep the rego on it and over my time at uni with my spare money from working fix it up and/or buy parts and custom do things like the engine and gearbox. (the reason an l-series is that them seem reasonably reliable and ive always wanted one)

No 4 seems appealing as the car has rust that needs removing, the engine needs to be decarbonized and the valve stem seals done. Along with the supercharger added. The current gearbox whines from the centre diff, doesn't go into 1st unless your completely stopped, 1st whines really loudly, it grinds going into 3rd and reverse keeps popping out. I think one of the front struts is slightly bent. A front bar needs to come along to save my bumper from being torn off, more lift, better brakes, new bonnet (massive dents all over it and then the list goes on abit more.
 
Finally put in the rear diff breather, with thanks to Dave from Ai Perfomance and Tuning. With the car up on the hoist, I was disappointed to see that the SubaXtreme sump guard had a large crack on the drivers side and a smaller- but still significant- crack on the passenger side. Yes, there has been contact, but nothing that should have resulted in this. Will see what they say, but for now I am not impressed. As others have said, cast alloy is not really ideal.
 
Rally said:
With the car up on the hoist, I was disappointed to see that the SubaXtreme sump guard had a large crack on the drivers side and a smaller- but still significant- crack on the passenger side. Yes, there has been contact, but nothing that should have resulted in this. Will see what they say, but for now I am not impressed. As others have said, cast alloy is not really ideal.
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I cracked mine in the first week of having it, its still better than nothing though.

Got your front bar on yet Rally?
 
Yes mate- check out the trip reports for Newnes. https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=3369

I pulled off the air box and tubing. Looks like I only just got away with the last river crossing. There is mud all the way to the actual filter, but not actually on the filter element. So I think I'll have to make sure when I do river crossings they are not quite so deep. It may not have been the river crossing itself- the river was free of mud. More likely it was a muddy puddle I went through. I really don't want to spend money on snorkels and such like, but I have even less desire to lose an engine.

There has been so much rain the last 6 months. Right now, NSW has 75% of it's area on flood alert- that is the size of France- so there is plenty of water around. I understand this is the most flooding NSW has ever had. So it seems if you are going to go off-roading, you're going to find a lot of water everywhere.
 
I reckon you should buy a $500 runabout and move both cars to 3rd party insurane savingyou$ and almost covering the cost of the car ( not a suraru or you will start modding it). Then get the foz up to scratch mechanically so you can really enjoy your trips in it. Maybe selling the chargers and saving for a motor and box swap would be the most rewarding pursuit.
Then you could sell the runabout and buy a sniper NO2 kit for offroad use only.

Write offs are not a good idea.
taza said:
I actually read about that as being a factory fault.

Im thinking I have 4 choices.

1. Just drive the car the way it is. Don't fix anything until it is actually undrivable.
2. Thrash the crap out of it as is till/if it dies then just part out anything not broken.
3. Write off as I can't sell it and would get more money this way. lol
4. Buy a cheapo reliable L-Series, leave it stock other than the stereo. Then get my car home (700km north of perth), let it sit in the garage but keep the rego on it and over my time at uni with my spare money from working fix it up and/or buy parts and custom do things like the engine and gearbox. (the reason an l-series is that them seem reasonably reliable and ive always wanted one)

No 4 seems appealing as the car has rust that needs removing, the engine needs to be decarbonized and the valve stem seals done. Along with the supercharger added. The current gearbox whines from the centre diff, doesn't go into 1st unless your completely stopped, 1st whines really loudly, it grinds going into 3rd and reverse keeps popping out. I think one of the front struts is slightly bent. A front bar needs to come along to save my bumper from being torn off, more lift, better brakes, new bonnet (massive dents all over it and then the list goes on abit more.
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Rally said:
Finally put in the rear diff breather, with thanks to Dave from Ai Perfomance and Tuning. With the car up on the hoist, I was disappointed to see that the SubaXtreme sump guard had a large crack on the drivers side and a smaller- but still significant- crack on the passenger side. Yes, there has been contact, but nothing that should have resulted in this. Will see what they say, but for now I am not impressed. As others have said, cast alloy is not really ideal.
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Me neither. IMO, pretty poor bit of gear from an otherwise excellent company
 
outback and Gl services...

I replaced both front balljoints, right front cv axle , right inner tie rod/boot on the outback.

The '84 GL hatchie got a new right front cv (rebooting the old one.)
I also added a set of Projector headlamps with H4 bulbs.
The nice feature was the 194 blue lamps inset in the housing to give a nice blue colour..( note: the blue is not noticeable with headlamps on)
I used the Hella conversion wiring kit I received from a buddy..
Now I have two sets of hi beams for maximum lighting.

sandlakerun2012016.jpg


sandlakerun2012005.jpg
 
Reinfoced the rear swaybar mounting points on the chassis with 4mm x 3mm metal strap. My mate MIG welded them for me, after re-welding the left hand one, which had torn away, and the right hand one, which had started to crack, 2 weeks ago.
Re-fitted the mounts with new bolts and ny-loc nuts, won't come away in a hurry now.
Unfortunately the adjustable sway bar links weren't a success, insuvvicient clearance, so I have re-fitted the originals, but they are in good . So still looking for an alternative to use for quick release purposes.
 
I contacted SubaXtreme, and they are most concerned. They wish to look at it. They say the guard should not crack- it should bend. they were perplexed- even hypothosising as to a fault with the aluminium. I said I would drop by on my next visit to Canberra- whenever that is. The good thing- so far- is they did not just come out and blame me. Will keep you informed.
 
It will be very interesting to see what they say after they have inspected your bash plate Rally, very interesting indeed :)
If it is at all possible, please keep us informed if you can :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
That's good news Rally, you may get a new guard and the design/quality of the product may evolve.
 
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today I finished my drive from the Sunshine Coast to Mt Isa. My little L series was packed to the roof (with the seats down) and towed a trailer the 1800+km trip without a hint of trouble. I have yet to thoroughly go through the mileage.. but it was close to 12L/100k maybe lower. Considering I was getting 11L/100km just in the car alone when i first bought her is pretty good.
 
Thats great Rally, I really hope they do replace it. Its just not good enough for a protection plate to crack so easily. It makes me think it needs a guard of its own...a "sump guard guard" :shake::rolleyes:

Species that is great economy with a heavy load. Were you focusing on an economical driving style?
 
No, I was focusing on not drowning the engine or driving off the road. No, the car was not being thrashed. When i had the Falcon, the sump guard had a very hard life, and while it was gouged and dented, it kept on keeping on. I hope to be in Canberra some time next month, so I'll drop into Goulburn on the way through.
 
Thursday night at least, rear LSD is now fitted into the Beigewagon. I had the ratio changed from 3.7 to 3.9. Now I just need a free weekend to give it a try out.

Beigewagon.
 
Beigewagon said:
Thursday night at least, rear LSD is now fitted into the Beigewagon. I had the ratio changed from 3.7 to 3.9. Now I just need a free weekend to give it a try out.

Beigewagon.
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Cool what kind of LSD? Did tou change the front diff to match the rear ratios? If not ypu will blow up your gearbox?
 
Don't worry Taza I'm sure he had it changed to match his front diff.

I started making a guard to go between my bar and sump guard to cover the "dragons belly" and a mesh grille to protect the rad.

I sourced some mounting hardware for your s/c too.
 
Beigewagon said:
Thursday night at least, rear LSD is now fitted into the Beigewagon. I had the ratio changed from 3.7 to 3.9. Now I just need a free weekend to give it a try out.
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You'll have to let us know how it goes once you've tried it out :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
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