heartless

bearings arent all that hard to do, just time consuming if you have never done it before. it is MUCH easier to do if the knuckle is off the car. Just make sure you pack the new bearings well with fresh grease - messy job to be sure, but vital for bearing life, disposable gloves are great for this job. do a search for wheel bearings - LOTS of info out there.

if you have front end issues already, then, yeah, you are gonna wear those tires a LOT faster. Hard cornering with the softer rubber will also wear them faster - they werent made for that kind of driving. the pair that i just recently bought are Bridgestone Winterforce tires - they are currently on the back end of the 88 coupe we have with decent all seasons on the front. Dont even have a weeks worth of driving on them yet, so hard to say how they will wear. I do about 100 miles a day to work and back. hasnt snowed since monday (see wild ride post) so roads have been clear, mostly dry since... if it were mine, I would be getting it in for an alignment check at least. (and slow down a little in that canyon!! LOL)

Sweet82 - yeah, Hildy has LOTS of character!!! "We have the technology - we CAN rebuild her!! Better, faster, stronger than before" (well, maybe not the faster part! ) had the auto glass guys out on wed. to pull a good windshield & cargo window from a parts car. they did a nice job of taking them out in one piece. also removed the cracked windshield from Hildy - got to do a bit of rust repair work before they can put the good glass in - i'm gonna be busy this weekend. When i had originally called the auto glass place I got a quote for about $411 and change for both windows, new, installed - ouch! (we just replaced a hot water heater and a chest freezer - cash is tight at the moment - this was also the reason for only buying 2 tires instead of 4) well, got to thinkin and asked if they could pull the glass from one car to put in another, and he says sure, they do it all the time as long as they can get the piece out in good shape. $50 out, $50 in + install kit @ $20 - per window! $240 is a whole lot better sounding to the wallet than over $400. This morning (thurs) I am feeling and moving a lot better. Still sore - bruised feeling, but the stiffness is pretty much gone. Thanks again for all the well wishes. let the rebuilding begin!!! ps: this was the first time in 5 years of driving my Sube that I had the back end break loose - can you say "overconfident"? damn good reminder that it can happen in a flash, to say the least! Stay safe out there guys & gals!!

well, you know what happens when you assume, right?? anyway, couple of pics for you pic hounds first is the car itself pointing out some of the damage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/heartless500/car01.jpg nice thing about this ol girl - she wasnt pretty to begin with, so it isnt nearly as heartbreaking to get a few bumps and bruises as it would be if she were cherry. What the pic doesnt show is the exhaust twisted way off to the left...gonna have to rebuild that again. the window that is pointed out has tint on the inside - only thing holding the glass in place. you can see the impact spot near the center... The next pick shows where i ended up. What it doesnt do a good job of is showing how steep that sucker is! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/heartless500/ditch01.jpg arrow shows the direction of travel (spinning), blocked out area is where the car finally came to rest - facing the road (note the fencepost - drivers side rear door was directly over the post) also, note the creek a short distance away! another small obsticle not in the pic is the telephone pole that was to the left - missed it by a couple of feet... thanks for all the well wishes guys. feeling a bit better today - still sore, but not nearly as bad. Hildy will be getting "new" glass soon, along with a set of frt fenders i have had for a while. the back end is gonna be the hardest to fix, not as easy to replace metal there! She has definitely shown the will to survive, so she is worth fixin to me. And definitely drive safe gang - it happens in a split second, and can happen to even the best driver. it's been a long time since i had been in the ditch prior to this, and this was by far the worst for me.

1. MY wagon does NOT have all wheel drive - it is strictly front wheel drive. 2. road coverd with a good 2 inches of slush. 3. just plain not thinkin (too early in the a.m.) and backed off the gas goin down hill...doh... oh yeah - cougar - had JUST put a new pair of snows on her the night before! i have pics after the fact...didnt think to take the camera with when we went to rescue poor Hildy...and of course by that time the roads were in good shape...sliding happend around 7:15am, rescue took place around noon. pics will be coming soon - need to get them off the camera, and resized for those with dialup...

