hevans41 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) I just bought a 1988 subaru dl with an ea82 engine and a 5 speed tranny. Since this is my first subaru, I have a few questions I would like answered. I used to drive an older corolla of around the same year and the subaru drives a little differently, and I was just wondering if the differences are normal or if they should be looked into. 1. The shifter on the subaru vibrates a lot more than the toyota's and I was wondering if it is normal for it to shake a lot. 2. The subaru has a bigger engine than the toyota's but it seems to have very little power. Is it supposed to have more power? 3. The check engine light stays on for a few seconds after the car starts running. Is there was something wrong would the light stay on? The person I bought it from said he recently had the timing belts replaced, but through the process, he didn't have the water pump replaced which is now leaking. Is there an easy way to change the pump without taking the whole engine apart. The car has around 160k miles and I would also like to know if there is any maintence issues I should look out for for or be prepared for. Edit: Sorry about the title, i just realized hat it was misleading after I posted it. Edited October 2, 2013 by hevans41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) Shifter wobble is expected, the bushings do get sloppy over time. It is mounted on an arm separate form the trans between the body. IT is not mounted on the trans itself. There are several linkages in it that multiply any play. It is common that you can wiggle the shifter side to side in gear as if it were in neutral. You will always bump your passenger's knee grabbing 5th gear! the check engine light may or may not stay on, but the ecu ill flash a code at you if you plug in the test connectors. as for power, the ea82 prefers mid rpm than low rpm. The engine should always operate above 1500 rpm. Ideal cruise rpm is 2500. Shifting ranges would be shift at 3500 so the next gear grabs at about 2000-2500 rpm for normal driving, wind it up to 4500-5000 rpm for rapid acceleration such as a highway ramp. hit 5th gear once you get to your cruising speed. The water pump can be replaced if the timing belt cover is removed. The trouble with that is, you have to take off the crank pulley and the ac components to get the cover off. If you ran coverless with belts, the water pump is just staring at you. You can get the wp off, but one of the timing belt cover bolts thread into the pump housing. A lot of us run coverless for the idea that it makes a 2 hr job into a 20 minute job for routing front engine servince, I have been one to just break out the middle timing belt cover since i would be ditching it anyway. Avoid removing the crank pulley unless you are doing the front seal, as sometimes it can eb difficult to get it back on tight properly, so it doesn't wobble around and eat the woodruff key. Edited October 2, 2013 by MilesFox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 And be prepared for the bolts holding the side timing covers on to have their nuts spin... use cable ties to put them back on 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hevans41 Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 thanks for the info. I was also planning on getting some sort of repair/maintence manual and am wondering which book is the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now