In the zone

I truly love working on cars. I can spend a day doing it without regret, that is, unless something goes wrong and I don't get the job done. But yesterday wasn't one of those days.

At one point I had three cars lined up in the driveway, each with a different job.

I had an easy job on Stacey's '03 Mustang, only an oil change.

Then my sister showed up. She needed a serpentine belt in her '86 Buick. That took a little while. I can't believe all the tools I cave, but couldn't find a regular depth 18mm socket in half inch drive. I used a deep reach. Whatever. That was a quickie.

My '91 Subaru needed a lot of routine maintenance.

• Fuel Filter. I kinda like doing that one. You have to relive the pressure in these fuel injected cars. This FI system in this cars falls in the neighborhood of 40 psi. I've had that spray all over me and it's NOT fun. In this car you fold down rear right seat and pull up the carpet. Four screws. Remove the fuel pump cover and unplug the fuel pump. Start the car and let it run until it stalls out. No more pressure. Swap out filter. Done.

• Valve Cover Gasket. I love the way this one goes on. The valve cover has a grove that you press in this rubber-band-like gasket. The one on the driver's side was leaking, so I only did that one. You have to remove the oil filler spout and the reservoir for the windshield washer.

• "Tune Up." Spark plugs, I only use Bosch Platinum now. I've used a couple other brands and the car didn't run right, so I'll pay a little extra and have this thing run perfect. New Spark plug wires. PVC valve. The car has a K&N Air Filter, so I'll take it out and wash it when the weather gets warmer. It wasn't too bad though. No Biggie.

• Oil Change. I use 4 quarts of 10W40 and 1/2 quart of Lucas. The car runs a lot better now, and all the noises vanished. A couple bucks on a tune up makes a hug difference and is worth it.

Of course clean up and stuff takes up it's share of time too, but I had this feeling that I got so much done. It really set my mind at ease. That oil had over 4,000 miles on it. It was foul.

Next week or the week after comes the biggie: Timing Belt, water pump, front seals, heater core, hoses, and maybe even the power rack. The rack might require another weekend for itself.

My source for Subaru parts:

Hal's Parts & Service
http://halspartsandservice.com/

The man is a Subaru mavin.