2 new owners plus general fuel & PS talkies
 

Gidday all
Thought I'd finally say hello formally!! Firstly, my mother and I are both proud owners of 1992 Burgandy/Black with spoiler!
Mine is 85K KM and hers is about 150K km now.
I've been following the sites here for a few months now, and gleaning some marvellous pearls of wisdom too I must say.
However, I've got some issues I would like to get some more pearls on (PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS!!)

Fuel:
I've got some sort of foam/oiled air filter in mine that I can't make out the brand of. One would expect it to be better than the standard?? Brand new fuel filter. I am unfortunately also in the league of terrible fuel economy, even though I drive her fairly smooth. I was reading about the possiblity of O2 sensors and/or plugs, and am fairly technically competent (I should be, I'm an engineer) so I should be able to tackle these things myself. I also have a fair bit of the old black fluff in the tailpipe too, but not overly bad.
My mothers one can get about 30 MPG, the best I can do is about 18 (same gas 96/98). Hers also has a completely different power/torque response too. Very intriguing - lots of torque down low but starts to run out of steam at around 5000rpm and even starts vibrating/coughing like that suby flat four sound. MIne however, pulls like a proverbial from higher up, but just keeps on going!! I've had my cam timing checked - the cracked guards were worrying me a bit.
My gas tank is always overpressured - is this normal? When I take the cap off it always breathes all over me.

Secondly, Power steering:
I just had the powersteering pump replaced by a local garage, and hasn't been quite right since. The pump is very noisy (like a bearing whistle) and I get that slight surging/vibration through the wheel on cornering. Also my mother's car (at 150K) has a steering feel that is much firmer and more rigid than mine (mine feels like the preload is loose or something?) Could this be the famous o-ring (which was replaced at the time)? They stuffed up my steering boots too - they crushed them and now they pop around every corner!!

Factory CD player:
Skips nicely on almost every bump and when cornering. Anything can be done?

Tyres:
My mums car is chewing a small bevel on the inside of the front tyres which destroys them in short order. Alignment is good.

Alrighty then, I've taken up enough of your valuable time!
I'm in the central plateau region of NZ.

Hope your New year is a good one all.

Floating kiwi

Hi there from down the main trunk line.

I am in Auckland ( refer profile ) First off I would say " try another garage ". Secondly I will shoot Beav a private message to ensure that he visits down this way as he will be able to give you wise advice.

The power steering problem seems like the O ring passing air. You say it has been replaced but if they can not get the boots fitted right can you be sure they got the O ring right. I have done mine for the reason of pump valve noise and now all is OK. Have they left a connection loose so that air is entering somewhere other than at the O ring ?

Surely the uneven tyre wear must indicate a wheel alignment problem, static or when in motion and under load e.g. suspension bushes. Is your car 4 wheel steer ?

I am also unhappy in respect of fuel consuption but it is nothing like yours. Up this way with our hilly conditions and traffic I wonder if I am asking to much in respect of a heavy car but am checking further. Also see thread on this subject. I would like to hear more regarding the the sort of running your mother is doing to get 30 mpg. I presume this is Imperial and you have not converted to US for those reading this up top. I can't achieve this on easy runs Auckland to Tauranga.

Subaru NZ are quite helpful and if I can help with direct contact let me know. I also have a full set of workshop manuals and these are extremely comprehensive. At this point we should wait for Beav.

Regards and all the best for the new year, Trevor.

Welcome to our group - there's always room for one or two more.

First - many OEMs have dispatched notices regarding oiled air filters. What happens is the oil from the filter can blow across the MAF and cause it provide false information. My car came with a similar filter and shortly thereafter it was found in the dumpster. ;) Try cleaning the MAF with carburetor spray solvent - if you do a search I'm sure you'll find a number of how-to posts.

