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How Many Miles (EA82)?


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I recently bought a '92 2wd, 5spd, Loyale wagon with 230K miles on the engine and I think the tranny is even original. I don't see how it is possible that the tranny lasted 230k. I bought it from the original owner and he insisted both engine and tranny were original. There are some must fix items that I will need to replace to pass inspection and for safety concerns, but there are also some discretionary items that I haven't decided on yet... struts being the big item here.

My question is this: How many more miles can I expect out of the drive train? It does burn and leak oil, but not at a level where I think I need to panic... yet :o

Just curious... thanks!

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I also thought I might add that I do get quite a bit of valve noise. I'm thinking the valves on this car need to be adjusted, but I'm not excited about pulling apart the engine for any reason nor do I trust myself to do a valve adjustment. That being said this is something I would rather ignore if possible :-\ I'm more of a "bolt on" kind of mechanic... axle replacement, Power stearing pumps, brakes, ect...

 

Is a valve adjustment something I "need" to do :confused:

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First off, what motor do you have in this car???

 

EA82 1.8 ltr has hydralic valve lash adjusters, there is no adjustment on them...you can however quiet the noise - usually - just do a search for "t.o.d." or "tick of death" - very common thing with these engines.

 

yes, it could be, and probably is, the original drivetrain. 230K is just good and broken in on these cars, my 89 has 224 and counting and getting 30mpg, i know there others that have many more miles...

the 5 spd manuals are nearly bullet proof, would suggest changing the oil in it tho - especially if it smells. biggest issue with the manual trannies is shifter slop, which really only becomes an issue if you are having trouble finding the gears. :D

 

oil leaks are generally an easy fix, just need to determine whear the leaks are coming from. the hardest one to fix would be oil pan.

 

do a few searchs for specific items you need info on cause chances are it has been covered before.

 

oh yeah, and Welcome to the Insanity! :headbang:

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these are hydraulic valve lash adjuster equipped motors, no valve adjustment is necessary or even possible. usually start with some MMO added to the oil and frequent oil changes. dirty oil makes the HLA's (hydraulic valve lash adjusters) finnicky. that could quiet them immediately or could take along time. if it doesnt' work soon, reseal the oil pump. 10 dollars in seals/gasket and an oring. requires removing the timing belt (not that hard of a job, easy on the EA82 in my oppinion).

 

230,000, it probably is the original transmission and engine, that's fairly typical on these motors trans. i've had them over 200,000 and my current daily driver is at 150 or 160,000 and i'm figuring it'll last to 200+ no problems. that's the norm for the motors. oil leaks and valve noise are the issues, but the non-turbo motors tend to last quite a long time. you have to overheat, run it out of oil and generally abuse them for any significant internal failure.

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the tranny usually lasts indefinately in these cars - particularly if you change the oil when you are supposed to (75w90, pref Mobil 1) - unfortunetly yours is 2WD, so you are missing out on the Subaru 4WD expierence

 

the engine is probably orig too - I have personally seen them go over 300k without a problem - Subarus are EXTREMELY rugged cars - the head gasket & oil seals are the only things that may be close to failure - check the T-belt too, that can leave you stranded, though it is not an interference head, so if you do break it you won't damage the engine internals - the only way you can really blow a head gasket on a nonturbo is to really overheat it - these cars do not like being overheated

 

if you do the T-belt, you can also easily reseal/replace the oil pump, which should solve your ticking issue

 

btw - there is a brat, don't know if they are a board member or not, who has over 500k on the orig drivetrain - only has done a couple HG's

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Heartless if you're wondering if it is a turbo it is not. It's a n/a motor.... I'm guessing that's what you were asking???

 

4wd would be nice :rolleyes:

 

shifter slop??? Yeah we've got that :cool:

 

That's good news about the valves. Thanks for info especially about the transmision oil. That's an easy enough thing to do.

 

The T-Belt was replaced last year so I should be set there. Oil pump... I guess I'll add that to the list...

 

If I make it to 500K I'll let be sure to let the board know :)

 

Thanks!

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shifter slop is a common problem - it is related to linkage and not tranny internals, so it is pretty easy to fix (by comparison) don't know how easy the tranny linkage is to access in a 2WD model, but I know it is a pain in the 4WD ones because of the driveshaft - get some nylon washers from the hardware store and you should be good-to-go

 

the tranny should take ~2.7Qt (75w90, api-gl5 of course for the diff) you are going to go crazy when you see the price of the oil, but Mobil 1 or Redline are the only two that are worth putting in, otherwise 2nd gear will be your mortal enemy (been there...) there is a dipstick for the tranny oil on the passenger side that should be easily visible when you remove the spare tire the front diff and transmission share the same lubricant (the auto does not - in 4wd cars, the transfer case shares the same lube & housing too - nice, neat and compact - but heavy!!) the drainplug is easy to find, located right behind the front crossmember, it is a big bolt at the center & bottom of the tranny

 

btw- you probably just need to reseal the pump, but it would still be a good thing to replace it - some Marvel Mystery oil in the engine oil tends to help those stupid HLA's too - I'd try that before I bother with tearing into it, especially if it is comming from only one or two cylinders

 

good luck

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I've got 258,000 on my daily driver. I replaced the timing belts about 5,000 miles ago and resealed the oil pump at the same time. It takes a new mickey mouse gasket, an O ring, and a seal. It brought my pressure at idle up to over 15 and at speed to over 45, which is pretty decent with this many miles.

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i have a few friends that would call you four letter words for being that lucky with your jeep trans.....but i see your explanation.

 

I know, I have been called most of them by my Jeep buddies. The thing is, I beat on this thing when I first got it (that's how I Killed the first two 4.0 motors). But like I said, it says "aisin" in big letters on the tranny, just like my old tercel.

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I know, I have been called most of them by my Jeep buddies. The thing is, I beat on this thing when I first got it (that's how I Killed the first two 4.0 motors). But like I said, it says "aisin" in big letters on the tranny, just like my old tercel.

Jeep Cherokees with the 4.0L engine and automatic used the Aisin-Warner tranny most, if not all years (sorry to get O.T.)

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Currently on 200,002; cracked the 200k on my drive home from work.

Mine's a '94 Legacy 2.0 Estate (Station Wagon, on the American side of the ocean), which I've owned for nearly 4 years.

Gets regular dealer servicing and driven every day, cover 50-60 miles commuting to and from work each day.

Any other Brits on here?

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