Dino

My WRX says 12,000 miles. However, by then the oil is getting dark and thickening which is no good for high performance flat 4 engines that need the more viscous thinner oil to stop the head gasket blowing. If it looks dark, then change it is my advise.

You need to find out why water is getting into the rack before buying anything. It's very unlikely this was water... think about it how can water pump into the rack unless its pumped from the power steering reservoir and through the power steering pump. So, does it have power steering fluid in the reservoir or water? And if the latter, who filled it up with water perhaps thinking it was the screen washer or coolant reservoir? Questions to consider because this is odd.

Don't over tighten the belt or the water pump bearing will blow or a pulley will fail. Ensure the timing is not affected else it will be expensive. Getting it right is key to not having to replace anything else.

Yeah, it's weird... it's as though something is pressurised and releasing. It's only on starting the engine from cold. Needs further investigation me thinks...

I've got a whistle coming from the front left of the engine bay as I sit in the car to start it up. It's just like someone making a whistle for about 8 seconds then it stops. What's down the left side of the engine (as sitting in the driver's seat) that can make this noise? Clutch, air con pressurising? Guesses??? It's only started recently... cold weather? It's not even in gear when this happens... weird. Any ideas?

I want to clean my WRX engine. It looks like a previous owner had an anti-freeze pipe or tank or radiator burst all over it, or could it could be some sort of spray on preservative like Supaguard perhaps? I was thinking of using my old steam wallpaper machine to steam it off using only the hose attached. I don't really want to use Gunk because that's really messy and likely to do more damage. Can anyone suggest what I can use to get this thick green film off please? With Thanks.

Those Top Gear knit-wits don't understand what the diff is between a WRX and STi. They can only mumble Lambo because they can't say or spell Lamborghini.

Watch this in a Subaru - very neat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7gmbQ8KxM4

Yeah its sort of given out discretely by Clarkson, but then when he's having to be genuine this usually happens. ;)

Repeated regularly so some may have seen this trailer for the new forthcoming Top Gear series..."An evening With Top Gear" on this evening at 20:00 on Freeview channel BBC RB 1 (601 on my box). A question comes up asking the three of them what the best car is. Their collective answer, "The Subaru Impreza WRX" - now that's good for Subaru!

Best advice is to put down a minor receipted deposit that's refundable on a good Subaru. If you want the car, go back the same day with the money to secure it "as seen" because some unscrupulous dealers and sellers will swap all their old crap bits onto the prospective car you'll be buying. If the car's not there the same day, get your deposit money back.

Yeah I get "Toys for the Boys". :) This forum is friendly useful info. Welcome Jazman88!

Air Con puts more load on the engine so increases fuel consumption. However, when it's really cold the engine will also work harder on more slippery roads because its a 4x4. One thing also to bear in mind is the brakes are tighter and tend to seize up in colder weather because the grease becomes more sticky and this means a brake can bind. I've got a rear doing this which I must sort out soon.

Doing a clutch on these 4x4s is a pig of a job. If I were you I'd get some advice from an expert before attempting it.

I'd say it depends on where the tyre is you need to replace. If its a rear tyre, then to save some cash get two rear ones only - some Tyre places give discount on buying two. These Subaru 4x4s tend to be more reliant on the back end not slipping out so have the good tyres on the rear is my advice. But if you corner hard, then its worth getting two new good fronts ones as well. Either way have the best tyres on the rear. Hope that helps your pocket.

yeah, I cleaned the temp sensors with some electrical switch cleaner today. That's made a difference too because the air temp detection is much more immediate now.

Try Forte Oil Fortifier. This fixes up any engine problem compression problem. It contains no PTFE either so is much better at tightening up an engine. Costs about £10-14. I've used it on older cars over 60K miles and it really improves mpg, emissions, etc.

ok thought I'd ask because my wife has a Volvo (ugg) and that starts heating the cab immediately because there's a thermo-sensor in the dashboard that measures cabin temp. So I thought these things were sort of standard in more modern cars... but perhaps not? I did look around this morning and found there's an interior cabin temp sensor pin hole next to the fan speed control dial. Also, found out the air-con compressor actually doesn't come on below 0 degC to protect it. This is regulated by the exterior temp sensor behind the front grill. But once the engine has warmed up a bit it will start to work. So, even with the A/C screen blower on, it will only A/C blow when the engines warmed up a bit so that the exterior temp sensor is above 0 degC.

Since the cold snap, when i start my WRX in the morning from cold, the air con takes about 4 mins before it starts to recognise its actually cold before putting warm air out. The aircon dial is set to 24 deg or set higher so it should know its only about 1-2 in the car cabin. Does anyone know where the internal cab air temp sensor is located? OR is there some other reason why the air con heater takes a while to register and kick in? Thanks

Ah yes, for anything electrical malfunctioning or not working, I always check the fuses first. The pillar is called the "A" pillar.

If its getting to 3000 rpm and then starting there, then it would tend to indicate something like a throttle position sensor or crank sensor is faulty. Either way if the fault always happens at 3000 rpm then the ECU will go into emergency mode and switch on the EML to warn that you need to stop the engine. If its fuel starvation, then the same will occur too. Simple check is put some injector cleaner in the tank to unblock any injectors and see how it runs - if better then could be fuel starvation. Also, check in the dark to see if any of the plug leads are arcing to the engine.

ok, I checked this out again... still can't work it out. take a look at this one here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Impreza-WRX-GDB-STi-Interior-Rear-View-Vision-Mirror-/381000705616?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58b5696650 The stud in the middle is chamfered and means its holds tight. No idea other than levering off the windscreen, but that means a new windscreen because it will crack for sure. Any ideas peps?

What you see is normal in the bottom of the reservoir if its never had a coolant change for 7+ years. It's a combination of the older anti-freeze coming out of solution (water solvent) and a reaction with the aluminium. Its a kind of deposit. It's not usually any sort of radweld type stuff unless there was a major leak from the radiator itself which can force it into the reservoir also, but this stuff usually doesn't work for long because coolant systems these days are pressurised. Suggest to Drain it out as much as possible, put a hose on one end to blow it all through and then refill.

Maybe from the internal heater. If you've just started using it then sometimes all the crud gets trapped in there because its the lowest point. Soon as you turn on the heater and try to push water around it, if blocked it will leak from where the heater hose joins. Maybe worth having a lot around the back there.

ok, I found the rear fog lights register in the dash when on. The front ones don't, rather there's a light bulb in the button itself which must have gone to bulb heaven. So, need to see how the front fog light button comes out... rather awkward under there but will see what I can do without busting the button trying to get it out. Can't see the logic in having them different... perhaps front fog lights were an after thought on the hawkeye lol