Syonyk

Bingo. We're a bunch of cheap SOBs in the old gen forum. ... I'm probably in the top 5% of people here in terms of "amount spent on my Subarus." And I wouldn't buy metal head gaskets. Mostly because I don't have a turbo yet. :-/ Remember, this is the forum of, "I just paid $200 for this Subaru, it's not running quite right, how can I fix it for $50?" Followed by 2 years later, "Well, I just sold that Subaru to buy a newer one, I put $400 into it over 2 years, got 50k miles out of it, and sold it for $500 to a friend." -=Russ=-

2nd gen RX-7s have a mass airflow sensor that works with 0-5v, 3rd gen RX-7s don't have a MAF - the use a MAP system. You could make a SAFC/AFC/etc work, but you'd need active voltage division before the unit, and multiplication afterwards. You could do it fairly easily with a few opamps - a 3x divider/multiplier should be fine. The problem, as pointed out earlier, is that the EA series Subarus have a 10-12v MAF sensor, and the SAFC units work with a 5v signal. It'd work fine until you hit 5v on the MAF, then it'd clamp & the engine wouldn't run beyond that airflow. If anyone's interested in playing with this, let me know - I could whip up a voltage divider/multiplier set & send it out for you to play with. I have a SAFC-II in my 2nd gen RX-7, so I'm fairly familiar with the units. -=Russ=-

I expect my children will be driving my '92 Loyale when they get old enough to drive, if I have anything to say about it. ... I'm not even dating anyone. That should tell you how long I expect that car to last. Yes, they're old & need stuff replaced, but they're no worse than any other old vehicle, and arguably better because they're so EASY to work on! Um... to the OP, you could probably find a buyer, but it would be a great car to learn to work on. Do the radiator/timing belts at the same time (pulling the radiator makes doing the timing belts easier), the shifter bushing can be ignored for a while as long as you don't mind the slop, with 4WD you have a failsafe if an axle fully fails to get home (if you're not deep in mud/snow) and the axles aren't very difficult to change. The intercooler could wait, and unless you have a burning desire to rebuild the engine, you could easily pull it out & swap in a 100-150k mile engine from someone on the board, and replace the clutch while you're at it. No more than a few weekends of work, really. -=Russ=-

There are pretty much two types of people who own old gen subies now. People who purchased them new, and you'll have to pry the steering wheel out of their cold dead hands because they love them so much, and people who purchased them used, love them, and will do anything to keep them running nearly forever. The new car market is very different. Some people just want shiny/new, and will look for an excuse to get rid of an "old" car, so they can get a new one. The head gaskets in the Outback are cheaper than a new car, but some people just want a new car. Also, a lot of people will buy a car and know nothing of it's linage. Many new gen Subaru owners wouldn't recognize an old gen. -=Russ=-

Plugs, cap, and rotor. And keep a spare distributor cap in the car - I had some issues after plowing through 2' of powder with water getting into the distributor. Beyond that... mine have started all winter, in all conditions. -=Russ=-

If you buy a new fuel pump, that's part of the assembly. It's a pulsation damper, and if you can safely bypass it and stop the leak, go for it. -=Russ=-

Does your oil *need* cooling? Unless it's getting too warm, there's no good reason to add an oil cooler - what temperature is it running at? RX-7s need an oil cooler because the oil cools the rotors, and there's a lot of surface area collecting heat. -=Russ=-

Looking at getting a new exhaust system fab'd up for my '92 Loyale, so... a few questions. 1. Is the exhaust from an '87 GL the same as from the '92 Loyale? I'm planning to go with a custom engine-back exhaust, glasspack instead of the cat, etc... and the '87 passes as an "offroad only" vehicle. If it'll bolt right up to the '92, I'll do that. 2. Glasspack instead of the cats, and a good sized muffler in the back - will this be nice and quiet? I'm looking for a fairly non-restrictive, but yet still nearly silent exhaust. 3. What diameter piping should I use for the Y-pipe, and then behind that? This will *actually* be for my '92 Loyale, so it will be used for in town driving, highway cruising, and the occasional rallycross - but mostly in-town & highway, so I'd like low end torque. I seem to recall 1.25" on the y-pipe, and 1.75" from the junction back - does that sound sane? Other suggestions? Thanks! -=Russ=-

