thealleyboy

The 89 GL-10T is one helluva nice car!! Mine also happens to be a touring wagon, which is a cool touch. I don't know the earlier models as well, but the GL line seemed to improve a little each year, so the 89 is as good as it gets. The Loyales regressed, IMO, but are still good cars. Skip, I need your opinion on a turbo car issue. I'll email you off the board. John

A Loyale Touring Wagon?? TW's are VERY rare around here (OH). The only touring wagon I've ever seen up close and personal is the 89 GL10 I own. GD, are those common where you live? The compression test is something that can be done at the sellers house. A quality guage should cost you less than $30, and is well worth the expense. You'll also need to fabricate a jumper wire to ground the coil while you are cranking the engine. Just make sure the battery is fully charged to get an accurate reading. good luck, John

Honda Sucks: I forgot to thank you for that advice too. Sure enough, they had come loose when I was in there wrenching on my front end Morgan: My 93 has that same S/R 4wd 5speed. It's not a bad tranny either if you decide against the swap. But doing the D/R is a nice touch on a newer EA82 , and its an easy job. John

I own a 89 gl10 turbo 2wd (touring wagon), and I think it's the nicest EA82 I've ever had. The one you are looking at is even better yet because it is the AWD model. Mechanical condition doesn't sound too great, howvever. This shouldn't neccessarily rule it out, because those things can be fixed, and would probably be worth fixing on a hi-line model like that. The real key (in my mind anyway) would be the body. If the body is solid and straight, I would grab it for the right price. Looks aren't as important as structural integrity. If rust has gotten a foothold, you should pass on it unless you want it for parts. What is a good price? Hard to tell, but if it runs bad, and looks like sh*t, you've got some good bargaining power. Remember, you are buying it as it is, not for what it can be. How much is he asking for it? John

Miles: I've got it marked. Great idea. Always gotta stay one step ahead of the "Brain Police" John

Lots of good comments, I agree with just about everything said... I have essentially the same car you are talking about, except mine is a 93. A lot of the "lack-of-power" problem is a matter of learning to shift the gears to suit your needs. Remember, this was intended to be an economy car, so you are going to have to trick it sometimes. Don't worry about stalling. This car is fuel injected. If you do buy it, I would get the maintenance schedule caught up immediately. Since there are no records, that means all items should be checked/replaced as needed. Once this is done you will have a great reliable, economical package. This particular model gives you a lot of bang for the buck, IMO. good luck, John

HL: The job CAN be done, but it will be frustrating. It will try your patience if you have a type "A" personality like many of us. Another option would be an electric heater. These used to be a popular addition on the old VW Beetles. JC Whitney, or ther VW aftermarket part dealers may still carry them. I was kinda hoping you (or someone else) would want to give the remote-blower-in-the spare-tire-area a shot. It would be relatively easy compared to tearing your dash apart. good luck, John

HL: Make sure you look at both sides of the hoses at the core. Clamps do fail occasionally, especially if they are the originals. But don't get your hopes up... Replacing the core is about the worst job I can think of on these cars. And to ice it, you can count on lots of new rattles and squeaks when you put all back together. You'll never get things as tight as it comes from the factory. There was some discussion a while back about setting up a remote blower (in the spare tire area) and feeding the heated air it thru the existing duct system. Not sure if this was ever tried, but it sounds possible. good luck, John

125 psi isn't a bad reading for a motor with 150k or so, IMO. I've seen EA82 motors down to 90psi with headgaskets that were holding, and the motor still running well. 75 would definitely be on the low side. Sure sounds like a HG, but I wouldn't rule out some other possibilities (like carbon build-up) if the other tell tale signs of a blown HG aren't there. good luck, John

I like your idea Andy. It would help those folks who do not have the time, or ambition to "check and repack wheel bearings", as called for on the maintainance schedule. Personally, I think its worth doing this messy job whenever turning or changing the disks, or any other opportune time (ie axles, bearing noise). The recommended once a year/12,000 miles seems a little too frequent to me. If you've ever had a bearing fail (I have), you'll know that a noisy bearing is not something that should be ignored. My argument against installing a grease nipple is that some people might keep pumping grease into a failing bearing, rather than inspecting and replacing it. Then, the bearing might go out fairly unexpectedly. John

Bob: I don't think you will be able to salvage the old one succesfully. Even if you could, I would question how safe it would be to run a line thats chewed up so badly. If you are down to a single line that you cannot remove, I would trace that line back to the next coupler, and remove the line and hill holder as one piece. Once it's off the car, you'll be able to take a large pair of pliers to it to break it down. I would look at replacing the line with a used one first if you have access to some junk Subes. You could use a pair of mini bolt cutters to cut the line ahead of the coupler, and again, fool with getting it apart ouside of the car. Another option is to find a "tube bending" operation in your area. These guys usually do hot rod and custom work, as well as serving professional mechanics. They usually work out of their basements or garages. They are hard to find, but they are out there. Talk to some professional auto parts shops to hook you up with the guys in your town. Don't twist up your old one too bad, or else they wont be able to duplicate it exactly. Some big-time brake shops bend their own lines. They may not want to fool with a do-it-yourselfer, though. Might be worth a shot. A genuine Sube replacement line should be your last resort. There are many less expensive options. good luck, John

