thealleyboy

My guess is the tranny. If you are winding it up to 4500 RPM and it's not shifting, it's has to be either vacuum-related, or mechanical within the tranny. This may not be as bad as it seems. Sometimes, replacing the modulator or servicing the governeor solves the problem. I had these symptoms recently, and unfortunately for me, the tranny itself was shot. But it well-worth giving it a try. There is a good write-up on reconditioning the governer gear on this Board. One other bit of advice: don't run your motor too hard if you feel it losing power on the freeway (isn't shifting up properly). I went up pretty high (5000-5500k), and now the motor is starting to make low end noises. Don't risk trashing your motor over a stupid 3AT. good luck, John

Doesn't look too bad Mike. If you want to do a "quick and dirty" unibody inspection, you can look at the underside of the rear wheel arches, especially the area nearest the doors. Also, the rails/shock towers up front. You may have gotten lucky, and got a solid car on your hands!! good luck, John

One of the things I have discovered is that using the correct axle has a lot to do with bearing wear. People swap out axles like they are interchangeble, and even though they do work, the differences in dimensions put extra wear and tear on the bearings - and maybe affect MPG's as well. If you are going thru bearings every 10-20k or so, check to make certain the axle is the right one. They can be easily identified by the # of bands on the axle rod. good luck, John

Good "Alley call"... Not sure about the community you're in, but there's always someone around that'll fabricate lines for ya. Usually, a local "professional" (Carquest, NAPA, etc) parts store, or hot rod shop. This is the permanent solution to your problem, and it's well worth the effort to make a connection with this source. Just take your old one in, and have them match it. Worst case is that you'll have to bend it yourself. It's not that bad. Just buy a universal line and use a couple of vise grips and/or bench vise to get the right angles. Whatever you do, make sure you follow up on a permanent solution for the leak. Hydraulics is not a system you want to neglect on these cars. good luck, John

Which tranny Brew? I don't think fuel is your problem... John

You might want to consider eliminating some/all of the trim. The rain gutter trim especially. Those are very difficult to remove without damaging, and are completely unneccesary. Besides giving the car a different (and arguably "cleaner") look, removing the trim will eliminate potential rust spots in the areas where the mouldings are attached. On Loyales, this makes even more sense, since the car is already stripped down to begin with. The main problem in doing this is to blend all the body color so the paint beneath the old trim matches the rest of the car. If the paint is original, rubbing/polishing compound is usually all you make the color uniform. As mentioned above, the lower trim on the newer EA82's is held on with clips (older ones are glued). Unfortunately, this leaves some small holes that have to be dealt with. One easy solution is small push-on rubber plugs. They can even be painted to match the car. If you do remove all the trim, take a good look at your Loy before putting it all back. You might be surprised at how good these cars look without all the outdated wide body mouldings. good luck, John

Since you are not interested in restoration, I would be most concerned with safety issues with this car. Even though you ony see "surface rust", I would still consider rust the biggest potential safety threat. Subarus have some quirky rust issues, and it gets progressively worse as you go back with each Gen. Sea salt is bad news because it is present in evaporated form in coastal regions, and can enter (and corrode) the unseen areas of your car. If it were mine, I would remove the carpeting and lower interior panels and get a good look at the uni. If you have access to a lift, that would be good too. It will be pretty obvious (visually) if the car is too far gone. If it turns out to be structurally sound, you can take this opprtunity to treat any rust, and apply a coat of Rustolem. This will go a long way towards slowing down any deterioration due to corrosion. The mechanical stuff is secondary (IMO) to the rust issues. You might get lucky and have a solid uni, but I would verify that first before putting alot of time and effort into this car. good luck, John

I've never tried Seafoam, but GM makes a product specifically for this purpose that is the bomb. It's what the dealer uses if you bring your car in for servicing. You can buy it from the parts dept at any GM dealer - about $20. good luck, John

This old ghetto detailer I knew told me his secret for keeping an idle car fresh and "rodent-free". Just throw a bar of Irish Spring under the seat. It'll keep the car smelling great, and apparently, the strong scent keeps the mice away. I like the idea of sealing up any holes, though. Besides checking all the obvious knockouts stamped in the unibody, you might want to shoot some expanding foam into the backside of the RQ's, wheel arches, and rockers. good luck, John

I dunno...that dent on the drivers door is kinda nasty... Seriously, that's a beuatiful car!! Won't see too many like that in this part of the country. Not even in my driveway If I were you, I would keep that as intact as possible, and find something else locally to have fun in. If you have any trouble finding the parts you need, let me know. I'm in OH. good luck, John

