robm

An update. I needed some oil pump seals, so I decided to try for the o-ring at the same time. The dealer did not have a listing for it!!! I pulled the pump apart, and found there was a small o-ring around a tube that sticks out of the base of the reservoir into the pump. It is either really old and mangled, or this ring is not an o-ring, it has a fancy profile. There was a ring cut out of the pump flange that the reservoir sat on, around the pump inlet, but I could see no O-ring there. Is there supposed to be just the o-ring on the tube, or is there one around the inlet as well? Is the seal on the tube supposed to be round,or have a fancy profile? Thanks, Rob.

Thanks! I will try tightening the reservoir to pump bolts first, then take it from there... Rob.

The power steering pump on my Loyale is going through a lot of fluid. I don't see any red drips underneath, but there is a lot of red oily stuff under and around the pump on the top of the engine. Could it be a leaky shaft seal? If so, can it be replaced, or is it time to visit the wrecker? Rob.

You need the O2 sensor. That explains why you are getting 16 mpg. Carb or SPFI?

I suspect either a sticky brush or a flaky regulator. Are the brushes available as separate items? Maybe jsut get a new one, more $ but better longevity.

You are in New Zealand. There are more inventive jackleg mechanics per capita there than any place outside of this board. And people are so friendly, it is almost scary. Ask around at the places you are staying, particularly if you are in the country, and you should find someone that will give you a hand. Bring beer. Getting into fall there, and it will be getting a bit nippy, especially in the South Island. If you can't get the heat to work, head north. Opoutere, or Bay of Islands would be my suggestion.

It really does sound like carb icing. Make sure the hot air tube is hooked up to the air intake. Or rig one up, if it doesn't have one. Good luck.

Tire pressures. When these cars were built, tires carried their load at 32 or 35 PSI. Now, the same size carries the same load at 44psi! Don't ask me why, but that is what the sidewalls say. My most recent set of tires say 51 psi! To me, that means if I put 28 PSI, in those tires, they will be underinflated. More to the point, if you put 40 psi in a 44 psi tire, it will probably be just about right. Any tire techs out there to bear me out on this? Rob.

I am not familiar with these wheels, but could you just drill a hole in the centre to let the machine do its thing?

It could still be wheel bearings. In my experience, they howl for a long time before they start getting wobbly. In fact, I have never had one get wobbly yet. And an unloaded wheel bearing might not seem rough when rolling it back and forth by hand. I try to replace my wheel bearings when it gets so loud, it is either a new bearing, or a louder stereo. I have driven thousands of km on noisy ones, and have not yet had a catastrophic failure using this system. Time will tell. Currently, no bearings are complaining.

I think I figured out why the LSD makes the car understeer. If the LSD locks, then both back wheels will turn at the same speed, which will try to drive the car in a straight line. Especially if it is a tight corner, where there should be lots of difference between the inside and outside wheels. Sounds like understeer to me. Thinking of that, no wonder they don't put LSD's on the front....

I am curious. How does a rear LSD cause understeer?

I have had the sticky throttle problem. 8000 RPM on a motor that has been cold soaked at -15 deg. C and then warmed up less than a minute..... OUCH!

If it is cold, 1500 RPM is about right, so is the high oil pressure. Does it stay at this high idle/high pressure even when it warms up? Take a risk and go for a drive around the neighbourhood. Uphill, if possible! See what happens after it gets warmed up to normal operating temperature. The CEL should go on when the ignition is on and the engine is not running.

It would have been instructive to look at manifold vacuum under the same circumstances. I will guess manifold vacuum will be: closed throttle 20" vac. or more cracked throttle 20" vac. full throttle 0" all the way to 5500 RPM. Could you be so kind as to give it another shot under these conditions? And did you measure this with the car actually moving, or just sitting in the driveway?

Too bad CT don't seem to carry the Spectra rad for the Loyale. At least, they didn't last spring, when I put a new one in.

