The Arch Bishop
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Where's the fun in that though eh? :lol:
A totally new Beige Box thread
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The Arch Bishop
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Second round of snow driving. This time for, some reason, the Forester was epic. Must have been the wrong type of snow last time...
Today, tonne of grip and traction - wondering why everyone was sliding around. Determined not to be a smug twatty 4WD driver though.
Today, tonne of grip and traction - wondering why everyone was sliding around. Determined not to be a smug twatty 4WD driver though.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
I've now had the water pipe replaced to the tune of £280 (yes really) and the garage rings again... 'Was the engine check light on when you came in?'
It would appear that a sensor on the intake has gone on the blink. Still runs fine but still....
Gahhhhh! Stupid gold shit-box!
It would appear that a sensor on the intake has gone on the blink. Still runs fine but still....
Gahhhhh! Stupid gold shit-box!
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Wow! Last update was April?!
Ok, so to be entirely honest, the Forester has redeemed itself admirably over the Summer with it's instant and fierce Air-con, comfy ride and seats and the ability to lug around truly enormous loads without issue. An (awful) camping trip resulted in it swallowing a six-berth mega-tent, camping kitchen, ground-sheets, gas bottles, tables, four chairs, two adults and two children without breaking a sweat. Even fully loaded, it managed to out-accelerate the majority of cars off of the the duel carriageway roundabouts. The journey back home was the best bit of the trip to be honest.
So with this rekindled love-in with the Subaru, I decided last week that I really ought to get off my rear end and get the engine warning light sorted out. Subaru only sell the sensor complete with the whole control valve (manifold, motor and sensor) for about £300 before fitting. An extended session researching on the internet showed that the sensor was the same potentiometer that they use for the Throttle position sensor. A search on eBay turned up a TPS from a low-mileage Impreza for sale for £20.
The sensor finally turned up today and, after a failed first fit (realised that you need to fit the sensor with the spring-loaded potentiometer pre-tensioned), the code cleared and I no longer has the gentle yellow glow of the dashboard light warning me of impending doom!
£20 - fixed - result - smug.
Ok, so to be entirely honest, the Forester has redeemed itself admirably over the Summer with it's instant and fierce Air-con, comfy ride and seats and the ability to lug around truly enormous loads without issue. An (awful) camping trip resulted in it swallowing a six-berth mega-tent, camping kitchen, ground-sheets, gas bottles, tables, four chairs, two adults and two children without breaking a sweat. Even fully loaded, it managed to out-accelerate the majority of cars off of the the duel carriageway roundabouts. The journey back home was the best bit of the trip to be honest.
So with this rekindled love-in with the Subaru, I decided last week that I really ought to get off my rear end and get the engine warning light sorted out. Subaru only sell the sensor complete with the whole control valve (manifold, motor and sensor) for about £300 before fitting. An extended session researching on the internet showed that the sensor was the same potentiometer that they use for the Throttle position sensor. A search on eBay turned up a TPS from a low-mileage Impreza for sale for £20.
The sensor finally turned up today and, after a failed first fit (realised that you need to fit the sensor with the spring-loaded potentiometer pre-tensioned), the code cleared and I no longer has the gentle yellow glow of the dashboard light warning me of impending doom!
£20 - fixed - result - smug.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Well, over a year on and the Forester is going lovely.
I've done very little to it other than spraying up the wheel centre caps with the paint left over from doing the Puma (moondust silver is pretty close to the Subaru alloys colour) and driving it.
The only major expenses have been a service in December and a full set of tyres over the Christmas period.
The Continentals on it were frankly rubbish - they all constantly leaked, were vague and due to the super-soft sidewalls, wore very badly on the edges. A set of similar would be about £500 all in as they are fairly wide, high profile and are the reinforced ones. I took a trip to our local Autowise in Burgess Hill (who are superb it has to be said) to see how much I could haggle a pair of Falkens for. For a set of the new Ziex 914's the bill came to £375 which was much better!
They have transformed the car as they have much stiffer side walls and the grip is tremendous in both wet and dry weather with only a slight reduction in ride quality. They cut through the floods in fine style as well which has come in very useful!
So after the initial raft of age-related issues, the Subaru has proved itself to be a very worthy car. It does back-road hooning if you want, cruises brilliantly on the motorway, can move an entire shed worth of crap to the tip and is built like (excuse the Quentin Wilson quote) a bank vault. It now has 111,000 miles on the clock and is still on its original clutch and turbo and has no creaks and rattles. Even my wife likes it and she is frustratingly picky over what she drives.
They'll be another big bill sooner or later (inevitable at this age), but least it's paid its way now!
