Fox

Hi. I bought a very clean ea81 soob some months ago, when I purchased it the oil was the worst milkshake I had ever seen. I changed the oil and filter and waited to see how long it would take to gunk up the oil again, and it didnt. The oil had a small amount of gunk in it because there was some left in the engine. Now the soob has been sitting for a lil while (driving company car) the oil seems to have gunked up again, with very little water loss (I was driving in summer, it was most likely lost vial the overflow) My question is, would it be normal for the gunk to slowly settle into the rocker covers (covering them) over time, and not settle if the engine was being used regularly? I have spare head gaskets as I was prepared to replace them last time. The soob isnt overheating but does waste a bit of water, as I am told is normal for an engine/radiator that size. (Im used to much larger cars) Could it be anything else causing it, or do I just have to go through a few oil changes to get rid of the gunk in the engine? ~Fox

Well, I pulled the console apart today and found that there is definitely too much movement in the linkage, I can see why theres vibration there. I might fashion some kind of dampener for it when I get the spare time. Up for a new bush I say, the 3-2 downchanges have been getting a bit notchy and rough. I place gentle pressure on the gearstick and then move it side to side a little, slips in. I tightened the linkage up today, sure enough, shifts easier. Just what I would expect from a car with 230k on it. I modified the interior too.. heh, photos soon.

Hmm, I suspect some of the vibration would be because the gearstick linkage must be resting against the gbox housing, Ill have a closer look later on, I have to go out :-\

Theres no noise, however the vibration does cause a small (inch or 2) wobble if I dont have my hand on the gearstick. The lever pulls naturally towards the right and sits above the reverse, I gather thats normal?

The tailshaft is very secure and has no wobble. The vibration doesnt change whether the clutch is in or out, it does seem to be rpm/engine speed related..

Does the vibration change with gear selection - It increases everso slightly as I increase in speed, I dont think it is gear related road speed - Yes engine rpm - Sorta, the higher the gear, the more vibration Braking - Nope Turning - Nope I just replaced the spark plug leads because I detected a slight miss, the performance increase was dramatic to say the least, much better pickup.. Anyhow, maybe its just me but I think it decreased slightly with the change of leads. I just took the car down the back (rallye track at home.. ) and there seemed to be less, however the ground down there is very clay based and it was spitting, if it was caused by bad wheel alignment the loss of traction on the clay would have also caused less vibration. Most of the driving my soob does is to and from work, highway speeds and windy roads, usually with some wind.. I will check tomorrow and see how it goes, the tyre wear is relatively even, I am replacing the tyres shortly anyway. I will check the uni joints tomorrow, when the ground is dry Thanks heaps for your help, and I will be back tomorrow.

Dual range manual 4x4, ea81

Ellos. My 84 GL has a fair bit of vibration through the gearstick, I had a quick look while I was cleaning out the cooling system and the bushes I could see, all rubbers in fact, are in pretty good condition. This soob is the smallest car I have ever owned, body and engine size, I dont know if this is normal or not. One of my workmates said it was "a bit much", now my question is, is a slightly harsh vibration normal? It exists in most rev ranges and doesnt seem to change in intensity depending on revs or speed. Any ideas? ~Fox

Now that I am actually driving my new 84 GL around I have found a few problems. When I hit about 80-100 kph, the soob got very sluggish, took aaages to reach 120 kph, I suspected the pot was detecting the accel cable incorrectly, turns out the end of the cable sheath had melted or disintegrated over time and the entire sheath had slipped forward, giving a lot of slack, thus, the second barrel of the carb never opened. (The plugs also indicate a very lean burn, probably due to the cable) Until I get a new cable, I pulled the sheath back and put 2 cable ties around the base of the cable. Works well. When at a medium - high idle, I could hear a slight miss as well. My dizzy was also not closed properly!! (A mechanic "friend" had a quick squiz out of interest, he wont be touching my Subaru again!) The clip on the back was completely unclasped. Also, I went to put a spark plug and lead tester next to the cable from the coil and got a very nasty zap The contact inside the lead had slid back a little (has been there a while!) and caused the spark to find its own path Missing fixed. I also flushed the cooling system today, got some gunk out. I guess thats why I got the car so cheap, heh.. someone didnt know what they were doing.

