Subarule

He is a she, a retired little old lady. I probably already have one. Subarule

My objective is to have everything match, staying as faithful to factory release as is possible. I am pretty passionate about that, having spent some years as an antiques dealer & collector. I have a deep regard for "original". Original is not practical in a car as old as mine but it still remains my goal. We don't have the intense UV rays like a lot of other places in the country. We don't have the intense heat. What we have is about 8 months of steady rain. And any car that's sitting wrecked in a junk yard, with portions of it exposed to the elements year in & year out, in this climate, is going to have deep-down mildew in any of its fabric areas. If there's one thing I know well, it's mildew. I can smell a couple of atoms of mildew from 20 paces. I will be browsing there. The thing is, I'm kinda' "isolated" here in the northwest corner of the nation, near the ocean. It's not what you'd call centrally-located. That limits me a bit. I have been lurking here for many months and just felt it was a forum worth registering with, in order to get help. Wagon wheels, OK. I always think of them as "rally wheels" but I was sure that wasn't the correct name for them. Subarule

Since I bought the car new in late August or early September 1986, could it have been a late-production '85 model? Would anything in the VIN tell me that? No, nothing blue around the air filter. I'll go out later, pop the hood & get some photos of what's under the hood, with a clear shot of carburetion area. Would the shape of the air filter tell us anything? It's about a foot long (give or take) & oval. Subarule

Whichever kind I have, if a replacement is under $35.00 or so for the whole gizmo I will just replace it, and the one on the other side at the same time. I like to keep sets of things matching & of the same age. It's easier for me to keep track of what & when something was replaced. I don't like addressing the same problem more than once when it's something that should last for decades. Also, the lens housings that face out are probably all scarred and abraded...I'll like having two shiny new ones. From my reading on here it looks like replacing the headlamp is not nearly as expensive as I first thought. While I don't mind spending money keeping my faithful Subuddy up to par, I don't believe in overpaying for something either, so I will do plenty of price-comparison shopping on the Internet. I really appreciate all the input I received about this. I'll be back with lots more questions. I have so many niggling things to address on my 21-year-old car. Subarule

Yes, you did help a lot. I'm going to print out your instructions. Thanks, Subarule

Yes. I have every single piece of paper ever generated about the car from the day I bought it, including the dealer's page of particulars that goes in the window of every new car on a lot. It says "1986 Subaru GL 4 Wheel Drive MPV Wagon". No, "premium grade tricot seat material". It's gray cloth trimmed in black vinyl. All it says on the dealer's invoice list or whatever that thing is called is "Dual Contoured Halogen Headlights". That means...what??? I sure am glad I got the no-fuss carbureted model. My salesman talked me out of getting a turbo model, for which I've always been thankful. I'll look for them. I'll need them in gray. so that might make finding front seats and a back one a little more diffilcult. Although there is nothing wrong with the back seat - it's barely been used. But everything has to match like it did when it came from the factory. Nah, I'm not interested in carpet from a junked car. For one thing, in this climate (practically a rain forest), the chances of finding ones I can use that don't smell like mildew will be slim-to-none on a junked car. If there's one thing I can't handle it's the smell & effects of mildew on my allergies. I am majorly allergic to it!!! I already had carpet samples sent to me from this place: http://www.stockinteriors.com/items.asp?MakeId=26&ModelId=401&MainCatId=1&Desc=Subaru_Impreza_Carpet I ordered & got samples in dark graphite, dark slate, gunmetal gray and dark gray/charcoal. It looks like one or two of them will work perfectly as far as matching. The carpet will have to go in before the seats are changed out. Subarule

Yes, that is exactly what I have. So a composite for sure is what I need to replace mine? That looks exactly like my car, including the luggage rack. I have the white rims, however. What are they called? Subarule

I know, and that's what I was trying to do, and the auto parts place I went to said it was a sealed beam and that they didn't carry them to fit my Subaru, so I was thinking it was another case of having to get OEM. I didn't want to, I'd rather replace than fix. But when I was getting quotes of $85+ to replace, you can see why I was thinking maybe repair instead. I have the part # from the dealer so I can check for a direct change-out on Internet parts sites. Subarule