Ok, so it's bright gold and a petrol so the fuel economy is not very modern (average over ownership is 28mpg) but the price of diesel is way higher at the moment so it off-sets that a fair bit.
I've done very little to it other than spraying up the wheel centre caps with the paint left over from doing the Puma (moondust silver is pretty close to the Subaru alloys colour) and driving it.
The only major expenses have been a service in December and a full set of tyres over the Christmas period.
The Continentals on it were frankly rubbish - they all constantly leaked, were vague and due to the super-soft sidewalls, wore very badly on the edges. A set of similar would be about £500 all in as they are fairly wide, high profile and are the reinforced ones. I took a trip to our local Autowise in Burgess Hill (who are superb it has to be said) to see how much I could haggle a pair of Falkens for. For a set of the new Ziex 914's the bill came to £375 which was much better!
They have transformed the car as they have much stiffer side walls and the grip is tremendous in both wet and dry weather with only a slight reduction in ride quality. They cut through the floods in fine style as well which has come in very useful!
So after the initial raft of age-related issues, the Subaru has proved itself to be a very worthy car. It does back-road hooning if you want, cruises brilliantly on the motorway, can move an entire shed worth of crap to the tip and is built like (excuse the Quentin Wilson quote) a bank vault. It now has 111,000 miles on the clock and is still on its original clutch and turbo and has no creaks and rattles. Even my wife likes it and she is frustratingly picky over what she drives.
They'll be another big bill sooner or later (inevitable at this age), but least it's paid its way now!
Ok, so it's bright gold and a petrol so the fuel economy is not very modern (average over ownership is 28mpg) but the price of diesel is way higher at the moment so it off-sets that a fair bit.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
A friend asked me recently if I'd like to go to a charity rolling road session for the Make a Wish foundation. Sadly, with the Puma currently incontinent, the old Subaru stepped up to provide comedy relief for the event, complete with the two children's seats and a National Trust sticker in the front window.
The results were a 157bhp at 6200 rpm and 152 FtLb at 3200 rpm on it's final run. So the 'National Thrust' (as I've now named it) has lost under 20 bhp in 120,000 miles. The operator noted that the Cat was blocked as well which was sapping the power and torque quite badly.
Will have to get that looked at I suppose!
Still, great morning had!
The results were a 157bhp at 6200 rpm and 152 FtLb at 3200 rpm on it's final run. So the 'National Thrust' (as I've now named it) has lost under 20 bhp in 120,000 miles. The operator noted that the Cat was blocked as well which was sapping the power and torque quite badly.
Will have to get that looked at I suppose!
Still, great morning had!
yippeekiay
Well-known member
Get some cataclean into the petrol tank...that'll find those lost horses. Great fun too blowing great plumes of smoke out of the rear too.....the car, not your bottom :lol:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Does that stuff actually work though? The marketing is a bit snakeskin!
yippeekiay
Well-known member
Well I know it cleaned up my RX8 when I first bought the car. Had been driven like a snail until my ownership and it showed as it stuttered and farted now and again onaround 8½k rpm so really needed a clean through the system. Ran the cataclean through it and it started blowing unicorns out the rear and flew in comparison. :lol:
That's my experience so can only go on that. Had been recommended it by a very trusted source and it turned out it worked for me.
If your not happy have a look around as I'm sure there must be other additives that'll do the job :thumbs:
That's my experience so can only go on that. Had been recommended it by a very trusted source and it turned out it worked for me.
If your not happy have a look around as I'm sure there must be other additives that'll do the job :thumbs:
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Nah, got to be worth a go so I ordered some yesterday. It'll be interesting to see what happens...
As it goes, the old battle wagon was featured on the write up of the day! Although as an RX8 owner, you may not want to read about the one that went on the Dyno.... - http://www.lemons365.co.uk/car-reviews-news-blogs/
As it goes, the old battle wagon was featured on the write up of the day! Although as an RX8 owner, you may not want to read about the one that went on the Dyno.... - http://www.lemons365.co.uk/car-reviews-news-blogs/
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Well, snake oil applied and it does seem to have smoothed out the power delivery and upped the grunt a bit. A fair amount of black soot on the exhaust tip too! I'd say it (probably) works. :lol:
However, it did fail its MOT this week due to the driver's seatbelt webbing having unravelled! I thought that perhaps the garage was being a bit pernickity, but a third of the width was mullered as it turns out so it was fair comment!
However, Subaru wanted £380 for a new seatbelt unit! In the end, I sourced a second hand one from a breaker's in Norfolk which arrived today, so I set about fitting it.
