Leaderboard

I once used a XT seat as a gaming chair

Hi all My first Subie was a rust bucket 05 legacy from New Hampshire. Glad I switched to 3rd gen a couple years ago! Got it at 194k miles from a Garrett who drove it as a bakery delivery car in Port Townsend, WA. Before that it belonged to a tractor mechanic in Oregon. He named it Dixie and that has stuck so far; I was driving through Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon when I hit 200k miles, and lo and behold, two bends down the road, I passed ‘Dixie Campground.’ That pretty much set it in stone. Dixie sat for 8 months after I bought it, since I was overseas. Started right up after a battery charge and a few tries! Since then I’ve started working on it. This is my only car and the first I’ve worked on, so you can expect a careful approach from me. specs manufactured 06/1989 1990 Loyale S.W., S/R 5MT, SOHC SPFI 1.8 L EA82, all stock. 185 tires on stock 13” wheels Ruby Pearl red Panasonic a/c drive belt configuration but with no idler pulley Came with a wealth of printed information and a bunch of parts, from the previous previous owner. Apart from the resources available here and elsewhere online, the are some technician‘s reference booklets and ‚insider tips‘ about many of the common EA82 issues such as lifter tick. Push-Button awd routed to a dash switch b/c the button is missing Seeps oil from left, right, front, and back Called the mechanic on the timing belt change sticker, apparently the last owner didn’t have enough cabbage for more than just the belts (20k miles ago). The covers are seeping oil now and TOD, the HLA demon, showed up a couple months ago, so I want to get those covers off ASAP to inspect/replace pumps, pulleys, seals, belts, tensioners, etc. I‘m preparing for the job atm. I switched to 15w40 but still get loud ticking while warming the engine up. The head or valve cover gaskets (excuse my ignorance) and oil pump are all pretty leaky, so no surprise. Blew a strut in the snow, so my passenger rear twerks over bumps. I‘m collecting parts for the suspension improvements suggested by 2.7 turbo loyale (thanks for all you do). so far I’ve replaced the: alternator and drive belts headlight bulbs battery spark plugs transaxle gear oil (extra s + 0.5 qt rislone engine treatment) oil (15w40 due to lifter tick) oil and air filters tires (185s) I like this car a lot. The more I do for it, the more it teaches me. Hoping to connect with a couple local folks eventually. Thanks for maintaining such a great community. cheers from Olympia, jon (it‘s pronounced ‘yone,’ it’s German)

G’day @linkthehero1234, Best thing you can do is learn how to actually drive and master situational awareness. That’s the only real way to improve your safety. As others have said, the XT isn’t the safest car on the road, nor will it be boring to drive because you HAVE to drive it. I think many new safety features make for lazy drivers, and lazy drivers = a crash waiting to happen. Like KiwiGL said, if your parents are buying get yourself into the SG foz. Personally I don’t like the styling of the later series but that’s up to you. It will have front driver and passenger’s airbags, ABS and can be an awesome first car to own. Some minor exhaust mods can have it sounding like a WRX easily if you want. You can raise them for offroad or slam them to the ground, it depends on what you want to do/look like with your vehicle. While you drive that one, work your job and save for the right XT for you. Drive that as a classic and not a daily. Going back to the learning how to drive but - watch some YouTube videos on bike stacks and what they could have done to avoid it - many principles are the same on four wheels in the “cage”. I recommend dandanthefireman, some might not like him but he goes well for me. Cheers Bennie

The non turbo EA82 vehicles are great fun, characterful and reliable vehicles that are an economic classic to own. What they are not, is a safe vehicle. They are on the lighter end of construction even by 1980s standards (compared to something bigger, like a Camry or Falcon or something American) and in a collision with a modern vehicle they will perform very poorly indeed. At the end of the day, if your parents are buying the vehicle, they will probably decline it. If you want a modern safe Subaru that still has something of the "classic Subaru" feel, I would recommend a manual normally aspirated 2.5 litre SG Forester. I've owned one, and it is the closest I have come to replicating my EA82 experience with a modern vehicle. If it's your money, I'd buy the XT, and enjoy it. Hope this helps.

Nice work. Have put a similar amount of effort into my old wagon. The more I drive it, the more I love it. They're just such characterful old cars.

Plenty of sad moments to owning a vintage car that you also want to operate often. Tires are going to be harder to acquire. Parts - very hard. Shops won’t work in it. All that said guys like us still want to enjoy having the ride and feel our strong appreciation will drive us somehow to be able to show the world that YES we can own and drive a vintage Subaru! Just think about getting stuck in bad traffic , or a situation where the cars are traveling fast. And you’re the guy in the car that can’t get out of its own way let alone theirs. People aren’t always kind to older cars like you may think. At shows or on occasions yes. But as driver , not really. Just saying it had better be able to function 100% Tough call at your age. It’s great to see such enthusiasm from you. I wish you luck. Soon enough you’ll be able to make your own calls. Maybe hop on an XT group and keep track of issues , prices , and availability. The XT is unique, and fun. And rare now. You knew that. Lol Enjoy !

Reuse head bolts. Get the 770 gaskets from Subaru. Don't buy cheap junk gaskets. Not worth your time. Hood sticker will state CA compliance. GD

The stock OEM plugs are great! I love never thinking about them. Tune ups are a thing of the past! Slight exaggeration. All the 100k H6 plugs I’ve pulled look awesome. Besides coloration from use in a combustion chamber they barely show any wear after 100k. Can’t say that about EJ plugs. EJ plugs I change all the time and they’re a first thought with any performance or misfire issues. Those 6s are awesome I ignore them until about 100k when I consider…maybe…some day…when it’s real convenient….changing them. Ive seen countless Subaru 4s with misfires from plugs and wires. I’ve never seen it once with the H6s. I’m sure it happens but it’s not common. They’re pricey but as far as longevity and fewer plug change jobs, the stock plugs are awesome and worth way more than the premium price tag.

definitely go with the NGK - and whatever type the manual calls for

my 03 had those 'double platinums' from the factory, easy 80K or more unless abused somehow (some say regular fuel is bad in that engine, I always ran premium) iridiums probably fine - w'ever NGK or the manual says should be fine. You might consider new valve cover gaskets. Don't overtorque the bolts.

Oh I have several electric bicycles. Exceptionally fun things. Also not a problem to work on them as they are generally composed of generic interchangeable parts - batteries are just a stack of 18650 cells - few electronics and easily interchangeable without any VIN coding, etc. Pretty much free to do whatever you feel like on them still. Like cars and electronics used to be (and still should be). I fully acknowledge the superiority of electric motors and PWM three phase drives. Worked on them extensively in the commercial sector. I just don't at all approve of the current state of the consumer automobile industry. The focus is on profit, product obsolescence, and preventing independent repair and maintenance. They can take all that and shove it where the sun don't shine. GD