In Oklahoma most any gas station can do it.
In Washington, in Spokane, there are 2 state-run inspection operations, and the addy listed on the internet is wrong…it lists it as 930 N Hamilton, but that’s Gonzaga U. It’s actually hidden by the buildings on the other side, and is on Cataldo. I found a very nice construction guy who showed me where it was.
I wrote WSDOT a nice note about their addressing…
At least, however, we don’t have any problems: passed.
I’m taking the faithful Forester for a general mechanical service and oil change on Thursday: here’s hoping there’s nothing wrong, but I’ve heard just a little thump in the transmission: Subarus get this as they age, and some can get very rackety and keep going. But if it’s solveable by oil, I’d like it solved. This car is in real good condition otherwise, at about 120,000 miles, and we’re soon going to put another 4000 on it. Just being sure. In all its career, since we got it in 2003, I think the only spendy bill besides tires has been replacing the timing chain at about 105,000 miles, which was more just recommended. No mechanicals, no fuss, no broken bits.
I think we’re apt to get another Subaru when we have to get a car, unless the Prius impresses us mightily. We’re comfy with the Subaru, and we have had zero issues with the two we’ve owned. Turns on a dime, all-wheel drive, moonroof, heated seats, gets 25 city and 28 highway…and carries quite a bit of cargo: got an entire patio set into the rear, plus umbrella. Not to mention hauling all that rock.
It’s lovely to have a car with good gas mileage and adequate cargo space, that shows every sign of carrying on for many thousand more miles. My current car looks like it’s ready to be used as a secondhand contender on Top Gear for one of their cross-continent jaunts, but it still has all of the above, and hopefully will keep going for at least a couple more years.
The turn on a dime part is under-appreciated. While my car is otherwise very good, the turning radius is about forty feet–and that’s radius! This turns a residential U-turn into a far more dangerous Y-turn, and makes major street U-turns–a necessity hereabouts–unreasonably wide. My previous car was bigger but turned in only about thirty feet.
OT (if Rome is ever OT here): Remember a story quite some time ago about Roman cement being made with volcanic ash, and that’s why it’s so much more durable than that made with Portland cement? Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been researching the Roman cement used in harbors which lasts millennia instead of decades. And a good thing for the eastern US: fly ash (what’s left over from burning coal) is as good as volcanic ash. While fly ash is considered toxic, locking it up for at least a couple millennia seems much better than putting it loose in landfills.
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2013/06/04/roman-concrete/
Re: OT. I remember that too. Pozzolana: “The designation pozzolana is derived from one of the primary deposits of volcanic ash used by the Romans in Italy, at Pozzuoli. … Pozzolanas such as Santorin earth were used in the Eastern Mediterranean since 500-400 BC. Although pioneered by the ancient Greeks, it was the Romans that eventually fully developed the potential of lime-pozzolan pastes as binder phase in Roman concrete used for buildings and underwater construction. Vitruvius speaks of four types of pozzolana: black, white, grey, and red, all of which can be found in the volcanic areas of Italy, such as Naples. Typically it was very thoroughly mixed two-to-one with lime just prior to mixing with water. The Roman port at Cosa was built of pozzolana-lime concrete that was poured underwater, apparently using a long tube to carefully lay it up without allowing sea water to mix with it. The three piers are still visible today, with the underwater portions in generally excellent condition even after more than 2100 years.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozzolana
That’s neat!
Re turning radius, —we decided on the Forester on 2 criteria besides its surprising roominess. First, in the Outback you don’t get as good a view of what’s going on, including other cars. and second, we needed to turn around in the aisle at the dealer’s just to get out for the test drive, and it turned, in that aisle, with many feet to spare. Mmmm. Cha-ching! Big point, there! I sneer as I park in the ‘compact’ slots and have room left over, but can carry cargo like a pickup. We laugh as the Explorer can’t park in the whole row, and we have a parking spot he couldn’t fit into if he had a crane and tackle to assist. We are so wicked. But we love our hardy little car. And one thing that I’m not sure we want to give up is its surefootedness on ice. It doesn’t use chains. It’s exempt from chains, when other people are required to be using them. It just keeps going in the mountain passes…especially if you give it weatherbeater tires.
We’re getting to the age of car we have to think about a replacement, and we were hoping Subaru would do a hybrid, and in 2014 there’ll be a hybrid Crosstrek, but we don’t think it’s going to have the cargo capacity of a Forester. So…we may content ourselves with the mileage the Forester gets.
Re Explorer: Have you see the Ford automatic parallel parking system? It gets into very small spots. One worry would be, I don’t think it automatically unparks the car. Another is, what if one of the other cars wants to leave first?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEFzrZjeEHg
My Ranger has the turning radius of a cruise ship!