Just start checking from the beginning. Something should show up as really, really obvious. Pull the timing belt inspection covers, see if the belts are intact. If the passenger's side belt breaks, the engine will run on two cylinders, and sound like a lawnmower, be way down on power, etc. Fortunately, the EA82 is a non-interferance engine, so the valves won't contact the pistons. New timing belts and you're good. This doesn't explain the metal-on-metal sound, though. My next step if the belts are intact would be to do a compression test, make sure all the cylinders/valves are doing what they're supposed to. Beyond that... if nothing's obvious, you might need to tear into it a bit. I suspect one of those two will show you something, though. -=Russ=-

Now, compatability questions: I don't know my EA82s as well as I know my RX-7s, so... This is what I have: 22100AA053 D4P84-03 6802 This is what someone is offering me: 22100AA440 D4P86-03 B 1404 Are the compatible enough to work? -=Russ=-

Two? *goes to look* ... *comes back with the distributor* Yea. Thanks. That did it. -=Russ=-

'87 GL, SPFI. I've removed the bolt that keeps it from twisting, I've pulled the rotor off, and... I can't get it out of the engine. It was stuck pretty solidly, so I used a strap wrench to turn it (and broke one of the little spring clip things... are those easy to find?), and it'll turn to the ends of it's adjustment area, but I still can't get it out of the engine. I need to pull it so I can replace it so I can get the car running again. Suggestions? Other than "Pull the engine, take it apart, hit it from underneath"? -=Russ=-

I agree, but I have an almost rust-free Loyale in my driveway right now, and a very badly rusted '87 GL that it's replacing. Plus, most of the GL gadgets will connect right up to the Loyale, if I so desire. -=Russ=-

In the process of figuring out what I want to do with my new '92 Loyale, and I had a few thoughts over the past week of driving it, mostly related to the fact that, with a bit of work, it could pass for a luxury car. So, my thoughts. Feel free to comment/add ideas. 1. Stereo: 2 speakers doesn't cut it. I could, with a bit of work, go 6-way. Front door, rear door, hatch. Nothing obscene, and definitely not "OMG BASS" stuff, but a good sound system that could play clearly on the highway without working hard. 2. Exhaust noise. Custom exhaust, to get rid of the damn cats, with a presilencer where the cat should be, and a big muffler in back. Get the exhaust noise down to almost zero without restricting flow *too* much. 3. Interior noise: Pull the interior panels, and either use rubber spray, or Dynamat to help dampen the noise. 4. Exterior: I'm thinking a gloss black mostly shaved Subaru (remove the trim, fill it in so it's smooth, possibly remove the rear door handles in favor of poppers, keep the front & rear Subaru badges but no other marks) with tinted windows would look pretty darn sweet, and if it was done well, it'd be possible to make it look reasonably modern. Thoughts/suggestions? -=Russ=-

There are a lot of little rusted scrapes & nicks & such. Plus the bigger area by the wheel. Do I need to do anything special after sanding it out other than paint it? I figure down the road a few years I might have it professionally painted, but I just want to keep additional rust damage to a minimum. Also, does anyone have thoughts on undercoating an old gen (other than "stay away from the driveshaft")? -=Russ=-

Actually, I found the 4th - it was being used for one of the snow tires in the back. So I have 4. -=Russ=-

Congrats! I just picked up a clean 92 Loyale for... 5 times that. Good deal! And thanks for that Loyale link - *reads* -=Russ=-

This will be a street car almost entirely. I may do some offroad stuff with it on occasion, but it's pretty much going to be on pavement it's entire life. I was thinking about getting the steel rims powder coated a gloss black - does that look any good? -=Russ=-

