Speaking of Subarus (segway) my wife drives an '04 WRX which she is very fond of. She's small and the seat elevates putting her in the perfect driving position. I can't even get behind the wheel once the seat is adjusted to her satisfaction.

A couple of years ago the thing started to stink – burning oil smell at any traffic signal. Moving, we didn't smell anything. A look underneath revealed the valve covers leaking. The exhaust is right under the valve covers. New gaskets and those leaked. Gaskets with enough goop so you shouldn't need gaskets and still leaking. Next, using a different brand of new gaskets and still leaking.

Having been in the DIY car repair business for 61 years I was baffled by not being able to successfully replace a gasket. I posted over at the WRXforum and got a couple of replies, people saying they had replaced the gaskets with new OEM gaskets and bolts and no problem. I thought, new bolts, how do you wear out a valve cover bolt?

The valve cover bolt is of an interesting design – a long shank that goes through a seal on the valve cover, a shoulder and a small threaded tip that screws into the head. Once the bolt is threaded up to the shoulder that is all the gasket can be compressed. So, it dawned on me that people going to the dealership to obtain new valve cover gaskets were also receiving new bolts as part of a kit and that that would only happen if the original bolts had been made to the wrong dimension.

Anyway, the shade tree fix is to pull the bolts and place a springy washer under the head of each one. The OEM bolts were make too long. Having done this – no leaks.

Subarus are notorious for head gasket problems. I wonder how many Subarus have been misdiagnosed simply because of these bolts.

 

After more reading, it looks like NA won't be getting the Hyundai I30 N any time soon. Media outlets seem to think we will get a 2019 Hyundai Veloster N instead.

 

wow. that was a good read, lol

 

Rode in a Focus RS the other day. Would daily. The ride isn't as bad as a lot of the pansy *** journalists make it out to be.

 

Was this on Vegas roads?

 

Yes it was. In some of the not so awesome parts of town, so roads were less than perfect.

 

I do like the look of the Focus RS, but I also don't want to buy the ****ing thing thinking its comfortable only to hate my life when it gets colder out.

 

It doesn't ride as good as your C63 did. If that's any indication. For me, its good for the level of performance.

 

Well I've come to accept that most cars that I'm looking at won't ride as good as my C63 does, and that's fine with me. Most cars don't cost $400 for an oil change, or eat tires every 10,000 miles.

The Focus has adjustable dampers, right?

 

They only have normal, and "race". Race was not useable...lol

 

I didn't notice anything wrong with the one I drove either. I think it drove just fine. It's not a damned Cadillac LOL

 

why did you pay $400 for an oil change? ~$300 of that is just cause its the Mercedes dealer...

 

You answered your own question. The car is still under warranty and I needed other work done to the vehicle as part of a larger service. The oil change was the tip of the iceberg.

There's a reason I'm selling the car.

 

you know the warranty doesn't get voided if you get the oil changed somewhere else... not talking like a jiffy lube, some local shop that works on high end euro cars... you're not the only one, a friend of mine used to pay $300 for oil changes on her C230 till I talked her into getting $100 oil changes at a local shop

 

Options are limited in the great white North.