For most people, hybrid cars such as Prius don’t make economic sense. They cost too much and you can’t get back the money you invest in them, plus if you plan on keeping one more than five years you may have to replace all the battery system (multiple thousands of dollars-ouch). Your Subaru is probably the best bang for your buck for all-wheel drive. ReadyGuy amd I like Mazdas and Audis. Arizona roads rarely require AWD in winter, but every place is a LOOONG distance away if you can’t find something in the local shops. (COSTCO is 85 miles away). Plug-in hybrids would require an overnight stay (for charging purposes) just to go to Tucson for shopping or doctor appointments. Give me a convertible roadster such as a Mazda MX-5 Miata for those fall, winter, and spring trips to Tucson, otherwise let me blast down the road on long trips in our Audi S4.
Current Toyota warranty for the Prius battery is 8 years/100k miles, without pro-rating (10/150k in states using California emissions laws).
Oh, and:
@Ready, I am scratching my head re: why you would need to make an overnight stay in a plug-in hybrid… battery-only, sure, but the plug-in hybrid still has an engine!
The Prius isn’t happy with large loads or grades over 6 percent, and corner visibility is poor, but it’s otherwise a good car.
I’ve had mine 10 years. One replacement of conventional (starter) battery, a second set of tires, and the usual car-type maintenance. It doesn’t require plugging in, although I understand some of the newest models allow for that. (One reason to get a hybrid: you don’t need to plug it in!) I’ve done 400-mile trips with one stop for refueling (me and the car) several times, on teh freeway, and my Prius loves those long freeway runs.
re: timing chain
That was definitely a must. I’ve owned two Subarus (now in a Prius, but missing my old Subarus Loyale with the “hill holder” clutch), and my experience with one plus advice of my mechanics is that being proactive on the timing belt/chain replacement is a must.
There is also an oil leak that develops around 150k, but other than the oil smell it is harmless.
We have hills to cope with, and mountain passes. I don’t notice the Priuses, which are fairly popular here, having trouble in summer—can’t say for winter, because we don’t too often go out through the passes then; and I have no idea how they handle on ice—lightness usually is a problem for a car. But definitely about every tenth car on the road up here in the Pacific NW is a Subaru, and some of the ones you see in town are very vintage and still going…very vintage meaning age about 10 years older than ours, with mileage likely far above our 120,000 miles.
They don’t change style radically. They made one that takes Premium and is a few inches larger, with somewhat more rounded edges, but that’s a class difference (there’s about 4-5 Forester models in a given year, these days): in the same year, they made the standard basic Forester, the middling-powerful Forester, and the more powerful Forester that’s got every gadget plus a higher octane requirement. We go for the middling one, which can take any pass and has gadgets enough for us. We’re not even keen on an inbuilt GPS: I prefer to choose my brand.
GPS is, however, a necessity up here: when your city is split by a river, canted up three hills, and you have four bridges, even finding things in town can be interesting. Oddly enough, the only time my GPS has failed me up here is yesterday, trying to find the car inspection station. And that’s because THEY entered the wrong addy. I don’t care where they have their mail delivered: I’m not a letter, I’m a customer…and when I want to find their building, I’m not interested in the fact their mailbox may occupy a piece of frontage on Hamilton. Their driveways and public access are all on Cataldo. Arrrgh.
Anyway, the car type question is coming up on us in the coming year or the year after. There are three I want to try: the Prius, the Subaru Crosstrek hybrid, and the regular Forester, newer model. I’m not going to be surprised if our answer is another Forester.
The rechargeables are in the back of the Prius, so that would put weight on the rear axle. (They actually have heavier-duty tires, because of that weight. A set of batteries is about 50kg, I understand.)
GPS has the advantage that it works anywhere outside. Smart phone triangulation has the advantage that you can use any number of inexpensive apps and access reviews. Paper maps don’t need power.
I wish I had repaired my old car’s engine–even if it were $5000 for a new engine–rather than getting a new car. A friend was very happy replacing the engine in his beloved Audi. Cars last far longer than they used to. At about ten years you have to replace rubber parts, but it’s far cheaper than a new car and the rise in car insurance. As much as I preferred my old car, I’m keeping this one until I want a car with features this car doesn’t have and can’t be retrofitted.
I love our Smart for local driving. It has plenty of room for most things, as well as two people and got 48 mpg when new. It still gets 45mpg and has kept most of its value over the 5 years we have had it.
When my car eventually goes, I’m looking for a much smaller car, mainly for much better gas mileage (I’m not interested in anything that doesn’t get at least 35 mpg.) Most of my driving is to and from work, about 25 miles daily. I’m examining SmartCars, the Chevy Spark, and the Scion iQ, all of which are quite tiny, but have large cargo holds for their size. I’ve decided that a hatchback is a necessity, having had cars with trunks proper, and hatches.