So... I just got back from a dealership with a '92 Loyale. It's sitting in my driveway now. I paid a good bit for it (right around $2k), but it has almost no rust (and the rust on it is surface rust), it's very solid mechanically, it has working blizzard blaster AC, came with a set of studded snow tires, and... is pretty much exactly what I was looking for in a Subaru. The pics first, then the questions. Onto my questions: 1. Oil pressure: It's around 55-60PSI on a cold start, drops down to 20-25PSI when running on the highway when it's warmed up. Oil pump reseal? 2. The power steering pump leaks a bit & makes a slight mess. I'm not entirely sure where it's leaking from yet. Are there any common places to look? 3. The fender dents. It's not a huge deal, but is there a good way to repair those? I'm not opposed to taking it to a body shop, if it'll look good when done. 4. The rust by the driver's side rear door: It's just surface rust, so... wire brush, sandpaper, prime, bondo, paint? Anything special there? There's a bit of paint bubbling on the door, too. I'm planning to fix that while I'm at it. 4a. Where does one find matching paint? 5. The underside is, so far, fairly rust free. There are a few patches of some light surface rust. I want to keep this car as clean as possible, as long as possible. How should I go about doing this? I'm not opposed to a good undercoating, if needed, once the rust is removed. 6. Window tint. Does anyone have pictures of silver EA82s with window tint? I expect it'd look pretty sharp. 7. The wheels... eh. Three of the white ones, not 4. I have a brand new set of tires mounted on the stamped steel rims. They're a bit rusty, though. What looks good? I'm not opposed to a set of Subaru hubcaps, I was thinking of possibly having the tires removed, getting the steel rims sandblasted & powder coated black, and using them. Thoughts? 8. The stereo is stock. This needs to change. I have a nice head unit & adapter plate that I was planning to use in my GL, but... I just kind of ziptied the stereo in & left it. I'll do it right this time. Is the stock wiring good enough to use, or should I run my own speaker wire out to the doors? Also, what size speakers fit without interfering with the windows? I know the stock speakers are fairly shallow. 8a. Thoughts on adding rear speakers? Is there a good place for 'em that doesn't interfere with cargo room too much? 9. The power windows all work, but some are a bit slow to go up. Is this just something I can lubricate & fix, will it keep working indefinitely like this, or should I be eyeing replacement motors/wiring? 10. The driver's side mirror is hanging down a bit, and is loose at the hinge. I haven't been able to take a good look at it, but is this something that's easy to fix, or does it need to be replaced? 11. Anything else anyone would like to add? This is my 3rd EA82 Subaru, and by far the nicest. I want to keep it as nice as possible, as long as possible. And eventually look at putting a WRX drivetrain in (in another 5+ years). Thanks! -=Russ=-

It's the pulsation damper on the fuel pump. I know exactly what you're talking about - it's the reason I got my GL for $350. I replaced the entire fuel pump assembly because I couldn't figure out how to get the damper off, and the pump was starting to make some interesting noises anyway. You could probably eliminate it if you wanted. It's on the high pressure side of the fuel system, so be careful when you take the pump out - it sprays. You can drop the fuel pump tray, disconnect the wires & fuel lines, and work on it out in the open if you want. Be sure to plug the line coming out of the fuel tank - it's big, and dumps a lot of gas down your arm. Pliers on that will help reduce the leakage until you can cap/plug it. -=Russ=-

I'm not sure exactly what the speed is, but whatever redline in 5th gear in 4-Lo is. As said above, it's not the best thing for it to be used on dry pavement, but... honestly, autocross & such involve enough slipping that I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just know that it's not recommended, and I'd really suggest changing the tranny/diff oil with Redline MT or such to help it handle the stress better. And it'll shift better when cold. Now go out there and show them what an "old" car can do! Major bonus points for beating a new gen Subaru (in my experience, a lot of the people who drive a shiny new Subaru at autocross don't push it remotely hard - if they do, you've got no chance of keeping up, but if they're slow, you've got a shot). -=Russ=-

Wow. Thanks! A few questions: Custom conversion races? I'm not sure I understand what those are. Is there any way at all to get a front mount intercooler wedged in there? I'm not a big fan of the hood scoop on the old gens. For the dash gauges, everything more or less wired up the same? And, the real question, how does it drive? I'm guessing a lot of people do a double take when an old gen Subaru wagon goes like a bat. How's the handling? -=Russ=-

Does the WRX driveline do something vaugely resembling bolting up, or would I have to totally redesign the drivetrain? I'd prefer to not have to redesign the brakes/bearings/etc if at all possible. -=Russ=-

If there's any torque in the drivetrain (caused by different front/rear speeds from turning, or from slightly different tires), it won't come out of 4WD easily. There are two methods I use on my '87 GL to get it easily out of 4WD, I imagine they'd work the same with pushbutton. You can back up straight for a car length or two until it pops out of 4WD. Or, more fun, you can find a slightly slick surface & hit the brakes hard enough to cause some slip. That's been good for getting it out of 4WD. Worst case, just jack a wheel up enough for the drivetrain to unwind. -=Russ=-

*confused* Why wouldn't you just put it in the back? -=Russ=-