90-94 Loyale Engine and Drive Train Questions

[sunflowersubaru]

New to Loyale.

 

Looking at picking one up but don't want the EJ series. Did Subaru stay with the EA82 for Loyale 90-94 or jump to the EJ series?

 

I should have asked earlier but will now.

 

Were they AWD only or optional AWD or 4WD? Seems as though sellers list them as being one in the same and it is confusing.

 

Thank you.

Edited April 12, 2012 by sunflowersubaru
Added second question and retitled thread.

[FlatFourFrenchy]

I have a 92 and a 94 and both are the ea82.

[l75eya]

They never came from the factory with an EJ series engine. All have EA series engines, as far as I'm aware. The EJ engine is a popular choice for people to swap into the EA vehicles for better performance and reliability, so any DL or GL or Loyale you run into, unless it's been modified by somebody, should have an EA under the hood.

[sunflowersubaru]

Thank you.

[6 Star]

All loyales had ea82 engines.

Why are you avoiding the EJ's?

They have been proven to be much more efficient and have more power than the ea82.

If you are looking for reliability (without EJ), the ea81 (1981-1984 wagon, 1981-1984 sedan, 1981-1984 coupe, 1981-1989 hatchback, and 1981-1987 Brat) are the reliable engines of the EA series.

[sunflowersubaru]

Understand that EJ has problem with head gaskets leaks.

[6 Star]

The earlier ej25's had headgasket problems, but really if you maintain a vehicle like you should there wont be a problem. Ej22 is the way to go if you just want to avoid the chance of leaks. Do some searches on here before you rule out other options.

[rpholz]

all loyales were ea82 and either 2wd or 4wd, not exactly "awd" with this model

[grotto]

I just went through this myself before picking up my 1992. As per above, in the U.S. market, the Loyale was only offered with the EA82 or EA82T (Turbo) engines. If I recall correctly, they were available with front wheel drive, selectable single range four wheel drive (which is what I chose) or full time all wheel drive. I don't recall if AWD was offered for all of the production years and I may be mistaken that it was available at all. If you come across a U.S. market car with an EJ engine, it has been swapped in. The EJ swap requires re-wiring the engine management system.

 

Personally, I wouldn't necessarily avoid a particular engine just because it has a reputation for HG leaks. Heck, even the famed Toyota 2.4 liter engines are known for that. You just can't let the engine get excessively hot and start warping things or allow too much water into the crankcase. If buying a car that has had the HG's replaced already, (which is likely with an older EA82 engined car) you really don't know how hot it got or how long the previous owner put off getting it fixed so it is a bit more of a crap shoot.

 

I find that many sellers are pretty ignorant about what they have so you can't very well rely on the information they provide being 100% accurate.

Edited April 12, 2012 by grotto

[robm]

Full time 4WD or, in other words All Wheel Drive, was not offered in the Loyale, it was a pre-1990 option. On-demand pushbutton 4WD is all that was offered in the Loyale. I think the last year for the the turbo was 1990, and who wants one of them anyway?

 

The EA82 is reliable, except for the timing belts, which are a bit of a Rube Goldberg set-up, and the turbo model, which increase horsepower at the expense of reliability (head gaskets) and fuel consumption. The EA-81 may be a better design, but they are getting so old that age will be making them unreliable and scarce. It will be easier to find a good Loyale than a good EA-81.

 

The EJ engines are not much more efficient, just bigger displacement, more HP and a more reliable design (timing belts). They do not get as good fuel consumption as the smaller 1800 engines, not that I have ever heard, anyway.

[6 Star]

^If you get an ej18 (found in early imprezas) mated up to a 5 speed, it will get just as good of mileage as a n/a EA engine.

[WASHroad]

Is there any real owner mileage from EJ swaps into a Loyale?? I have not really heard much on that.

[robm]

Most who do it want the extra HP. If they use it, they will pay for it... Even if they hyper-mile it, I can't see a larger engine providing more fuel economy. It is possible, as the EA-82 is pretty poorly designed for efficiency, but I doubt it will happen in practice.

 

But I am just guessing. Has anyone dropped this cannon ball? Put an EJ-22 into a standard Loyale, not lifted, and run it on the highway and/or around town at the speed limit or a bit under?

[dhise]

Is there any real owner mileage from EJ swaps into a Loyale?? I have not really heard much on that.

 

 

30-32 mpg in mine. 34 mpg with an ea82, so they are pretty close. The ej22 is so much nicer to drive though.

[MilesFox]

If you are going for fuel economy, go with a FWD. even a fwd 92 legacy with a 2.2 will get better than 30 mpg. The fwd has a taller gear.

 

the ej22 from 96 and earlier are rock solid with composite head gaskets. It is the later phase 2 ej engines with the metal layer hg's that have the premature failures, usually due to lack of coolant changes (galvanic corrosion)

[man on the moon]

With the 2.2 you do have more displacement, but the Loyale is lighter by a margin your average 2.2 body, and the motor runs (somewhat) more efficiently all things factored in (the ratios, not the actual numbers).

 

So it works out to be about the same mileage wise--a bigger motor that uses more overall gas, but in a lighter vehicle and running more efficiently than the original motor. At least that's my understanding of things, I could be off by a bit.