Doggie: The ticking took me awhile to get used to at first, but I don't worry about it anymore. This is one case where you can throw everything you thought you knew about cars out the window. You know it can't be good, but nothing bad ever happens. Just keep the oil clean, and at the right level (if you have oil leaks - also commonin the EA82). You could try the additives,or different oil weights, but don't be dissapointed when the ticking returns. A "check engine" light should ALWAYS be dealt with, but noisy lifters wont make this happen. Clacking or knocking is a different story. I WOULD worry if thats the kind of noise you're hearing. I like CCR alot, and would reccomend them if you needed a newly rebuilt engine. I don't know that their prices are neccessarily cheap however (sorry Emily!!). But for a rebuilt motor, they give you the most bang for the buck, IMO. A more important system to keep an eye on in the Subes is the cooling system. Get into the habit of watching your temp guage as you drive in different conditions. I put a lot of miles on my cars, and wouldn't hesitate taking my Sube anywhere, anytime. If you get this car caught up on it's maintenance schedule, you'll have no reason to hesitate either. good luck, John

MDD: A MASSIVE meltdown is never good. Worst case scenerio would be a cracked cylinder head. I would start thinking of a used replacement if this is the case. I always take the cylinder head in to a machine shop for "servicing" anytime I have it off. I have a good relationship with my shop, so I always trust their judgement. A complete recondition is almost never needed, and if it is, they'll tell me so, so that I can find a better head that they can recondition less expensively. For a normal headgasket (minor meltdown), you could "eyeball" the head by laying a strait edge on it, but this is not as precise as taking it in. In your situation there is good news and bad news... Bad news: There is no way to assess the condition of the head without removing it. Although it is possible to remove the head without removing the engine, you'll wish you did. Good news: You would have to take the head off anyway to replace the gasket, so the labor is already part of the job. I would take the head into a shop before buying your headgaskets. You may end up returning them. By what you describe, my guess is that you have warpage in your cylinder head. If it's severe, it will not be worth repairing. You will either need a head or an engine. A complete used engine would be a better bet - especially if it is known to be good. If your warpage is light, and you need only minor work on the mating surface, consider yourself lucky. good luck, John

As GD said, a ring job (or anything worse) is going to require a complete overhaul. A complete teardown is never a bad idea if you have the time, and are willing to invest $250 +, but a lot of times you can get by with an upper engine overhaul. This involves cylinder head servicing (if neccessary) a head gasket kit, and a thorough "60k" timing belt proceduere. This covers most of the biggies. Sure, the bottom end will develop wear over time, but not nearly at the same rate as the upper end. Much depends on the types of problems you are experiencing. Why do you think you need an overhaul? Have you checked compression? Are you burning oil? A lot of miles on the car doesn't necessarily mean that its worn out if its had a good maintenance history. If you are not sure how to diagnose it, get another opinion. John

This is certainly one way to get some wheels together for not a lot of $$, and I'm glad it worked out for you. But I am not sure I agree that fixing this car is "not cost-effective". I believe that keeping ANY car in good repair is ALWAYS cost effective in the long-run. I used to go thru a lot of "$100 cars" for a variety of reasons - one of which was thinking I was saving big $$. I would fix them up a bit, do the easy fixes when they broke down, then junk them when the repairs got too hairy. I learned later (thru a friend of mine who is a fleet manager) that this is the wrong way to go about having economical, reliable transportation. The trick is to bring your car up to a certain "baseline" of reliabilty by getting up to speed on maintenance. Once you get there (and hopefully stay there) overall costs are incredibly low. Best of all, the cars stay reliable even as they age. If you accept this way of thinking, low initial price isn't what matters most any more. A good deal is getting more than what you pay for. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a cheap car that you can bring up to this baseline without spending a lot of time and $$. Many of them have been neglected for some time and you have to throw a lot of parts at them to know where you are at (not much of a bargain after all). The exceptions are the ones with excellent maintenance records, since you do not have to duplicate what has already been done. IMO, repairing the Justy may be a good option for Shelly if she likes the car, and it's in decent condition to begin with. Overhauling the engine brings up the "baseline" of the car almost by default. These are simple cars and Shelly can probably keep it going while she is in school, if not longer. To me this IS cost effective... John

Ken: I never realized they had problems with the A/T. (That was the continuous gear design right?). I had always assumed rust was the "Trusty-Rusty-Justy's" downfall. Subes are generally rare in OH anyway, but especially the Justy's. Shelly: If you can provide me a mailing address, I'll send you that info on overhauling the 1.2. Then you'll know what you are getting into. John

