zyewdall

I think they are only vacuum controlled on the EA82's. IIRC, the EA81's are mechanical controls. Could be a little cable inside that came loose though. I'd go look at the ones on my '82 wagon, but it's dark now.... maybe I'll remember it tomorrow. Z

So.... I go to put a new front passenger axle in the '89 GL today, because the DOJ is shot (rubber is still good, but something's loose inside -- it slides in and out like the CV does... which the DOJ is not supposed to do). Anyway, I completely goof up getting the roll pin out to remove the axle from the transmission shaft... Can't pound it out either direction -- moves a little bit, then just stops. Tried pounding it out with a big nail (like I always do, though it's not a great idea), and the nail gets stuck in there and breaks off. WTF. I think I made some sort of wedge shaped thing with the nail expanding the roll pin to completely wedge it in there. :banghead::banghead: Tomorrow, I go to the hardware store to buy some more titanium drill bits (is that roll pin tempered steel? -- because drill bits don't seeem to even affect it), and some disks for the angle grinder. If I have to, I'll grind the two sides completely off the axle so I can slide it off the stub...... Sheeeeeeeesh. So much for an hour job to swap the axle..... Yes, it did occur to me too to dissasemble the CV joint on both the old and new axles and just use the old CV outer case thats stuck on the transmission stub. I hate assembling CV joints under cars though... that's what I had to do on my VW rabbit...

Come on, even a domestic SUV has got to be worth enough to trade in for a loyale wagon in good shape.... Though I happen to know that a 2 year old ford explorer will not trade straight across for a 4 year old subaru outback.... I tried to convince my friend to do that, but the ford wasn't worth enough.....

:lol:

Yeah, you're going to have to get it running I think. But the good news is that theres probably nothing wrong with the 4 wheel drive. Z

Per capita, I bet Ward, CO wins. Though we did have a major cleanup in the last two years, and alot of the older non-running ones got taken away.

I got a spare EA81 oil pan right now.... (I think, it's in a pile with two EA81 valve covers). I bet you can find one closer than CO though.

isn't it vacuum driven, which means you need the engine running to switch states, not just a good battery? Z

Yup, sounds like a faulty PCV valve.... Or could just be the nature of the boxer engine -- a long right turn the engine oil all flows sideways into one cylinder bank -- if you park the car at a severe tilt for a while it'll smoke for a while upon startup too. I note this very rarely on mine though -- light smoke for a long right turn on freeway, and the only other time I've noticed it was when I stuck it in a ditch at a 30 degree side angle for a few hours before getting pulled out. Z

Hmmm. weird. Sounds like it might need a new thermostat, and maybe a radiator flush? I've had a bad thermostat cause it to run high in cold weather but not in hot weather. Generally, the colder it is, the more power it'll have (my diesel vehicals really do this, but the suby does somewhat too) IF the engine is getting up to operating temp that is. Which it sounds like it is... but... check that thermostat? And, it could be demons. If a thermostat and radiator cap doesn't help, you might consult an exorcist... Z

The all wheel drive is actually quite amazing. But, you are only as good as your tires. With good tires in cold snow, plowing snow over the bumper, an outback will stall the engine before it looses traction. Which is where the low range would really help..... Last winter we had a mile of driveway in washington that was packed snow, then rained for three days and turned into glazed wet ice. Some spots were 20% grade. Both my old GL and my dad's outback made it up -- both had new expensive sipped snow tires. 4x4 trucks were running chains. Z

A story about fixing things with duct tape..... sort of Envision a schoolbus RV with an auto tranny. The tranny dies, so it was rebuilt ($5,000). A year later, it dies again, and is rebuilt again -- this time correctly. Another 6 months later, it dies again and is abandoned for over a year. Finally, we have it fixed again.... what do they find this time.... it's just out of fluid, and there's a piece of duct tape over a crack in the case..... the $5,000 piece of duct tape (it costs that much just to drop the tranny, take it apart, and put it back together and back in). Lets just say that if we ever find out who put that duct tape on there, they may find themself duct taped naked to the grill of the bus on the next trip....

