ihscout54 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 There is no for sure way of telling how the car was treated, if the oil was ever changed, or if the odometer is even accurate. The condition of the body steering wheel carpet pedals etc. are good indicators of its over all use but still prooves nothing. Its possible that they drove it low on oil, or the oil pump failed and it wasnt shut off quick enough to save a motor They might have lugged the motor everywhere, Ive seen people that just have to shift at 1500rpms. They might have used the incorrect oil for years. (the prev owner probably let it sit cause they knew about it.) At this point it dont matter what caused the condition, Whats important now is what you are going to do with it. Are you attached to this vehicle yet? To the point to do what is going to need to be done. Or should you sell it (letting your buyer know what you have discoverd) and recoup some of your money. These cars are hard to find parts for and a bit expensive. Only you can decide. The only reason I havent given up on my brat yet is that its the only one ive seen here in years. And it gets almost as many comments as my lifted cammo diesel Suburban used too. On this toppic if it makes you feel any better my brat has odd oil pressure readings too very low at hot idle but 2500 rpms+ 40-50psi. And I as well get a knock under load but it is intermittent sometimes ill back into my diveway and it will knock and sometimes it wont, Ive pulled plug wires and it comes from the no. 1 cyl. soo its possibly impending doom but im trying to enjoy the car... Its pretty clean and has only 112k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I'm not very attached to it yet. I just bought it about 3 weeks ago. I think i might just drive it till it stops. Unless someone wants to buy it as is. But i really doubt i'd get more than half what i paid which was $500. I am, however kind of attached to my 83 gl. But i broke a bolt trying to swap an axle the hard way. So that's on hold till i find my easy-out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Rod knocks in Subaru's end about 95% of the time with the rod exiting the crankcase THROUGH the top of the block. I would tear it down and replace the bearings before it blows and becomes a useless hunk of scrap metal. OTOH, it is only a 1600 and they aren't exactly sought after so it's up to you. Does your friend know what a rod knock sounds like on a soob? It's generally inaudible at idle untill it's about to blow. You can feel and hear the rod knock when you accelerate or put the engine under load. They are rarely heard just idleing unless it's really, really bad and is about to toss. One thing you *can* hear at idle is a bad main bearing. Sounds like a dull thud that you can feel and goes away with higher RPM. Much less danger with a main knock too. I would adjust the valves as solid lifter EA71's can be quite loud and the procedure isn't difficult. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 The one thing you can try is to remove one plug wire at a time when the engine is running. if its a Connecting Rod bearing, you will heare the noise change pitch. GD is correct, 95% of them get very exciting, the other 5% are rebuilt before it gets to that point. Once you hear the noise, subaru's wont get any louder, but one day it will just let go and make the case junk. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Once you hear the noise, subaru's wont get any louder, but one day it will just let go and make the case junk. True - I meant it gets louder for 5 minutes or less *right* before it blows. . But DANG is it loud. Then you just lose all power (if you are on the freeway doing 70 like I was ). Definately the biggest smoke/steam/fluid experience I've had on a freeway. The whole car was one big cloud of "stuff". I knew what had happened immediately though. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 True - I meant it gets louder for 5 minutes or less *right* before it blows. . But DANG is it loud. Then you just lose all power (if you are on the freeway doing 70 like I was ). Definately the biggest smoke/steam/fluid experience I've had on a freeway. The whole car was one big cloud of "stuff". I knew what had happened immediately though. GD GD, when mine went, it got louder just long enough for my brain to process that there was a new noise under the hood, then BOOM. I thought Th rod went through the hood, man, oil everywhere. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 GD, when mine went, it got louder just long enough for my brain to process that there was a new noise under the hood, then BOOM. I thought Th rod went through the hood, man, oil everywhere. nipper Yeah - probably a lot easier to feel and hear the knock with my EA81 - less sound deadening and insulation in the car. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Any takers? Make an offer? Maybe a good parts car. Doors and rockers have a little rust. Doors are the worst part. Has good chrome bumpers, brown/tan interior, factory subaru alloy wheels and located in Portlandish, OR. Sorry about the cell phone pics, I don't have a digicam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobcob Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 I'd be all over it if it was in Missouri!:-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Sorry, but I gotta ask, since the GL-5 has always interested me (seeing as how I own a GL 9.5 ) Is it a GL-5 because its only got the 1600 cc engine? IE, with an EA81 the same car woulda been a GL-10?? or am I TOTALLY off base with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Okay this really threw me off too. SO there is the GL-10 turbo'ed EA series car. The GL-5 is a 1600cc 5speed Subaru GL wagon. So, I have determined that this was made before there were any turbo'd subes. When I first heard about the GL-5 I was like "WTF?! A Turbo'd 1600?!?!" But it's NA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 I stand retarded. I am, after all, the one who bought a car with rod knock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towel Rail Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Looks too nice to part, though. Why not try rebuilding the engine for fun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 a lot of the off the shelf gauge kits have npt thread fittings and the orofices on the oil pump are metric. the npt thread will work if you use teflon and dont torque much past about 3 turns. you may have to couple the extra fittings in the kit to match it up but i find the leftover fitting from the water temp gauge is the magical piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 Looks too nice to part, though. Why not try rebuilding the engine for fun? I do have a spare ea81 sitting in the back of my other sube that I could rebuild... I just don't trust myself to do that kind of a job. I actually just asked a buddy of mine to ask his co-worker how much he'd charge me to rebuild it and put a bigger cam in, so I'm waiting for word on that. Which leads me to the question, will the tranny in the ea71 bolt up to an ea81 motor? The PO did a clutch on this car not too long ago and i can't imagine it needs replacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Which leads me to the question, will the tranny in the ea71 bolt up to an ea81 motor? The PO did a clutch on this car not too long ago and i can't imagine it needs replacing. No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 If you do decide to part it out i would be interested in those wheels if the price is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Circus Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 So i am kind of thinking (hoping really) that the noise previously thought to be rod knock is actually the distributor. I pulled the cap off and it's super sloppy. the rotor practically fell off when i touched it. I put an ea81 rotor on there and it fits a LOT more snug and works fine to boot. But there is about a half-inch of play when you turn the rotor either way. Now to find a good ea81 disty and coil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towel Rail Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Could you post a YouTube video of the engine running? That might help diagnose the knock if it isn't the distributor -- those tend to "squeal" more. - Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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