SubaruWagon87 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Got it last sunday: Its got a 3AT , fwd , 220,003 miles, spfi ea82, power steering, had ac, but doesn't anymore because someone before me took the compressor out,no stereo (but thats gonna change soon), and it was only $200. I asked the guy why so cheap, and he said that when you turn to sharply to the right, oil gets past the rings on the front left cylinder and it smokes for awhile after that. Well, thats not the case, the only smoke I'm seeing is from the gear oil and tranny fluid leaking down onto the y-pipe. I'd like to do a 5-speed swap, and possibly dual range it, how involved does that get? Or would I be better off leaving it like it is? Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2coe Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 that's nice. I like that body style but don't see many. I think the tranny swaps are fairly involved, someone will chime in with more, especially the dual range because then you're talking a FWD to 4wd conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 he said that when you turn to sharply to the right, oil gets past the rings on the front left cylinder and it smokes for awhile after that. This is (i believe) a common problem with the PCV system and was the subject of a recall on the SPFI system.. not sure if 89 was "built right" in the first place or if you need the recall kit, but that kit is no longer available from the dealer.. you ever go to junkyards? IIRC, the two elbows on the back side of the rubber intake snorkus, just to the LEFT of the TB if you are looking at the engine from in front of the car (passenger side) should be plumbed together IF the recall kit was installed, but stock they were two separate elbows.. Its hard to describe, basically what I am saying is you need to search "recall," search in older gen sub forum only, and look for "smoke" or "pcv" in the subject lines... In other words, people commonly have a problem with smoke on long sweeping right turns, and it has nothing to do with bad rings. Run a compression check and a wet test on the motor; its probably fine. Anyone got photos to illustrate what I so clumsily tried to describe above?? regarding the D/R swap, it isnt difficult.. but it has a couple tricks to it. IIRC, the hardest part is fabricating a carrier bearing mount for the rear drive shaft, since the FWD models had nothing of the sort.. but MANY amateurs have successfully done this. I think you need linkages, interior bits, gauge pod (unless you like the automatic indicators in your instrument cluster still) flywheel, shifter linkages, trans cross member, and rear driveline, in addition to the trans, clutch, and pedal assembly. MUCH simpler if you can get a donor car; saves trips back to the junkyard for bits you forgot. All the big things line up, though, and it is a fairly easy swap; Nothing more than the obvious stuff is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 What Dearon said about the PCV system...replace that along with both "breather hoses to the crankcase..if you pull them you will probably find them all gummed up..sure sign is oil in the air filter box. the 4WD swap is involved but not that bad..these cars are legos and it doesnt look like you have the rust issue we have...you will need the tranny.. rear diff rear control arms axles pedal box ..cables ( you will need a new speedo cable too ..I think the AT is too short ) fly wheel and I think thats it. I thought about doing it to my Loyale but with the rust and stuff..I gave up that idea...plus the time. Nice straight car..love the DL quad lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Hey, thanks!! I have been wanting to do a side by side comparison of these two for a while, and seeing your pic of the coupe in maroon, reminded me that someone just posted a pic of their maroon XT6! (j2coe) I just figured I would post it here since it was easier than any other way, and while I am at it we can oo and ahh and discuss the differences between the two. Things that make you go.. hmmmm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Things that make you go.. hmmmm...... Dontcha mean....Things that make you go Vroooommmmm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi subbie Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 cool. neva seen an coupe like that with those kind of lights on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 cool. neva seen an coupe like that with those kind of lights on it Thats cause its a DL instead of a GL. They are not as common. As far as the tranny swap goes..if you want less headaches and better gas milage then go for the 2wd 5 speed swap. Its not all that bad as i did it in my EA81 sedan. I wrote up an article as well detailing how to do it. Its in the USRM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Never seen one of these before. But I like it. :headbang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j2coe Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Hey that's copyright infringemeny! I wonder why I like his car? It does liik a bit familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaruWagon87 Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 Thanks for the info guys. I'll take a look at the pcv tubes when I get a chance to later. And as for the tranny swap, I'm hoping to find a gl coupe with a dual range, which would make everything easier. If I did find one, theoretically could I swap over all the d/r stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerhunter Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Thanks for the info guys. I'll take a look at the pcv tubes when I get a chance to later. And as for the tranny swap, I'm hoping to find a gl coupe with a dual range, which would make everything easier. If I did find one, theoretically could I swap over all the d/r stuff? I did a tranny swap in my 87 GL sports coupe a couple of years ago. The biggest headache that I ran into