captainkf

Thanks for the info all! That gives me a few things to try, and with the temps dropping, none too soon. -Richard

"Would that boot happen to be the pass. side one? Pardon? -Richard

Thanks for the advice all! I will finish it up Monday. -Richard

But how often do you have to do them? Does mine eat cv boots or what? I have had 4 wheel drives for years and never touched boots, however this care seems to chew them away far too frequently. Is this a subaru thing or what? -Richard

How do you know when purchasing a used core that it is in good shape?

Do I need to bleed the rear brakes also, even though no work has been done back there? -Richard

I have read around about different treatments that people run through their cooling systems to flush heater core's. However I would love to hear some first hand info on inexpensive ways to flush a core from an actual person. I don't want to buy a special pump to circulate the coolant, I figured I would put the goods in and go for a drive as that would do it right? Or do I need to isolate just the heating coolant section, remove the hose, put on said pump, run, reattache? Or, do I just need to replace it? I REALLY don't want to remove the dash and spend a whole day monkeying around. Thanks all! -Richard

So, while crawling around down there, I see that I have a front inner cv boot damaged. I changed one out on another loyale I had a few years ago, but there must be a faster way as it took hours. The biggest challenge I had was removing the axle from the transmission. There is a small pin that holds it in place and all I could find that fit was a bolt to gently knock it out. I replaced the boots and was told that a sufficient job could be done with pliers (needlenose) tightening the ring clamp. Well, it wasn't and within a week they had both spun. I talked to the garage I took my car to in Calgary (great shop!) and they said with the contamination it made more sense to get a whole new axle with boots attached. Made sense, but I seem to go through at least one boot every 6 months. This seems excessive to me. My car is stock, I do little off roading and when I do it's slow speed (but high fun). Do other loyale owners find they go through broken cv boots frequently? Or is it just me. Thanks all! -Richard

No not just press what? They engage just fine, I can lock the car up repeatedly, they're just a bit soft. But I will bleed them tommorow just to be on the safe side. To bleed the brakes, I fire up the engine, loosen one bleeder valve, depress the pedal a couple times, fluid squirts out, tighten and repeat. Can one person do this or do I need to tighten the bleeder while the brake is being depressed? Thanks for all the help and it's great to meet a neighbor. -Richard

thanks all, got it done. They feel a bit soft though, could they need bleeding? -Richard

I am able to turn it with channel lock pliers, but it does not want to go in. I will try pushing at the same time. I would go to the autoparts store but, well, I have no car and it's 15 km's away. How difficult is it to disconnect the parking brake? -Richard

I have a 92 loyale and am midway through a brakepad replacement for the front rotors. I have removed the old pads, put in the new ones and the caliper's piston will not back out. I thought that if it was rotated it would back out leaving space for the now thicker new pads. This is not the case though. I tried bleading and gently prying thinking by taking off the presure it would push bake, not the case. My car is in the air, in the front yard and I need help asap!!! Please tell me how to finish this seemingly simple job. -Richad

Final update. Went for a drive through the mountains yesterday (3 hours) and pushed the car hard and it performed great. Still no TOD and ice cold AC. Thanks again for all the info. -Richard

Well, it does not make much sense, but it's true. There seem to be very few subie's in the parts yards. The impreza was a 2002 ts w/a 2.5. What a riot to drive. However if I owned it I couldn't pay the speeding tickets . The loyale keeps me grounded as it will speed, but only when I REALLY work at it. The problem was the H20 pump bolts came loose and fell off causing the pump to break and drop all the coolant out of the engine. After a new pump, it works like a charm. I talked with the garage about the TOD and they suggested a new oil pump. I put one in two monthes ago and they suggested running 15w 30 oil. So, i needed an oil change anyways, and gave it a try. It works! No TOD as of yet. We'll see if it lasts. I also had the AC system charged and man, it's nice stuff. At 38 degree's celcius today it was uber nice. So in the end it cost a bit over $500 to have the shop do everything and the car runs great. Worth it as far as I'm concerned as we just bought a house and i don't have the time or health (i'm still sick) to fix it. Thanks for the input and feedback everyone who helped. -Richard

Well thanks for the vast amount of info. It sounds like a diverse amount from 42mpg to 20 mpg. What a difference eh? I think I get 28 to 34 mpg in the mountains with my foot into it with a passenger. So it seems about right. How do I find out if my Cat's are pooched (the ones on the exhaust not the ones in the yard ) ? Thanks for the feedback all, keep it coming. -Richard