Anyone have any brilliant thoughts on breaking up a big lump of concrete? The fence post base is still sitting next to the peeg trap, and I’ve whaled on it with a small sledge and a pick, neither of which is knocking off more than chips. I’m about ready to borrow someone’s Sawzall, hack off the post, and roll the lump back into the puka from whence it came.
You need something like a hydraulic hammer or a concrete saw for that. It is artificial rock, after all. (My father tried that with the base for a laundry pole. He gave up and had it moved with a tractor.)
If I can’t borrow a better sledge from the neighbor and make some progress, I’m going to trundle/drag da buggah to the back of the property and leave it along the fence line. No need da pilikia!
I can lend you a jackhammer. However, not the labourer that goes with it.
If you can borrow a hammer-drill, you can drill down into the cement, making holes all along the length of the block, then insert wedges into the holes and split it that way, it’s the way they split granite blocks to make steps, etc. in landscaping. The wedges are 3 pieces of metal that fit into the holes, 2 are flat, and the center piece is cuneiform, so when you go to make the splits, you have wedge sets in each hole, and strike each one in succession, then work back the way you came. You don’t have to use a lot of force, either. Just a suggestion, although I have no idea where you’d get the wedges.
maybe burn out the post and pour ice water in the hole?
Wow. You made to to 120k without the head gasket blowing. Amazing. I made it to 95k and it blew. Be careful. The temp sensor for the gauge doesn’t register the actual engine temp. If the gauge starts to climb, even a little bit or act out of the ordinary get it to the shop pronto. Not only does the gasket blow but #4 cylinder can be damaged resulting in the need for a new short block.
Sadly, I know.
Thanks for the warning!
All I know about breaking concrete would be a) hollow under it, so the ground doesn’t absorb the shock or maybe, maybe putting it in a bonfire in the hope it would get crumbly?
This old miner has gone through the bust-up-the-fencepost-anchor thang recently, and, miner-like, my approach is always ‘get a bigger hammer.’ A properly-applied doublejack (what a farmer calls a sledge hammer, a miner calls a doublejack) will bust up that hunk of concrete easily, but you need at least a 6lb head and a full-length handle. A useful field expedient substitute is often found on the opposite end of the head of a wood-splitting maul.
It’s called a doublejack because it took two miners (jacks) to drill holes for blasting with it–one to swing the hammer and one to (yikes!) hold the drill steel while the hammer guy whanged on it. A singlejack was used (by one miner) with one hand, but of course with far less power at work, and has usually a 4lb head and a mallet-length handle.
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And, CJ, you might give a look at the Toyota RAV4–AWD and outstanding reliability. They are amazingly surefooted in snow and ice. No idea if a hybrid version is in the works. I suggest a Prius would lack the cargo space you need–perhaps you’d keep the Forester after it was no longer suitable for long trips, just for local cargo runs?
THere is a RAV4 hybrid, but alas, it’s out of our league, at 49,000…The Forester is half that, new. Jane has a 1988 Olds Firenze that she’s repainted and kept gussied up: we don’t use it often, except as today when she needs to come after me. So if we can get a tradein on the Forester for another Forester, we’re probably going to go that route. It annoys me that our local Subaru dealer has been scarfed up by AutoNation, which thus far has produced a boy on the phone who didn’t know what an auto inspection was, and an annoying guy who called me to report no, they didn’t do them (it’s offered on their website, but oh, well) but—I have had the car inspected, and if they just didn’t fire their very excellent service crew, who are good guys, I’ll continue to deal with them. There’s another Subaru dealer a mile from us—but I’ll do a 20 mile roundtrip to the Valley to avoid that dealership—they’re shysters in the sales department and I have no great hope for the service department. If the AutoNation people turn out to be idiots, I guess I’ll drive to Idaho to get a decent shop.
Like many other things, if you find a service department that works for you, stick with them as long as they remain good. I was very happy to see our local Dodge dealer get the boot when Chrysler went through their big shakeup several years back. Their sales department was slimy, and their service department fairly incompetent; sadly, if you had a Chrysler product under warranty, they were the only game in town. Other arrangements have now been made.
Closing in on nanites!
http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2013/06/printing-tiny-batteries
neat!
I’m a fan of ‘assess your driving needs and buy accordingly’, which sound like what everybody would do, until you see all those folks driving alone in a Suburban and wonder ‘why’. We have reasonably snowy winters, variable terrain (including mountains), destinations requiring dirt road travel, and a need to seat five on occasion with room for at least SOME cargo – I was sold on the Subaru Forester soon enough after checking out the vehicles with what I needed. Besides, I think they are cute.
But the handling is superb in winter driving conditions – nimble and solid and safe – plus I like the visibility (good) and of course the safety features are outstanding. I haven’t yet quite figured out why they put something like eight cupholders in a vehicle with only five seats, but oh well.