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Subaru Loyale - reliable?


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I have been looking for an EJ22 Impreza or Legacy for a while, but I found a 95k original mile Loyale wagon for sale. These have the EA motor with the spare tire under the hood right? Are these generally as reliable as the EJ22?

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depends on your definition of "generally reliable".

 

the EA82 is a great motor. the biggest problem you're going to have is age. the seals, gaskets, and orings are all 20 years old. there's a lot of maintenance items that are likely to need attention.

 

but...if you maintain them and dont' mind a few road bumps a long the way, they are great motors.

 

the biggest cause of concern is that over 20 years it's likely they've been overheated, run low on oil and things like that. if they haven't experienced any major engine problems though they are great motors.

 

it's easier to find an EJ that hasn't been subjected to as much lack of maintenance and age. that's the main difference.

 

i've driven XT6's my whole life, which is just an EA82 with two more cylinders slapped on it (same pistons, valves, crank seal, cam seals, cam orings..etc).

 

i also used to drive ALOT. to make it as reliable as i wanted i would essentially do a front end job - all seals, timing belt, water pump, oil pump.

 

then i'd go over all the basic tune up stuff. PCV, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, air filter.

 

fluid changes.

 

new radiator, rebuilt calipers, alternator, do the XT6 specific weak spots like power steering rebuild and coolant temp sensor fix and it was good to go.

 

and i'd have an ignition coil, distributor, fuel pump, and starter in the trunk storage compartment.

 

that left me with a car that was quite capable of not leaving me stranded when i was commuting 120 miles/day.

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Ditto what grossgary said.

 

If it hasn't been abused/neglected, and you keep up on the maintenance items, you should be able to trust it to drive anywhere. Alaska is packed with old EA82s that are driven every day in harsh environments, and I've put my share of hard miles on them and never been stranded because the car broke.

 

That said, the EJ22 is by design a "more reliable" engine. That doesn't mean that the EA82 is bad. Just like with some of the other "not so good" subaru products like the phase I EJ25, the EA82 engine and the loyale are still great products and superior to most of the other rigs on the road as far as I'm concerned. But if you're looking for the "best" subaru, an EJ22 powered one is likely going to be better.

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Well, I must say I have had a great experience with my EA82 Loyale. I have a 1992 With all the options minus a D/R trans. With 250,000 miles it's still going strong. Just last week I pulled the engine due to a cracked clutch fork. Other than that the thing has been awsome. I did what was suggested above and replaced all the seals, water pump, tune up items etc. Now, it's running even better. I average 28 MPG delivering pizza! I couldn't ask for more nor would I find anything out there better for my job. that kind of gas mileage, 4WD, the space it has, and just fun to drive out of anything else on the road. That being said. With 250K miles it still has to OG alternator ( think it's starting to go ) and the OG Fuji starter. Yeah, I was a little supprised to find this out as I'm the second owner and with that many miles.

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Paid $1500 for mine, too long ago to remember. Now it has 245,000 miles and the engine will go as long as the body holds out. I had the body repainted by the local Vo-Tech about 7 years ago. Money well spent. The cancer will kill this car before the engine keels over. Best car I've ever owned - and that includes a first year (1983) Toyota Camry. That's been my experience with my Loyale.

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I've been running EA82s for about 20 years. Also have an 01 Forester. I used to curse the timing belt system on the EA82s for the short life. Until I had to replace the belt on the Forester. You have to replace the timing belts about twice as often on the EA82 / Loyale, but the parts are *far* cheaper.

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ea82's rock! my 86gl daily driver i bought for $200 3 years ago is still chugging along. I commute 100 miles roundtrip every day in it. the only engine work i have done was replacing the cam seals and the timing belt. just change the oil regularly and keep an eye on other vital fluids. 250,000 and still running strong!

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Aye.. As reliable as you want them to be. Reliability seems to be in direct proportion to the amount of preventative maintenance you want to do.

 

I have been driving my RX for nearly 3 years now, it's down right now due to some godforsaken ignition problem, but this is the first time since I got it I have ever had to put any time into fixing it. I've spent plenty of time tweaking it, and I'm sure that if I had not been tweaking I probably wouldnt have the problem now that I do...

 

Basic maintenance. Change your fluids, timing belts, do the tune ups, keep track of and repair leaks, breaks, etc. as necessary, and it will treat you just fine.

Short stroke the maintenance program, and you will find yourself on the side of the road in short order...

 

BTW, my RX has 241,000 on it, head gaskets at 176,000 and not a problem since, until now... and I beat the ever loving snot out of it.

 

88RxTuner

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...you should be able to trust it to drive anywhere. Alaska is packed with old EA82s that are driven every day in harsh environments, and I've put my share of hard miles on them and never been stranded because the car broke. ...

 

I Agree! ... my Dad Purchased the EA82 Wagon new, back in 1985 (I was Child then) and it has been Driven since then as Everyday driver in our Bad Roads plenty of Huge Pot holes and Off Roads; Now with around 260,000 Miles it Still Haul rump roast and Perform even Better than it was New! ... :eek: ...

 

in Part due to the Changes I`ve done to it, like the Great Weber Carb, the free flow Exhaust and many many other Li`l Changes... Being mine since many Years Ago, I Drove it across Almost All Central America many times, usually Heavy Loaded... and Believe me or Not: the More it Travels, the Better it Feels and Performs. Those Subies Love Long Travels ... :) ...

