"Big Bubba Ray" (eganward01)
10/07/2013 at 21:13 • Filed to: None
2
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"Big Bubba Ray" (eganward01)
10/07/2013 at 21:13 • Filed to: None | 2
| 21 |
Hello Oppo! This is my first post, so bear with me and let me know if I make any major errors! As I mentioned in the title, I'm in need of guidance.
This here is a picture of my 2005 Subaru Outback, with a 5 speed, on the day I got it. It's the first car that I bought on my own and needless to say, I'm pretty proud of it. I purchased it last December and have been in love since day one.
When I bought the car, I knew there were a few mechanical issues that I would have to sort out at some point including replacing the timing belt and the left front axle.
Just last week when I brought the car into the local Subie dealership to get the timing belt changed, they informed me that I had a laundry list of things wrong with my car now. GREAT! Power steering pump is going out, both front axles have torn boots and need replacing and the kicker: my head gaskets are fucked! Now, I would have loved to not have to worry about these things and just have the dealership fix it, but that is not very Jalop, and I don't have the money for all that work!
Luckily, I am somewhat mechanically inclined and I love to work with my hands. I was thinking that I could replace both front axles and the power steering pump on my own. It would take some time, but I know that I could at least get these things done by myself. The head gaskets are a whole different story.
So, the point of my post is that I am in need of some tools. I have an extremely basic tool set at my house that I have used for other small car jobs (oil changes, blinker replacements, etc.). I would really like to purchase an impact wrench so I can fix my axles and do bigger jobs in the future. What impact wrenches would you guys suggest? Air or electric? And I'd also like to get a new, small, set of tools to aid in other repair jobs. To make it extra challenging, I have a budget of around $300 for all of this.
Thank you all in advance for the help. I'm excited to get my car back into good shape. Finally, here is a meh picture I took of Vaugh Gittin Jr. pulling a drift at the St. Louis Car Show last January.
Bandit
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:16 |
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Can't help you on impacts, but for hand tools: buy used. You can get good quality stuff (lifetime warranty FTW) for cheap. Also, you are going to want to get a torque wrench if you want to start tackling these bigger projects.
MonkeePuzzle
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:20 |
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to do the head gaskets you need to take off the timing belt. to do the water pump you have to take off the timing belt. to do the timing belt you have to do the timing belt, so do the head gaskets, timing belt and water pump at the same time.
Tools needed, decent set of sockets, decent set of wrenches (recommend ratcheting ones), breaker bar (not necessary but very helpful), torque wrench.
Recommend Sears for Craftsman, they have a lifetime replacement on hand tools.
Suby is Japanese, so you need all of these in metric.
And of course you'll need some random auto tools: jackstands, floor jack (not necessary, just handy), oil catch pan.
And of course you'll need parts. Oil filter, oil, coolant, filters, gaskets, gasket spray, etc etc etc.
$300 should be sufficient, but don't skimp. Any tool with a moving part you should get a name brand (my opinion). But jackstands you can grab the cheapos from Harbor Freight.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:20 |
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Do you have an air compressor, a nice one, with a large tank?
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MonkeePuzzle
> MonkeePuzzle
10/07/2013 at 21:27 |
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carp, forgot you mentioned axles. You'll need a large socket for the axle nut. On my Honda its 32mm, not standard in most socket sets, its big, but not 32mm on my Suby, but its likely still a special size.
note: LOOSEN THE AXLE NUT BEFORE LIFTING THE CAR. Don't make my mistake, once its in the air there is no resistance on the wheel rotating and the axle nut is impossible to get off... grr.... GRR
Will also require a decent hammer or proper removal tool to break the ball mount's hold.
pdthedeuce
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:28 |
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can't help with the Subaru , but good job on your first post .
desertdog5051
> MonkeePuzzle
10/07/2013 at 21:30 |
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Even US cars are all metric now.
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Big Bubba Ray
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
10/07/2013 at 21:32 |
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No air compressor yet. Looking into a few. Any suggestions?
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Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> desertdog5051
10/07/2013 at 21:34 |
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They still throw a standard in there occasionally, just to be dicks.
