Aluminum skidplate construction

After rallycross season ended I noticed a few scrapes on the Subaru’s oil pan. Nothing terrible, but enough to cause me a little worry. With The Trail of the Gnu rally coming up soon I thought it might be prudent to get some protection under there.

How to fix a destroyed tire

Metro thermostat replacement

While test driving the new-to-us Geo Metro, one of the first things I noticed was that the engine wasn’t getting up to operating temperature. It was a chilly -10C evening, and the temperature gauge would barely reach the top of the “C”.

Introducing the Metro!

Apparently, right hand drive, turbocharged, manual-transmission cars aren’t for everyone. With that in mind, we picked up this little beauty for the girl.

Exhaust strap repair on the Subaru

I had been hearing some odd vibrations in the exhaust recently, and upon examination I found this:

Hmm… that’s not right.

The basics: how do to an oil change

One of the most basic items on the maintenance checklist is changing your car’s oil. Once you’ve done it once or twice, it’s easy and quick and not necessarily messy. I remember the first time I did it myself, and I wondered why anyone would endure that terrible ordeal rather than shelling out $50 to have someone else do it. Happily, poverty forced me to try it again, and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that make oil changes a snap.

You don’t need your own garage to do your own oil changes. Sure, it’s nice, but plenty of people use their driveways, condo parking spaces, or even on their street parking. Pick a nice, warm day and get outside. Just be considerate and don’t leave a mess!

I change my oil every 5000km which is on the conservative side of oil change intervals. Most cars will specify an interval in the owners manual (usually 5000-10000km), but modern cars have fancy oil analyzers built into the computer that monitor the oil life and will tell you when it needs changing.

Here are the tools and supplies I use for oil changes.

Re-mounting the electronic boost controller

Once upon a time, the location of the three switches operating my auxiliary lights used to be home to my HKS electronic boost controller. When I needed a place for the switches, it was the obvious choice, which meant the boost controller needed a new home.

Here it is, back in the day:

It was mounted simply, with double-sided tape, stuck directly to the switch blanks. I looked all around the cockpit for another place to stick it, but no flat surfaces were available. I’d have to build a bracket.