 

But I Usually Drive it Everyday Basically from Home-Work-Home in a Horrible Run / Stop \ Run Situation that can Kill fast any other Car.

 

I Believe that The Only bad thing they have (or that is my Idea about EA82`s) is... Timing Belts! ... :mad:

 

...the EA82 is a great motor. the biggest problem you're going to have is age. the seals, gaskets, and orings ...

 

You Forget to say Timin` Belts! :-\

 

if the Previous Owner Does not Know the Time or Miles when it was last Changed, I Suggest you to Change Both plus their Tensioneers` Ball Bearings.

 

The only Reason my Subie left me in the Middle of Nowhere around Midnight with the Whole Family, was a Broken Timing Belt. They was New, just two months Old, but I didn`t Replaced the Tensioneers Bearings and one of them Stopped, making the Belt`s Back to Rub against it and the Heat & Friction ripped it...

 

So if you get that Subie, Change the Timing Belts + the Tensioneers`s Bearings. ( and Don`t Forget to Post Pics! :grin: )

 

Edit: I Forget to say that the EA82`s are "Non-interference" Engines, so if a Timin` Belt Brokes, the engine just Shut Off without any Damage... Thanks God!

 

Kind Regards.

Good Luck!

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
I Forgot to say Somethin` important, see "Edit" ;)
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keep up with the maintenance (detailed above) and they will go nearly forever. :banana:

 

bought my 89 GL (same car - pre-Loyale designation) with 142K on the clock, drove it for 7+ years, parked it with 255K on the clock - it sat for about 1-1/2 yrs, fired it up a couple of months ago and my daughter now drives it - still going strong - best 150 bucks I ever spent!! :grin: body is gonna fall apart before the motor quits!! :eek:

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I think the timing belt thing on these is a bit of a overblown problem. Yes, they do tend to break alot... I've had it happen to me. But, I think it's partly because no one takes a broken timing belt on an EA82 as seriously as on other engines.... break the timing belt on most engines, and you are talking new heads/pistons/etc.... all the EA82 does is stop running. So people don't take it as seriously either to change them when they should, or to change all the idlers and tensioners when the change the belt.

 

Z

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Define 'overblown' problem... Would YOU like to be stuck on the side of the road, albeit with a functional (i.e. not destroyed) engine? Happened to me... On Christmas morning, none the less... I was going to get my wife's surprise present and ended up calling her to say I was broke down 40mi from home. Merry Flippin Christmas...

 

Regardless of whether or not you damage the engine or not, it's still a major inconvenience to have your car mysteriously quit running in the middle of a flippin cornfield... I dont think timing belt maintenance is "overblown" at all.

 

By the way, most people dont know that you are supposed to adjust the tension on your timing belts (on the EA82s) every 15,000 miles... That's every 4 oil changes, guys.. Takes about 45 minutes on the ground, with hand tools, and quicker if you've done it a couple times. The slack in the belt, which causes the belt to 'flap' around and become overstressed, is a primary cause of premature timing belt failure. These belts are designed to go 60+ thousand miles.

88RxTuner

Edited by 88RxTuner
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Define 'overblown' problem... Would YOU like to be stuck on the side of the road, albeit with a functional (i.e. not destroyed) engine? Happened to me... On Christmas morning, none the less... I was going to get my wife's surprise present and ended up calling her to say I was broke down 40mi from home. Merry Flippin Christmas...

 

Regardless of whether or not you damage the engine or not, it's still a major inconvenience to have your car mysteriously quit running in the middle of a flippin cornfield... I dont think timing belt maintenance is "overblown" at all.

 

By the way, most people dont know that you are supposed to adjust the tension on your timing belts (on the EA82s) every 15,000 miles... That's every 4 oil changes, guys.. Takes about 45 minutes on the ground, with hand tools, and quicker if you've done it a couple times. The slack in the belt, which causes the belt to 'flap' around and become overstressed, is a primary cause of premature timing belt failure. These belts are designed to go 60+ thousand miles.

88RxTuner

 

I don't deny that its quite an inconvenience -- I had to change mine in a snowstorm on the side of the road about 300 miles from home.

 

So - did your failed timing belt occur despite changing the belt and tensioners and idlers at recommended intervals? If you did all those, and it still failed, then maybe there is a problem. If, not, then I think you actually prove my point that it's people not paying proper attention to maintenance that causes these cars to get this reputation, not actually because they inherently blow timing belts more than any other cars.

Edited by zyewdall
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No, My timing belt failure was due to my negligence in adjusting the tension... I went 21,000 miles and did not tension them.

 

If your point was to say that maintenance negligence causes failures, then I agree... You are entirely correct, it is a lack of maintenance that causes these engines to break down.

 

But your statement that timing belt failures are "overblown", which I took (perhaps mistakenly??) to mean over-rated, is a bump in the road.

Timing belt failures are all too common on these engines, and YES!!! It is entirely due to poor maintenance procedures!!

 

Friends???

 

88RxTuner

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I wasn't trying to say that timing belt failures were overblown. I was trying to say that EA82's don't inherently fail any more than any other car (which is what alot of people think). -- it's just that people don't bother maintaining them properly, and that's why they fail alot. So... it sounds like we are in agreement. I just didn't write my original post very clearly. :rolleyes:

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