Diz

FWIW Gambit, I have also asked garage not to tighten certain **** up with an airlline.It's pure laziness when they should be using a torque wrench.

Sounds like you have three options... Apply heat on the bolts. As it's cooling down - not too hot that flammables will ignite - try to spray WD40 into the threaded areas and have another go. Use a T-bar, maybe even with an extended pole, with a tight-fitting socket, not a ratchet - apply a sharp blow to the handle of the T-bar with a heavy hammer and mind your fingers. Still no joy, if you have access to an impact wrench airline that should do it. If none of the above works repeat 1 and 2 until it loosens. with a crack sound. Disclaimer: if the bolt head snaps (unlikely, but possible) then you are looking at a whole new world of pain...

Oh FFS - Bathgate has been deleted from the map as far as I am concerned, no danger I am going back there! As requested in the Old Banger post... After pic - stickin' oot! In time will replace the spoiler, as it's not perfect - guy has offered to respray it for free if I get the wrong colour. If that's the case there will be a spoiler light for sale ;-)

As requested... Before (backed in where my shame could not be seen) After - stickin' oot! In time will replace the spoiler, as it's not perfect - guy has offered to respray it for free if I get the wrong colour. If that's the case there will be a spoiler light for sale ;-)

Thanks guys. The car is back with me and I am no longer driving around wearing one of these.... The part needed was the equivalent of number 2 in the diagram you posted Gambit, but looks more like the part in the original diagram I posted. The scrappie had forgot to send this bit on, and did so free of charge. They even found more of the clips that fix it on, as the originals got busted when it was removed. I must write and thank them. It was in much better nick than the original bit, which had rusted such it had a small hole in it, so another good thing to get tidied up. Thanks for your help and support guys, much appreciated.

The car is back, parked nose-in first this time my rear end is once again proudly stickin' oot :-) It looks even better than before, as there were a few bits where the lacquer had come off and boot lid was starting to rust a bit under the spoiler. The upper bumper plate also rusted to where it had a small hole in it, the replacement one is in much better condition. If anyone in central Scotland needs any bodywork done I'm happy to pass on the workshop details, the guy did a great job. My boss, who lives across the road, stuck his head out and shouted 'Not so embarrassed now?!'. Oh, you betcha! In a strange twist of fate my neighbour was just about to take a 40" flat screen TV to the dump (eh?) as she'd got a new one. She asked if I wanted it. As my old box came out of the ark it was a no brainer. So today has been an excellent day - smart new back end and smart new telly - happy ending :-D Thanks for your support throughout this saga guys, you helped me through a few points of despair xx

Hooray! Picking up the car at midday. A few things went in our favour, getting the right colour boot lid being one of them. So £500 (plus the parts) to fix - which is half of what I feared it would be. Weather hasn't been too bad here other than the occasional flurry of snow, which melts by next day. It's hard to believe what's happening down south, looking at the news reports I'm really dismayed at the havoc and misery it is causing for folks. Hope things get back to normal before too much longer.

Hey you, I was always a Scooby fan and always fancied the Impreza. WR1 is a dream come true for me, self-confessed petrolhead. Can't add anything except to say no mods seems to go in favour of the resale value of the car. But if you want to keep it and soup it up then go for it, it's your baby :-)

Update: car went in on Monday and been cadging a lift to work since as I planned to go on bike - then for the first time this season it snowed good up here! All parts supplied seem to be what was needed, including the bumper upper beam which we sandblasted and gave a wee spray on, so car may be ready tomorrow or Monday. Fixer dude says all is well. I really want my baby back! For the old souls, all I can say is Where is My Baby? Where is my Baby? xx

Well it appears that number 2 in the diagram, the rear bumper upper beam is what's needed. We sandblasted it and gave it a spray before taking it to the fixer dude. Seems everything else is Hunky Dory - good for an old Bowie nerd :-)

Just to clarify re hitting something that hard to cause damage... and this is not to have a go Gambit, it's to say I can't explain this myself. I know us ladies have a bad rap for being crap at reversing. A lot of ladies are cringeworthy in this respect and I have offered to park their car for the sake of relieving further embarrassment. I'm pretty good at it, where I used to live you had to be to squeeze into a parking space. I was reversing in a *petrol station*. There were cars coming in behind me and I was using my wing mirrors because I couldn't see sod all out of the back window with the low-angle sun and sparkling raindrops on the back window. I couldn't see the post in the mirrors because it was narrow and directly behind me. I can only assume it's because of what I hit (an I-beam) and the 45° angle I hit it at. A week later I saw a guy reverse into a rounded bollard with a bit of give, louder bang and going faster, barely a scratch. Yes, the lady may protest too much because it is such a sore point... I am mortified and feeling very sorry for myself :( I want to set the record straight as I don't drive like an eejit. At least not nowadays

The guy at the repair shop did say different people call it different things. I'm tempted to try conference calling them in as they are talking at odds and I am clueless under the circumstances. Last few days the weather has been pants and I am afraid to take the bumper off in case I can't get it back on again, so I am working blind on this one.