Well, got to go for one heck of a ride today in my 89 GL wagon - but not the kind one usually WANTS to take! Was snowing again Monday morning when i got ready to leave for work (we got 10 in of the stuff friday)- roads were snowy/slushy - my favorite combination (not!) Anyway, take off - get about 8 miles from the house - headed down a slight hill - two cars spaced out pretty good coming the other way - eased off the gas just a tiny bit and the rump roast end starts to slide...uh-oh, here we go! spun across the other lane missing both the other cars - went between them - off the road, missed a telephone pole by maybe 2 feet, took out three fence posts, and finally came to a stop facing the road - which was about 8 ft above me! the young lady driving the second car stopped to make sure i was ok - a LOT shook up, but relatively ok - and she gave me a ride home. Anyway, to make a long story short, myself and a friend managed to pull the car out of the ditch later in the day - after the snow/rain stopped - gave it a once over on the side of the road and actually drove it home!!! Damage overall is mostly cosmetic (and she wasnt real pretty to start with), altho I will have to get some new glass put in and fix my exhaust, but the little beast is still drivable! Still runs relatively straight down the road (gonna have to get it re-aligned) but for all intents and purposes - it is still 100% drivable. me, well, aside from a slight case of whiplash, and a few other assorted bumps and bruises, I am fine. I paid $150 for this car over 5 yrs ago and it NEVER ceases to amaze me. I kinda get the feeling she doesnt want to die - any other car would have been toast after that ride, but not my Subaru!

on my second set of ones like numbchux posted - only i got mine for $29.99 at the local Mill's Fleet Farm store...dont use them much anymore - after burning up 3 alternators over 5 yrs! (used to use them all the time) But I do like having them if I need them... really need to look into doing an alternator upgrade...

well, have owned my Subaru for 5 yrs, 2 months now, and have officially put 100,000 on her myself - car has 242,500 on it total, and counting! i know some of you will say "thats nothin", but for me it is. I have never owned a car this long, 2-3 yrs is the longest, and definitly never managed to put that many miles on one car. bought my Subie for $150.00...spent a few more bucks getting her roadworthy (clutch, axles, tires, alt, and battery) and she has served very well over the last 5 yrs, best 150 bucks i EVER spent!! and that little phrase "drive it like ya stole it" - I DO!! and she keeps on going! i kinda think Subarus are slightly masochistic, the more you beat on em, the better they like it! anyway...long live the subaru!

you think you have a hard time finding a decent sube??? HA, try living in Wisconsin, where salt eats them alive! I love my 89 two whl drive wagon, but she has a SERIOUS case of salt cancer and probably wont survive much longer. Have been looking for a decent, cheap sube for over a year to have on hand when Hildy's cancer gets the best of her - no luck so far. gonna have to talk to an aquaintance that has a used car lot - see if he can find me one at auction - heck, it doesnt even need to be running if the body is clean!

had a heck of a time changing mine too... just curious, do you still have the top of the strut bolted up? if not, put the top back in, and snug it up. (careful, dont break a stud off - that sucks!) Completely saturate the lower end of the strut with the penetrating oil of choice - and mean SATURATE. Squirt it in thru the pinch space too...let it sit for about an hour - maybe squirt a little more every 20 mins or so - it takes a lot. After it has had time to soak for a while - start with the BFH (big F-ing Hammer) beating on either side of the knuckle - i happened to have a nice big chunk of stainless steel rod to use kinda like a punch - was able to direct the blows better. it takes a lot of work/beating, but it will eventually come out of there. once you get the old one out, give the knuckle a good cleaning out with a small wire brush & rag - get as much of the nasties out as you can before installing the new strut. seems to me i even gave a light coat of anti seize in the knuckle as preventative..

well...only locks up on one wheel - right front (passenger side)...

just a suggestion, not a necessary - but replacing the oil seals behind the timing pulleys is a "good" idea. prevents oil leakage from saturating a belt, and causing premature failure (ask me how I know this one!)

northwet - only dumb question is the one not asked. 1. yup - they were turned in 2. yup - everything fit properly his brake job was after doing mine, but I didnt get all the new goodies (I do have new rotors waiting for my next brake job tho), just new pads and bleeding as my car has seen pretty much continuous service where his had sat for a couple (4-5) years before we picked it up - things were a bit rusty on his....ok, maybe more than a bit...

our first thought was parking brake, so we disengaged that at the caliper, same problem... next thought was the hill holder - except his wasnt hooked up (didnt realise it until we went to unhook it) not sure if it is all wheels or just one at this time, will have to check into that....

