thealleyboy

Excellent advice Shadow... Jim, If your dash lights are working , I wouldn't get too bent out of shape at this point. Your light will come on when your alt stops begins to fail. It may be ready to fail, but it hasn't happened yet. An alt that's running hot to the touch would be a concern. I've never noticed that before. If the belt is too tight, it could be causing friction and excess heat. Do what Shadow says, or take it to one of those car parts places with free testing. Alts are fairly easy to diagnose. The tests should be done "under load" and the parts stores have the proper equipment to do it. good luck, John

I'm not into the newer Subes too heavily, but I must admit, I kinda like the Forrester wagon. In my mind, this is the closest Sube has to the old school (EA82) era cars. The Forrester is equipped similarly, and about the same size, though taller, so it feels "bigger". You could easily get by with a vehicle like this for hauling your family around. Nothing wrong with the Legacy/Outback if that's your thing. They are good reliable cars. Personally, they just don't excite me much... good luck, John

Sandee: I went thru a long streak where I couldn't find a d/r 5 speed - period!! I don't know if it was region I live in, availablilty or bad luck, but they were nowhere to be found. The best I could do was a rebuildable core with the "R" gear out. Now they seem to be all over the place. Go figure. Makes no sense whatsoever. You might just have to wait it out to get a good deal. $385 might not be unreasonable for an exceptional parts car. Then again, $385 might be enough to land a decent EA82 driver. Maybe that's what you should be setting your sights on... good luck, John

Hmm...I need to start thinking about fabbing something for my Turbo Touring Wag 4wd conversion. Anyone have a scale drawing with measurements etc? John

Hey Steve: Just so happens I'm in the market for a AWD 5sp for my Turbo Touring wagon. Also happens that Miles might be in C-Bus next week. Also happens that I may be heading out that direction to pick up a parts wagon I'm trying to score.... Timing is perfect. Maybe we can plan someting this coming weekend, or maybe the next. I'll pass the word on to Miles and Jim. talk soon, John

The cracked plug was probably due to mishandling during installation. I wouldn't sweat it unless it happens a second time (not likely). Severe overheating may be a possibility, but if it overheated bad enough to crack that plug, the plug would be the least of your worries!! There is no better plug for this car than those manufactured by NGK. They may be available under several brands including "genuine" OEM Subaru, as well as OEM's in the same size for other makes. Change out those Bosch Plats with a new set of NGK's. You might want to consider a new (or good used set) of OEM NGK wires as well. Also, the best set of wires for this particular car. Don't let anyone tell you different... good luck, John

Z-man: Every one of these cars has a personality of their own. I am not shy about calling prior owners and asking questions. You can usually find receipts with names that can narrow things down pretty quick. Also, sometimes the Service Rep at Subaru of America will divulge info on the original buyer. Just call them up and tell them you have their old set of wheels, and they usually tell you everything you want to know. The information you can gather this way is so valuable. You can save a lot of $$ not duplicating maintenance items if you know the history of the car. Otherwise. it's a crap shoot and you end up replacing everything to get the reliability you're after. 10's are great cars, but the basic models have a lot to offer in terms of reliable transportation. If that's your thing, a base model 2wd Loyale will keep you happy for a long time. The GL10 you describe might be more of a "project car". Sounds like it's equipped with a lot of the hardware you'd want in a Sube. You might want to take your time and get that one right. good luck, John

I'm certainly not an expert on GL-10's, but I can say with certainty that sunroofs and LSD were not standard on 89's (at least). The reason being - I own one that is completely intact. I don't doubt any of the claims made, including "digi" models in non-GL 10's, and "non Turbo" 10's. I've also seen SPFI in models as early as 86, which some claim is not possible. To complicate things further is the apparent abundance of "dealer add on" equipment, particularly A/C, rims/wheel covers, splash guards and body graphics. This seemed to be most popular on the 86-89's from what I've encountered. If there are ever any doubts about how your Sube was equipped when it rolled off the Fuji assembly line, you can contact Subaru of America (1-800-subaru3), with your VIN#. That'll settle all bets. John

