subaru1988

The Factory Service Manuals that are floating out there have bolt sizes and torque measurements in them. What I would do is match the bolt to the bolt/torque sizes in the guide. You could then use the exploded diagrams in the FSM as a map to show you where a bolt that size could have come off on the areas you actually worked on.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/osc-935/make/subaru/model/loyale/year/1990 ^ That's the one I have, and for the money, I'm impressed with it. The hoses went right on with no issues, however, it is NOT an "exact fit". You have to persuade the core support with some body tools (or hammer and pieces of metal/wood) to get it in there, but it's not a big deal. I find it hard to believe you can't get a radiator cap at your local parts store.

On the coolant loss...How old is your radiator? My car would run at 3/4 up the gauge in most driving conditions for years and years and mysteriously lose a small amount of coolant with no obvious leak or smoke. The radiator was shot. The fins were falling out of it with a slight leak, and I couldn't see any of this because of the fan. I know it had a leak because I could see the residue from it after I took the rad out. I only saw it when it was time for a timing belt job and I removed it all for better access. You can get a small universal fan at Autozone to replace it if necessary.

Not sure if what I was told was BS, but I had the windshield replaced on my '88 Wagon a few years ago. The guy that did it told me that if he finds rust holes when he takes the old windshield off, he would not put a new windshield in it, and he wouldn't put the old one back in either! I'm not sure what the reason was for this, but I thought it was a total load of crap because a decent running car would be obviously useless at that point thanks to a little rust under the windshield! That said, I knew for a fact the car didn't have any rust in that area, so I told him I'd take the chance. The moral here is if you're checking for rust in that area by getting a new windshield, be aware that if you can't put the old windshield back in it's place by yourself, you're going to get a crash course in learning how to do it if leaving people hanging for rust holes under the windshield is now the industry standard.

You can buy yourself a cell phone holder for the windshield, and then you can download a speedometer app for either iOS or Android. Problem solved if you don't want to mess with the cable in the meantime.

Aside from that rotten area, it sounds like a decent car. One thing to think about right now is the cost of a used car and the cost of gas. I wouldn't be surprised if that car can get close to 30 MPG. It also depends on how much you paid for the car. If all of this lines up in your favor, it just might be worth it to reasonably REPAIR it. As others have said, you'll never really be able to fix it. That's what I'd shoot for, especially with gas prices the way they are. I'm sure there is someone out there can essentially make a "gussett" from one part where there's clean sheet metal to the other end with a ugly floor patch more than likely on top and under the seat. You're not going for looks here, just function to get a few more years out of the car. I've seen this kind of repair done on old American cars, on both full frame and unibody. Is it factory strength? Probably not. Did it work "good enough"? Yes.

Interesting.. So it's basically looking for severely worn balls, cups, and cages then? As in deep scoring, I guess? I can't see how else they could wear. I think this is worth a try. On a straight road at steady speed, I have no axle noise. It's only when accelerating and somewhat when turning. Like I said, these axles have more than 80,000 miles on them even though they aren't OEM, so they must be half decent quality. Looks like a boot kit and a good cleaning and repack is the best place to start.

I'm pretty sure I have a drift size that is one that was suggested on some post on this site. So the holes are slightly offset if you do it wrong..? Would it be wise to put something smaller through the hole first to make sure it's right before sticking the retaining pin in? This is the part that gives me pause because I remember reading a post on here where someone had the whole shebang stuck to the tranny with really no way of getting it off! Great idea about the anti-seize for nut and joints, and like you said, maybe I can back off the torque a tad when I use it. Ball joints have pried out of the control arm many times, and the boots show it, which is why I might change them out. I think the car has had 3 pairs of axles in it. What I actually meant was is a crowbar enough to pry the threaded end of the ball joint out of the control arm? Good point about having it apart more recently than 15 years makes it easier to take it apart. I guess what I can do is mark the axle hole position with some paint, check the VALLEY and RIDGE position, and make sure it's right. Sounds to me like the idea is to key the axle to the shaft using a spline? Thanks to your description and DaveT, I know exactly what to look for now. This is interesting, because the last time an axle was done on the car, it kept loosening up. I'll bet the shop that did it last didn't bother cleaning the splines. What I'll do is clean all the splines with brake cleaner, and grease them all. Anyone have any input on whether axles that click only when turning can just be repacked and rebooted? Mine have at least 80K on them, so they must be 1/2 way decent even though they aren't OEM. Thanks so much for all the great tips! Glad the OP posted this thread even though my car is bone stock so I don't have the added component of working around mods.

