rabbitt Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 hello all i just my first suby, its a burgandy '85 4wd turbo wagon from a car auction, batteries dead, needs gear oil, motor oil, tranny fluid, and ummm prety much basic tuning up. i'm fine with all that, in fact i kinda expect it. i just wanted to you all know that i'm prolly gonna be in here quite often, lol. so any help or tips would be greatly welcome..... also its an automatic and it seems like EVERYTHING works on it. honestly it looks like some old lady owned and never did any maintainance on it so i feel lucky. also if anyone has any upgrade ideas or anything that would give it a lil more pep in the engine and stuff i would be glad to entertain any ideas as long as it isn't craziness like a wrx motor or something like that lol * i dont have that much money i'm just a ski/ snoboard instructor* nice too meet you all, rabbitt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 change oil like a champ. soob's have HLA's (hydraulic valve lash adjustors), nice because they never need adjusting, they can't be adjusted. but they don't like being dirty. they stick, the seize and they make lots o' noise when they do. clean oil = clean HLA's, which is good for you. tigthen your valve cover bolts (don't strip them or go nuts, just make sure they aren't loose), the grommets under the bolts degrade over time and allow the valve cover bolts to loose their hold on the covers. lots of oil can come out of these things. takes 5 minutes to snug up the 10mm bolts around the covers. pay particular attention to the bottom bolts. if you're lucky, might help some of your leaking. of course old subaru's can leak from anywhere, but this is quick enough it's worth doing. can also tighten oil pan bolts if you like. check wiring - make sure battery, alternator wires and cables are all good, clean and tight. this will save headaches down the road. also check your ground wires, not sure where they are on your car. basic tune up is a good idea - plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, air filter. do it all at once so you're not trouble shooting weird problems next year. tranny fluid, so i guess it's an automatic? transmission coolers are an excellent 30 dollars spent if you don't like replacing transmissions. inspect your radiator - so you have an idea how good/bad it is. replace your thermostat, it's cheap. old headgaskets don't like overheating. other than trans cooler and tune up, everything else is essentially free or very cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 Three cheers for the fellow snowsports instructor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 The 3-speed Automatic (aka 3AT) has some quirks. It does not like its fluid dirty or overheated. Do yourself a favor and check it for color and odor (burnt smell and color needs immediate attention). Do a fluid change as a precaution, and keep it changed regularly. The vacuum modulator (tells the tranny when you have floored the throttle and it needs to kick down) tends to rupture its diaphram, sucking ATF into the intake and producing white smoke; just be aware of this, and its replacement is $20-30. The tranny also has something called a governor valve that tells the tranny to shift the gears depending on how fast you are going. This device has a couple problems, including destruction of its driven gear ("apple coring") and gumming up of the rotating valve assembly. There are instructions on this site for dealing with these problems. Regarding the engine: Cooling, cooling, cooling. Overheats are deadly on the turbo engines. As grossgary said check your radiator; if you end up needing to replace it at some point get the upgraded 2-row core readiator. Also check your hoses, all of them. The heat can really cook some of them; I had the small hose from the turbo to t-stat literally crumble on me. If you don't know how many miles are on the timing-belts, consider changing them soon. Not too hard to do, good insurance for not having to walk home. (Most Subarus, including yours, are non-interference heads, meaning that if the t-belt snaps it doesn't trash the valves.) Welcome, and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddcomp Posted November 15, 2004 Share Posted November 15, 2004 everthing mr gross said and mr wet said plus.. don't go building power on a 3at they hate it right now your weakest link i sthe 3 speed auto juice box if you never plan on getting more out of your motor then keep all teh fluids changed when they are supposed to be if not sooner oops forgot what else i was gonna type lol bedtime!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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