Urgent Help Please - need to buy/borrow some RHD Impreza headlights for NCT!!!

Hi All,

Even though I bought some RHD lights when I imported my LHD car from Switzerland in 2006, and it has passed every NCT since. It is now failing on having LHD lights - no idea what is going on, I can only assume someone has changed them, or I got LHD originally but the testers were lax (doesn't sound likely!).

Anyway, I need to either buy or borrow some Classic (my94-00) headlights ASAP...I have a test at 10:35 tomorrow morning...!

Anyone have 15 minutes to spare for me to swap headlights between my car and theirs sometime today, and then to swap back again tomorrow (1 screw for sidelight, then 3 bolts per headlight, easy job!) for some beer tokens?

Failing that, does anyone have some for sale that I could collect today?

My number is 087 995 9004 and I am around all day - if you are southside (or close to D4) I can even drive to you to do the swap. For those that don't know me, I have met a fair few of you recently as I have been cleaning out my old spares before I move back to Switzerland in a month (which is why I need to get the NCT!) - hopefully they can vouch for me!

Thank you!
Richard

barru breakers

Richard
Im going to have a set of standard headlights off my 97 wagon available later!I'll be up in tallaght later this evening if your interested gimme a text on 0862190180

Thanks mac mac, but they have now sold all their classic headlights, and are focusing on new age going forward.

Hammie - thanks, will text you, interested but it will depend on timing.

Cheers, Richard

My car is at home can call down after 18.30 if Any use

theres an exception on lhd headlights in nct man.....
make sure they waive the exception,all the lhd american limos pass nct on lhd headlamps!!!

Colm, as per discussion, many thanks that would be perfect! My headlights are out and waiting

Markobucko - first I have heard of that, the NCT manual shows US headlight specs, which have a different beam pattern. Those plastic diffuser stick on things are supposed to make LHD Euro spec lights similar to US beam pattern (but i couldn't get them to work when I first arrived, hence me fitting new lamps).

Thanks to everyone, and especially Colm!
Richard

well i wouldnt fail anyone on lhd lights,but there probably are some nct warriors who want to fail anything and everything they can...

have a set there also if you need lend

Thanks All - Colm came to the rescue and I have some nice left reflecting headlamps temporarily now. The items I bought from a breakers in the UK in late 2006 (and passed every NCT until late 2010) do not have the motorised levelling adjusters, so I assume are JDM spec STI items. I have no idea why they failed in Oct 2010.

Marko - sounds like I should have known which test centre you worked in I have always gone to Deansgrange in Dublin, and they have been very helpful on the emissions, spending ages to get a pass reading. Of course, I now know that was due to bad mapping by me, and it was dropping out of closed loop fueling intermittently due to too little fuel in my main base map, but regardless they were always good. But when I first presented it for NCT with LHD lights they failed it immediately - I then tries with the stick on beam adjusters, failed again, I then ordered the lights from the UK and no issues.

Any road up, thanks again to Colm, and fingers crossed something other than emissions or lights hasn't broken in the last 8 months it has been off the road!

Cheers all, I really appreciate the assistance here!

Richard

well did she pass?

On the lights...sure! Overall...nah

Last time I tested it, it failed on Lambda (mapping fault on my part, base fuel map to little fuel, causing closed loop to drop out intermittently) and headlights. Car has been off the road for 8 months - Lambda is now spot on, lights are fine...but...

- CO now a fail on both low and high idle (I assume cat and/or dirty air filter (lambda and HC fine])
- Rear trailing arms/wishbones loose...on both sides (huh! No idea, need to check - I replaced all bushes with poly ones some 8 years ago, and would have been last to tighten these)
- Leaking power steering - this has always been the case, it weeps a little from somewhere, they always passed it before - I made the mistake of overfilling reservoir before the test and this caused fresh fluid to be pushed out - he saw the red fluid, and the previous mess...fail

I only have ~10 days before I return to CH, will see if I can get a retest in time.

Does anyone know where I can get the under side of the engine/steering rack steam cleaned?

I have a spare mid section with cat, so hopefully that will fit the custom downpipe. Fix the trailing arms, clean air filter and try again if I can get a date in time! Is it worth putting Dipetane in the tank too? Or even a mix of ethanol?

Thanks, Richard

Thanks again to Colm - I swapped his lights back tonight, but more importantly he motivated me to try and get this fixed! Spent a few hours tonight and made some progress.

So;

- High CO - my spare mid section is actually an STi one, so no cat in it Anyone have a spare Euro/UK spec mid section with cat they can lend me?! I feel another "Urgent, Help Please" post coming on! I'm also half way through cleaning the air filter - for performance, I've stuck it where the resonator used to live...but this means it gets dirty quickly, and I have to remove the bumper to clean it
- Rear trailing arms - oops, 8 years ago I did not fully tighten these - I spent an 18 hours session in a borrowed garage to replace *all* the rubber bushing with poly bushes, and fit the 6 speed. Forgetting to tighten these probably explains why I have had take off judder since the box went - face plant! Now fixed.
- Leaking PS fluid - have found the leak, not so easy to fix. But I have drained some of the overfilled fluid (syringe), and plan to clean it all up (Colm again helped here) before a retest if I can get a date in time.

So, basically, anyone got a catted centre section they can lend me (Colm has offered his, but if someone has a spare on in the garage it would be great!)? Or are there any exhaust specialist out there who can replace the cat in my modded centre section? See first photo below - I had someone in Switzerland weld a high flow catalyst into a straight through pipe - I have a stock Subaru item they could use as a template.

Cheers all, Richard

My centre section with cat that is now suspect is at the top, STi item (with no cat) is at the bottom;




PS leak is in joint between steel and flexi hose somewhere on the bottom pipe, but is covered in heat shield, so I don't even know what kind of joint it is;


Air filter location (rotate photo 90 degree to left) - I wasn't thinking of practicality when I chose to put it here...;


A sick car

I have a few options for you on the exhaust Rich - give me a call

He got sorted
I gave him a lend of my exhaust yesterday

Thanks to everyone who offered help, a quick update;

- Got a test date next Saturday morning
- Colm kindly donated his catted mid for me to use
- Unfortunately my builder got the bolt flange in the wrong position (by about 30 degrees) on the downpipe for a stock mid-section (not a problem with my normal mid, as it has a rotating flange - see photos above)
- Finished cleaning air filter (*very* dirty...)
- Drained some PS fluid and cleaned up under-side of engine bay

One final snag is that the gasket between mid and backbox disintegrated upon removal, and exhaust is blowing at this joint without it. I need to get a new gasket or some putty to fix (leak is bad enough that lambda is lean using my wideband up the tail-pipe...). If anyone has a spare gasket, please let me know!

I have refitted original mid and plan is to take it for a bit of a blast over the next 2 days (it hasn't had a full power run for 3 years now) to blow things through (with some additives in the tank) and then, with Colm's help, get an emissions test done ASAP after the bank holiday (assuming I have fixed the leak) to see whether it will pass the NCT.

Kingers - thanks for the offer of assistance and good to chat this morning - I will give you a call again tomorrow if OK

Thanks, Richard

No worries Rich - buzz me if you need a hand, I haven't much on over the weekend. Paste sounds like a suitable quick fix if it will be enough for your leak.... i dunno if i have a gasket but can check if you can explain over phone