I'm pretty sure it's GL-10. 5-speed, 4X4, power everything, non-turbo It just dawned on me what that stands for: how to Keep Your Old Subaru Alive. I'll just buy a copy of it. According to the VIN it's an EA82. Yes to both. Radiator has less than 5K miles on it. All replaced this summer (the new Quaker State high mileage oil), as well as new plug wires, new alternator, new starter, transmission oil drained & changed, power steering fluid replaced, new PCV valve, new fuel filter, a couple of other things that escape my memory right now. Don't need, all are in newish condition. I check my hoses all the time. Nah, this engine isn't anywhere near that mileage. I know, that's why I replaced the original engine while I could easily afford it. Don't have turbo, don't have EFI. Computer, uhhh, don't think it has one. It doesn't give error codes and that kind of stuff. Just a straight carbureted model. Wouldn't have any other kind. Subarule

Yes, that is the one I mean/what I have. First my nephew, who's big into auto repair (racecar guy) looked at it and said "sealed beam". Then I had a guy at a local, long-time-in-business parts store physically take a look at mine and he said it was a sealed beam. He's an older guy and maybe one of the owners of the store (they have 2 locations in town) and seems to know his business. Next I called the local Subaru dealership and talked to someone in the parts department, gave them my year/make/model and they said sealed beam also, and gave me a part #. They want $85.00 for a new one. The local wrecking yard will sell me a used one (sealed beam) for about $100. Hah!! It's the rectangular one here: http://www2.partstrain.com/store/products.php?year=1986&make_text=subaru&model_text=gl&category=body_electrical&subcategory=headlight Would a composite unit look like those? Subarule

'86 GL-10 wagon. I have about 1.0" - 1.5" of water sitting inside the "sealed" headlamp assembly, and condensation all over the inside of the lens. What should I do - replace the whole unit with one that has an unbroken seal? Or is there a way to get all the water out and re-seal it? I don't want to "un-stock" the car in any way. Thanks in advance. Subarule

I have one, and that was my plan, except I needed to know which models & years would be a good match. And what about front struts? Wouldn't a 21-year-old car be due for its first strut replacement? What's that? After reading some posts in here about that book last night I started searching the Internet for a copy. I found one for sale at $999.00 - for real! Not that I'm thinking about buying that copy. I have a line on a couple of them, sounds like a must-have. Ummm, this seems to be the place where I make the confession...I'm a little old lady, retired for several years. Not white-haired quite yet but getting there. I've always loved cars. I was raised and lived the life exactly like the ones pictured in "America Graffiti". Not the 'Terry the Toad' character, but like the John Milner character. I was the age of those people at the same time the movie was brand new. I grew up in Southern California, as part of the racing set, both street racing & at the drags. So I won't be putting any cars up on blocks and doing any inspections myself. However, I have a nephew that can do all of that, who has the garage shop, tools and lives only a few short streets away. It's just that he's a Chevy guy. Don't really know for sure. You see, and this is freaky, the odometer cable BROKE when it turned 18K miles. How bizarre is that? I didn't get it fixed right away (I mean, it was dead winter in Colorado and I needed my car every day to get back & forth to work). It was 60 miles to the Subaru dealership in Denver where I bought the car. And when I did get whatever replaced that needed replacing, they replaced the whole odometer assembly. So I always had to add on 18K miles to its reading. Then I had the engine replaced in spring of 2000 and the mileage on the replacement engine was uncertain, but somewhere between, say, 35K - 45K. Remember, it was a used engine and was shipped over from Japan as used - had never been in an American Subaru. My auto shop couldn't alter the odometer, of course. I needed to know how many miles I drove per year after I retired, for my new auto insurance company & a best rate. So I called my auto shop (they've been around forever and I trust them implicitly) to see if they could give me an idea of how many miles I started with on the replacement engine so I could do the math, but they had had a big burglary that took all their computers and the records on them (I know that was true because I had read about it in the paper). So I was left to do some rough calculations. As for miles on my vehicle, the body & interior are original and have maybe 225K? It's almost always been garaged. No, the auto shop took it. The radiator is fine. I live in a very mild climate so it doesn't have to do much in the way of hard work. I would be surprised if the radiator has even 5K miles on it. I'm pretty sure I don't drive even 1K miles per year. Our summer months have averaged in the mid-to-low 70 degrees. Cold winter days here means it might get down in the 30s a few times. I don't go anywhere in the car when it gets much over 85. The car has working AC but the places I go don't. We have maybe as many as 15 days a year when it gets over 85, and that's when I stay in my air-conditioned house. Thank you. I don't know what any of that means but I'm willing to learn. Subarule

I would, no problem, but I'm a bit concerned about the way the rear end is groaning and the looseness in the steering. I don't want to put any undue stress on it until I get those things taken care of. And I don't want to use up good tread on my tires if things aren't good on the front end. Believe me, I'm not afraid to drive it (I love to drive!) and put miles on it. My buddy and I have been all over Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon & Washington, including off-road (many logging roads & hills). That was on the previous engine. Subarule