The sunroofs weren't standard on the GL-10's, but a lot of other high-end options were. What made the 10's unique (IMO) was the upgrade interior, and digi dash. Those were the things most unlike the regular GL's. It gave the car more of a hi tech luxury feel - like the better Hondas and Toyotas of the day. The mechanicals were no different than the highline GL's. For example, I own an 89 GL Turbo AWD that is identical mechanically to the GL10. 10's were all about aesthetics - not performance. John

Lots of good comments above... I believe it is possible to do an effective flush yourself. The trick is to install tees on both heater hoses, and do a "backflush" (flush in both directions). This will clean out your system as well as can be done without removing the rad & core. But from what you describe, the flush alone probably won't do it. Plan on getting a better rad in the near future - if not performing an entire cooling system overhaul. Before doing that, I would attempt to learn more about the contaminants in your anti-freeze. You may want to do the flush, and observe the coolant for awhile to see if the oily deposits return. (ie blown head gasket) good luck, John

Hey Rob: Reading thru your post, sounds like your best bet is a highline 89 gl (or gl10) turbo model. You can easily retrofit the other components onto that platform. The higher the trimline, the less retrofitting. In my book, the 89 was the BEST year for the EA82 series. If you thinking about building something special, find a good solid car to start off with. Pay special attention to unibody rust. You'll probably see plenty of that in your region. EA82 Subies are weak in this area, and if you live in a "snow belt" area, those unibodies can deteriorate in a hurry. There is plenty of info around on these cars. There are derelicts that live off this sh*t!! You'll have all the information you need, so don't let that hold you back. Start digging, and see what you can find... Good Luck, John

Trog & Rocket: Do you know when you are passing thru C-Bus? If I'm here you guys are welcome to stop in. Trog, I still got all 12 of your Dopples sitting in my basement. Miles: It doesn't look like and Jim & I will be bringing the XT to the meet after all. Time will be too tight on Sunday, so we will go from Indy back to Jim's, then heading up to Butler. see you all there... John

I think you know the answer here...moisture probably contributed to the original bearing failure... Glad you finally got it apart, and apparently without causing any damage. Let us know how it goes back together. I have never had any luck (or patience) with those sealed rears. Again, having them pressed out, and repacked by a machine shop is a good alternative for some folks. John

Erik: Someone's got to document the process, So go for it... It's a classic Service Bulletin fix, that a lot cars should have had - but never got. I guess a lot of Sube owners are lax about paying attention to recall notices. This would have been covered under factory warranty for the five years. Keep us posted about how it turns out. good luck, John

I'll betcha that car would clean up very nicely, and drive ok once you got the cobwebs out. The carb will probably be your biggest obstacle in getting it to run reliably again. I'd snag it for any kind of decent price. If the car doesn't work out, you would probably have a long line of derelicts who would be interested in the parts. good luck, John

Skunk: You might be surprised how easy it would be to get that thing running good again. The old school Japanese stuff made a lot of backyard mechanic types look like geniouses. Tune up stuff should be easy to come by. The more major parts might be a little more difficult to find depending on where you are located. I would get a fix on the car before trying to buy it. If its in original condition this is ideal. Just go thru one system at a time. If someone f*cked with it, you may have to backtrack a bit. It depends on your abilities and diligence. If you have both-go for it. good luck, John

True, the emissions failure affects other systems-especially fuel delivery. I don't feel safe doing any serious city driving in the condition it's in. People will run your rump roast off the road if you can merge into traffic at the going speed. One of the many reasons I'm not driving it right now... On my 86, I plan to address the PCV issue in conjunction with a Webber conversion. If your carb is all fouled up, you may want to consider this too. good luck John

