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1991 Loyale 4x4 build thread. 1st timer here


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No pictures on this post, because nothing really worth taking pictures of has happened lately! Rain has been flooding my barn where the project is parked :(

 

But I got to do some wrenching this weekend! Put the nicer set of seats I got in and got the goop that was left on the floor by the old modly carpet all cleaned up. Gotta find some velcro strips to hold my limp sun visors up :P

 

Also inspected my front brakes and now I have to replace disks and pads up there before I drive it again. Found the source of a major rattling noise while inspecting the passenger side! The bushing on the sway bar endlink is completely, 100%, gone. Since it'll be a trail rig and is getting lifted, I'm just gonna drop that piece of metal.

 

I also took some time and got my vacuum problem sorted. A solenoid controlling the idle speed (I think?) is broken and I cant find a new replacement... Plugged off the lines and she runs tits! No raised cold idle, but the idle is smooth as silk now and it revs perfect. Will let me cleanup the engine bay a bit more, too.

 

Still havent tackled the wiring harness... My coworker that used to work for Subaru is finding the wiring diagrams I need, so progress on my 1st harness trim will be starting before too long. Also havent had any luck finding a disk conversion for the rear locally so far. Might have to go through with making my own hubs out of the old drums.

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There are 2 solenoids on an EA82 engine.  One is for the EGR valve, the other is part of the purge system for the vapor recovery system.  Neither of them effect idle speed intentionally.  The IAC valve does that.  It is mounted on the throttle body.

 

If a vacuum line is broken / open on either of the 2 solenoids, it can adversely effect idle, since air is getting into the mix after the MAF, and the computer doesn't know.

The cold idle not being raised could be caused by the CTS out of spec.

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There are 2 solenoids on an EA82 engine. One is for the EGR valve, the other is part of the purge system for the vapor recovery system. Neither of them effect idle speed intentionally. The IAC valve does that. It is mounted on the throttle body.

 

If a vacuum line is broken / open on either of the 2 solenoids, it can adversely effect idle, since air is getting into the mix after the MAF, and the computer doesn't know.

 

The cold idle not being raised could be caused by the CTS out of spec.

Thanks for the info! Looking around at diagrams, I thought it was the purge solenoid but the pictures I was finding of that part didnt match what I was looking at... It also didnt have any lines going to the EGR. So maybe its an aftermarket one that looks different? In any case, the fitting for the line was broken off and left open. The lines going out of it T'd off to the intake and going up to a canister on the firewall that had some pressure/vacuum in it when I pulled the line off. Plugged the lines right where that solenoid was, on both ends and it ran perfect.

 

I dont know if it would begin running worse when warm now though... Brakes are all torn apart right now so I didnt take it for a rip around the block yet. Should I be doing something different with that situation?

Edited by Hamsamsquanch
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A picture might help. 

 

The solenoid for the EGR disables the EGR under certain circumstances.  I think one of them is while the engine is not warmed up.  EGR helps reduce pinging and NO emissions.  No negative effects by having it function properly.

 

The vapor recovery system burns off fuel fumes you paid for rather than letting them escape into the air.

I see no reason not to restore these systems, but not everyone does.


I have used toyota solenoids to replace the OEM ones, as they almost always fail.  http://www.dynahoedave.co.nf/solenoid.html

 

The canister [and check valve] is there to operate the HVAC system, even when the manifold vacuum is gone due to wide open throttle.

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https://imgur.com/gallery/cFnhn

 

If you look at the line with a screw in it, it should be rotated down and going into the solenoid there. The fitting for the hose is broken off of it though. I left that plugged then also plugged the line that immediately T's into the intake.

 

Just for clarification, if this is the vapor thing, it is okay to run my car like this? Not gonna run like crap when its warmed up or use substantially more fuel? Would love to get rid of the canister, solenoid and the lines for all of that stuff and maybe even the EGR valve stuff if I can.

Edited by Hamsamsquanch
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IT won't hurt anything to run it that way.  The VRS [or lack of it] won't make a noticeable effect on running.  Technically, only a tiny difference in that you loose the fuel that evaporates.

 

The EGR system reduces combustion temperature, when beneficial.  

i never noticed a big difference in how the engine ran one way or the other, but if it reduces knocking, that gets more power.

 

There was some more detailed discussion of this system on another thread recently.

 

The one that broke, and you plugged, is part of the VRS. 

 

These systems don't harm anything performance wise, so I don't understand the getting rid of them.  Once you use Toyota solenoids, they are very reliable.  I'm still using the same Toyota solenoids I put in my first [1986] GL, back in 1989 or so.  Never had to do another thing to those systems.  I've been running and maintaining GLs / Loyales since 1988.

 

How it runs when warm won't have anything to do with these.   The CTS and IAC valve are the 2 more common things to bother idle regardless of temperature.

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IT won't hurt anything to run it that way. The VRS [or lack of it] won't make a noticeable effect on running. Technically, only a tiny difference in that you loose the fuel that evaporates.

 

The EGR system reduces combustion temperature, when beneficial.

i never noticed a big difference in how the engine ran one way or the other, but if it reduces knocking, that gets more power.

 

There was some more detailed discussion of this system on another thread recently.

 

The one that broke, and you plugged, is part of the VRS.