Well, I just heard from the garage and the verdict is the water pump. The bolts that hold it in place came off and caused it to loosen and loose all it's fluid and destroy the pump. They are pulling it off and replacing it as I am very ill and we need the car now. So fixing it myself is not an option and two hours shop time seems reasonable. I'll post more when I have the info. Thanks again for all the help. I have however fallen for the little black impreza ts 2.5L loner car I have. Oh man, is that thing ever a riot to drive. I think it (or one like it) may be our next car. I was very concerned this was going to cost a fortune to fix and was looking at alternatives. I hate buying cars, they cost too much $$$. Here in the southern interior of BC we get so much snow (25 feet yearly) that Subaru's are THE choice car to have. The problem is they get driven into the ground and used parts are big bucks. -Richard

I appreciate the assumption that I know very little about these jobs, as that is the case:) . Thanks for the time and the info. I will post updates as they come up. -Richard

Yup, makes sense. I have run sea foam through a few times and I've got a new oil pump. The noise comes and goes. I thought if I was going to be working on the engine, might as well do all of the jobs at once. I see no harm in this, however I may be missing somthing. Thanks for all the additional info. -Richard

So what does your Loyale 4wd ea82 wagon get for milage? I was just curious. -Richard

If I am going to do this (which I will I think) would it be easier to tackle the hydraulic lifters on the passenger side also as they are not working properly anymore? It seems there is quite a bit of space on that side of the engine and access is not going to be too much of an issue. I have replaced the drive front axles, brake assemblies and such on my old (now sold) loyale, so I am somewhat familiar with the car. Thanks for all the assistance. Do I need any specialized tools (pullers or tensioners) to do these jobs? What advice can you give to a first timer? -Richard

timing belt was done within the last 3 monthes. As for the other two, unknown. Is a water pump and bearing a difficult job and does it require a new head gasket now that it leaked? -Richard

No it never got to the red. I shut it down first. Like I said, it has never overheated before, not even close. So I think the rad is fine. I have never had the timing done, or at least don't recall having it done. The coolant was leaking out of the front of the engine, I think the head gasket? Sorry, but I haven't wrenched on this car's engine much. How difficult is it to drop in a new engine or replace a water pump? I have helped friends replace different manufacturers engines in the past, but have never done it myself. Can you recomend a good book to assist other than haynes? -Richard

The oil leaking was minimal. It may have even been what was leaking before and the residue on the surface mixed with the antifreeze. Hope this info helps the doctor diagnose the ailment. -Richard

So I am driving my "trusty and reliable" 92 loyale wagon fwd up a mountain pass (25 km back on a tight switchback dirt road) and all is going well. Then I go over some rough washboard on a tight corner @ aprox 4000 rpm when I smell coolant and the temps go up. I have never seen my temp gauge up past half before. I hop out, check the hoses and rad and no leaks. I look at the front of the engine in it's leaking liquid. Crawl under and it's leaking oil and coolant:eek: ! I top up the oil and coolant, let it cool down, put some water on the engine (to assist in cooling) and start gently up the 9 km hill. I repeat this process 6 times to get to the summit. As the engine heats up the noise (marbles in the engine) increases. This noise has been around for a couple of monthes on a much lower level when the engine is straining at low rpm and I chalked it up to a 230,000 km engine with a bit of knock. However now it sounds like a bad diesel. It also starting a zinging or buzzing sound and was quite reluctant to start. I just had a new oil pump in 4 months ago, plugs, wires, oil change every 5000 km's, air filter and oil filter. So, after limping the car home I start getting very concerned and think of just selling it (or giving it away). It's booked into a garage on Monday to have it checked out. After explaining the symptoms on the phone the guy thought it might be water pump or the head gasket. It has had hydraulic lifter noise since I purchased it in October 06 also. So, what do you all think it could be? Estimates on parts, labour time and difficulty would be appreciated! Stranded in BC - Richard

The reason I would like to use the Subaru as a toad is because we have a converted bus that we use to tour around. It is nice to be a bit more free when we get to a location to access various area's for touristing or biking. The toad allows us that freedom and adds very little resistance or milage increase, so why not. We can also keep our bikes on the roof of the subie while we drive so no having to move back and forth. Here is the bus: http://www.skoolie.net/gallery/v/Skoolies/The-Doodlebus/ My concerns are the front wheels not tracking properly, it jumping or grinding into gear when left in neutral (as it's a 5 spd), damaging the ignition being left on for long periods, and any strange things I haven't thought of yet. Many standard vehicles have a drive shaft disengagment device to ensure no damage to the transmission. Thanks for all the info so far. If you have aby questions so far, post'em. -Richard