Thanks Gambit. Sorry to disappoint you - by the grace of the gods my own rear end remains much the same as it was 20 years ago ;-) I got a copy of these in four parts, and the diagrams I posted relate to the rear bumper section but can't find the rear bumper beam bit. If it's on the frame of the car I don't know what the damn file is called. I'll trawl through this and see if I can find the part, but what you posted is a different diagram from what I saw before. If only it was the inside of a computer or a bike I'd have a fighting chance...

Hi all, I am in a state of confusion about what's needed by the guy repairing the back end of my poor car (see the Old Banger thread) and I wonder if anyone can help me get my head around what I need. The repairer has assessed the car and says he will straighten the slight dink in the subframe with a jig. He has asked me to supply a rear bumper beam (which he originally described as a backplate) as that will be bent too. According to the diagrams I have seen and now can't find again, there is the bumper skin (which I have), an upper beam (which the scrappie missed but will send on to me), then an energy absorption thingmy, then a rear bumper beam. However the breakers have said there is nothing behind the bumper skin and the rear bumper beam is spot welded to the car. They are apparently experienced in breaking these cars. The diagram I saw on scoobynet looks like there is a rear bumper beam with bolts to hold it on. Please help. The car goes for repair a week tomorrow and I really want to get the right parts to the guy so it is as painless as possible - it has caused enough pain already! Thanks, Diz

kathernson82, I was on the verge of throwing a tantrum at a breaker I recently ordered parts from, but was being pretty impatient, as they knew of something more suitable (colour matched) coming in. Damn my feckin' hormones, TF my BF was talking to them. I should know better after 20+ years of scavenging around breakers yards, often in the rougher parts of Glasgow, quote "it's a c*** tae get it oot, and it'll be an even bigger c*** tae fit it in" was the usual advice! The breakers I used recently were in Fleetwood, Cumbria, and break Scoobies on a regular basis. They do up their own vehicles too. I got a boot lid for £40, rear bumper for £100. Most damage is to the outside of the vehicle so if you are looking for inner bits they probably have a whole bunch of nice inner stuff intact. Fairly new to the forum myself, so don't want to upset the mods posting unauthorized URLs. You sound like you want to make a nice job of your car - mine has a six-CD changer fitted between the rear passenger seat and boot, something you might be interested in. Makes the original frontage less appealing for theft.

From one petrolhead lady to another - a big hello and welcome! Your car is a beauty. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

Well, the parts turned up yesterday at our industrial unit around 4.30pm. The leccy isn't on as sparks have been in rewiring the main board for isolator switch and 3-phase; it's dark and we haven't unwrapped them yet, but BF tells me they tower like some kind of bizarre street sculpture on the pallet. So the guys in Fleetwood were good to their word (damn my hormones), and probably trying to get us the best deal knowing what they knew but what we didn't. Spoiler light order from dealership, like hens' teeth to get. Should arrive tomorrow and I'll pick it up pick up on Friday (on the bike, I am not suffering the humiliation of taking my poor bashed Scoob there - last time they parked it out front after service as it is a cutie, but not at the moment...). Dealership is very legit but even offered to do a bit better if I paid cash, really can't fault them. Repairs now a week on Monday. Agonizing. In the meantime I only hope the driver of tasty white Scooby who flashes me on our opposite ways on our way to work doesn't look in his rear view mirror... mortified. Pride comes before a fall, and all that! I don't want to bore folks with this, but have seen too many queries where the OP doesn't follow it through and I was really keen to see how it all panned out. May go quiet on this for a week or so, *really* looking forward to the after pics!

Gambit, if I could do +100 likes on your post I would. Miggs, I cut the bars down on my 500cc commuting bike for 'filtering' purposes. One day, being a bit too gallus, I pushed out of place the wing mirror of a car as I squeezed through to the front at the red light <blush>. I backed up, nodded to the driver, fixed the mirror back into position and two thumbs up did the trick. I've also called to a cyclist to get in front of the bike on the inside of our lane while waiting at lights so he didn't get choked by my fumes, then covered him through a dangerous junction (ok, he was hot with a well toned bottom, but seriously I would never fall for that kind of thing and swear I was just being considerate). If you use the roads it's all about thinking how to keep yourself and others safe. Luigi, it sounds you you pulled a blinder and stopped yourself from going into the ditch and at the same time the guy was able to get fixed up with bog roll rather than bandages. Bucket of vino and 20 Marlboro's is a lot cheaper than repairs, and typically you won't get comps from a cyclist who isn't even insured. What you posted gives me the confidence to do the same thing in those circumstances, thanks very much for that :)

Hey Grawe, my bug-eye is an 04 plate and if the previous owners looked after it even half as well as mine did you'll have a good 'un. I was very excited buying my first Subaru, a car I'd always wanted, so let us know if you go for it.

