Post by cpc on Jul 28, 2011 3:54:07 GMT -4
Another day, another drama with the Sherpa. Was heading to work this morning, trying to ignore the neck snapping jerking and bucking of the car as it spluttered down the road, when suddenly the noise in the cabin rose from the usual 100dB to about 150dB. I could tell straight away that the section of exhaust that was still attached to the car had decided to detach itself (I should add here that the rear section of the exhaust blew off the back of the car last month).
The car didn't seem to feel any worse than normal so I figured I could get it the 45 minutes up the motorway and make it to work on time. I did notice people pointing and staring at me/the car as I drove along. More people then usual. It made me a bit nervous.
Anyway, I got to work and my colleagues were all smiles as I pulled in. It wasn't just the noise that had them amused, it was the exhaust hanging from the bottom of the car. Here's a dodgy iPhone pic. No wonder it was noisy:
A bit of fencing wire secured the pipe back to the body work and made sure I didn't throw a rooster tail of sparks up the motorway on the way home. At home I thought I'd better pull it off before it caused any more issues. Here it is:
Here's the rear section where it broke of a few months earlier:
And attached to the car:
Here's the flange that broke off at the bottom of the manifold. Unfortunately, I don't think this can be welded back on. The parts are no longer available (from Subaru or after market) and due to the shape of the manifold it is very expensive to replicate:
Here's the highly functional cat converter:
Not sure where to go with this one. The cost to manufacture a complete new exhaust is significant (read - close to 4 figures), it can't be repaired and the parts aren't available. What to do...
Anyway, while I had time I thought I'd fix my air cleaner issue. I noticed by chance yesterday that the long air cleaner retaining bolt was missing from it's usual place of residence. The air cleaner was loose on the carby so I pulled it off and found the bolt down inside the carburettor. The bolt had snapped though and was trying to work it's way into the motor. Stupid bolt.
I thought I'd fix things the bush mechanic way - with some duct tape, zip ties and some stockings I pinched from my daughters dress up box. I pulled the air cleaner out and threw it in the bin. It was beyond saving:
I zip tied the air cleaner housing down to some random hoses in the engine bay, to stop it flying about:
And used a bit of stocking to make up a new air filter. I also blanked off the holes in the air cleaner body with the duct tape. The duct tape didn't take on some holes as there was simply too much oil and crap on it:
And here's the tools of the trade. You'll notice I'm colour co-ordinating the zip ties for street cred:
All done. My new air cleaner element is a fraction of the weight of the STi Motorsports one and the new exhaust modifications drop further weight. After all, it is the rare Type RA version!
Chris.
The car didn't seem to feel any worse than normal so I figured I could get it the 45 minutes up the motorway and make it to work on time. I did notice people pointing and staring at me/the car as I drove along. More people then usual. It made me a bit nervous.
Anyway, I got to work and my colleagues were all smiles as I pulled in. It wasn't just the noise that had them amused, it was the exhaust hanging from the bottom of the car. Here's a dodgy iPhone pic. No wonder it was noisy:
A bit of fencing wire secured the pipe back to the body work and made sure I didn't throw a rooster tail of sparks up the motorway on the way home. At home I thought I'd better pull it off before it caused any more issues. Here it is:
Here's the rear section where it broke of a few months earlier:
And attached to the car:
Here's the flange that broke off at the bottom of the manifold. Unfortunately, I don't think this can be welded back on. The parts are no longer available (from Subaru or after market) and due to the shape of the manifold it is very expensive to replicate:
Here's the highly functional cat converter:
Not sure where to go with this one. The cost to manufacture a complete new exhaust is significant (read - close to 4 figures), it can't be repaired and the parts aren't available. What to do...
Anyway, while I had time I thought I'd fix my air cleaner issue. I noticed by chance yesterday that the long air cleaner retaining bolt was missing from it's usual place of residence. The air cleaner was loose on the carby so I pulled it off and found the bolt down inside the carburettor. The bolt had snapped though and was trying to work it's way into the motor. Stupid bolt.
I thought I'd fix things the bush mechanic way - with some duct tape, zip ties and some stockings I pinched from my daughters dress up box. I pulled the air cleaner out and threw it in the bin. It was beyond saving:
I zip tied the air cleaner housing down to some random hoses in the engine bay, to stop it flying about:
And used a bit of stocking to make up a new air filter. I also blanked off the holes in the air cleaner body with the duct tape. The duct tape didn't take on some holes as there was simply too much oil and crap on it:
And here's the tools of the trade. You'll notice I'm colour co-ordinating the zip ties for street cred:
All done. My new air cleaner element is a fraction of the weight of the STi Motorsports one and the new exhaust modifications drop further weight. After all, it is the rare Type RA version!
Chris.