Yeah. My first reponse was going to be that engines don't produce sludge, poor maintenance and driving habits do. But seems like there are some engine designs that promote it. I stand corrected.

Yeah, as far as I know, the loyales are all 4 wheel drive, not all wheel drive, so are not affected by torq bind (or you could say they are permanently affected by torq bind, just like any 4 wheel drive you drive on a hard surface in 4wd)

Dunno. I think you could glue them back on with silicon glue if you break the clippies. Z

Don't forget that subaru's like being paid attention to -- so I bet it'll help to do the tuneup, even if all the old stuff is fine. Don't know how this works, but I just repainted mine, and the gas mileage went up for the last tank.... no reason it should, but I think it likes the attention so it runs better. Subaru's are just like girlfriends or boyfirends really You gota pay attention to them, and gifts can have effects in seemingly unrelated areas. On a tecnical level, I run 5W50 synthetic in mine, and it seems to like it a bit better than 10W40 -- no clicking on cold startup, and revs easier. But mine is one of the rare subies that doesn't leak oil to begin with too. I have some fancy 10,000 mile oil filter on there. Bosch I think.

The high ratio used to be before power steering... the higher ratio gives your more mechanical advantage. I've heard some dumptrucks from the 40 and 50's had something like 15 turns lock to lock.... not doing any quick manuvers with that eh... well, they also had a 75HP straight 6 in a 16,000lb truck to prevent that. The really high ratio is also why trucks used to have spinner knobs on the steering wheels. I think they may be illegal on new cars (new being anything since 1960 probably....)

Second that. On mine it was a light vibration vaguely from back there, and then one day it became a very very loud clunk at speeds under 5mph, that I thought was a loose wheel or something -- when the center carrier bearing completely died, and at low speeds the driveshaft was sagging and flopping. At higher speeds it would straighten itself out from gyroscopic force. I'd also check all the parts of the lift kit for looseness. Rear diff hanger etc. You might have to jack it up so the rear end is hanging to get a good check for loose stuff, as some might appear tight when weight is on it. Z

Uh...... I think it may be a little late now, but that would be funny though. And why not give it a try. Funny thing is that my first '82 GL was so rusty that looked like it had leprosy, but the rust was limited to the body, almost no frame rot. I love the west.

Yeah, at the meet last year, we were all standing around afraid to touch the thing it was so nice looking compared to the rest of the subies there. It drives very nice.

Well, all of the EA81 dual ranges were only 4 speeds. And 190k isn't too bad mileage for a subaru, but I'd say it warrants taking a little off the price, compared to 90k. and, he is guilty of either being irresponsibly sloppy, or deliberately lying. I'd take a look at that spare engine and tranny and see if they are even for the same car... sounds like you are dealing with a sleazeball.

Of course you are insane. Most subaru owners are But back to your other question. With proper care, yes, it can do 350 miles a week. It might be a bit slow towing a boat, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything else 4x4 that gets decent mileage, without going for something pretty expensive, like a new subaru or CRV or something. And those won't have low range (which can be usefull getting firewood). If you are reasonably mechanically handy and don't mind taking care of an older vehical, the brat will be an excellent way to go, IMHO. Z

Not quite right out of the box, but 15,000 miles later, my new right front axle has a DOJ that is crap -- the boot is still great, but sometimes you can grab the axle and slide it in and out, like some retaining thing fell off in the DOJ -- only the CV joint on the inside is supposed to slide in and out I think.... It vibrates pretty bad under load, and sometimes I have to stick it in 4wd to go up a hill on the highway. Got another new axle in the back. Z

Well, not exactly.... my '89 GL is too reliable. So I just had to buy another suburu to play with and modify and stuff....

I thought that stuff was still supposed to be posted in the off-road section. Didn't even know this section existed till my thread got moved. Sorry.... And, I've been wheeling my ford sasquatch instead this summer. http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=738&mforum=fcc I take the subarus out more in the winter and stick it in snowbanks and stuff. Rocks do so much body damage to stock subarus... snowdrifts are alot more forgiving to drive into at high speed and dragged out of Maybe once I get the EJ22 and the lift....