When they say that Subaru's are built like tanks, they mean it. Try taking anything off and you soon discover how over-engineered they are. The B-pillar trim panels have a separate webbed strengthening piece underneath to ensure that they don't flex when you prod them. The carpets have a formed plastic strengthener behind any complicated section so they don't sag. It's like the engineers were frightened of anything being too simple...
Still, fitted and all is well. Retest tomorrow.
However, it did fail its MOT this week due to the driver's seatbelt webbing having unravelled! I thought that perhaps the garage was being a bit pernickity, but a third of the width was mullered as it turns out so it was fair comment!
However, Subaru wanted £380 for a new seatbelt unit! In the end, I sourced a second hand one from a breaker's in Norfolk which arrived today, so I set about fitting it.
When they say that Subaru's are built like tanks, they mean it. Try taking anything off and you soon discover how over-engineered they are. The B-pillar trim panels have a separate webbed strengthening piece underneath to ensure that they don't flex when you prod them. The carpets have a formed plastic strengthener behind any complicated section so they don't sag. It's like the engineers were frightened of anything being too simple...
Still, fitted and all is well. Retest tomorrow.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Cor! It's been a while since I updated this thread! I still have the beige box, although I nearly didn't. 2016 is the first year I've had to spend any serious money on it since the cambelt. It's been a fantastic car in that time but this year I've had problems with fumes in the car and sudden drops in boost that my regular garage couldn't fix.
Luckily I found a local(ish) specialist - East Sussex Mobile who are a father and son team who will come out to you or pick up and drop off if you want. My first job for them was a leak in the turbo up pipe that was causing the fumes in the cabin. I was quoted upwards of £400 and a three month wait for this by my usual garage, but ESM said they could remove it (pig of a job) and weld it up. I also asked them to investigate a loud whine I'd had since buying the car (again, my regular garage never could find the cause). A day later the car was back with the welding done and a new rear wheel bearing (again, a pig of a job). £300 for it all and they bunged me a courtesy car (an old MX5 for some reason) during the work. Great blokes and very passionate about Subarus.
Spin on a few months and with some strange grinding noises from the front end under steering lock and an ever-increasing boost problem, I thought it was maybe time to replace the old girl and bought a Volvo V70 - a car I very quickly realised was both a bit of a dog and that I hated. It was a boat compared to the Subaru which could dance rings around it in all conditions. The Volvo was quickly sold on and, after some apologies to the Forester for my fling, it was again shipped off to ESM for the faults to be looked at. They picked up the car at 9.30am a few days later and returned it at 7.30pm the same day with a good second hand front hub that they had knocking around the place and also a new MAF in an attempt to cure the boost problems. Both of these cured the problems entirely.
Then a couple of weeks later, it was MOT time. Sadly, it failed on rust on the inner sill which was due to having been badly jacked up in the past and the paint being cracked. The rest of the car was totally corrosion free which was a kick in the teeth. These cars are very well rust-proofed!
It was also due a service, so once again, ESM picked the car up and dropped it back later in the day having welded and serviced it. Superb service! Their only downside is their encouraging " Easy 270 bhp in that with some injectors and a good second hand turbo...." and "these sound good with the right back-box on them...". That and their reluctance for me to pay them. I'm still awaiting the bill for the last two visits....
Fast forward to today, and for a brief moment I thought it may be the end of the road for the car. This morning I was rear-ended by a Corsa driven by a young bloke that failed to stop in time (he must have been shifting some) when he came over the brow of a hill to find me waiting for the car in front to turn right. I was just gathering speed again when I was shunted. I pulled over thinking that it was probably write-off time. The Corsa had hit me and careered over the road in to the junction. When I got out to inspect the damage, I was met with some flaked off paint on the near-side corner and.... well, not a lot really! I wandered over to the lad to make sure he was OK. He was, but the front wheels on the Corsa were pointing in different directions entirely as he'd somehow managed to snap a tie-rod. I still can't work out how he'd done it to be honest as the damage to mine and his doesn't really add up, but we exchanged details and I made sure he was fine before driving off to work. Weird really!
In conclusion - I'm still loving this car after 4 years. We're at 138,000 miles, the exhaust system is getting ropy and it still has some battle-scars, but they are unbelievably tough work-horses. Also, once you've had one, it's very hard to move on!
Luckily I found a local(ish) specialist - East Sussex Mobile who are a father and son team who will come out to you or pick up and drop off if you want. My first job for them was a leak in the turbo up pipe that was causing the fumes in the cabin. I was quoted upwards of £400 and a three month wait for this by my usual garage, but ESM said they could remove it (pig of a job) and weld it up. I also asked them to investigate a loud whine I'd had since buying the car (again, my regular garage never could find the cause). A day later the car was back with the welding done and a new rear wheel bearing (again, a pig of a job). £300 for it all and they bunged me a courtesy car (an old MX5 for some reason) during the work. Great blokes and very passionate about Subarus.