Shelly: As Ken correctly noted, your motor is damaged beyond repair. I didn't pick up that tidbit the first time I read thru your post. However, you can still go the fix-it-yourself route if you can find a good "rebuildable" 1.2 core. I don't know exactly where you are located, but those may or may not be easy to come by. As far as cost, an overhaul will give you the most bang for your buck. You would be paying for the parts, while supplying the labor yourself. Justy's were never that popular in the US, so it might be hard to find a manual written in English specifically for that model. I do know that Chiltons covered the Justy in one that covers ALL Subaru Models (85-94 I believe). Also, Justy's are covered in the big Chiltons Import book that a lot of professional mechanics use. There should be enough between those two to cover an overhaul. I have both of those books, and will be happy to photocopy what I have if you are interested. When I was in college (and dirt poor), I wrenched on cars out of neccessity, so I understand your situation. If you do decide to give this a shot, you'll be able to apply what you learn later in life - whether you continue to do your own work, or when dealing with sleazy mechanics. good luck, John

MM is right about doing a thorough job, but I understand that sometimes you've gotta cut corners to get your wheels back fast. I would advise you to do both HG's while you've got the motor out, and lay a straight edge on the heads to be ABSOLUTELY certain they didn't warp. Use your best judgement on the other items you'll encounter getting to the heads. I would probably do the "timing belt" maintenance items if it's been 20k or more since you've done them. You'll probably be ok without doing anything more to the engine for a while. Don't forget to address the cooling system (or whatever caused the blown HG) or else you may be replacing those gaskets a 2nd time. I would probably replace all the hoses, t-stat, backflush etc. Getting the rad checked out at a shop would be a good investment too. good luck, John

Shelly: I've got another take on your dillema... If you like the car - fix it yourself. The 1.2 should not be that difficult, and it'll be an excellent way to learn more about cars. You'll be able to get all your questions answered on this board, and perhaps someone local will even be able to give you a hand. First of all you need a Justy book that covers engine overhauls. You'll also need a basic metric tool set. You'll have to rent/borrow an engine hoist (or two strong friends) to remove and reinstall the motor. You'll also need some work space to dissasemble the motor, and to clean the parts. You can do it if you are motivated and patient. I hope you'll give this some thought if you have an interest in cars (and you must if you've posted on this board). good luck, John

Pete makes some great points. A lot of people forget to look at the backside of the repair, and just concentrate on the visible part. Big mistake. Always clean up/treat both sides of the metal (if accessible) and blow out the debris with compressed air. Even cheap-rump roast .99 asphalt undercoating goes a long way towards protecting an area from moisture and the atmosphere. As stated above, you are trying to treat and encapsulate the affected area. If you miss a spot, the rust will come back with a vengence. good luck, John

I was going to jump on here and reccomend Interstate, but it looks like I'm not the only one who digs them alot. They are expensive, but definitely a cut above the rest. A couple of other good ones are A/C Delco and Panasonic (if you can find one-they are manufactured in Japan). John

I've never used POR, but plan to on my 67 Mustang resto project. A lot of vintage Mustang guys swear by it, and these are some hard folks to please. I dont know that it's worth the extra expense for an everyday type of car. I use one called Extend, which is inexpensive, easy to come by, and works fairly well. It stops surface rust in it's tracks, and slows down rust-thrus for a couple years or so. good luck, John

Bard: I never really liked fooling with that stuff either. I grew up wrenching on cars from the 60's and 70's, so electronic ignition was about as complex as it got. Emissions crap from the mid 70's was a pain, but could be bypassed/eliminated. My 82 Chevy Celebrity, an early GM computer controlled model, was a bad experience. Enuff said. Then I started studying the Ford Duraspark system and began to understand how all that stuff works (or at least how it's supposed to work). The thing to remember is that when you strip all that crap off, you still have the same basic fuel/spark/compression combination thats in your tractor on the farm. The Sube EA 82's are pretty simple cars so don't sweat it. John

There is (was) supposedly one here in Columbus, OH, and it was up for sale a couple months back. Never got a chance to see it - the dude never returned my dozen or so calls. Very dissapointing.... I suspect it may have been owned at one time by Buddy Byers, the big Subaru dealer in town. OHNoah once told me about a customized Sube he saw that was owned by this guy. Maybe it started out as a limited model brought in to increase showroom traffic. John

Bard: Why did you need to take out the dash? Try to avoid doing this unless absolutely neccessary. They never go back together like they come from the factory. If you need access to the wiring, this can be done w/o taking the dash out. You can make your own "patch cords" to tap into the OEM wiring harness. Just find the same connector, with a length of wire, out of a junk car, and follow your wiring diagram to hook up the component. John