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So you are considering building your own koi pond, or having one built? Do not add your name to the growing list of disgusted leaky pond owners.

Please research all aspects of water gardening before proceeding. I am not suggesting you google pond liners, or koi ponds, or how to build a koi pond. Because what you will discover is hundreds of pond liner websites promoting pond liners. Besides promoting pond liners, they sell and install them, in addition to inferior filters and energy-sucking sump pumps. What is that all about?

First of all, the reason you find thousands of pond liner advocates on the web and only a handful of professional concrete and rebar pond builds is just one simple reason: Greed. You are thinking, "Good grief, this dude is radical!" You want radical? How about this: I will give you $5 for every website that promotes and sells liners and does mention all the negative aspects of liners, compared to concrete and rebar pond construction. You, however, must pay me only $1 for all those pond liner websites who are dishonest and do not mention that the factory warranty only covers factory defects, not damage from tree roots, gophers, ground squirrels, chipmunks, rats, mice and kids with sharp objects, not to mention lazy liner installers who do not know what they are doing.

In addition, do those websites that sell inferior, intermittent (rather than continuous use), energy-sucking sump pumps with one-year warranties tell you that you will need to pull the pump out at least once a week to clean it? An executive at Aquascape, Inc., once admitted, ". . .how would a customer react if he knew the truth, that they would have to pull their pump twice a week to clean it?" [Quoted from Water Garden News.]

I recently had someone argue with me about the difference in cost between a liner pond and waterfall, and a professional concrete one. A customer was given two bids: one for a liner pond for $12,000 and another for a professional concrete pond for $18,500. How can you justify a different of $6,500? he asked me. Here's how:

1. The project consisted of a 6 ft. waterfall cascading over a retaining wall. The liner proposal involved spilling over the top wall, which would require raising the liner on both sides to hold water. The professional approach was to notch the wall down by 3½", tying the rebar for the waterfall into that of the wall. The waterfall would be coming through the wall rather than over the top, which is much more natural looking. The professional concrete and rebar construction carries a 30-year warranty and the liner guy only offered one year.

2. What if, after all those boulders are set in place with a bobcat, and the back and side yards are completed (meaning no more access for a bobcat), the liner springs a leak from the pressure of heavy boulders, tree roots, rodents, rats, mice, gophers, ground squirrels or chipmunks? Let's say the hole is in an area where a boulder needs to be removed in order to patch it, how do you move it? And where is the leak? And is there more than one leak? See my point?

3. What will it cost, even if it could be done, to remove all the rock and boulders, patch the leaks, and rebuild the waterfall and pond? Less than $12,000? What if the client does not trust the patching idea and decides to rip everything out and do it right with concrete and steel? How will he get the bobcat in? See the point now?

The liner guy gets in and out in one or two days. The professional concrete pond and waterfall takes a week or two. Does the phrase, "You get what you pay for" ring a bell?

Douglas C. Hoover; CEO of Aquamedia Corp, Master Waterfall Builder, architect, engineer, freelance writer, author, designer & builder of well over 1,900 waterfall and ponds in CA (26 years). Author of "Waterfall and Pond Construction Manual" and developer of the "Water Feature Digital Design Library 4.0" Free downloads, no sign in- http://www.askdoughoover.com

Subaru Performance Transmission Upgrades

There is probably a transmission shop in almost every town in the country that can build a bulletproof transmission for American made vehicles. Whether it is a late model Mustang or a 60's Chevelle, there are lots of aftermarket components and many years of technology available for the transmission rebuilder to utilize.

The same cannot be said for the 4EAT automatic transmissions found in Subaru vehicles. In factory form, these transmissions demonstrate several problem areas that can cause failure in as little as 20,000 miles with a stock engine and even sooner in modified applications.

Poor shift quality, anemic factory components, and above all, improperly configured torque converters plague the automatic transmission equipped vehicle. This is in conjunction with the automatic's propensity to burn out the high clutch pack (third gear) and the 2-4 clutches (second and fourth gear) with even moderate increases in engine output.

Realizing the need to take import and sport compact automatics to their fullest potential, IPT Performance Transmissions- a New Jersey based company, committed a large portion of their research time and dollars toward improving the Subaru automatic transmission.

First up on the hit parade of internal modifications is the need to address the issue of valve body calibration. The valve body mods are really the foundation of any performance trans rebuild. An automatic transmission utilizes a network of valves, servos, solenoids, orifices, accumulators and passages that control and route hydraulic pressure to the appropriate places to apply the clutches and bands.