was that the center bracket for the 2 piece drive shaft was not there and I had to drill the holes to mount the rear diff hanger. I cut the drive shaft bracket from another car by drilling out the spot welds. The bracket was easy to keep aligned because 2 of the bolts which hold the parking brake lever mount go through it. I can't weld, so I used a lot of pop rivets to secure the rest of the bracket. Aside from changing the pedal cluster, the rest is fairly straight forward. Word of advice, if you put in a dual range, you will not have to run the wires for the electric 4wd switch on the shifter. You will need to make the back of the shifter hole in the hump a bit bigger to accommodate the 4wd shifter. If you run into probs, drop a line here to subyjim. He has a shop outside of Vancouver and has done this job at least a dozen times. His shop record for the conversion is 14 hours and a flat of beer. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaruWagon87 Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 So theres finally something new with my coupe (other than the muffler rusting off), as I was driving to work this morning, most of the coolant decided not to stay in my engine anymore, and I was stuck on the side of the road. I couldn't tell what it was, and after it cooled down, I decided to drive back home. It seemed to go fine, so I filled the radiator up with water and grabbed another 4 gallons and drove it to work (30 miles). I don't think the thermostat ever opened up because the temp gauge stayed between 1/3 and 1/2 the whole way. I took a peek under the hood a little bit ago and didnt see where it was leaking, so I put a pressure tester on it and I noticed that the upper radiator hose swelled up. I took the tester off of it and started it up, and after about 10 minutes the upper radiator hose swelled up. I shut it off and ordered a new thermostat, upper and lower radiator hoses, and some intake gaskets. From the best I can tell, it looks like the coolant came out of the intake gasket. I didnt think coolant ran through there, but I could be wrong. Does coolant run through there? Well, at any rate, I'm going to be replacing the gaskets, t-stat and hoses after work. I'll post a status update after I fix 'er up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix165 Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 actually ea82's do have a coolant passage through the intake manifold, i think its got something to do with deicing but i'm sure someone else will know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 You NEED to use dealer intake manifold gaskets. I haven't personally experienced it, (I replaced mine with OEM brand) but the wisdom here is that ANY other brand WILL fail sooner rather than later. Most failed gaskets are aftermarket brand; most dealer gaskets are replaced not because of a failure, but because they were taken off for some other reason. Go to http://www.thepartsbin.com and find them, ishino brand, theyre under 5 bucks for the pair, plus shipping. Maybe 15 total, should have it in under a week. Or, go to the local subaru dealer and take your chances with availability and price; My local place wanted like 9 bucks each and I still had to wait but I live in S. Florida so my experience doesn't mean yours will be bad.. but it may, its a dealership :-p I know some places AREN'T expensive and DO stock them, but I don't know your people. Were you watching the temperature gauge when it crapped out all the coolant? Did the car heat up at ALL? Over half way, say? If it hit the red zone, or even got close, there is a chance you will develop a headgasket issue. That chance depends on how hot the car got, among other things (like history, etc) that aren't as important. If it pegged the gauge, chances are nearly 100%. If it was, say, 1/8 inch below the red, chances are pretty good that you're OK, maybe 1 in 10 (give or take) EDIT (just looked at the pics again:grin:) someone NEEDS to convert a full blown RX into the four-eye setup like this... Especially if that conversion could be retrofitted with quad HID projector lights...... it would look INSANE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaruWagon87 Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 The temp gauge never went above halfway. The intake gaskets I got are felpro, and I haven't put them on yet. My dad looked at my car and thinks its ok to drive for now, so I haven't done anything to it yet. I was thinking the t-stat was stuck closed (because the upper hose swells when it's warming up). I'll probably change the t-stat and hoses today at work and see what that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I just bought two intake manifold gaskets from the dealer on monday, mine were like 8 dollars a piece. Its worth the investment exponentially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 The temp gauge never went above halfway. The intake gaskets I got are felpro, and I haven't put them on yet. Felpro's are no good. They are cardboard like the rest. Dealer only. They are about $3.65 each at my dealer - but they give me wholesale so YMMV. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 The temp gauge never went above halfway. Schweet, you *should* be OK then, knock on wood. Just had to throw it out there and make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I wanna do a quad-light setup on my coupe... *** Writing down to self, hunt for DL's in the JY this weekend *** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I wanna do a quad-light setup on my coupe... *** Writing down to self, hunt for DL's in the JY this weekend *** hey man...... what about quad rounds????????? I think it was McBrat that did that to his 80s hatch... and it looked SHARP, I have SCADS of OEM NOS quad headlamp assemblies at my uncle's shop.... you would need to find trim and grill pieces, but.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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