NE corner of the Olympics, up at ~5500', found these little things swimming around the lake pictured in the second photo. There were dozens and dozens. Only other things in the lake were tadpoles and water bugs. They sure look like long toed salamanders, but seems the wrong time of year to be hanging out in the water like this?
Seen in the basin of a cirque in the west of the Olympics, there were two very large (20' tall) rocks pockmarked with other rocks inside, many of which seemed to have quartz showing. The surrounding peaks didn't *seem* to be made of anything similar, and nothing else nearby showed evidence of similarity. What am I looking at, how was it made, and how did it get there?
Need some help and thoughts about my situation, and where better to turn than reddit.
April 2025, brought my 15yo, 105,000 mile Forester in for an oil change at my 'usual' shop. I was told it needed a head gasket replacement. Oi. Okay, trusted shop, talked to the owner to confirm value proposition of old car, expensive work, decided to move forward.
Replacement didn't go as planned. Delayed return. *Something* happened that resulted in needing the clutch replacing*. When I got it back I reported that 1, there was a very evident issue with the clutch still and 2, there was a 'sound' from the front right of the car, sounded internal to the engine, but was low, rhythmic, easiest to hear when there was something to echo the sound off of. Brought it in, told it was fine, just a new clutch, couldn't hear the noise. Live with it through the 500 mile break in on new clutch. I expressed my general concern that it was more than that, but....
500 miles later, clutch still an issue, replaced under warranty. Told the mechanic who worked on my car, no longer with them, "problems".
Oil changes with them as needed and advised since gasket replacement.
This weekend, 112,000 miles on the clock, pulled onto small highway, sudden noise, then bad noise (thumping). Pulled over immediately, flat bedded car to same shop for diagnosis. Today I get this:
>Verified the engine has rod knock and low oil pressure, engine has failed internally and will need replaced at this point
I don't know much of anything about anything, but it feels like on an engine which had a head gasket replaced so recently, that there should be no excuse for low oil pressure, if oil changes were done at the recommended intervals, by the shop that did the work. But maybe that is just my wishful thinking.
What I do know is that the gasket work was warrantied, and came with this language attached.
>WE ARE PROUD TO OFFER A LIFETIME NON TRANSFERABLE WARRANTY ON THE HEAD GASKETS THAT ARE BEING INSTALLED ON YOUR ENGINE AGAINST EXTERNAL OIL AND OR COOLANT LEAKAGE. THE HEAD GASKETS THAT WE INSTALL ARE SIX STAR YOU CAN FIND REGARDING REGARDING THIS PRODUCT ONLINE AND ON OUR WEBSITE. THE REMAINDER OF THE SEALS AND GASKETS USED ON YOUR ENGINE BLOCK COME WITH A 3 YEAR OR 30,000 WHICHEVER COMES FIRST MILEAGE FAILURE WARRANTY. (THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS TO THIS WARRANTY) PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO ASK THIS WARRANTY WILL BE VOID IF THE CAR IS ALLOWED TO OVERHEAT DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD, OR THE 3 MONTH/3000 MILE OIL CHANGE INTERVAL IS NOT FOLLOWED OR A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS IGNORED. DOCUMENTATION OF ALL OIL CHANGES WILL BE REQUIRED FOR WARRANTY CONSIDERATION. ALL WARRANTY REQUEST MUST BE BROUGHT BACK TO SUBURB SERVICE AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE FOR ANY WARRANTY CONSIDERATION. IT IS THE VEHICLE OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE OIL AND COOLANT LEVELS IN THE CAR BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHECK THESE 2 THINGS WEEKLY.
So, with that all said and laid out...I'd love to hear what peoples thoughts are about why the engine might have failed, if it is likely to have been an issue related to the gasket repair, and how to approach the shop if there is a reason to believe the shop is either at fault or to be held to account with the warranty. I imagine my next step is to ask to see the oil pan, but I don't know if I would have a clue what I am looking for / at. Advice and thoughts welcome!
* - I was told that they had to take a certain bolt off that kept pressure on the clutch plates to get the engine in/out, and that they were failed to put that bold back on when testing the engine and, oops, new clutch. I don't believe the clutch was actually replaced, fwiw, but they say it was...if so, was replaced with a bad clutch.
Whomever planned the plantings in this yard was wonderful. And every owner since, for preserving them.
Covered in dust (the showroom windows and the car) so apologies for the poor photos... This has shown up in the last few days, no idea on the backstory, but I'm sure it's interesting...
5 days, good Igloo, not a Yeti. Mix of food and beverages. Freeze a few jugs of water? Freeze some water-filled gallon ziplocks flat? Cooler packs? Fill all the available space with crushed/cubed? A mix of all the above, or something else completely? There will be opening and closing - more than wanted, kids are involved - but also an opportunities to buy 10lb bags of cubes on the 3rd or 4th day. Thanks for helping wrestle through this with me.
With the negative tides coming up, trying to strategize where to go experience them; looking for somewhere that isn't more than an hour drive from the north end of Seattle, isn't prohibitively difficult to get to and, most importantly, has good rocky outcrops and tide pools to explore.
What are your places to be for low tides?
This is what the upcoming hatch will be based on.
Not sure, other than a Toyota, what it was…but at least sounded like it wanted to be sporty.
They came in first for R1. I came in first for R2. They are leading due to a .001 difference in qualification times.