Spin on a few months and with some strange grinding noises from the front end under steering lock and an ever-increasing boost problem, I thought it was maybe time to replace the old girl and bought a Volvo V70 - a car I very quickly realised was both a bit of a dog and that I hated. It was a boat compared to the Subaru which could dance rings around it in all conditions. The Volvo was quickly sold on and, after some apologies to the Forester for my fling, it was again shipped off to ESM for the faults to be looked at. They picked up the car at 9.30am a few days later and returned it at 7.30pm the same day with a good second hand front hub that they had knocking around the place and also a new MAF in an attempt to cure the boost problems. Both of these cured the problems entirely.
Then a couple of weeks later, it was MOT time. Sadly, it failed on rust on the inner sill which was due to having been badly jacked up in the past and the paint being cracked. The rest of the car was totally corrosion free which was a kick in the teeth. These cars are very well rust-proofed!
It was also due a service, so once again, ESM picked the car up and dropped it back later in the day having welded and serviced it. Superb service! Their only downside is their encouraging " Easy 270 bhp in that with some injectors and a good second hand turbo...." and "these sound good with the right back-box on them...". That and their reluctance for me to pay them. I'm still awaiting the bill for the last two visits....
Fast forward to today, and for a brief moment I thought it may be the end of the road for the car. This morning I was rear-ended by a Corsa driven by a young bloke that failed to stop in time (he must have been shifting some) when he came over the brow of a hill to find me waiting for the car in front to turn right. I was just gathering speed again when I was shunted. I pulled over thinking that it was probably write-off time. The Corsa had hit me and careered over the road in to the junction. When I got out to inspect the damage, I was met with some flaked off paint on the near-side corner and.... well, not a lot really! I wandered over to the lad to make sure he was OK. He was, but the front wheels on the Corsa were pointing in different directions entirely as he'd somehow managed to snap a tie-rod. I still can't work out how he'd done it to be honest as the damage to mine and his doesn't really add up, but we exchanged details and I made sure he was fine before driving off to work. Weird really!
In conclusion - I'm still loving this car after 4 years. We're at 138,000 miles, the exhaust system is getting ropy and it still has some battle-scars, but they are unbelievably tough work-horses. Also, once you've had one, it's very hard to move on!
XAF
Active member
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I do love your threads Lee, and that the PP family welcome non-Puma stories from all of us too!!! I'm not ready to bore the world with my hateful Astra just yet, I'm still in a period of loathing for the god-awful machine and in mourning for my Golf. Damn weddings and FRP's!!!!
Glad you're ok and the the golden dream held up ok. Hope the insurance don't get all picky and start getting silly isn't repair prices!!
Glad you're ok and the the golden dream held up ok. Hope the insurance don't get all picky and start getting silly isn't repair prices!!
such a tale, hopefully it lives on.. will it be subjected to insurer scrutiny?
The Arch Bishop
Active member
I think we'll avoid the insurance in this case as mine only needs a bit of paint. We've exchanged details and numbers, so will discuss how he wants to proceed. If they wrote my car off, I'd just buy it back to be honest!
TGPlayer1
Active member
It's always a funny one when somebody drives into the back of you. Unless they get you straight on the car behind usually just glances off, especially if it's lighter, and ends up in more of a state than what it hit - as I can attest by the two times i've crashed and the vehicle I hit was barely damaged, or not even one bit in one case.
Hopefully they'll write off the Corsa and it'll be one less hate-box on the road.
Hopefully they'll write off the Corsa and it'll be one less hate-box on the road.
The Arch Bishop
Active member
Well, tonight I waved goodbye to the gold box. It's been the best car I've ever had (or probably will ever have), but we were recently offered a Grand C-Max for a price we couldn't refuse and couldn't afford to run and didn't need two large cars.
So a likely one-man trader turned up today to take her away for a few hundred more than We Buy Any Car offered for a 141,000 mile petrol drinking safe on wheels. Sad times, but I have my new car already which is something much smaller, a bit sportier and a lot more frugal.
I'll get a thread up on that asap.
So a likely one-man trader turned up today to take her away for a few hundred more than We Buy Any Car offered for a 141,000 mile petrol drinking safe on wheels. Sad times, but I have my new car already which is something much smaller, a bit sportier and a lot more frugal.
I'll get a thread up on that asap.
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