89 subaru dl

[Jes1991]

Hello. let me start by saying theat i know hardly anything about cars. i have owned this car for about 2 years. it was in a highschool auto shop for a long time as a "test car". my car runs just fine exept that it has the TOD. but im 2 broke to get it fixed. but i was thinking about when i get a little bit of money to compleetly restore it. the body hac no damage but a little bit of rust behind the bact tires. the transmition is good and under the hood is ok exept that it leaks a lil bit of oil and coolant. the interrior is ok exept some of the vinel on the doors have chipped off and the AC/Heat ajuster knob sometimes melts on the inside and the clock dont work and wen it does it gets really hot. thats about all the negatives. can someone tell me about how much it would be to compleetly restore it?

[GeneralDisorder]

Just to fix all that stuff? Not much - you just have to spend some time at the junk yards to find decent used parts. Good door panels aren't hard to find - a temp selector will be a bit of a challenge as most of them have one issue or another. To make a proper one you have to combine parts from various years as they fixed one issue but introduced others with the changes. The clock is easy - just needs the solder joints remelted on the back.

 

The TOD could be several things - anything from seals to needing a new oil pump or lifters. You can try some ATF in the oil for a while and see if that helps clean them up.

 

GD

[mdjdc]

Welcome to the subaru family. I am in Richmond, so not too far from you. When it gets a bit warmer come on over one weekend and we can tackle your problems. There is a self serve yard near here and I have many parts in my stash you can go thru.

 

Just an offer.

 

Mike

[MilesFox]

Helloo, your 88DL is the economy trim package, mimimum options. Mechanically your car is the same as 1985-1995 dl, gl, and loyale. the only thing different on your car is the tachometerless instrument cluster and the quad headlights. otherwise, the engine will be the same for any other spfi, although there were different connectors on the engine for 86 and 87

[Twitch de la Brat]

What they said ^^^^^

 

In addition to GD's suggestion, try running seafoam through it.

Put half a can in the oil and let the car idle for 10-15 min,

Change your oil as usual.

Then add the rest of the can to gas tank.

It should help if the TOD is sludge related.

 

Twitch

[The Dude Abides]

Sweet, rock the DL. The only mechanical difference you can have is DLs have a single range 4wd system and GLs have a dual range. 88 and up all have Fuel Injection. You can upgrade to Rear Disc brakes which drasticly improve stopping power. Depending on what you want to do with the car there are areas you can go. I will say that restoring these cars isnt to expensive but kinda a waste of time. I mean i like my car but its just a cheep econo box. If you want to go that route like people have said check the local junkyards, and look on the forsale sections here because people part these cars alot. You can lift, you can lower, you can put just about any subaru engine in these cars. People are jealous of our headlight setup because the GL headlights suck for viewing. You cant exchange the Instrument cluster for the ones with the tach without alot of work. Look up various upgrades and whatnot in the serch function. You never did say if you had 4wd or 5 speed. Try to check out where the oil leaks and coolant leaks are coming from.