Im looking for a bullbar for my sooby, I live in Melbourne, Australia. Anyone got one for sale? Or roofracks actually.. I need a set of those too. ~Fox

I started on the interior today. I intended on buying some vinyl dye to stain the dash another colour, instead, I have gone with the tan/black. I will buy black seatcovers, I have black carpet/mats, black/tan steering wheel cover and may take off the top 1/2 of the door trims and remake that portion in black velour. So far, its coming up pretty well. Took a closer inspection of the windscreen as I cleaned it (was dirty from the caryard) and found it has thousands of tiny pits all over it.. Guess I am up for a new windscreen. Ah well. Im still overly happy with the soob.

I would put the weber on it, but removing the emissions reductions gear is highly illegal. I will be upgrading to pug rims and perhaps semi offroad tyres (heavier lug, stronger sidewalls etc). I do intend on updating the suspension bigtime, I dont know if I will stick with the present coils and put polyairs in or upgrade to gas shocks and better coils.. Ill evaluate that when I get to that point. I think the suspension bottoms out a little fast atm. Could just be worn. ~Fox

I dont think I could have heard any words sweeter than those I heard today. A mechanic that lives here (I share a 25 bedroom place) had a look at the milkshake that was oil as I was draining it and he commented that in his years, he has never seen it that bad. Ever. I changed the oil and filter, then ran it a bit. Theres now no water in the oil, she runs really well and he now thinks (as I do) that some prev owner, that knew nothing about cars, put water in the oil filler instead of the radiator. Seems I dont need the head gaskets done at all, I have ordered them and will keep them aside in case I ever need them.. I dont think I need them now though ~Fox

I has photos! (There is a tiny amount of damage on the door (looks like the door was forced backwards) and to the bumper, which goes when I get a bullbar anyway)

Thanks heaps! I have placed a bid on the workshop manual on ebay, hopefully I win it. I have to boot up the other machine to post pics, should get around to that later tonite. Will post them if I do. ~Fox

Hmmm.. Either I have a blown head gasket or the car has had one, and the oil wasn't changed properly or at all. The oil is a bit of a milkshake atm, I ran the engine with a piece of paper hanging down inside the radiator, very very little brown muck was in there and it doesn't seem to be overheating. I have had the temp gauge up to 1/2 (the second thermo fan didnt kick in..) while stationary. How much of a job is it to change the head gasket? (Took some photos, will post them later. Back to work now.)

I live about 100 kms north of Melbourne itself on 23 acres. Would be great to get out and about with some other subys, if work/time permits

Thanks I havent been able to find any rust, surface or otherwise. None near the seals, windscreen or anywhere. The linkages are strong, new rubbers on most things, the hoses/filters/clamps are all good, no heat damage, no splitting. I live on 23 acres and have a rally track of sorts, I was gentle but put her through some paces to test various things. The dual range is good, no knocks thumps or anything, shifts well. Once I did return to the carpark and shifted into reverse, the engine did conk out a couple of times, which it hasnt done since nor before that time. I suspect a bit of vapour lock. Now I begin the total inspection of everything I can get my mitts onto, the workshop manual should be on its way soon.

Yay! :banana: I just bought myself an '84 GL wagon, very much in original condition, serviced by the local Subraru dealers since new, 1, maybe 2 owners.. For $800 AUD! She goes pretty well, has great pickup.. I cant find a thing wrong. Now, is there anything I should know or watch out for, are there any inherent faults that should be dealt with? Thanks for your help guys. ~Fox ***edit*** I have some brown goop in the oil filler tube, I dont suspect the head gasket at this stage as there is 0 turbulence in the radiator when running and the rest of the car is extremely well maintained. However, I will change the oil/filter when I get the time. I work split shifts >.<