To to-fix list of my Loyale

[z4x0r]

To repair my non-turbo 5-speed '94 Loyale to perfect condition, I've created a list of symptoms that need to be addressed. These are sorted, but these are not prioritized. I'll be addressing the simple fixes and mechanical issues first.

 

Engine, etc.

• Belts squeal on startup, especially in cold weather
  
• Coolant boils after about 10 minutes of driving, lasts ~1 minute
  
• Low on transmission fluid?
  
• Loses coolant/oil?
  
• Idles between 500 - 2,500 RPM. High when engine is cold, even higher in cold weather. Check engine light sometimes illuminates when idling low.
  

 

Brakes

• Squealing
  
• Wobbling
  
• Grinding
  
• Weak.
  

 

Body

• ~4" Scratches on right doors
  
• Cracked right mirror
  
• Weak rear hatch struts, especially in cold weather
  
• Numerous ceramic engine spray paint speckles on right-rear
  
• Tiny paint chips near wheel wells, front grille
  
• Discolored grille piece
  
• Dents:
  • Driver's door, beneath handle, shallow
    
  • Left-rear door, front of door, shallow + wide
    
  • Tiny imperfection in right-rear door
    
  • 2 very noticeable dents in hood
    

 

Interior

• Air conditioning is useless/dusty
  
• Window tint is peeling
  
• Needs thorough cleaning
  
• Some white latex paint speckles in rear
  
• Paintless spot on driver's door + passenger door
  
• Slight sunfading on dashboard
  
• Need to find left-rear seatbelt
  
• Small rip in headliner
  
• Fabric detached on backside of rear seat
  

 

Other

• Holes in muffler/exhaust
  
• Slightly out of alignment
  
• Power locks do not lock all doors unless turned by key (not inside lever)
  

 

And the Subalou as it looks now:

 

 

I'll update this thread as the list (hopefully) gets smaller, or remember anything I forgot... If anyone knows of simple fixes, it would save me some searching. Thanks!

 

***EDIT***

 

Aww man, I made a typo in the subject line. It's supposed to be The to-fix list. Oh well.

Edited October 15, 2009 by z4x0r
Added to the list. I'm being obsessive-compulsive, oh well.

[The Dude Abides]

Obviously you want to talk care of the mechanical aspect first. Since we are coming up on cold weather i would worry about anything but engine and brakes until next spring. Your engine situation worrys me. How many miles are on your car. You need to check your cooling system out. Make sure its not clogged. But if your losing coolant you need to figure out why and where. You have the possibility of a leaky water pump, leaky hoses or worse head gasket leak. These dont go so often on these cars unless there turbos. But they do happen. Not to hard to do some say but its up to you.

 

Check engine light comes on, you can run the codes to find out whats tripping it. Coolant temp sensor or idle air control valve have been known to make these engines run at high rpms when they are dirty or non functioning.

 

Brakes for these cars are cheep but somewhat a pain in the butt to do. Requires screwing the caliper piston back into place instead of pushing it. If you have the means and you can score them you might want to get a set of rear disc brakes. Dont require much for the conversion but you stop (OH) so much better.

 

Belts are easy, just take them off and show the parts guy at the counter.

 

You dont have transmission fluid if you have a manual, you have gear lube.

 

Check and find out where its running out of oil. Get your vehicle to run long enough to crawl underneath it and check for these leakes.

 

Do some diggin on here and find guides and wrightups on what to look for and what to do. Timeing belts are another good thing. Make sure your 4wd is working. Lots of parts and help to be had on here. Welcome aboard and nice looking ride.

[someguy]

My List:

 

* Strange steering rack shudder

 

* Right hand CV Joint.

 

* Replace air filter that is almost black

 

And I thought I had problems haha

[z4x0r]

My vehicle has nearly 133,000 miles on it; a little high but I'm positive my EA82 has more life in it... as long as I put more care into it than the previous owner. When I received the car, we replaced the water pump and a head gasket, but I haven't looked through the cooling system thoroughly enough to find the leak(s). It doesn't overheat as long as I add coolant about once every month.

 

My Loyale, at this point, is drivable and I drive it daily, but I want it to run until I have to swap the engine at 300,000 miles for an EJ. Or maybe the boxer diesel will be in the States by then...

 

It sounds like my car just needs some TLC, and I still have much to learn!

[The Dude Abides]

133 THOUSAND MILES. Its dead, its so dead. Just send it to the Junkyard. Im kidding these engines are pretty stout and can get up to 300k with good maintenance. I have 209000 on mine right now.

 

Youve got to find out where the coolant is going. Either its going in the engine out the tailpipe or its going out of the engine onto the ground. Do you smell coolant burning. Check the fins on your radiator, they have a tendency to clog or if to old become missing. Also check your heat output for possible clogged heatercore. Did you change out the thermastat as well. These cars like the oem subaru t-stats only. When you replaced the waterpump did you check out the hoses attached to it and see they were cracked.

 

Do you have white exhaust smoke. Can you smell the coolant out of the tailpipe.

[bheinen74]

coolant can go 3 places.

out the pipe

on the ground

on your floorboard.

 

if its on the ground, keep your pets away from where you park.

[z4x0r]

4WD works fine, and it seems like the coolant is going onto the ground for the most part. When this weekend rolls around, I'll really poke around my engine bay. Until then... Time to find information on the rear brake swap!