Apparently, bad cooling systems are what kill the engines in these things, so a new rad is a good idea. I see you are in Quebec, where it is probably cold enough not to stress your cooling system right now. But come spring time... The cheapest rad I could get at this end of Canada was about $200. You might be able to get a cheaper one out of the US, but by the time you add shipping, brokerage, and maybe duty (depending on its country of origin) it might not be such a good deal. Chances of finding a good one in the JY are slim, as it is the winter road salt that eats them, and I would expect any in your area to be in a similar condition to the one in your car. You might get lucky, though. Disturbing the rad hose that goes to the water pump can cause the o-ring that seals that pipe to leak. A new o-ring is $5 from the dealer. Keep an eye on the coolant level when you replace the rad, this leak can be hard to see. Good luck.

The rad can be left in, just remove the fan to get clearance when doing belts. Belts fail because the get old. Just age and miles. The low reading on the passenger side could be a lifter that has leaked down?

175/70-13 tires area pretty much exactly the same diameter as 155/80-13's. Maybe even a hair smaller. The narrow tire will help reduce fuel consumption. So keep them! 165/80-13's are bigger diameter, but you won't save enough gas to make buying new tires worthwhile. If the tires are shot, maybe consider replacing with this size - if you can find them. It is possible to crank up the timing about 2 degrees without any problem. Follow the procedure for setting it, but set it at 22-23 deg instead of 20. I found it helped mileage on the highway.

That is an emissions carb (lean). Sounds to me like it is running just about perfect. 14:1 is just about perfect stoichiometric ratio, even if it is not the best for maximum power. And 72 HP at the wheels is pretty darn good!

My '93 Loyale is doing this, too. I can't see how a heavier oil would help on start-up. The oil is cold and thick already, much thicker than the difference between a 10W-30 and a 20W-50. The heavier oil might be worse? Oil presssure can't be the issue, either, as the pressure is higher when the oil is cold (and thick). Maybe it is just too thick and the oil is bypassing, not flowing to the head where it belongs? Maybe that is why the additives help, they thin the oil so it flows better? I find there seems to be some difference with the kind of oil filters I use. And the oil itself might be involved, as there is considerable variation between oils. And don't forget the weather! It is getting cooler now. Oh, and mine does it worse after an oil change. So that is why I suspect the oil and/or filter is to blame. Old oil is thicker than new. I tend to use different oil and filters every time, so I haven't been able to really get a good handle on this, too many variables changing at once.

Those are pretty tall tires you are running. Could the extra diameter be enough to trigger the locking on "normal" turns? If you have a set of standard rims/tires, try them out to see if the diff still does this.

Where the vacuum advance makes the most difference is at light load, part throttle cruising conditions. I have never played with a Subaru's vacuum advance, but on a Corolla I had, the highway mileage dropped from 40 MPG + to 25-28 MPG when the canister developed a leak. Driveability and power were not noticeably affected. There were a lot of other cars with Hitachi distributors on them, like Hondas and Datsuns. They all have slightly different vacuum advance characteristics, it might be possible to play with the vacuum advance by swapping on a canister from a different car. Worth a try, if you can score a few out of the junk yard for a good price. But I would recommend that you get a good one, intended for your car, first, so you know if you are improving anything or not.

Sorry I am so fussy, but let's get the terms right: THERE IS NO PREDETONATION! There is preignition, when the charge goes off before the spark hits. There is detonation, when the charge burns faster than it should, after the spark. This is also called "knock." Low octane ping is a sign of detonation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking#Pre-ignition

I put one of those on my 93 Loyale. The removal of the bumper was so easy, a revelation in how a car should be built! It also gave me a chance to knock about 10 pounds of dust, rust and crud out of the bumper. In addition to the towhook bolts, there are 2 new bolts that go into the "framerails" a foot or two closer to the front of the car. How were you planning on putting the nuts on those bolts, with the bumper still stuck in the ends of the rails? I put the tow hooks back on, even though the instructions say to leave them off. They supply extra long bolts.... I have had no problems as yet, with either the hitch or the hooks.