Bypassing the Subaru catalytic converter EGT sensor

Wow… that title sure sounds boring, doesn’t it? Truthfully, it is! Read on if you dare!

DIY alignment: setting toe

Aligning your toe! No, it’s not exclusively the realm of chiropodists, it’s also car-related. Yeah, sometimes I talk about cars on this blog. Get over it.

Here’s an example of toe going suddenly rather un-aligned. It’s also a good example of how Hummer H2s aren’t really meant to go on trails.

Camber slotting front Subaru struts

Moar camber! Tire camber is the leaning of the tire, and some people take this way, way too far.

Metro drum brake replacement

One of the persistent problems of the Metro, since we picked it up, is a pulsation in the brake pedal and braking force. I suspected the front rotors but a quick check for warping came up clear. I didn’t bother checking the drums in the back - I simply ended up with a set of new drums after noticing how cheap they were and needing to add a few dollars to an online parts order to get free shipping. On they go!

The rear of the car goes up on the jack, and the rear wheels come off. To free the drums we need to remove the little dust caps covering the axle nut. A sharp wood chisel works well to push the cap free.

From too cold to too hot: Metro radiator fan replacement

Remember how our Geo Metro was cooling the engine too much when we first picked it up? Recently, it decided that it wanted to go the other way and overheated in traffic. I immediately suspected the radiator fan, and sure enough I was right - but not in the way I thought I was right.

Replacing tire valve stems

In one of my recent posts, I explained how I change my own tires. You might notice, if you have your tires changed at a professional tire shop, that they tend to replace valve stems when they change the tires. I’ve been skipping over this step and it finally came around to bite me. After a particularly violent autocross lap I found this on my rear tire: