joe5

my gas light seems to come on only when the tank is full

The electric fan should be mounted onto the radiator and does not have a belt attached to it. You should see wires coming off it that go into a plug in the side of the radiator. The is all on your left from the perspective of opening the hood. Mine always barely reached 1/4th on the temp guage too.

So my old loyale did the same thing. I think its a clutch driven fan and when the clutch wears out its just on all the time. It actually helped me out for a while when my thermoswitch fan was bad and the electric fan wasn't kicking on. But it never caused me any problems. I see your on the coast just about to head that way for mushroom festival in yachats! Maybe others here will suggest otherwise but I wouldn't worry about it!

just cuz the axle boots aren't ripped doesn't mean they are immune to being suspect.

Thanks for the input. I've been doing some more research on the relay option, it seems that has been done quite a few times and been covered on the board. Still trying to decide which makes more sense for me (relay option or replace ignition switch).

haha ahh!! no don't say that. Dang that really sucks haha

So I got a few more questions about this ea81 sedan if got, and I appreciate the previous input on the dash btw. But I've got an issue with the ignition. When I turn the key, sometimes absolutely nothing happens, the key physically turns easily enough, but you get nothing. Give it a couple more shots and it would just start suddenly as if nothing was ever wrong. Someone suggested the ignition may just be weak because its old. This may be true, as when I bought the car, the key wouldn't even turn in the switch. I got a locksmith to cut a new key and clean out the lock and it turns nice and smooth, but obviously an old and worn ignition. But I also see that the clock resets every time I'm not sure why that would be happening. Perhaps it does make sense, and someone could explain to me why this happens and how I could fix it? I obviously don't know that much about the electrics of the car...and although its never not started, i'd still like to fix it before it gets worse. thanks!

bummer. sad ending to the story. Maybe down the road life will give ya another shot at it. That sucks tho

thanks for the responses. I think based on my budget, I'll go with ihscout54's suggestion on this one to keep tolerable for now. I cant see it making things worse. I'll keep my eyes open for a replacement dash in the long run. I think what Jono suggested is ideal, but not really practical for the relative value of the car right now. If I do fill it in myself with quick foam I'll take some before after pics.

So i've got an 84 gl sedan 4wd with a really nice body and runs great. Things that hold it back tho are a cracked dash and ripped seats. What options do I have as far as the dash repair goes? I doubt I'll find a replacement dash from a similar car in good enough condition to be worth the work of swapping it out. But maybe I'm wrong? Will the dash from an ea81 wagon work, as that would increase the cars I could look for... I was at an upholstery shop yesterday (to look at the seats) and they suggested Velcro carpet on the dash, which doesn't sound attractive to me at all...So are there any other options than find another old one in good condition or velcro carpet? The car is posted for sale on CL, haven't got pictures up yet of the dash and seats but will add them soon Its also listed on the for sale section on the board. http://corvallis.craigslist.org/cto/5252457298.html I'll sell it as is if someone wants it, but I'd prefer to see seats and dash get fixed up first thanks, joe

I drove a 92 loyale for a while and its temp gauge never got halfway. I think it just means your car is not overheating...so lets count that as not a problem haha...what other issues?

the brats have 13in rims right? I've been able to find tires that size at common mainstream places like les schwab and firestone. They are usually pretty cheap too compared to bigger tires.

On both my loyale and gl I've yet have an axle last more than a couple months before clicking. It drove me nuts for a while and determined as OP said, just a part of owning these cars.

As you mention, the turbo ea82s can be problematic. If its been taken care of it may be fine for a while longer. Regarding the do it your self clutch job, people talk about it being easy because relative to other cars, its not to bad to pull an ea82. However, you are still having to pull the motor and as a newbie student, you can expect this to take you a respectable amount of time. Ask me how I know Without basic shop tools, I'd plan on at least a week to be back on the road (first time took me more, with my job and school competing for my spare time). If you do decide to buy the car, I'd recommend doing the clutch before your classes start in a preventative maintenance style rather than waiting till it completely go out. And then you find yourself in the classic scenario of now that the engine's out, good time to replace this that and everything else. You'd be kicking yourself after completing the clutch to have headgasket fail right down the road. Just keep the dollars added up. Best case scenario, a clutch kit is ~100 + ALLOT of your spare time. Most likely scenario, clutch is ~100, reseal kit oil pump timing belts and everything to give you confidence in the car down the road ~250-300 Worst scenario, it can be allot worse! especially if heads are cracked. I highly highly recommend looking for headgasket symptoms before you buy the car. If your looking for a super realiable 4x4 wagon and cheap, go with an ea81 gl. If you really like this gl10, and are willing to spend time and money keeping it up as a daily, then go with this one.

wow that things sweet! I didn't even consider it was a sedan, I saw 2 door and assumed hatch so sorry for introducing some confusion. Yea shoot for more, I think the value in that would be how rare it is. I've never even seen a 2 door ea81 sedan. So good luck with the sale hopefully you get the higher numbers!