Without going into elaborate detail which would fall outside the scope of this article, suffice it to say that modifying the valve body effectively changes the rate of clutch apply and also increases the clamping force with which these components have to work with. This is why shift kits and modified valve bodies produce that firm, performance type shift that increases the transmission's overall capacity for power handling.

Next, all critical support bushings need to be replaced to insure that the centerline of the transmission runs in perfect alignment with the centerline of the crankshaft. Ignoring this step puts a lot of undue stress on the internal transmission components.

Many of the other parts also such as the pinion shaft, the front differential ring gear and the planetary gearset undergo various metallurgical processes such as heat treating, Meta-Lax stress relieving, and cryogenic treatment (freezing them in liquid nitrogen at -300 degrees Fahrenheit to 'reset' the part's structure on the molecular level).

Lastly, all of the required seals and gaskets are changed to materials that are better able to cope with the heat and stress that is common in high powered applications. Performance clutches and steel reaction plates are installed and their clearances set to much more exacting specifications than those that are used by the factory. Most importantly, IPT utilizes a proprietary six disk high clutch pack and a five disk 2-4 clutch pack which increases the second, third, and fourth gear torque capacity by over 25% versus the factory set up- this is the key to getting a high powered vehicle make a 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4 shift instead of just bouncing off the rev limiter.

As for the modifications outside of the gearbox, the next thing of importance is of course the torque converter. In an automatic equipped vehicle, one of the most important components in the entire car in regards to optimizing performance is a correctly configured converter.

In addition to being made with many strength improvements over the factory piece, a performance converter enables a vehicle to better take advantage of the RPM range at which maximum power is made. In simple terms, a properly designed converter will allow a vehicle to launch under more power by increasing the rpm at which the launch takes place. In essence, a torque converter is an infinitely variable transmission in and of itself, and altering its torque multiplying characteristics becomes absolutely necessary when other variables in the vehicle are changed (bigger turbos and bigger cams).

Even in otherwise stock turbocharged Subaru vehicles, ET reductions of over one full second are not at all uncommon with the addition of a properly configured converter.

Transmission, torque converter and valve body upgrades are not only for American made vehicles anymore. Increased performance, durability and more efficient shifting is now available for the vehicles of almost every manufacturer- thanks in part to the few companies that are willing to do the research and development work required for this rapidly growing segment of the automotive aftermarket.

For more information, please follow this link: http://www.importperformancetrans.com/subaruauto.shtml

-John Lombardo, IPT Performance Transmissions

About the Author

Author Bio: John Lombardo, a.k.a. Transdude, is owner of IPT Performance Transmissions and has been in the transmission and high performance industry for over 20 years. Visit his website-
IPT Performance Transmissions
for more drivetrain information articles.

What do I need to rebuild a 4-stroke Honda scooter engine?

A friend is helping me out by rebuilding my 72cc, 4-stroke honda engine for me. I just have to supply parts. What all does a good engine re-build require? I am supposing a full gasket kit and new rings. What am I missing?
I don't want or need to modify it or upgrade it. I just want to have it running as well as it can for preventative reasons. I'm about to take it on a long adventure and want the peace of mind of a solid motor. And I know a rebuild doesn't gaurantee that, so spare me your story. I just want to know if a gasket set and ring set are all I need to supply for a rebuild

If crank is good then top end rebuild can possibly be done with rings and gaskets. Problem is the bore may be worn more than .010 over specs and then you'll need a new piston. Up to the 1/4 mm over a knurl piston and service ring set will get you another long riding interval., Valve grinding and lapping , guide knurl and resize is mostly labor. I had to go .040/1mm over on a little Honda 100 some years back, oversize rings and piston set were only little more than stock. Check bore size first, check for taper and egg shape bore- a 'service ' ring set is slightly thicker than stock set- designer/manufacturer assumes .005/008 wear in cylinder.

Propel Technology: New Retrofit Intermediate Shaft (IMS) Bearing Reduces Risk of Porsche 911 and Boxster Engine Failure
LONDON----BICESTER – Porsche Boxster and 911 owners looking to increase reliability now have the opportunity to fit a more durable intermediate shaft bearing. Available exclusively in the UK from independent Porsche specialists Autofarm, the new retrofit IMS bearing is a cost effective method of ensuring better reliability for M96 and early M97 engines .

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