Excellent thread. Some outstanding ideas that I hope are pursued further, and shared on this Board. As far as the sidebars regarding the environment, economics, etc etc etc... As a country, we are really hurting right now due to the closed-mindedness of politicians and big business for the past 30 years or more. We have had the fossil fuel culture rammed down our throats, and other technologies have never been given a fair shot. As a consequence, everytime some shiek farts in Saudi Arabia or Iran, prices (not supply) go all over the place. If you want to take your cues from the Govt and Wall St, you deserve what you get. I, for one, am glad to see a resurgence in innovative ideas. Nothing is "crazy" anymore, and everything is on the table when it comes to energy alternatives these days. Also, there is value in learning, for the sake of learning. I commend those people that are willing try something that no one has ever done. This body of knowledge will grow, and as is always the case, someone will eventually get it right. There have been plenty of big innovations that were dreamed up in someone's barn or garage. Oh, BTW...Failure isn't a bad thing if you learn something from it. Edison, the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford had plenty of failures.... good luck, John

I'm having similar issues with my 85. The A/T gave out on the highway, and I revved the motor up pretty high while trying to get it to the side of the road. It was making some strange noises before I dropped the tranny for replacement, but the consensus was that I should see if it clears out after replacing the tranny (this weekend hopefully). I came accross some old skool troubleshooting info that describes using a vacuum guage to assess engine noises. I've never really had much faith in those since the results are easily misinterpreted, but if read correctly, it should give some insight. A lot of the old-time hot rodders swear by those vacuum guages!!. I'm going to try this on mine, and maybe the plug suggestion above, before messing with Marvels or Sea Foam. I'll let you guys know if the vacuum test turns out to be useful. good luck, John

At this point, you could go "ghetto" and scrap the existing system completely. However, I'm not sure it'll be any cheaper to do this than piecing together what you have, or just finding a used "Y". Before you decide, take a good look at the flanges, the mating surface on the heads, and stud threads. If the old Y came off cleanly, you could experiment a bit. You could try your original idea and see if you like it. The fact that you are not running an 02 gives you a little more flexibility. Not sure I agree with the comments against running dual mufflers, though they are definitely overkill on this car. The main benefit of a single pipe (IMO) is that it allows for your o2 sensor, and it doesn't sound like this is an issue. John

Never tried the dual method myself, but there are some detailed plans floating around this board of how to do it correctly. Going the ghetto route, I once junked an EA82 that had a pretty decent homemade "Y", using the original flanges, off-the-shelf pieces, and clamps. It was actually shaped more like an "L". It appeared as though the guy hacked off the old Y, and just pieced the "L" together right under the car, coming right off the old flanges. Pretty impressive in a ghetto kinda way... You might want to give this a shot, and also make provisions for an O2, as mentioned above. good luck, John

Yeah, 70 psi is kinda on the low side although I've seen some old ones hang in there a long while with some pampering. I would probably give a worn, but consistant motor the benefit of a doubt over one with readings all accross the board. The point I was trying to make is that a motor that is wearing evenly is a good sign. Definitely a good core candidate for an overhaul. And yes, you probably should start thinking replacement when the compression drops in the double digits on one, or all, cylinders... good luck, John

Agree with most of the commentary about the compression readings... Think of the motor as being "balanced" whether on the low- or high end. After all, we are talking about the motor {ideally} wearing out gradually, and evenly. If you can verify this, it'll tell you things are peachy keen. Readings of 70 psi across the board, at 250k, wouldn't alarm me in the least. Obviously, consistantly strong compression will indicate good power and efficiency. However, a worn motor can be quite relaible {indefinitely} if it does not deteriorate further. You can control this to some extent, by good maintenance. The compression test is most useful in weeding motors that are already past the point of no return. Keep that in mind, and don't get too fixated on big numbers.... good luck, John

I like the late EA82's. I also own a 93 4wd Loy wagon. The main appeal is the SPFI, and backwards compatibility with all the earlier EA82's. You can concievably build an old skool car to your specs on a platform that's still under 15 years old!! I always recommend bringing the maintenance schedule up to date, for starters, anytime you pick up a new rig. If you have some records - great. If not, you can still make some educated guesses at 70k. For example, unless you have reason to believe otherwise, all the 60k service interval items are fair game. This is a big chunk of maintenance, and it will carry you a long way. I would study the maintenance schedule, and plan to service the car methodically, hitting all the basic systems, and getting as much done as possible when things are apart. Labor is the wild card in efficient reconditioning, and keeping the overall cost low. Alot of people think it's wasteful to replace items that are not completely worn out. They are right. However, preventative maintenance will give you a reliability (and confidence) level that can make this car your main ride for a long while, if that's your goal. The tradeoff is higher up-front costs vs long-term relaibility. A no brainer if you plan to keep the car for the long haul. If funds are limited, I would get in the habit of of monitoring your car in a meticulous manner. Get to know your car, and try to piece together its' past history. Track down prior owners and ask questions. Follow up on everything that may indicate a potential system failure. You don't wanna learn these things the hard way... good luck, John