Any thoughts on which impact is best for this? So you use a 3/4 breaker bar. I can see why. I had to take the axle nut off one time to swap out a rotor, and I broke a 1/2 inch breaker bar. I couldn't move the damn nut and had to drive it to a local place so they could get it off. As a matter of fact, they put it on so stinking tight. What do you use to remove move the ball joint out of the knuckle? Is a crow bar enough? Thanks for the tips! I do have the XT FSM. I don't think I have "rust" that will be a nightmare, but I will definitely use lots of penetrating oil. I also thought about swapping ball joints when I have it all apart. I've been using the grease needle sort of band aid fix as you suggested awhile back, and it works pretty good. Seeing this guy's post kinda made me wonder if I was making a little too much out of this job when people are swapping these axles on the side of a road with hand tools. This hole deal is something new to me. Is there a chamfered hole or something on one side? Could I see it on the old axle and mark it on the new axle? I would assume the axle retaining pin is tapered. Not trying to hijack the OP's post here. I just read what he said about doing this on the side of the road, and thought I'd ask how he was getting it done.

Do you carry a breaker bar and torque wrench with your for the axle nuts? How do you get all the details down to do the job right on the side of the road? You must have figured out a short cut to get access to the axle to get it out? Serious question here as I have a worn boots on mine that are going to need replaced at some point. I can't say I'd be willing to attempt it on the roadside, though :p

You can also make one with a couple round, metal electrical box covers and an assortment of bolts and nuts. I did this by using my cam sprocket as a template for the holes. It worked pretty good. The FSM says the torque on the tensioner bolts should be 13-15 ft. lbs, FWIW.

Something to this effect might work...A slide hammer might be worthwhile to try if you can't quite get it. Taking the radiator and grille off is well worth it, IMHO.

I've ran the "clear gas" in my 50 year old Chevrolet, and I saw very little difference from E10 other than the fact that it doesn't evaporate so damn fast when it sits for more than 3 days. I'm not sure the extra .50 is worth it. However, some people like yourself have seen real results from it. For anyone that wants to try it, here's THE site for finding ethanol free gas: https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=or I assume this is a Hitachi carb, and you can get the secondary hung up when you floor it. I've had this happen on a non-Subaru, but it's probably the same carb. Next time it happens to you, get out and check the vacuum secondary plate linkage on the outside of the carb.

At your age, your parents are not only thinking about safety, they're thinking about the fact that it will cost THEM more money than it's worth to keep it on the road for you. It's one thing to keep these cars going reliably by doing the work yourself, it's a whole 'nother deal to be paying someone to do this or that to keep it working right. Honestly, old Subarus can be cheap enough that if you (or your folks) get a newer car you could still get the oldie to work on as a "project" that runs and drives. You'd learn a lot too. That said, not only do you need to buy the car, you also need to invest in a decent tool set to do the work on it. The skills and tools, however, you will own for LIFE. As for safety, yea, newer cars are "safer". The problem is you can then have faulty Takata airbags, wonky gas pedals, bad seat belts, etc. etc. There is a trade-off too. All this stuff requires a run to the dealer or shop if not recalled and that means $$$$.

I'm used to cars with a driveshaft, but CV axles wearing out isn't just a Subaru issue. I can vouch for this, I have one waiting to go in. I've read people on here have done this job on the side of the road in 20 minutes. I've also read you can redo your Subaru OEM axles. Seems to me that if you have axles that are getting bad and you never changed them and the guy before you never changed them, you're somewhat ahead of the game by having OEM axles to rework. I'd give putting in the axles a shot. If it runs great and you get it on the road again, what do you really have to lose? Sounds to me like it's cheap, reliable transportation that probably gets decent mileage. Not a bad thing to have with $4 gallon gas.

I was talking about setting the choke as in getting the car ready to drive for the day, not tuning or "setting up" the choke. On the carbs I'm familiar with, they require setting up the choke with drill bit sizes and specific clearances for pull off rods and the like, and then the choke is fine tuned for driver preference or location after that. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/the-lost-art-of-choke-adjustment Lots of people that never owned a carbed car think you can just hop right in it and take off without knowing or caring about the choke. The owner's manual is long gone and they don't know there is actually a specific procedure you go through to start the car, ie. setting the choke.

I have a background with old American cars (I have an SPFI Subaru), and it's the same principle when it comes to carbs. A CHOKE is used to start the car and keep it going until the car is warmed up enough to run on its own. If you don't use the choke when you start the car, it won't run right and you'll have to keep giving it gas until it's running on its own. You should be setting the choke on a cold start such as an overnight start. As for the accelerator pump, that's an easy check. Take the air cleaner lid off, look down the carb with the engine off in the barrel with the choke, hold the choke open, and move the accelerator cable by hand or have a helper do it from the driver seat. You should see a squirt of gas.