 

These systems don't harm anything performance wise, so I don't understand the getting rid of them. Once you use Toyota solenoids, they are very reliable. I'm still using the same Toyota solenoids I put in my first [1986] GL, back in 1989 or so. Never had to do another thing to those systems. I've been running and maintaining GLs / Loyales since 1988.

 

How it runs when warm won't have anything to do with these. The CTS and IAC valve are the 2 more common things to bother idle regardless of temperature.

Thank you so much for your responses and answering questions! Heres my reasons for stripping the vacuum components down:

 

- I'm trying to get this engine bay as clean and simple as possible. Ive never had a clean and truly simple FI engine bay, so I'm gonna make this one my first.

 

- All of the little vacuum lines really need to be replaced immediately (most small lines crack/break if moved). If they didn't NEED to be there in the first place, I'd rather spend the time and money elsewhere.

 

- The added piece of mind of not having these systems possibly causing random little problems when out on the trail is nice.

 

- Quicker diagnosing of running issues when there are less components at play.

 

If I had to pass emissions, I would definitely be going the Toyota solenoids route. But I registered this hoopty in a county with no testing because I knew I would have some exhuast or vacuum issue triggering BS codes at some point, especially after the OBD2 EJ swap :)

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  • 1 month later...

The barn dried out and I finally made some more progress on this thing!

 

Got all new brakes on all 4 corners. A soft line burst during bleeding, so I gotta make a replacement before its street worthy.

 

When replacing the wheel bearing I ran into a cross threaded nut in the trailing arm holding the bearing in... So off to Johns subaru and got a replacement arm that is in better shape. Threw a new CV axle in on that side since the boots were torn up. Will be re-booting the old one and having it around as a spare. Will do the same with the other side soon.

 

I did take the opportunity when the wheels were all on and ran her up and down the driveway using the handbrake to stop. https://imgur.com/a/25ya1

 

Running pretty good. Got a little bit of ticking going on, but that wont be a problem soon. Im getting a phase 1 EJ25 tonight! Gonna have a mechanic friend go through the heads and help me out putting it all together.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hamsamssquanch, where are you from? I live about 45 minutes from John subaru, usta live about 5 minutes from him in laurelwood.

I live in Oregon City. So about an hour-ish drive to Johns. Definitely worth the (gorgeous!) drive out there for the pricing and the cool guys working there, though! My Civics brakes didnt like that descent down to his place much last time, though haha.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Got the brakes bled and pedal feeling amazing. That old fluid was by far the worst I've ever seen (I always put a clear tube on the bleeders). It started out as vanilla milkshake looking, then transitioned to gross foamy crap, then got suuuuuper dark. After a little bit of dark it started looking like new fluid.

 

After getting the brake fluid sorted, I found the cause of my throttle sticking at wide open... The pedal linkage is gummed up hardcore and is pretty rusty. Are there any pedal assemblies that would bolt up and work with my brake pedal/booster linkage??? I have access to a free late 90's legacy setup about 1.5 hours away, but I'm also going to pick 'n pull later today to get some Chevy parts for my dad and can grab something while I'm there.

 

Gonna be starting the EJ process soon! Getting the EJ25 block cleaned up and ready for dissasembly. Will also be taking my EJ22 heads into work this weekend to get looked at by my ex-Subaru mechanic coworker.

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  • 4 weeks later...

How its turning out Hamsamsquanch ?

Slowly but surely progress is being made. My girl and I just had our 2 year anniversary, so we went to the coast on vacation and drained my projects budget for the month in the process. Great trip, though!

 

I got the gas pedal from a Legacy and modified it to work on my Loyale. Had to pull the stock pedal assembly out and cut the gas pedal portion off of it, so now the throttle is a free standing assembly from the brake and clutch. The Legacy pedal only needed the shaft bent up a bit to line up with the Loyale pedals and the Loyale cable end snapped in to the pedal shaft like it belonged. 2 bolts through the firewall is all it took to mount it. Works great now, no more sticky pedal! I do need to shorten the cable a bit since there is about 2 inches of play before the throttle actually gets pulled now.

 

Was going to take her out camping and wheeling before teardown for the EJ conversion, but my ea82 alternator died. So I made a track through the woods in my backyard, charged up a battery and spun some laps until the rear CV axle that I didn't replace broke and took my dirtbike on that trip instead.

 

Car is currently sitting in the barn again waiting for the EJ stuff and some money. Have been going back and forth on if I want to go AWD with it or not. 4.44 stuff is really expensive and hard to find. I might be able to score a 4.11 setup out of an RS though. Going AWD would open up clutch choices a lot and would save the hassle of making an adapter plate while giving me better gearing than my single range push button trans.

Edited by Hamsamsquanch
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  • 1 month later...

https://imgur.com/gallery/4Pgfz

 

Sorry for the lack of updates on the project. I got her road worthy enough to daily with the EA82 and drove it for a while to feel out what suspension work was needed. Lost oil pressure and couldn't seem to get it back, so we made a death pool at work and I drove the hell out of her. Headgasket blew about a week later and she made it to about 100ft shy of the barn running on 2 cylinders.

 

Pretty much have the engine pulled now. Going to be turning the EA into a sweet little coffee table.

 

On the hunt for a donor car to get my AWD swap. Hoping to get this thing back on the road with an EJ by winter!

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