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Everything posted by heartless
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Subaru Loyale - reliable?
heartless replied to Bubs360's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
keep up with the maintenance (detailed above) and they will go nearly forever. bought my 89 GL (same car - pre-Loyale designation) with 142K on the clock, drove it for 7+ years, parked it with 255K on the clock - it sat for about 1-1/2 yrs, fired it up a couple of months ago and my daughter now drives it - still going strong - best 150 bucks I ever spent!! body is gonna fall apart before the motor quits!! -
is there an easy way to replace antenna wire?
heartless replied to s'ko's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
to make installing the replacement easier - when you pull the old antenna up from the A pillar - DO NOT pull the wire all the way out - make sure you leave enough inside the car to grab hold of - cut it loose from the antenna, then tape or wire the end of the replacement to it and use the old wire to pull the new one down thru the pillar...makes life a lot easier... -
How to exorcize electrical demons?
heartless replied to Wirebrush's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
seems to me that if all of these "weird" things are happening with regards to the position of the ignition switch - you need a new ignition switch... it is possible that the switch itself is so worn that it is shorting just a possibility...mi9ght want to get a line on those priests tho, just in case... -
Holy Flippin Flappel its Cold
heartless replied to The Dude Abides's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
Sure - rub it in... -
ok, you asked for it....the following pics are not for the faint-hearted! these were taken after the parts were removed from the car - yes, the car is still going!! gotta love that. However, what the salt can do to an undercarriage is really disheartening - that is what kills most vehicles up here in salt country... I know there are some others with pics of rotted out undercarriages - I dont have any - too depressing...
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Holy Flippin Flappel its Cold
heartless replied to The Dude Abides's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
Ben - first thing, get the battery out of the van and brought in somewhere halfway warm and get it fully charged!! extreme cold WILL kill a battery. it is very cold here as well - around -17F give or take - wind chills around -35...no fun, and I feel for anyone that has to be out in it. so cold that they have cancelled school! -
A thread was started in the "new gen" section about the new Legacy concept car - most said it was ugly, myself included...in an effort to "improve" the car i started playing in photoshop.... I have decided that I needed to move my "revisions" here since it isnt really relevant to the orginal thread... the following is a progression of the "revisions", created with input by other members. enjoy... photo of the original car (lightened to make it easier to see)... 1st & 2nd "revisions" - half original, half photochop - stance the only real change between the two...1st being taller for those of us in snow country, 2nd lowered for those that prefer that (Psyko) ... full "head on" view - also changed led's to amber as suggested by bheinen74... and finally - lowered roofline just a little (as suggested by the beast i drive) & 3 different versions of the grill area revisions - it was suggested by olnik that the grill be lowered more & center bar be thinned down some. once i thinned the center bar something looked "off" so played a little - thinking i like the last version best - what does everyone else think?? oh, and made the mirrors larger, more in proportion... comments and suggestions for further improvements are welcome (and encouraged) will be playing with a side view of the car soon...
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Colorblindness and fog lights
heartless replied to baccaruda's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
+1 for the yellow for actual fog use for the reasons stated above. If you have concerns about it, perhaps talking with an opthamologist might help.... -
'86 gl wagon owner seeking help from the gods!
heartless replied to baggyshorts's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
no, not necessary to pull radiator and such. to check the belt pull the outer cover (timing covers are three pieces). you should not need to pull anything to get to it, altho moving the vacuum canister out of the way (unlatch, lift up and twist it out of the way without removing any of the hoses) does make it a little easier. removing the 10mm bolts on the cover can be a pain - especially the lower ones if the nuts embedded in the plastic break loose. uppers arent usually a problem... if you do need to do the belts (sounds like maybe you should), there is an excellent write up in the USRM. -
ok, i can see i am gonna have to do several versions to keep everyone happy!! LOL the most recent incarnation - lowered stance for Psyko (& those of a like mind) and lowered & trimmed the grill area a bit - it does look better... also reworked the mirror - lost the "chrome" look, made it more body color - still not 100% satisfied, but i think it looks better than it did... i dunno - kind of like the headlight lines as they are (in my version) - kinda mean looking - altho will try the amber instead of blue led's... [/url] keep the comments coming guys!!
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valid points - as i said, it was just a quickie - plan on playing a bit more to see what else i can do with it. ground clearance - well, i prefer to have the clearance - but i live in snow state :-\ if it wasnt for that i would agree that closer to the ground would look nicer well...back to the "drawing board"....
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sorry, i dont like it either... looking from the side - bulbous nose - looks too much like every other sedan out there - sits too low, not sure i like the chrome... looking at the front - wide at the bottom (good) but squished looking at the top (bad) what is it with the current headlight themes - on ALL new cars??? headlights dont belong shoved way up the fender! sheesh... and i agree with Skip - what the heck is gonin on with the side mirrors??? sorry, but I want to see - in reality - what is out there - not some camera's interpretation.... tech for tech's sake - umm, gettin a little carried away here.... time to open up photoshop....
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Iowa Blizzard (pics)
heartless replied to The Dude Abides's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
get some 14 inch pugs - amazing the difference they make!! we put a set on our coupe - filled in the fender gap VERY nicely. (makes for a little better ride, too) -
Suby Newby with a couple questions.
heartless replied to 87jewbaru's topic in Old Gen.: 80's GL/DL/XT/Loyales...
we have an 88 coupe, bone stock w'pushbutton auto, only "upgrade" (so far) = 14" pugs - gotta love them. we have the body kit from the RX but not on the car yet... here's a pic from a couple years ago, playin in the spring mud - actually, we were trying to move a parts car that had been sitting for a long time... -
ok boys - lets not get into the "this is harder than that" BS - if you are not mechanically inclined - ANY car is gonna be a PITA - same holds true for something you are not familiar with....I find Subaru's pretty easy - but then I have been wrenching on one for almost 10 years - the Geo Prism (toyota corolla clone) we had breifly was a royal pita...generally speaking, the newer the vehicle, the bigger pita it will be...just my .02 cents. the point here is - ANY used car is more than likely going to have issues of some sort and will therefore need attention - meaning parts and/or money - unless you happen to be incredibly lucky and find one that has been very well cared for and has a complete maintenance history. I personally would not hesitate to buy an older Subaru with 150K on the clock - but I have enough knowledge and experience to deal with 98% of the problems it may have - and what I dont know, I can generally find out here... I repeat my previous statement:
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Amen!!!! maintenance history is a big factor - if you have access to it - Great... If not - then any car at 150K is a crapshoot - yes, even a Subaru. This is especially true if you are not a diy kind of person because not only will you have the cost of the parts to consider, but the labor as well. as an example - my 1990 Legacy LS wagon - purchased for $200, trailered home. Had to replace all 4 struts (including springs & tophats) due to blown air suspension (reason car was so cheap)- converted to standard coilovers - went used parts here to start with, but new struts came later - also had to replace 80% of the exhuast since p.o. drove the car with blown air suspension... then it needed basic tuneup items - plugs, wires, filters, oil change, etc. Then, had to do timing belt - including pulleys, water pump, new hoses, etc (did have reciept for a new radiator by p.o.) Also had to replace one rear brake caliper and pads on all 4 corners. total cost for parts - rough guess-timate - was around $600 +/-... labor - did the work myself total cost to have a good running, non-interference EJ22 - priceless (sorry, couldnt resist :-p ) about $800 - and that doesnt include the new tires i had to put on either - those were another $200... had i taken the car in to have all that work done - sheesh, dont even want to think about what it would have cost! probably in the $2000 range (+ parts cost)... so - you need to consider what you are willing to do yourself, what you wont do, what kind of history is available for the car, and what you are willing to spend - both to purchase the car, and to get it up to par. sorry for the book here...i tend to get carried away sometimes...
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have to agree with the others - a dealer is going to ream you. Trade in values are generally about 1/3 to 1/2 of the private sale value... you can get a general idea of the value of your 98 at either http://www.kbb.com/ or http://www.nadaguides.com/home.aspx?LI=1-21-1-5013-500-500-50000&l=1&w=28&p=0&f=5000 I usually use both and average the listed values. A few guidelines when going to look at a used vehicle: 1. go with an eye toward looking for flaws - dont get all excited cause it looks nice - nit pick and take mental notes to use in price negotiation. 2. try out ALL the goodies - mirrors, power windows (try master switches & each door), radio, heater controls, power/heated seats - try everything!!! 3. best to hear car start & run from a cold state - if it was warmed up before you got there they may be hiding hard starting issues. 4. check body over carefully - sure, a used car is probably going to have a few nicks and scratches, possibly even a small ding here or there, no big deal, but be on the lookout for paint that doesnt quite match the rest of the car = evidence of damage repairs. 5. Check tires and wheels - look for uneven tire wear = possibly worn suspension parts and/or misalignment due to accident (especially if wear is on only one tire). 6. Take for a test drive - does tranny shift smoothly? how does clutch feel if manual? how does it handle? any pulling, wandering, etc. also how do the brakes feel? smooth stopping? jerky or mushy pedal? 7. Ask for maintenance records - look for things like timing belt change (if enough miles), regular oil changes, etc. 8. if possible - take it to a "trusted" mechanic and have it put up on the lift to get a good look at the underside and get his/her opinion of the vehicle. Good luck with the hunt, and dont forget to post pics when you get your "new" car!