Well I'd say its hard to suggest a price without pictures, but I think 3-4k is a bit optimistic, at least here in PNW. Yes they are more "popular" but that also means they are too hard to find either. The 2 door hatches are a bit rarer than the wagons but I agree with ron that FWD is gonna bring in less money than 4WD. IMO a safer price for a reasonable sell time would be between 1.5-2k, maybe more if its in truly stunning condition. Never hurts to shoot for more tho! If you don't mind, let us know what it ends up going for!

Thats a great find! Oddly enough I picked up an 84 gl sedan same color and in great condition a few weeks ago for $300 and thought it must have been the best deal in the world but you've done $50 dollars better But seriously, you've found a great great deal paying less than scrap value for a car that can be potentially very valuable to a buyer who appreciates it. The ea81 sedans were ONLY made in 1984 and are very rare today in good condition. I believe less than 10k were originally made and obviously the number that exist in decent condition today is much less than that. Take good care of it!

and fyi, these numbers are based on what I've seen SELL. Its not unusual to see cars listed for much higher prices, but they tend to sit on the market for extended periods of time and usually drop down significantly in price before selling.

Of course value is subjective but this is what I've seen the past couple years on craigslist here in PNW oregon and washington (i've also bought and sold a couple ea82 wagons recently) ea82 wagons in truly good condition can go between 1500-2k. With moderate wear and tear but driveable go between 1k -1.5k. The real beaters if still running at all between 500-1k and if not running less than 500. The quality of your add and some patience can go along way for getting the most for your car. Good luck with the sale! Post some pics, maybe someone on the forum will want it!

Thanks for all the feedback. Unfortunately, this project keeps getting messier. Bought the car with 3 motors, after inspecting them, its clear 2 have cracks in the cylinder walls, the last just got done being honed at the machine shop. He thinks it should have been bored out but we just don't have the money. Furthermore, the car came with a brand new set of pistons, but they are standard size so boring would cost us more in parts there as well. So we are already anticipating oil leaking from square one. So gotta decide whether its even worth to get new rod and crank bearings. I'm just not sure it will be worth it. The body and interior of the car looks super good but there are allot of unknowns since I bought it without the motor in it. The PO says air suspension and everythign worked, but for some reason I'm not so confident. I just wanna get a motor in there so I can see if everything else works. If all checks out, then maybe its worth doing a proper rebuild. It'd just suck to drop some serious cash into the motor and find a bunch of other problems that I won't have the motor... Haha anybody got an xt6 short block in respectable condition? Might be better of to start with a better block...Got lots of good xt6 parts I could trade like tranny and set of heads, cranks and cams...

That thing is awesome!!! super jealous...personally wouldn't recommend moding it out but to each is own. Just please dont tear it up! If you want something to lift and go wheelin buy a brat thats already ugly. That thing looks great for a reason, cuz its been sitting in a garage with AC and NOT getting the hell beat out of it. Keep it how it is and it's value will only go up.

Thanks for feed back. Good to know they are the same as ea82, thats what I was crossing my fingers for. If i have more trouble still I'll contact lithai or ssi

I've got an xt6 motor apart and need rod and main bearings. Dealer says they can't get them along with a local shop who says same thing. Its still not clear to me tho, are er27 rod and main bearings the same as ea82? If so, worst comes to worst I could buy two kits and be left with some extras...If not where can I get these things? Thanks!

I'd check for vacuum leaks. Some seafoam might help too.

It depends on who your selling it to. If its someone who is going to use it then its just a gamble as to whether it suits their personal preference. To some who value a car in its original state, any non stock modification could potentially reduce its perceived value, whether it enhances performance or not. But you've already made non-stock improvements (dual range, weber, rear disc). So it sounds like you have already gone down that road. If your into the lift, just do it. What changes are permanent? Couldn't you just take the lift off if it was a deal breaker to our hypothetical future buyer?