Listen and check for vacuum leaks while the engine is running. How long has it been since the spark plug were changed? The TPS is another possible culprit as is the temp sensor. You see, being able to change parts is not as important as to be able to determine which need changing. ;) Most of my workdays now have me toting a dual-channel labscope more than a wrench.

The CD player was good in it's time but has a small buffer and is more prone to 'skipping' than newer models.

The fuel tank pressure is nomal as long as it isn't trying to launch the cap across the street when you remove it.

Only four items cause tires to edge wear - a poor alignment, loose parts that cause a bad alignment, a slipped belt in a tire or under-inflation (which would cause inner and outer edge wear.) Inside wear on both tires is normally indicative of too much toe-in (leading edges wear first.) Negative camber, tilted in at the top, would cause inner edge wear also, but would have accompanying feathering as the tire is trying to become a paper cup rolling on it's side - the inner circumference trying to spin faster than the outer.

Your mother's car may be a touring edition that has a different type speed-sensitive device than yours. That would account for the effort levels. It would appear you need to re-visit the offending garage for the other problems, maybe a big stick would help. :) The 'o'-ring could be the noise and vibration issue and you really want the boots corrected before they split and cause the rack seals to go bad.

Good Luck!

Thanks Beav.

I knew you would come to the party. If you ever get down this way you will not have to pay for drinks and you are hereby invited.

Welcome
 

Hi Floating Kiwi, and Mum

Not enough gas in the Kiwis we get around here. They don't float and will sink to the bottom of the salad every time, but they are tasty!;)

My car gives 26 on a long run [Imperial] and 20-22 running about. A lot could be how much use you are making of the acceleration and power. You might also check up if you are achieving lock-up in D. This is a help on long runs. If it is not happening, you may have a gearbox problem. These also affect fuel when not healthy.

2 SVX family, eh? You are one of the few with good taste.

Keep on posting, Down Under quiet of late.

Joe:D

Sorry to say that down this way many appear to simply float on and float off with never a thank you.

Yes, Trevor old bean, seems the Down Underites have sadly become Americanized. But, I thank YOU for paying attention.

Ron (over the top again)

Thanks go to you too Ron for coming all the way down here. Between us we have have kept the rust away.

Hi and welcome.

It has been very quiet of late - I have just started a new job so have been very busy trying to adapt and pick up all the lingo and things like that!

However, my Net access there is severely limited (the joy of timesheets!) so sorry about the lack of frequency of posts.

I am picking up my Dakota Digital temperature gauge today so will see how it all goes.

Cheers

James

camping is great
 

but unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever way you choose to look at it), it is usually a place with no email.
Thank you very much for your replies gentlemen, but I have been indisposed since I sent my original thread - I've just read it!!

Trevor - "Surely the uneven tyre wear must indicate a wheel alignment problem, static or when in motion and under load e.g. suspension bushes. Is your car 4 wheel steer?"

It's not a 4 wheel steer (unfortunately), and has had the alignment checked, but I'm not sure how good they are in my little town. From the wear pattern I am suspecting too much toe in or excessive castor which could be doing it in the turns? (not sure why this would be though..)

"I am also unhappy in respect of fuel consuption but it is nothing like yours."

I've just put some injector cleaner through it and it does seem to be improving, I am interested in what Beav said about the Oil coating the MAF too, I think he might have something there...

BEAV - Thanks for your comments, I think you may have hit the nail on the head with the oil coated MAF. I have yet to try it as I've just got back, but I do notice that the mesh in front of the MAF has a light coating of oil and fine black stuff - the only particles that get through the filter I guess.
Plugs - yep, probably too old (no idea how much).
TPS and Temp sensor - the throttle response appears to be OK, but not sure what you mean - what would it be doing?
Temp sensor, according to the gauge it seems to be running hot enough, but I guess that could be misleading.

You gave me the courage to go back to the garage today with a big stick too - I think they are going to fix my boots!! Marvellous stuff.

Well, thanks again chaps and I do apologise about the time it took to reply.