SOBaru question

[gs short]

plus 10 on the cats, antifreeze kills the expensive ones just like the four legged ones

[rapidoxidationman]

Replacing the throttle body fixed the problem of the coolant being vacuumed into the cylinders.
I dug into it a bit more today:
The exhaust pipe, cat back, is clean and dry.
Next step: Spark plugs.
The car had new wires installed last September because the coolant disappeared and the car overheated... The repair shop in Butte MT also replaced the lower radiator hose, thinking that's where the coolant left the car. Ran like a champ after that, until it broke down last month. But I digress...
I pulled the plug wires and they were ROASTED. The plastic boot that slips over the plug had melted into the socket the plug lives in. Ok, new wires on the list.
Getting the old plugs out was something of a chore because of the debris that had melted into the socket. A pry bar, choice words, and about a half hour per cylinder eventually broke the plugs down enough to where I could extract the rest of the boot and get a socket deep enough to turn each plug out. Ok, new plugs on the list.

New plugs and wires, the car runs like a champ with 209,000+ miles on it.

It needs a water pump Apparently that shaft seal doesn't like to be run dry...

Side note:
Anybody heard the old story that a small chunk of spark plug porcelain, lightly tossed, will shatter a tempered glass window that a hammer will bounce off? It's true.... The boys at the shop let me try it on an old Loyale that was bound for the junk yard.

[stainlesscycle]

Originally Posted by rapidoxidationman

Side note:
Anybody heard the old story that a small chunk of spark plug porcelain, lightly tossed, will shatter a tempered glass window that a hammer will bounce off? It's true.... The boys at the shop let me try it on an old Loyale that was bound for the junk yard.

spark plug porcelain will break a $80 cut off tool in a lathe in no time flat. DAMHIK.