The FSM for an '89 says 20 BTDC @ 800 RPM for all models SPFI and MPFI with Turbocharger. I know you have an '87, but it can't be all that different. I'd make 100% sure the rotor points directly- as in dead nuts on- at the #1 post on the distributor before checking the timing again if you removed the distributor. FWIW, my car was timed 5 or 10 degrees off (too far advanced) before and after my timing belt job, and I'll tell you what. It runs so much better with those extra 5 degrees out of it. I'm not sure why, because you usually see a small seat of the pants improvement with advanced timing.

Lack of payments and the ability to fix most (or all) things yourself is a big reason for the old car habit..Man, is it hard to break! Same problem in "Subaru Country". They just aren't in the JY anymore at any real frequency. That said, the internet has probably kept these cars alive. When I did my recent timing belt/water pump/radiator job (thanks to this forum ), I bought parts for literally pennies on the dollar compared to locally. They're so cheap, it was "worth the try". This is so true..You can get ANY part for most old GM's from pretty much any restoration catalog. People willing to do their own work and parts availability basically means you can keep it forever. I understand Subaru not making parts in perpetuity, but don't people put Subaru engines in VW's and planes? It's not like there is no market at all. This isn't really an apples to apples comparison. I'd take my old Subaru wagon over the equivalent modern day econobox any day- Prius, Sentra, Aveo, or whatever it is. The fact that your car could possibly be fixed says something about how it was built. Today's equivalent cars would already be junked. You sure something else wasn't going on with your seat? Seats are still bolted to the floorboards in even modern stuff. In the past when they were there, I saw vintage Subarus in the junk yard that took massive hits in the rear but the seats didn't come out of the floor...?

Since people in the know really talk up old Subaru axles, what about reman'd OEM axles? Are they also worth regreasing and rebooting like OEM axles if it's a proven good unit? Both of my axles make a little noise and the boots are torn, and according to what I've read on here, one of them is a reman Subaru piece because it has the green outer "housing" on the tranny side. Both of my axles are NOT the originals, but they've lasted 100K+ miles. First thing I'm going to do is the grease needle trick on one of them to get my by for awhile, but if I could get away with just rebooting and repacking at least one of them, that would be great. Old cars can be great daily drivers IF the driver is willing to do the extra maintenance they need. Newer cars have problems too, though. As idosubaru said, many old cars fall prey to the tin worm long before they wear out mechanically, unfortunately.

Subaru Service Manuals

Interesting...I didn't know that was out there; thanks for posting part numbers. That's not a bad price, either. Looks like you've done lots of work on lots of cars. That's the only rub on running the old stuff, but being able to actually DO something with it other than paying somebody else to work on it counteracts that.

I hope the Lisle version of that tool is better than the less expensive one. I tried the latter and the pot metal it was made of made the tool worthless by way of rounding off the knobs that are supposed to turn the piston in. Talk about frustrating.. I've also done it with needle nose in a pinch. I finally wound up with the Harbor Freight brake kit, and while it was not a perfect fit, it still took minutes instead of hours to SCREW (as others have stated) the pistons in.

You said earlier you took out the distributor. I would suggest that you need to make absolutely sure the rotor is pointing right at the #1 post on the cap at TDC using the IGNITION timing marks on the flywheel. In other words, if you took the dizzy out without the car running to verify it was in right, it may not be in right after the first shot. Ask me how I know that "it's very close" isn't good enough. Follow the FSM instructions for this when it comes to the positions of the cam pulleys in relation to TDC on the compression stroke.

That's a nice car. The latest "Old Cars Report Price Guide" gives an estimate of about $2500 to $4000 for an '84 Subaru sedan in that condition. It's somewhere between a 2 and a 3($2500 on their scale), much closer to 2 ($4000). It's worth what someone is willing to pay, but I'd want more than $2500 for it. The miles are too low and it's in too nice of shape, plus you can prove the mileage. If you give it away, it'll be one of those cars where the guy that buys it will be at the local cars and coffee bragging to everybody how little he paid for it with 25K miles on it in this shape. In other words, you sold it too cheap. Sell it right, and you'll be fine with what you get. Heck, even if you keep it and wait for a better market in your area, and in the meantime put 5K miles on it, it's still under 30K miles. That's assuming you keep it in the same shape, of course.