I'll contact Sube of America, and have them look up the VIN. I'm 90% certain that it is the 4AT. It came out of a somewhat rare "highline" model (89 Turbo GL10 Touring Wagon), and the unit is physically larger than the 3 speed AT. Also, if I recall, the shifter had the extra gear. But I'll check it out to be 100% certain. As far as the 85, I'm on the fence about doing the 5 speed. If the trannie is as rare as it appears to be, the 4AT swap is probably waste on this particular car. I ran the motor pretty hard in 1st gear (when it wasn't shifting up), and it's ticking louder than it normally did. It never "redlined", but I'm not as confident about the motor as I was before the trannie hung up on me. If I didn't have so many other "projects" in the works, it would be a no brainer. But It's kinda hard to get excited about an 85 2wd 5 speed in FC, if ya know what I'm sayin'. On the plus side, there's not a lot of 85's around here in "FC"... John

Hey, thanks for all the great replies!! Sounds like the consensus is for swapping in that 5 speed (which is fine with me). Initially, I was reluctant to convert from a 2wd At to a 2wd 5 speed. I mean, if I'm going to convert, why not go all the way and make it a 4wd??? But now I'm thinking the 2wd5 is a relatively easy swap - considering the axles, and electrical work involved. I have some better "projects" to work on, but these cars are getting scarce around here, so I hate to scrap an otherwise solid EA82. thanks again, John

Looks like the A/T 3speed in my 85 2wd GL is finally hosed. Tried fooling around with the governor, mudulator, etc and it's not happenin'... I'm not a big fan of A/T's (or 2wd's) and I'm trying to decide what to do with this car. It's in fair-good condition overall with low miles. Not quite nice enuff to do a 4wd conversion. I have access to a manual 2wd 5 speed, and I'm not even sure that an AT to manual conversion is worth it for me. I do have a 2wd 4AT that came out of an 89 GL 10 turbo, that I'm considering for this car. If it will work, it would be an easy fix, and maybe even perform better. What I'm not sure about is if the ECU will have to be changed too. I thought I remembered reading a post where someone said that swap was too big of a jump in a carbed EA82. Something to the effect that turbo trannies needed the computer controls to shift properly. Any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated. I think A/T's suck, and know very little about them... John

Yep, that Hitatch should have the bi-metalic spring. However, the cover is riveted on, so it is difficult to get to to the spring mechanism. You could drill out the rivets and clean out/replace the coil. Don't worry about the drilled out rivets - you'll be able to thread regular metric screws into the housing. Another option is to buy a manual choke conversion kit. I did this on an old Datsun, (with the same Hitatchi carb) and it worked very well on those cold mornings. good luck, John

The trick is to find a rig with extra capacity - and for all parties to be flexible on both ends of the trip. If there is a large auto auction nearby, they will know who is hauling to/from the area you are interested in. You'll hafta spend a lot of time on the phone making arrangements and such, but remember, you are cutting out the middleman. Timing is very important. You may have to wait for the right deal, and it may be a "last minute" sort of thing. The carriers will schedule as many regular tranpsorts (at full rate) as possible, and cut you a deal on the empty slots. I don't know if you were serious about shipping from OH, but if this is your starting point, I can refer you to a couple of big auction companies near C-Bus. PM me if interested. good luck, John

Yeah, this occurred to me, and I mentioned it earlier in the thread... You may want to run a seperate ground to the chassis. It's possible that there is a "ground disconnect" somewhere between the ign switch and the ground spade at the pump. Not sure I would go with an on/off toggle for the pump. The ignition/fuel shut-off feature is pretty much foolproof (and much safer) when working properly. good luck, John

Yeah, talk about a blast from the past... I've done a few more in those three years, and I'm not sure it's possible to "overpack". The problem though, is that topping off worn out grease will not be enough to protect those bearings from wearing down. Same principle as flushing out engine oil in a high milage "burner". Repacking is reccomended in every service schedule (for Subes) I've ever seen, and I think it's the way to go. If the grease nipple method holds up over time, it might be worth considering. Let us know how it works out. good luck, John

Well...I have an 86 with about that many miles and I wouldn't take $2k for it... Of course, the body is rust free, has a rebuilt moter, a d/r conversion, etc... I guess what I'm sayin' is that you have to consider the condition, not the price, when you are looking at something that old. Sure, there are 86's available for $400 or whatever, but 9 times out of 10, you get what you pay for. Buying a basket case is nothing to brag about-at any price. I would look seriously at the unibody for signs of corrosion. Any signs of irreversable rust would ratchet the price down in a hurry - but wouldn't necessarily exclude the car from consideration. I would also look for signs of periodic maintenance - or lack of. It's hard to be certain without the records, but a car that has had meticulous care will stand out upon close scrutiny. This is exactly the kind of car you should consider paying a premium for. Why, you may ask? Because correcting years of neglect is expensive, and my not even be possible anyway. You could easily get into several hundred dollars of parts/repairs to get a car in tip-top shape. By being selective, you might be able to get a car in excellent condition if you are willing to pay just a little more up front. My hunch is that the car is probably overpriced. But I would give it some serious consideration just in case. The burdon of proof is on the seller, so you do have some bargaining power working in your favor. good luck, John