I have the super-duper Bissell hot water steam cleaner (great invention and a necessity!) and some very good products (the dogs, you know) that can take out everything. However, the carpet is in no condition to be salvaged, I'm afraid. Long ago a bottle of bleach in a grocery store bag tipped over and leaked bleach in the rear carpeted area (I usually keep the back seat folded down), making a bleach spot about 1' X 1'. So beside being bleached out it is also a very weak spot in the carpet due to the bleach eating the fibers. You can probably imagine how I was at the grocery bagger who didn't secure the bleach bottle inside a tied-off plastic bag. Also, some years ago a gallon can of white paint tipped over while sitting on the floor behind the driver's seat. About a 1/2" thick swath of white paint on the carpet and the floor/door molding because the lid wasn't on properly (my fault). Too much trouble to scrape it off because the rest of the carpet in the rear has to go. If that isn't enough, the carpet is very faded in the hatch area from keeping the seat down and the sun pouring in on it. No, the carpet isn't worth the effort of cleaning. I'll definitely look into that. The Chilton book isn't very helpful in that department. I'd be ashamed to take any photos of the way he looks now. The bumpers are faded and the long piece of black rubber exterior trim that runs horizontally along the sides is missing on the passenger side. All I have are photos from when it was new. I purchased it in Colorado for snow & ice driving, which it excels at. Subarule

I'm glad I've kept it all its life too. We're partners, buddies, he's myfaithful sidekick (I'm sure it's a 'he'). No one can understand my attachemnt to it, not my family, not me friends, not my coworkers. They keep telling me I need a new/newer car. Why? It does everything I need it to, and it's so inexpensive to run. I haven't had a car payment since 1991 and plan on keeping it that way. I have other 'luxuries' I can spend money on. I try to keep everything stock, and use OEM parts wherever possible. I have the Chilton book for 1970-1986 Subs, and I read it faithfully over and over. But it seems to have gaps about things I want to know. I figured here is the best place possible for learning everything else. Subarule

I am the orginal owner and it's been my only vehicle since I purchased it new in August (or was in September?) of 1986. It's a 5-speed, gunmetal gray. I don't know much at all about car repair or Subaru repair, but I do have questions, as I want to keep my faithful friend happy and on the road forever. The car is as reliable as they come and runs wonderfully well. It does have its cosmetic problems, although it has never been hit or been in a wreck, never been in a floodwaters, and has zero rust. I don't know if this makes it "un-stock", but back in 2000 I replaced the engine, for no other reason than I was making good money & didn't have any debt, and I wanted to keep my Subaru running forever. I did not get a rebuilt engine, but rather a used one from Japan that had very low mileage on it. I understand/understood that at the time (maybe still) in Japan people aren't allowed to run their car engines longer than so many thousands of miles, due to pollution in that country. Or, I may have been fed a line of bull. In any case, the engine in it now has probably less than 50K miles on it, as I don't need to drive anywhere more than a couple of times a week and then only for a few miles at a time. When the engine was being replaced I also had the clutch, the timing belt, the radiator and a few other things replaced, just so I'd feel that everything under the hood was in good shape. Does replacing all that make it "un-stock"? The steering seems sloppy, loose, a little on the "trembly" side. It used to be so tight and responsive but little by little it's lost that lovin' feelin'. What are the obvious things that should be replaced (I don't want any band-aid fixes) or should I just go for a whole front-end job? I need to have the interior redone. The carpeting is stained from using it as a truck and hauling dogs all those years. It has cloth interior but the vinyl on the seats is splitting and the foam inside the seats is brittle and leaking out like crumbs. Should I have all the seats reupholstered and the carpeting replaced, or should I just exhange seats for some others in good shape that will fit, and replace only the carpeting? What is the best place to order good-quality carpet (that matches the original in color and density) from? I carried a load of 12" X 12" x 4" cement blocks (40 of them) not long ago and the rear end has not been the same since. When it gets bounced any it squeaks and groans. Rear struts? If I replace the rear struts should the front ones be replaced as well? I like everything to be matched and in 'sets" where possible. I want to replace all my vacuum hoses, every single one. I'm pretty certain I have vacuum leak somewhere. How long does it take to replace all the vacuum hoses? I'm trying to get an idea of what I'll be looking at as far as labor cost goes, for that job. That's enough questions for now. Thanks for any input.