ratgirldjh Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 (edited) hey all! i'm new to this forum! are any of you in austin, texas??? i just lucked into a free 1985 Subaru GL 4wd with 206,000 miles on her. she has NO rust and all her parts are there! The only thing is she hasn't been driven in a long time; her inspection sticker is from 06... i got this car because a friend of my brothers stored it here and i think he drove it here - but it has been sitting for years; and my brother tried to sell her for cheap but no one was interested!!! the more i looked at her i started dreaming of this car at night!!! i had a subaru 77-78GF back in the day and still missed him (he was a boy LOL) and now i told this car i would get her running again!!! my bf at first didn't want anything to do with this car. now he is getting into it a little and we tried to start her today - and she almost started with a new battery and then he was messing with the carburetor and it started on fire!!! this was right after he told me that the fuel pump wasn't working and there was NO gas coming into the carb... then he said that the fuel pump evidently is working well, i am going to get a carb re-build kit - because there is a lot of varnish in there... and of course drain the old gas out... and change the oil... and then see how she drives!!! any tips on things i should do after she has sat for so long??? someone really took care of this car up until the time she died of something... and/or they just got fed up with storing her... djh Edited January 5, 2010 by ratgirldjh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkindred Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Welcome - some very knowledge folks here on USMB (I'm not one - just a driver). However I have an 86 Hatch which I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Welcome to the club. You will find tons of help here.... not from me of course. Even I don't listen to a word I say, regardless of whether it's good advise or not. I've not done a restore of a car in storage, but others here will help you with good advise. PS. I was raised in Dallas, so you can say Y'all all you want. And in Austin, if you ever meet a guitar player from Fresno named Pat and he was in a band called Chris Plays Guitar? That is my old guitarist who now lives there. He's a great guy and great musician if you decide to start a band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobenthusiast Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 For reviving a car from storage, you are on the right track, clean the old gas and get it out of the system. If you have problems Marvel Mystery Oil can do wonders. And when you first drive it make sure the brakes are ok, wheel seals often go bad while sitting. I think that's most of it, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 since the car has sat, expect a braoken timing belt soon. no worry, this is a non interference engine- no bent valves. it will be worth your time to do the blets as preventive maintenence. do the cam and crank seals while in there, and remove all the timing belt covers and leave them off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Look for Miles' great youtube tutorials on EA82 maintenance. They helped me kill a slow afternoon at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Since the car has such high mileage, it's pretty certain she has had a good maintenance history. see if you can find out what has been done since before it was parked. Some repairs are suggested for the sake the car has been sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratgirldjh Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) well we tried to start it again - it was running once LOL - this time nothing... we still haven't rebuilt the carb - i was waiting for my brother to get the title for me first (i got it yay!) before we did anything else - i already bought a battery because the old one was missing... also there were several cans of power steering fluid in the car so we are going to look for power steering leaks as soon as we start the car. oh - and there was no oil in the car - so we put some in to try and start it - but i'm pretty sure the front seal is bad... but we are going to get her running first and then evaluate the next priority thing to do. and i'm so glad this car has a timing belt instead of a chain. we like to never got our nissan engine back together LOL actually, i am probably better at taking engines apart, carbs, etc. because at least i am organized and put all the screws and other parts in a safe place and read the book about the car, etc. (i need to get one for this car) ... while my bf just starts taking things off and looses screws etc. but he can't stand to see me working on the car by myself because he says it takes me so long LOL :-\ thanks for the nice welcome! i will keep y'all updated - and i will take pictures soon eta: at first my bf was dead set against fixing this car!!! but the more he read about them and his friends (car dealers) told him that in their opinions subaru's are better than toyotas, hondas, and even nissans - bf came around... oh and it really helped that my friend in oregon told him that when they turn all other cars without snow chains away from a road that they let the subarus go through!!! Edited January 8, 2010 by ratgirldjh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyHouTX Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Hello from another Texas Suby owner. Hope you get here running soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indrid cold Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 hey ....... i just lucked into a free 1985 Subaru GL 4wd ....djh I love the price of that roo!... Once you get these figured out they are very user friendly. any tips? A thought to keep in mind is that if it was parked then possibly it was acting up BEFORE you got it and may have to do some trouble shooting.... Sitting a couple years usually doesn't keep it from firing up... running rough yes... but yet, still running. So you need to just have a little patients and bond with the car and each time you lift the hood it is an opportunity to learn. So yes, fresh gas. Assure spark, clean the plugs, etc.. if it stopped firing look at the belts, or jumped belt... and possibly throw the timing belt covers away etc.. Alot of good info here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 hello and welcome! aside from the fresh gas, battery & oil... check timing belts (outer covers can be pulled without having to remove anything else) fresh spark plugs with proper gap new disty cap & rotor (make sure rotor turns when cranking car over - if it doesnt it means either broken drivers side belt or the set screw is loose) possibly new wires (depends on the condition of the old ones) new fuel & air filters search this site for the HTKYSA pdf (stands for "How To Keep Your Subaru Alive" - it is a book in .pdf format - GREAT resource for the older Subaru!) Haynes & Chiltons manuals are ok, but leave a lot of stuff out or dont make it very clear... try to get a Factory Service Manual (FSM) if at all possible... Lots of great info in the USRM section and definitely look for the videos by Miles Fox - he has a knack for making these!! Good luck with the new toy - hope you get her running soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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