Morg and Rube have the right info... I believe this problem is present on many of the EA82 era models, but I didn't save a copy of the bulletin that addresses it. My 86 GL wagon also does this. It's kinda scary to see all that smoke on a newly rebuilt engine when the RPM's drop suddenly, but all it all about emissions. You have to get the PCV system right to eliminate the smoke. Fortunately, PCV is an easy and inexpensive fix on these cars. Maybe someone else can help out on that bulletin. It has been discussed a number of times on this Board. good luck, John

HS: OK, show us the pix of the Stang. The Subes are great but Mustangs were my first love...Can't resist... John

The adjusters are fairly universal, and can be found even at discount parts stores like AutoZone. I wouldn't even fool with one from a JY. As Shawn said, a rear disk conversion is a worthy upgrade. This would be a good alternative to rebuilding your rear drum system. They may, or may not be easy to come by, depending on where you live. In OH where I live, people snatch them from the junkyards quick. good luck, John

I believe I looked at a 94 Legacy that was 2wd. Glad I passed on that one... Seems like Subaru switched to AWD for the 95 model year (began selling them in 94), but I may be wrong. John

Goat: If they have been driven on for a while, there really is no adjustment if the unit is working properly. If they feel like they are "out of adjustment", your adjuster is probably froze up, and that means it's hosed. May as well make a rear axle brake job of it and get a new hardware pack and shoes, if necessary. I always turn the drums anytimes I replace the shoes. This will get your rears back in business for a good long time. You don't need to worry about the rears as much as your fronts. That's where most of your stopping power comes from. good luck, John

Spent some more time on my experimental paint job last nite. I think I've got the winning formula for using the farm and fleet paint. 2 coats primer (sand between coats with #400) 2 coats base (sand between coats with #600) 1 top coat (no sanding) Looks very nice, and should look even better when it cures and can accept wax (approx 30 days). I agree that you can do a decent job with rattle cans - as long as the paint is hi quality. Krylon is a good one. Rustoleum isn't bad either, and it's also available in quarts if you want to shoot it thru a gun. But even good paint will look crappy if you don't prep the metal properly. That's the step that most people cut corners on - and it'll show. At the very least, scrub the body down with a scotch brite pad and detergent to get the existing paint as clean as possible. At least one sanding (ideally after primer) will make a HUGE difference. I'm not knocking the cheap spray can jobs, cause I've done them myself. IMO, the extra prep work is definitely worth it, if your Sube is a "keeper" type vehicle. good luck, John

I'm glad someone brought this up, cause I'm in the midst of an "Alley" paint job for my 89 AWD Turbo wagon. I decided to go with the paint line paint sold at TSC (Tractor Supply Co). It is manufactured by Valspar and is called "Truck and Trailer" paint, or some such sh*t. It is an oil based enamel, so it has all the +'s and -'s of that particular coating system. It is available in all the basic non-metallic colors. One of the cool things about this line is that it is available in spray cans, quarts and gallons in both primer and top coats. You could easily do a respectable paint job in an alley - or garage without wasting a lot of extra $$!! On mine, I stripped the car down to the unibody, so the painting process is a series of smaller panels. You can go as far as you want with prepping the panels. In many instances, a wet sanding between coats will smooth things out considerably. A "mask and shoot job" will look alright, but doing the panels seperately, and bolting them on, will give you a little better look, and that's important when you are cutting corners. It's not completely done, so the jury is still out. But I feel confident that I'll be able to paint this thing for well under $100, and it will look pretty damn good, and be easy to touch up, as needed (including panel replacement). email me if you want to discuss further. john thealleyboy@yahoo.com

You may need to call Subaru of America to get a definitive answer on this one. Their # is 1-800-Subaru3. You'll need to supply them with the Vin#. While you have them on the line, you may as well ask them a little about the history of the car. (where it was first sold, original owner) as well as recall info. They won't always give you the original owners info, but if you do get it, you can start to piece together enough information to make some reasonable assumptions about the kind of life your car has had. good luck, John