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desertdog5051
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:35 |
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MonkeyPuzzle made a good comment. I will say that I bought a Harbor Freight electric impact 10+ years ago and use it several times a year and it has not failed me yet. A torque wrench is also handy if you are doing things like heads. Check pawn shops, they usually have some and are a lot cheaper than new. If that does not work go to an auto parts store and rent one.
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Big Bubba Ray
> MonkeePuzzle
10/07/2013 at 21:38 |
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Thanks for the info! I'll unfortunately have to leave the head gasket repair to the professionals.
And I've done a bunch of reading about folks replacing the axles who didn't loosen the axle nut before raising the car. It's a mistake I'll be sure not to make!
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Big Bubba Ray
> Bandit
10/07/2013 at 21:39 |
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Torque wrench! Forgot I needed one of those. Any idea where to get decent used tools?
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Big Bubba Ray
> pdthedeuce
10/07/2013 at 21:40 |
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Thanks!
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Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:41 |
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Wait on buying a air impact then or bye, bye budget. If you do get an impact driver go for something with at least 400 ft-lbs otherwise don't bother.
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MonkeePuzzle
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:46 |
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well, even if you leave the head gasket to the pros, they aren't attempting to screw you when they suggest combining the water pump and timing belt into the same work.
Best of luck with the axles. Oh, and you should be fully replacing the trans and rear diff oil when you do the axles.
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Bandit
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:48 |
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Craigslist is always good places to get tools cheap. Garage sales and some antique shops are a bit more of a pain to navigate but you can score great deals (My grandfather got an entire old craftsman 1/2 socket set for $30). Remember, even if you find a broken craftsman wrench you can take it to Sears and they will exchange it for a brand new one. Careful with buying a used torque wrench though, if it was abused it may be inaccurate.
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Bandit
> desertdog5051
10/07/2013 at 21:49 |
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Even my 32 year old car is metric. Stupid GM.
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Bandit
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:50 |
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Oh, and pawn shops.
NaturallyAspirated
> Big Bubba Ray
10/07/2013 at 21:52 |
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Subie headgaskets aren't so bad.
Ok, maybe they are.
MonkeyPuzzle has a good list. I replaced both of my front axles recently. I used a 2-foot breaker bar to break the axle nuts loose. I had to stand on the end of the breaker bar and bounce up and down to get it to break free :).
Save yourself some frustration and get a quality ball joint separator from the get-go. The ones that look like this:
are about a million times better than the stupid "pickle fork."
I don't have an impact and I have yet to come across something I can't fix without it.
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NaturallyAspirated
> NaturallyAspirated
10/07/2013 at 21:58 |
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Oh, I rebuilt my power steering pump recently, too. It's pretty easy. On my '98 Outback it was as simple as removing the belts, sucking as much fluid out of the tank as I could with a turkey baster, disconnecting the hoses, unbolt the pump, installation is the reverse (except I don't recommend putting the used fluid back in with a turkey baster).
I bought a gasket kit from RockAuto as well as a new front bearing. Popped the pump in a vise, took it apart, cleaned it up, and reassembled with new gaskets and bearing.
XJDano
> Big Bubba Ray
10/08/2013 at 06:03 |
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Where are you located? STL? Those houses look like around Kingshighway and Chippewa / Holly Hills area.
I have loved the outback since I had seen this on in 2006
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My suggestion is read and find "how to" posts on forums for everything you want to do. I talked my cousin into changing his ball joins and serpentine belt by himself, and with some research and borrowed tools he saved about $600.
Also try to see if there is a local car club for your manufacture. I joined a jeep club and made some friends that helped me learn a lot about my Cherokee and install lifts and such.
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Big Bubba Ray
> XJDano
10/08/2013 at 10:50 |
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I live out in Kirkwood, but that was literally the first picture I took of my car when I picked it up out by Tower Grove Park. Good call!
I hope to get some tools and start work on my car before the end of the month. I've been reading my Chilton manual and researching repair methods on the interwebs non-stop for the past couple days.