Story so far: Breaker in Fleetwood, who I called a week past Friday, said parts to be despatched last Monday (should have been delivered middle of last week). By Wednesday say held off as was expecting a car in same colour as mine. Despatched Friday(?). No show today. Seems there's some messing about with new delivery situation too, which is sounding like bullshit to me and getting up my nose, but I'm holding off on my blowing my top for now. According to BF, who was left in charge but is too much nicer than me, they seem genuine and did get in touch today. Anyone who has used them before - it's our first attempt - please take note. If no parts by tomorrow this won't end well.... Mañana mañana... my bruised ego and patience wear thin... deilvery mañana... if not I hope none of you reading this are the guy at the other end of the phone when I reclaim the situation back from my BF.

In the meantime, mostly naked ladies on bicycles... Not my cup of tea but I can certainly see how that might cause a few accidents!

Last Night a Scooby Saved my Life (ooh ooh), Last Night a Scooby Saved my Life from a Broken &#33;Removed&#33;... Well done you, and I hope you were able to calm down ok after that. It's scary enough when the car does something you aren't used to, but even worse if you have a close shave that could almost kill a vulnerable road user: even if they do seem to be doing something thick, we know that's someone else's loved one. I had a moment like that in my old Rover, coming round a blind bend and someone coming the other way cut the corner and I had to swerve to avoid. It was just enough to make the back end of the car bounce from side to side - after 4 bounces (so lucky, bouncing at the right intervals versus oncoming vehicles) I got the measure of it stepped gently on the brake pedal as it came to centre, that corrected it. A guy coming the other way saw it from the distance, flashed his lights and gave me a gentle wave as I passed. Whoever that guy was, thanks mate, that was a kindness that really helped me get my head straight. No regular driving instructor can teach you that instinct. Let me tell you I was crapping myself, and let out a good old scream about a minute after it was under control - gets the pent up adrenalin out! Same when I have done an emergency stop and rear wheel skid on the motorbikes. Some of us just *get* it, we should be thankful of that. Speaking of bikes, I'm putting my biker hat on here and I'll say that most motorists hit bikers or cyclists not because they aren't wearing hi-viz, but because the drivers aren't looking (don't get me wrong, some bikers/cyclists do crazy stuff too, and no lights is just asking for it). My friend Pat got knocked of his bicycle wearing full hi-viz gear, and I got knocked off my motorbike by a driver on the inside lane despite the noise, flashing indicator lights and right of way by virtue of the fact I was already on the roundabout by some daft bint who was in a hurry to get to the airport. Silly confession... Nice insurance cheque :-)

Really sorry to hear of your hassles Ash. With my own impending repairs I can honestly say I know how you feel, although at least it was my own doing. What miserable chav fits the wrong parts to any vehicle, especially in the engine? Time wounds all heels. Here's a pic of my dog wearing a hoodie to cheer you up. And don't bother asking what planet I am on as I'm not too sure myself.

Jay, I was told by previous owner that this wasn't uncommon. Unaccustomed as I am... I looked it up and it seemed he was telling the truth. In Luigi's case it seems the knocking was far more innocent. Re the shockies it doensn't hurt to say, the Subaru dealer said it 'may be an MoT failure, but don't worry as it won't affect the handling of the car'. Eh? Wouldn't you just spin that if you were getting a grand from it...? It certainly doesn't interfere with the handling - my buggy still sticks to the road like **** to a blanket, if you'll pardon the term. Ahh, if only I'd been born with a girl brain I might have been doing well with a sugar daddy right now.

Knightrider? Hah, you must be as old as me! I do like that idea though :-) Trying to keep the car gen up, but defo worth looking into. Depressing to know it's not easy to get hold of, but at least the dealer can get it for around half the price it would cost to get a new spoiler plus repainting. I only hope this thread with all it's farty bits helps someone else. I'll post a summary once all is done and dusted. Plus pics. Oh, I can't wait for my shame to be undone. All I can say is - in a strange filling station drive forward, run out of fuel even if it is a nuisance - please don't do what I did. And if you do, Auntie Diz is here as a shoulder to cry on.