the other half's 89 GL wagon has a little bit of a problem with the brakes. if you get on them even a little bit hard, they will lock up - kind of like applying the parking brake...if you wait a little bit they will eventually back off enough to drive again, but this is not a good situation. when we got this car we put in NEW calipers, pads, and rotors along with new flex line on the front end. rear brakes got new shoes. there have been a couple of hard line replacements in the rear as well due to rusted out lines. Bleeding has been done several times in an attempt to correct the problem - no luck. any thoughts as to what may be causing the "lock-up"??? I am kind of wondering if it isnt booster related - hard braking causes vacuum loss, and it takes a bit to get it back??? fwiw - vacuum lines have been replaced on this car...

the area I would be the most concerned with is this one...not a real clear shot, but if that spot is rusted all the way around, then get yourself another car ASAP...

most definitely! the carbed engines dont do as well as the SPFI/MPFI on the mileage. 40mpg isnt unheard of, but not the usual either. conditions need to be just right, and the car needs to be in top running condition.

89 GL wagon 5 spd manual front wheel drive mileage: 239,000+ and counting average: 30-33 mpg will go down with cold weather (warm up time ya know) paid $150 for this car 5 years ago - i think I have gotten my money's worth... other half's car: 89 GL wagon 5 spd manual dual range 4 whl drive 210,000+ average mpg: 31-32 (he drives like an old grandpa too! LOL)

another source... http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?parttype=81&ptset=A&searchfor=Tie+Rod+End+-+Passenger%2c+Inner Parts America is affiliated with several chain auto parts stores, including Advance Auto and I believe Checker Auto... If you go to the site and choose your vehicle, at some point it will ask you for your zip code so it can point you to the stores closest to you. I use the site pretty much every time i need to get parts for anything, look it up, print the page, than go to my local outlet and order it thru them - sometimes even get a better price too! had to replace one of mine not too long ago for the same reason - bent after hitting a deer... good luck, and use those jack stands!!

i run with the covers on. first time doing the belts had a heck of a time with the brass inserts - finally got them all off - removed the brass insert completely and used a longer bolt, flat washer, lock washer and nut... never thought about using zipties....

actually, you are better off running new speaker wiring...if i recall correctly the stock speakers are on a common ground - which most of your aftermarket stereos do not like. my car had a hatchet job done on its stereo wiring before i got it so took me about a half a day to get everything sorted out and hooked up correctly, and the speaker wiring was on of the biggest issues. and a test light is your best freind in these situations.

daeron - that automatic is whats killing your mileage - we have an 88 coupe with the auto and it doesnt get anywhere near the same kind of mileage as the manuals do. at 3000 RPM's i am cruising at about 63 mph with my 5 spd the coupe is running closer to 35-3600RPMS at that speed gearing makes a BIG difference. the other half has the dual range 4whl dr 5 speed and his runs slightly higher rpms than mine does - he gets 30-32 mpg out of his, but has to drive like an 95 yr old grandpa to get it! if he drove like I do he would only be getting about 28 mpg. whatever the reason for the mileage gains, i am enjoying it with gas prices the way they are - only took $15 bucks to fill it when i got the car 5 yrs ago, now takes nearly $35

to answer a few of the questions... yes, it is a 5 speed, fwd oil = one quart per fillup (+/-) mostly due to leaks rather than burning... according to the other half, i drive like a maniac (ie: drive it like you stole it!! ) I put around 100 miles per day driving to/from work, mostly out in the country (couple of small towns along the way) average cruising speed around 63 mph.... power is great - for 90hp LOL plenty of getup and go left in the ol girl. will squawk the tires without really trying... another 500K - wellll, maybe not, the salt cancer is slowly eating her away, but so far the structural stuff is still pretty solid - front fenders and behind the rear wheels, not so good. she may not be the prettiest car on the road but, I luv my Subaru!!!!

well, have had my 89 GL wagon for just about 5 yrs now...when i got the car it had about 142,000 miles on the clock, and I got an average of 28-29 mpg. Not too shabby for an older car.... well she currently has 235,000 on the clock and is now getting 33-34 mpg consistently!!! seems the more miles i rack up, the better the milage gets. anyone else experience this phenomenon????

OMG!! this is too wierd - just got rearended on Friday....just like you , no real damage, swapped info and went on our way... not sure about the 93 loyale, but on my 89 GL there is no "resetting" of anything. the "bumper" is designed to absorb the impact by "crushing" only noticeable damage on mine is a slight bump in the top of the bumper, and a dimple in the plastic cover...rear hatch still operates properly, all lights work fine...good to go! (oh yeah, the vehicle that hit me was a newer Ford Explorer Sport Trac - half SUV, half PU)