New Family Wagon: Legacy 3.0 R Spec B
Discussion
Cambs_Stuart said:
Another failed job on the legacy.
We've covered 1000 miles in August, with almost no issues; the slight knock from the front is now a definite clunk, and I found the boot struts are on their last legs after the car tried to murder my youngest son.
So, I thought I'd tackle the boot struts as I had 30 minutes to spare.
First thing I found was a broken mount on the rear light.
Then I found that I could not fit the replacement struts.
The bracket that holds the top of the strut to the car is riveted to the strut. Naively I'd assumed it was screwed on. And the replacements from SGS don't have a bracket.
All suggestions welcome.
After contacting SGS they suggested sending the new struts back with the original struts and brackets. They then transferred the old brackets to the new struts for the princely sum of £5.82, including return postage. We've covered 1000 miles in August, with almost no issues; the slight knock from the front is now a definite clunk, and I found the boot struts are on their last legs after the car tried to murder my youngest son.
So, I thought I'd tackle the boot struts as I had 30 minutes to spare.
First thing I found was a broken mount on the rear light.
Then I found that I could not fit the replacement struts.
The bracket that holds the top of the strut to the car is riveted to the strut. Naively I'd assumed it was screwed on. And the replacements from SGS don't have a bracket.
All suggestions welcome.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Thursday 16th September 15:35
So now the boot opens and closes in a much more controlled way.
Apart from that the legacy carries on fulfilling it's brief of carring the family around all over the country while consuming lots of fuel while doing so.
Having said that, the jdm suspension is noticeably harder than the uk spec, which has been commented on by various passengers.
I've not had a good day tinkering with the legacy.
The starter motor gives a horrible screech on start up when it's really cold. Fortunately refurbished units are available and not very expensive.
Access to the motor isn't great, but is possible without jacking the car up.
So thanks to the miracle tool that is a flexi headed ratchet spanner i whipped the old one out in no time.
However, one it was out it was obvious the new one wouldn't go back in. The hole in the block is 65mm, and the new one was 83mm wide. Not sure about the depth either.
So the old one went back in while i contact the ebay seller.
I had some time and the tools out so i thought I'd get rid of a bit of rust. The radiator and bonnet stay brackets are in the firing line of road gunk and so after 16 years looked like this:
However, the bonnet stay bolt is very small, and made out the most fragile metal I've ever know. It sheared off with almost no resistance.
Several hours later with screw extractors, drills and a hammer i've given up and ordered a new tap set.
The starter motor gives a horrible screech on start up when it's really cold. Fortunately refurbished units are available and not very expensive.
Access to the motor isn't great, but is possible without jacking the car up.
So thanks to the miracle tool that is a flexi headed ratchet spanner i whipped the old one out in no time.
However, one it was out it was obvious the new one wouldn't go back in. The hole in the block is 65mm, and the new one was 83mm wide. Not sure about the depth either.
So the old one went back in while i contact the ebay seller.
I had some time and the tools out so i thought I'd get rid of a bit of rust. The radiator and bonnet stay brackets are in the firing line of road gunk and so after 16 years looked like this:
However, the bonnet stay bolt is very small, and made out the most fragile metal I've ever know. It sheared off with almost no resistance.
Several hours later with screw extractors, drills and a hammer i've given up and ordered a new tap set.
That's a completely different starter motor... so annoying. Its also not helped by certain auction sites declaring that pretty much anything made in the last 100 years listed in the country 'fits your car'. This is why I always end up trying to find original parts off a low mileage scrap one rather than anything 'OEM new' but clearly junk. Refurbished - hopefully the just sent you the wrong one!
Tough luck on the bolt. There's always new swearwords to invent.
Tough luck on the bolt. There's always new swearwords to invent.
Cambs_Stuart said:
However, the bonnet stay bolt is very small, and made out the most fragile metal I've ever know. It sheared off with almost no resistance.
Several hours later with screw extractors, drills and a hammer i've given up and ordered a new tap set.
Oh, i think everyone can relate. That's a horrible feeling when that happens. Perhaps weld a nut to the broken stub and have at it with a wrench? Several hours later with screw extractors, drills and a hammer i've given up and ordered a new tap set.
Thanks. It's that moment when you feel no resistance and a 15 minute job suddenly takes much, much longer. After an increasingly sweary attempt to shift the bolt with screw extractors i just drilled it out and re-tapped the hole. It's not perfect but it only holds the bonnet stay clip, so it's not structurally important.
It turns out the starter motor is for an auto. The auto starter is shared with a lot of different subarus over the years, but the manual starter is unique to the gen 4 manual 3.0 legacy. Fortunately Autodoc had one and that is on it's way to me now.
If anyone else needs one, this is the part number you need.
It turns out the starter motor is for an auto. The auto starter is shared with a lot of different subarus over the years, but the manual starter is unique to the gen 4 manual 3.0 legacy. Fortunately Autodoc had one and that is on it's way to me now.
If anyone else needs one, this is the part number you need.
I've properly messed up this time.
I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
Cambs_Stuart said:
I've properly messed up this time.
I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
I wouldn't say messed up - the water system is pressurised so good to spot and fix on the drive, rather than it pop on the motorway and take the head gasket with it!!I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
Interesting thread as I keep finding myself looking at Legacy's in the classifieds and they really do appeal, more so in 3.0 guise with a manual box more so as a second car that can do family stuff plus be a bit interesting and ok to drive... but, the fear of the unknown is hard to ignore and a flat 6 is world's away from my comfort zone so I'm enjoying reading about ownership in the real world!
guitarcarfanatic said:
Cambs_Stuart said:
I've properly messed up this time.
I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
I wouldn't say messed up - the water system is pressurised so good to spot and fix on the drive, rather than it pop on the motorway and take the head gasket with it!!I thought I'd give the sump a brush and an anti rust treatment after Tim Farmer mentioned was needed a while ago.
When i was under i saw how crusty the water pipes were. I gave one a nudge so see if it was just surface crust and this happened:
At least it happened when the car was on the driveway.
Time for another order from ICP...
So while the legacy was up on stands dripping coolant into a bucket i thought I'd take a look at the brakes.
The brakes on this have never been great, requiring a firm foot to halt the car, more recently i was getting some juddering too.
Plus it was a chance to get rid of those horrible dust shields.
The calipers put up a hell of a fight, the bolts attaching them to the hub were either rusted to hell or done up by a gorilla.
But they came off with some sweating and swearing. I used to tin snips to tidy up the heat shield:
Then the fun really began. The pads were utterly jammed in the carrier, requiring a serious hammering to remove. And all the slider pins were stuck fast.
The lower sliders have a rubber insert, which became detached during removal and meant that even if i cleaned them up, they won't go back in.
So, I've got another order in with ICP for a set of caliper bolts and slider pins.
The brakes on this have never been great, requiring a firm foot to halt the car, more recently i was getting some juddering too.
Plus it was a chance to get rid of those horrible dust shields.
The calipers put up a hell of a fight, the bolts attaching them to the hub were either rusted to hell or done up by a gorilla.
But they came off with some sweating and swearing. I used to tin snips to tidy up the heat shield:
Then the fun really began. The pads were utterly jammed in the carrier, requiring a serious hammering to remove. And all the slider pins were stuck fast.
The lower sliders have a rubber insert, which became detached during removal and meant that even if i cleaned them up, they won't go back in.
So, I've got another order in with ICP for a set of caliper bolts and slider pins.
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